B.C. has a vast and varied cultural history, but it has an equally immense and fascinating haunted and paranormal history, as two sisters are discovering.
Sisters Gina Armstrong and Victoria Vancek are co-founders of Haunted History BC, and they’re not only sharing their love of all things spooky with those who have an open mind, but they’re also educating people about a lesser-known history of B.C. and Canada.
We had the opportunity to take part in one of their recent events at The Notorious Grey Fox Taps & Patio in New West, which happens to be located in a very historic location: the old British Columbia Penitentiary, which operated between 1878 and 1980.
Gina, Victoria, and the Grey Fox crew (Submitted)
The pub’s name is actually based on someone who was featured in a story from Haunted History BC: Bill Miner, an American-born outlaw.
Armstrong told Daily Hive that they attended a Victoria Ghost Walk in 2017, which reignited their passion for anything spooky.
“We always loved it as kids, so we started staying in haunted hotels, just for ourselves.”
They’d stay at spooky historic venues and places like that, and eventually started up their social media. Before long, they were getting invites to things like podcasts, before Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows reached out and asked if they wanted to do something historic spooky walking trips.
They eventually started doing historic paranormal events in B.C. with small groups of 10 to 15 people, and it has grown ever since.
For the Grey Fox collaboration, they just walked into the pub and spoke with Armin, the owner, who seems just as passionate about history as the sisterly duo. They also partnered with Tourism New West. Their recent New West events were completely sold out.
It’s also an awesome experience being able to relax, have a spirited beverage and grab a bite from the pub before investigating the spirit world.
Turning B.C. paranormal skeptics into believers?
Gina with her paranormal investigation devices (Submitted)
The Notorious Grey Fox event involved a brief history lesson before attendees were able to actually explore the historic B.C. landmark.
Before we set out on our adventure, the different groups of attendees were given special paranormal investigative tools, tools that actually measure changes in energy, not just props.
We got to hold on to a milligauss meter, which is an electromagnetic field (EMF) detector.
An EMF detector actually detects real spikes in electromagnetic energy. Skeptics would say that the tool just measures fluctuations in power or other various electric signals in the air; however, during our experience, there were some moments that were too weird to explain with just what some would call more “plausible” explanations.
Submitted
Speaking of skeptics, that’s one of the most exciting aspects of the events that Armstrong and Vancek hold: the fact that there are often attendees who aren’t necessarily “believers” who take part. During our penitentiary tour, it didn’t seem like anyone was skeptical about some of the things that unfolded, including a motion-detecting investigative tool that went off several times with no one remotely near it in this spooky room:
Submitted
“We’ve actually sort of turned people,” Armstrong said, meaning skeptics into believers.
Many people died at the old B.C. penitentiary, so there were many spirits to try and communicate with during our multi-hour spooky evening.
Whether you’re a believer or not, the history was fascinating, and the interactive exploration with the investigative tools, something that we haven’t seen any other local haunted groups do, was immensely entertaining. If you are a believer, it was hard not to consider some of the things we experienced as being otherworldly.
It’s also an important event for, as Armstrong says, “preserving intangible history.” It’s even bringing a younger crowd into the paranormal sphere, as the sisters explained many younger generation attendees join their events.
A production company even recently contacted the sisters and will be featured in the second season of a TV show they weren’t yet at liberty to speak about.
We asked the sisters what their most notable horror experience has been so far, and Vancek mentioned Minnekhada Lodge, which was built in the 1930s. We also had to ask if they’ve had anything follow them home, and Gina said only once, because they usually ask the spirits to stay behind.
They did an event at Irving House in New West.
“We jumped in the car and started smelling the scent of roses,” Vancek recalled.
Victoria Vancek (@haunted_history_bc/Instagram)
“Gina freaks out and goes, ‘Oh my God, stay back to where you belong. Don’t come home with us,'” Vancek said.
The fragrance then disappeared. Vancek said it didn’t feel malevolent, but angelic. They said they were smelling the same thing in the house. They experienced something similar with scents at Minnekhada Lodge.
Generally speaking, these types of horror experiences typically only pop up around Halloween time, but Armstrong and Vancek run these kinds of events all year round.
You can talk to the sisters about their experiences yourself, if you’re interested. The next Grey Fox event will take place on Sept. 26. You can find more details on the Haunted History BC website and by following the pair on Instagram.
Gina and Victoria (Submitted)
The sisters have also published several books about spooky B.C. history, which you can also check out on the website.