The interior was finished in a beautifully grained softwood, and many of the inside walls were made with brick, ensuring a nearly fireproof home. Ten fireplaces were on the ground floor and a long hall in the shape of a Roman cross occupied the main floor. Stairways with bright, large windows ascended from each end, allowing for the free circulation of air.[10]
In a 1936 interview in the Hamilton Spectator, Elsie Buchanan (Isaac’s daughter) said that originally there were glass-enclosed verandas running the length of the home’s front and back and that her father was determined to experience the health benefits of the sunshine even when it was too cold to step outside. Years after, this same practice was used to combat tuberculosis, prompting Miss Buchanan to point out that her father was a thinker well ahead of his time. She also described the home as having a bathroom and a furnace from the very early days, both features that were not found in many residences during the 1850s. “Another proof that my father was ahead of his time,” she said.[11]
The builders originally planned the ground floor with four large rooms of identical dimensions (18 x 20 feet). Then it was decided that the dining room be more generous in size, “in order to accommodate the lavish parties that the Buchanans intended to hold for government officials and political associates.”[12]
When Buchanan died at the age of 73, Auchmar was sold to a military man from India by the name of Captain Trigg.[13] Trigg made a notable change while living there by converting the grand ballroom into a preaching hall, which was used for the congregation that gathered there every Sunday.[14]
Mrs. Alma Dick-Lauder, the last owner of the Hermitage before fire destroyed it (a featured subject in a previous chapter of this book), also wrote about this residence in the 1897 book Wentworth Landmarks, published by the Hamilton Spectator Press:
The old family home of the Buchanan’s is one of these set in the midst of a grand old grove of trees and looking quaint and beautiful as one approaches it. . . . From a distance it gives the impression of a walled-fort. . . . The whole place was vacant for several years after the Buchanan family moved into the city, and then a cultured English gentleman named Capt. Trigg became its owner. He has had repairs made, and while he remains there it is sure that the olden time beauty of the place will remain…. The hall is cathedral-like because its ceiling is Gothic. Nor is it gloomy, as one might imagine. The effect is not gloom; it is something different—a dim, religious light.[15]
James Buchanan, Isaac’s fourth son, bought the property back in 1900. In 1926 the Buchanan family sold Auchmar to A.V. Young, who lived there with his family until September 1943.[16]
At that point it was rented to the Royal Canadian Air Force as a rehabilitation centre; the Second World War was raging in Europe and thus many hospitals were needed for the returning heroes. Auchmar’s many rooms and long halls perfectly suited a hospital’s needs.[17]
The ghosts of Auchmar are shrouded in a long-standing and complex series of mysteries.
Courtesy of Stephanie Lechniak.
The Hungarian Sisters of Social Service bought the mansion and land in 1945 for $32,000, converting the building and grounds into a religious retreat called the Holy Spirit Centre. They occupied Auchmar longer than any other resident, until 1999, when Auchmar was acquired by the City of Hamilton.[18]
One hundred and thirty-five years after Auchmar was built, the cast and crew of YTV’s Strange Days at Blake Holsey High (also known as Black Hole High) converged on the grounds to begin filming.[19]
One can only speculate that, with such a long legacy of so many different residents — including returning war veterans and those in need of religious respite — many different spirits might haunt the halls. But nowhere in the long history of the building are any ghostly visitations or sightings revealed. Could it be the nature of those who occupied the building and their unwillingness to reveal secrets housed within the walls, or were the spirits suddenly awakened, disturbed by the transition of the once-magnificent estate to occupation by such a different type of crew?
And this is where the speculative tales of this building and its ghosts begin.
Two workmen from the YTV television crew were carrying heavy equipment from the basement to the main floor. Holding a large box, the two men looked up just before reaching the first floor landing to see a young girl waiting at the top. They looked away only for a moment, glancing at one another as if to confirm they had both seen her. When they both looked back only a second later, the little girl had vanished.[20]
This strange little girl seems to be one of the most active ghosts within the house. Crew members have heard her voice from the second floor while working on the main floor.
At times she is said to be heard happily giggling, as if she is playing and laughing in the carefree manner of a child. Other times her soft cries or blood-curdling screams are heard echoing through the empty nighttime hallways.
A local Hamilton woman recalls “having a personal meeting” with the little girl when she was a child and visiting Auchmar with her father (a city official at the time). Shortly after the nuns moved out, she and her father were given a personal tour of the mansion. Bored with the history being shared on the tour, the young lady slipped away from the adults and started exploring.
Up on the second floor by herself, she heard the soft giggle of another little girl. Intrigued, she looked around to determine where the other child was, but could see nobody. The sound of giggling continued, confusing her, because it sounded as if it were getting closer. Still, she stood alone in the hallway. Finally, a subtle gust of cold moved over her, and a voice in her ear spoke the words “play with me” to her. She immediately ran down the stairs and into her father’s arms.[21]
The spirit of a woman has also been seen in the basement, floating throughout the vaulted stone rooms. Many crew members and actors from the YTV television show have also commented on strange feelings while in the basement.
Daniel Cumerlato of Haunted Hamilton has mentioned that the most noticeable energy comes from the basement area. During a personal tour with the folks of Doors Open Hamilton several years ago, both he and Stephanie felt it. “It was almost like you expected to see an uninvited guest waiting just around the corner while moving through the small confined rooms of Auchmar’s basement,” he said.[22]
Over the years, various objects from the mansion have mysteriously disappeared, dogs brought onto the set of Strange Days at Blake Holsey High have refused to enter certain corridors, and hanging lights would start to swing on their own in the absence of any breeze. In a 2002 interview with the Hamilton Spectator’s Jeff Mahoney, Lawrence Bayne, one of the actors from the television show, spoke about his eerie experiences at Auchmar one night when, instead of heading to his home in Toronto, he slept in his dressing room. “Well, you tell me,” Bayne asked in that interview, “how does a door that is locked and bolted suddenly swing open in the middle of the night?”