When the blood was revealed likely to be that of her husband, Evelyn told police that an unknown man had called her and told her of John having gotten a woman pregnant, further adding he had received what was coming to him for his actions. She explained the man asked to meet and gave her a large sack containing “part of John.” She claimed to have driven this man and his sack to the dumping site.[16]
The sultry-eyed, black-haired, beautiful woman found herself at the centre of one of the most publicized trials in Canadian crime history. Hundreds of Hamiltonians appeared to witness the trial, packing lunches and shoving their way to get a good spot, and those involved in the case became unwilling celebrities of their time.
Evelyn reportedly yawned and drew sketches while in the courtroom, smiled openly for photographers, and uttered phrases such as “My public is waiting to see me.” Taxi drivers fawned over the beautiful woman, eagerly competing to escort her to court, and her admirers sent her flowers and cards.[17], [18], [19]
She later changed her story and suggested the involvement of killers hired by Bill Bohozuk. Evelyn Dick was found guilty of John Dick’s death through involvement in participating and planning the murder and was sentenced to hang on January 7, 1947 — but the case was overturned on appeal due to the fact that Evelyn’s statements were improperly admitted into evidence.
Though acquitted of the murder of her husband, the police later got her on a second charge of manslaughter related to her newborn son, who was found encased in cement in a suitcase in her family home. She was sentenced to life in prison but was paroled after a dozen years.
Evelyn Dick has not been seen since her parole, but some suggest that her husband’s tortured ghost still prowls the mountainside near Albion Falls in a futile attempt to collect his still-missing body parts. John Dick is just one of many lost souls wandering the area, reminders of the accidents, murders, and suicides it has been played to.
Chapter Twelve
Dundas District Elementary School
Actor Dave Thomas graduated Dundas District Elementary School in 1967. He and his brother, Ian, who graduated a few years later and went on in his musical career to win a Juno, are perhaps the best-known graduates from this school.
Some years after leaving Dundas District, Dave Thomas worked on Second City Television (SCTV) with a colleague named Joe Flaherty. Flaherty played a character known as Count Floyd, a low-budget local-television “horror” show host. Though Thomas lives in California, his long-time colleague Flaherty still lives in the Hamilton area. Given the legends surrounding Dundas District Elementary School, one wonders if Flaherty might occasionally be tempted to don his old costume, stand on the grounds of the school his comedic pal used to attend, and in his “Transylvanian” accent, say something like, “Gather ’round, kids, and be prepared to hear a scary story about the ghosts and pranks that took place here.” He would, of course, finish with his trademark eerie werewolf howl (despite being dressed as a vampire).
The reason the fictitious host of the equally fictitious Monster Chiller Horror Theatre might be appropriate to introduce this haunted school isn’t just due to the tie-in with a locally born alumni. The tales of this particular site range from the truly tragic and horrific to a series of pranks that don’t seem to have stopped upon death of the alleged prankster.
The Dundas District Public School stands vacant on the former Highway 8 at the foot of the Niagara Escarpment. This landmark building was the perfect scenic and easily accessible location for students in both Dundas and Flamborough.[1]
Originally built as the Dundas District High School and designed by Hamilton architect William J. Walsh, the goal was to mimic a Collegiate Gothic style. Budget limitations resulted in the completed building not looking as grand as originally intended in the design; however, the result was a well-proportioned three-storey building of rug brick with finely carved stone detailing.[2]
The Gothic stone ornamentation on the building includes decorative crests, door lintels marking separate entrances for girls and boys, as well as pinnacles and gargoyles. Legend has it that gargoyles are meant to scare off, or protect the building from, any evil or harmful spirits — but in this particular case, though much of the original architecture maintains a high degree of architectural integrity, a testament to the original designers and builders, and the gargoyles still stand watch over the building, it seems as if their mission has failed.[3]
Stylistically, this abandoned school might be compared to other Hamilton schools built in the same era, such as Westdale High and George R. Allen.[4] The building dates back to 1849 when the Dundas Select Academy, a private grammar school on Ogilvie Street, was established. The original building at 397 King Street West was constructed in 1928 on the former mill property donated by Robert and Frank Fisher. The brothers agreed to donate the property containing the Fisher Paper Mill (Gore Mills) as well as the vacant lot on the opposite side of King Street. They stipulated that the property must be kept in perpetuity for educational and public playground use.[5]
A historic train wreck and a bizarre pact formed by a group of custodians are tied to the strange occurrences at Dundas District Public School. Is the very ground it stands on still cursed?
Courtesy of Stephanie Lechniak.
The building operated as a high school until it was closed in 1982. Between 1987 and 1989, it became the temporary home for students of Dundas Central Public when their building was closed due to safety concerns. On November 5, 2007, Dundas District was closed, just a few months after it was deemed a historic site and was to be preserved.[6]
The boarded-up building at 397 King Street West currently sits unoccupied — at least by those among the living. As legend explains, there’s likely more than one restless spirit that occupies the spot.
Going back to December of 1934, you’ll see a shockingly tragic scene, one that a December 26 article in the Hamilton Spectator refers to as “the starkest tragedy that has ever darkened Hamilton’s Christmas.”
On a fateful Christmas Day in 1935, engineer Norman Devine pulled the CNR Holiday Special out of the Dundas Station and was heading eastbound toward Toronto for the holidays. On board were 365 passengers.
The train had been experiencing some minor mechanical problems, and with another train’s approach on the schedule, the Holiday Special was stopped and diverted to a side track about 190 metres east of Dundas Station. However, a series of human errors and failures to observe signals led to the forward brakeman, Edward Lynch, to not be aware that the train had been moved to a side track.
Shortly after, due to engine issues, Lynch was walking back to the station to call for a new locomotive when he spotted a light in the distance — CNR No. 16, the Maple Leaf Flyer, on its scheduled run from Detroit to Montreal. Sent into a panic, and thinking the Maple Leaf Flyer was going to crash into the Holiday Special, Lynch rushed to the switch, unlocked it, and threw it open. Believing he had just prevented a horrific crash, he had inadvertently done just the opposite.
The speeding train crashed into the Holiday Special, smashing the rear car almost completely, destroying half of the second car, and shooting the third