'I'm being watched': Paranormal investigator notes presence in 'haunted' Burnaby mansion
On a fall afternoon in October, paranormal investigator Amanda Quill was wandering the halls of Overlynn Mansion alone, when she heard someone whisper her name.
The soft voice alarmed her enough that she felt the need to leave the opulent Burnaby home to catch her breath.
Built in 1909, the Tudor Revival’s splendid interior is often used by film and television production companies.
Overlynn also has a reputation for being ghostly.
“This is a haunted house. This is a classic haunted mansion,” said Greg Mansfield, author of Ghosts of Vancouver.
Visitors and employees have reported hearing a man coughing and seeing a little girl in a white dress appear and then suddenly vanish.
The sight of the child frightened a cleaner so much she told her boss “that she could never come into this house again she was so scared.”
In the 1930s, the home was sold to the Sisters of Charity of Halifax, who ran a boarding school for girls. Tiny sinks and a bathtub are still in the attic.
“It’s just such a contrast to the rest of the house,” said Vancouver true crime author and host of the Cold Case Canada podcast Eve Lazarus. “You come up to this attic and it’s got this horrific floor and it’s boarded up, and you can see where the children must have slept.”
In January 2020, video equipment used by a Vancouver-based paranormal investigation team captured what looked like an arm swinging from behind a wall near Overlynn’s grand staircase.
“Holy crap!” exclaimed members of Coldspotters Paranormal, who examined the visuals carefully and swore no one was near the area.
After a short walk, Quill, who swears she heard someone whisper her name, returned to the home for an interview with CTV News, but she was still uneasy. Standing on the staircase, she looked frequently over her shoulder to the top floor.
“I have this overwhelming sensation that I’m being watched,” said Quill.
The home is owned by Action Line Housing Society who run the Seton Villa Retirement Centre. Their team is always looking for new uses for Overlynn, in order to maintain the heritage building.
Some people might laugh at the idea that’s it’s haunted, but few can deny that it is beautiful.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
BREAKING Ottawa public school board, 3 Toronto-area school boards launch lawsuit against social media giants
The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board and three school boards in the Toronto-area have launched legal action against social media giants, accusing them of "disrupting students' fundamental right to education."
Doctors visiting a Gaza hospital are stunned by the war's toll on Palestinian children
An international team of doctors visiting a hospital in central Gaza was prepared for the worst. But the gruesome impact Israel’s war against Hamas is having on Palestinian children still left them stunned.
Crypt near Marilyn Monroe and Hugh Hefner could fetch US$400,000 at auction
A one-space mausoleum crypt in the vicinity of Marilyn Monroe and Hugh Hefner will go on auction Saturday, when it is expected to reach between US$200,000 and $400,000.
Tipping is off the table at this Toronto restaurant
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff.
A fight to protect the dignity of Michelangelo's David raises questions about freedom of expression
Michelangelo's David has been a towering figure in Italian culture since its completion in 1504. But in the current era of the quick buck, curators worry the marble statue's religious and political significance is being diminished.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Premiers not being truthful about carbon tax, Trudeau says while sparks fly in Ottawa
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Conservative premiers across the country are 'not telling the truth' when it comes to the carbon tax. Trudeau's comments came as fresh sparks were flying in Ottawa at a recalled House of Commons committee.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.