A Scottish bagpiper, who was billeted here back in 1866, is still seen on the stairwell.
At the top of the stairs to the right of the landing is the Rose Room. This is where Mrs. Burgis is said to have died. Could she be the elderly spirit? When Cathryn first began decorating this room she felt the need to choose wallpaper with roses. She even went a step further and had a dried rose framed to hang in the room. The bedspreads also reflect the rose theme. Cathryn is not attracted to roses. In fact, she had no idea why she felt compelled to decorate in this manner. She later discovered that roses just happened to be Mrs. Burgis’ favourite flower.
There is a cold spot in this room a short distance from the bed. Guests often complain about feeling a draft in this one area of the room. According to Cathryn there is a reason for this. Near the end of her life Mrs. Burgis was quite ill and bedridden. The nurse staying with her said she tried to get out of bed because she thought that someone had come for her. Mrs. Burgis rose from her bed and stepped forward to meet a man who only she could see. Then she collapsed and died.
Guests staying overnight in the Rose Room report a cold spot near the table and chairs.
Some people who have stayed in this room have told Cathryn that they could never get warm, even in the summertime. One overnight guest said they felt the spirit tucking them in at night.
Cathryn has to smooth out the blankets on the bed almost every day. It’s as if someone lays there on a daily basis. People often complain about the loss of personal items when they stay there. They blame it on forgetfulness or their partner, who they feel certain has placed it somewhere else. Then just when they give up, the item reappears right where they know they left it.
One day Cathryn was about to place a phone call. She carefully took one earring off and placed it on the table before lifting the receiver to her ear. After a lengthy conversation she put the phone down and reached for her earring. It was gone! “Many things go missing, such as clothing. I have lost a skirt, a belt, and some jewellery. These belongings have not yet returned.”
Ian often still spends his weekends restoring areas of the house. The disappearance of tools is also not an uncommon occurrence. One day their son Rory asked his dad to hook up the video machine. Ian recalls what happened. “I needed a pair of pliers to do the job. I remember placing the pliers back in the tool box after the job was completed. The next day they were gone. I looked everywhere. Three days later I walked by the video machine and there they were right in front of it, in plain view on the floor.”
When asked if he believes in ghosts Ian’s reply is, “My mother had just died. I was sitting alone in the living room and I could sense a strong presence. I knew I was not alone in the room. That was it.”
One morning a guest named Joanne complained over breakfast about not getting much sleep the night before. Cathryn explains, “Joanne told me a little girl and an elderly woman visited her during the night in her room. Joanne had asked them not to show themselves although she could hear them speak. Joanne said the girl, Elizabeth, was twelve years old. At first Elizabeth told her that she had been dramatically murdered in the house. However, she later said she had died of an illness. She said she was waiting to leave. It was Elizabeth and the elderly woman who told her there was another spirit in the house.”
That other spirit could be the Scottish bagpiper who apparently was billeted here back in 1866. Cathryn says, “People who have lived around Cobourg for a number of years and as children played in the house can vividly recall hearing his music. A number of people I have met claimed to have seen him.”
Sarah, a lifelong Cobourg resident, attended a birthday party in the house back in the late 1960s and this is what she saw: “There was a group of us playing on the second floor of the home. We had never heard of ghosts before. For whatever reason, I looked up at the staircase that leads to the third floor. I caught a glimpse of the back of a man from the waist down just as he was turning the top of the stairs. I saw one leg. He was wearing a black shoe and a kilt. I knew it was a kilt because I was a highland dancer at the time. The kilt was the Black Watch tartan with dark blue and green and a bit of yellow. I wasn’t the only one who saw him. We rushed up the stairs but there was nothing there.”
Little is known about this piper or his reason for remaining in the house. Cathryn and Ian have never seen him or heard his music.
In December 1997 Cathryn did encounter one of the spirits. “Back then I was usually rising about four a.m. to begin my catering work. I had one businessman who was a guest staying for the week. He rose for breakfast promptly at seven-fifteen a.m. I always made sure I had coffee ready before he arrived in the kitchen. This particular morning I slept in. I awakened at six-thirty a.m. to the sound of footsteps going down the stairs. Thinking it was him I rushed down to the kitchen to hit the switch on the coffee percolator. No one was there, but someone had helped me out: just as I entered the kitchen the coffee percolator started to drip. I stood there in shock.”
On yet another occasion Cathryn was astounded by the generosity of the spirits. “I always know how much money I have in my wallet. On this particular day I was going out for lunch with some friends. I knew I had two five-dollar bills in my wallet. Before reaching the restaurant I gave one five-dollar bill to my son before dropping him off. I then stopped at a convenience store and spent the other five dollars. During lunch a musical group entertained us. I decided to have the waiter deliver five dollars and a request to one of the players. I pulled my wallet out and to my amazement discovered the five dollars was gone. I made a fuss about missing this money. I couldn’t believe it. Then I realized on the way home, after picking up my son, that I had spent the money at the variety store. Feeling quite foolish with myself I drove home. There at the top of the basement stairs was a soaking-wet five-dollar bill. I then remembered the psychics saying the spirits were there to help me.”
Cathryn and Ian renovated the north wing at the back of the house into an apartment that they rent out. A previous tenant once borrowed two books from Cathryn. After she had read the books they were returned. Cathryn remembers placing them on her desk. One day she noticed that one book had disappeared. A short time later her tenant discovered the missing book back in her apartment standing upright on the floor.
The same tenant often complained about missing her clip-on sunglasses. Each time she would have to go out and buy another pair. Then one day the missing sunglasses appeared. Three pairs of sunglasses, all clipped together, were discovered on a shelf.
MacKechnie House hosts many celebrations. One evening Cathryn catered for a woman who wanted to celebrate her fiftieth birthday by holding a séance in the house. She hired a psychic and invited eighteen people to attend.
According to Cathryn, “It was a strange experience. They held the séance in the library and dining room. Holding hands they waited and waited. Then someone spoke, ‘There is something in the basement.’”
Cathryn said, “I believe this. I have seen a pink light or beam travel by me. I can also feel someone standing behind me. At the top of the basement stairs you often get the feeling that someone is walking by.” This is the same place where the $5.00 bill mysteriously appeared.
When it comes to spirits one never knows what will happen next. This was true for Cathryn one day last year when she went shopping for antiques in Port Hope. “I was in Port Hope visiting an antique shop on the main street. The woman who owns the store said to me, ‘Have you seen the ghost?’
“I replied, ‘No, but we understand we have three ghosts. One of them is a little girl, another an elderly woman, and there is a bagpiper.
“I then said to the woman, ‘I wonder if the elderly woman is Mrs. Burgis?’
“Then the lady said to