People who visit Colborne Lodge at Halloween come to see if it is haunted. But the bonus of touring the building built in the 1800s is learning about the legacy of the Howard family.
Architect John George Howard built Colborne Lodge in 1837 in High Park. He lived there with his wife, Jemima Howard, until he died in 1890, when the house became the property of the City of Toronto and was developed into High Park. For the last few years, the lodge, now a museum, has hosted an After Dark program.
The program is called After Dark Tours: The Unexplained at Colborne Lodge.
Bruce Beaton, acting coordinator of Colborne Lodge programs and who helps run the lodge, led this year’s tour on Thursday, Oct. 30.
Beaton said the purpose of historical house tours is to encourage people’s curiosity about the past.
“One of the overwhelming questions we are asked again and again and again, when people are doing the normal historical house tour of this place, is: Is it haunted? So, our attempt to satisfy that visitor’s curiosity is what a program like this is about,’’ he said.
“I also believe that at this time of year, people come to a place like this because they want to know if there’s any proof, any real proof, of any activity on the other side of the spectral divide,’’ he said.
Participants’ interest in old houses being haunted allows his organization to teach the history.
“They'll come here and they'll learn about the people who lived here and some of the knowledge of the history of this place, and then we share with them stories of things that might indicate there is a spiritual presence enduring in this structure,’’ he said
Beaton discussed the Howard family story and the British immigrants’ efforts to build a new life in Upper Canada.
Beaton said that John came from Britain before he came to the Colborne Lodge.
“John was the first professionally trained architect in Upper Canada, so he was very busy when he got here,” Beaton said.
But still, Howard found time to design Colborne Lodge for his own home and moved in with his wife Jemima in the winter of 1837.
The Howards changed their names, and thus their identity, to make themselves seem more aristocratic, he said.
‘’When they left England in 1832, they had a different last name, Corby. When they arrived here, they changed their last name to Howard to make themselves sound more aristocratic than they actually were,’’ he said.
Beaton explained the significance the British class system would hold for a family like the Howards.
“British class structure is rigidly enforced, primarily around who your father was, sometimes your mother. But primarily your father would actually dictate where you sat in this very rigid British class structure," he said. “So, they just reinvented themselves when they got here to make themselves sound a little more aristocratic than they actually were.’’
Beaton leaves the true tales of the paranormal activities mysterious. He says he doesn’t want to give any spoilers for the tours.
He said that although the tour doesn’t promise participants the stories of the 1800s, it does detail the lives of the Howards.
“They only came here in 1832, so this tour tells us nothing about the year 1800. It does tell us a little bit about people who lived through the 1800s because John himself died in this house in 1890. But they didn’t arrive here till 1832," Beaton said.
He said people in the 1800s had a closer relationship to death and dying than people do today. Death was closer for the Howard family because, generally, people died at their homes in the 1800s instead of in hospitals.
“One thing it tells us is that death was closer to every day human experience than it is now,’’ he said. ‘’Most people died at home, and they were set up for people to come and pay their last respects in the home, which is what happened here.’’
Beaton spoke more about the mysterious connection between death and the afterlife and Colborne Lodge’s experience with that. A “few things’’ did happen in the house, but they don’t offer much of an answer about the death and afterlife.
He said that a few things that can’t be explained if someone thinks they saw a ghost or spirit.
“That’s the mysterious question of the universe. I don't know. You have to decide for yourselves. And people come here to consider that for themselves,’’ he said.
Uliana Webster was on the house tour and said she was pleasantly surprised by the event.
‘’Honestly, it wasn’t what I thought it was going to be. I didn’t expect it to be like this, like on a good note,’’ she said.
Nikki Arkadia, also on the tour, wanted to see for herself, without any spoilers. She admits she didn’t read the description of the event.
“I didn't want to read about it because I wanted to be surprised, and it was good,’’ she said.
Shane Anne Sabarillo, who joined the other two, said she recommends the tour to those who are interested in events that mix history and hauntings.
“Oh, yeah. I would (recommend it) if you're into history and haunted stuff, and adventures. Yeah, something spooky, definitely,’’ she said.
