Terrors of the Night: Canadian Accounts of Eerie Events and Weird Experiences

David E. Kemp is professor emeritus of drama at Queen’s University.

John Robert Colombo is a national treasure for pointing out to us just
what it is that makes Canadians tick and what it is that makes us
different. His compilations of Canadiana have been devoted to, among
other things, jokes, proverbs, graffiti, limericks, and quotations.

Recently, Colombo’s attention has been fixed on the supernatural with
titles such as Ghost Stories of Canada and Ontario, Haunted Toronto,
UFOs, and the wonderfully titled The Monster Book of Canadian Monsters.
Continuing that trend is Terrors of the Night, a collection of more than
100 accounts of eerie events and weird experiences that were recorded by
Canadians over the last 400 years. Originating from all parts of the
country, the accounts concern witchcraft, peculiar weather conditions,
wild beasts, semi-human creatures, omens, prophecies, superhuman powers,
miraculous cures, and generally bizarre behaviour. The stories are a mix
of eyewitness accounts, newspaper reports, and private correspondence.
“Could such things happen?” we ask ourselves as we are by turns
amused, entranced, and bewildered by what we read.

Colombo himself is noncommittal about the events and experiences he
describes. “I neither believe in mysterious events nor disbelieve in
mysterious events,” he says. “I am interested in mysterious
events.” Readers of this topnotch book—one of Colombo’s
best—will find themselves fascinated by the mysterious events it
recounts.