Tag Archives: Teazer

Ghosts & Gouls

Posted by KiwiKaboodle on 28 June 2011 Comments Off

So I realise it’s not exactly Halloween at the moment, but ghosts & gouls are on my mind, so I thought I’d ask: have you any idea how incredibly haunted Lunenburg is? There are some pretty incredible stories about this place including pirates, werewolves, ghosts & ghostships, witches .. my oh my, the list never ends.

There was a German man here in the 1700s who was proclaimed to be Lunenburg’s werewolf … after many sheep & cattle were left torn to pieces and finally a small child, the wife of the man told her suspicions to the locals who had him hauled into jail. While awaiting his trial he himself was torn to pieces in his cell … canine bites covering his arms & legs. His body was buried in unhallowed ground on Gallows Hill.

Ooooohh .. inspiring?

How about the Teazer – a pirate ship, during the War of 1812, being chased by the privateers and ending in a tremendous explosion … and on some foggy nights locals living close to the water claim to see that old pirate ship still trying to escape. Arrrr. (..with thanks to J Shadford for providing the year)

If you are at all interested in spirits, ghosts, and the hard-to-believe-yet-true, then you should really pay us a visit. Lunenburg County is just packed with folklore.

Pirates and the like…

Posted by KiwiKaboodle on 11 June 2011 Comments Off

So we have a Pirate Festival in Mahone Bay every year. It was once the Wooden Boat Festival, then the Classic Boat Festival and finally the Pirate Festival… I think it will stay Piratey. It’s awesome – pirates wandering through town always happy to pose for a photo, and a plethora of activites for everyone, young and old: crafts, storytellers, lots & lots of live music, boating, races, crafters, face painting, oh my heavens this list just won’t end. It’s awesome and I highly recommend it.

Why Pirates, you might find yourself asking. Well, it’s kinda cool. This part of Nova Scotia was once a thriving pirate port! Struth! Rum runners galore, of course, but pirates too. Nice, deep, hidden harbours. Surely you’ve heard of Oak Island? ’nuff said. So, in June of 1917 a pirate ship called The Teazer was being chased down by the ‘good guys’ (five shipsfull of British ‘good guys’) and, well, to make a long story short, it ended up exploding most spectacularly. The ship’s first Lieutenant had apparnetly set fire to her to prevent her from being captured, but the fire had reached the powder magazine before the crew could escape. Only eight of the ship’s 36-man crew survived, and most were horribly maimed. Some of the men who died were buried in St. Stephen’s cemetery in Chester. When the moon is nearly full and a fog blows in from offshore, many residents maintain that a ghostly Teaser replays her last voyage across Mahone Bay…. and certainly on the last night of the Pirate Festival, two ships venture out onto the Bay and replay the scene .. ending with a spectacular display of fireworks.

Awesome, no?