By Patricia Fernandes

It has been nine years since ghosts last haunted Lethbridge residents and visitors.

A grave silence fell over the Lethbridge Historical Society’s annual Deathbridge Walking Tours Series because local historian Belinda Crowson ghosted the living and the dead for almost a decade.

Crowson is the only one hosting the tours so far, but hopes to train other historians at the institution to help continue the project and ease her burden.

“I want to make sure people of southwestern Alberta love history as much as we do; we want to make sure the stories are told,” Crowson says.

Like a restless spirit waiting to be awakened, the tour series was resurrected this year, featuring both a cemetery flashlight tour and a haunted downtown tour. The tours have been a big hit since they resumed this fall.

Despite being known as one of southern Alberta’s sunniest cities with around 320 days of sunshine, Lethbridge has a dark history. Deadly mining accidents, a devastating influenza scourge and a notorious whiskey trade triggered the creation of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and shaped the city.

Lethbridge evolved from a coal mining boomtown into a modern city. Economic struggles and industrial dangers fueled ghost stories and crime reports, giving rise to the Deathbridge alias.

Crowson says the Lethbridge Historical Society turned a negative word into something positive by focusing on its spookiness.

Deathbridge Walking Tours have a spooky theme but are also rooted in the city’s history. The faint boundary between entertainment and grim historical accuracy is unearthed by resurrecting the forgotten past.

Crowson prepares her tours by summoning specific tales, bringing hidden horrors into the light and breathing life into untold stories that refuse to stay buried.

She has been researching the forgotten pieces of the city’s past for decades. The historian wrote a book about the illustrious residents of St. Patrick’s cemetery.

“I can pick and choose which [interred] stories to use on tours and find different ways to connect ghost stories [to the locations visited],” Crowson says.

For Belinda Crowson, what fascinates the public about the darker side of the city’s past is connecting yesterday with today. She emphasizes how history is about our past and about understanding the experiences of real people in our community.

Lethbridge resident Nicole Bradley took the Downtown tour with friends. She says she fears Halloween-themed tours but is excited to hear the city’s tales in an interesting way. Bradley’s friend, Ivan Ho, is equally enthusiastic.

“I want to learn about the history and all the murders that happened in the city,” Ho says.

Another long-time Lethbridge resident, Michael Russell, remarks that he had never heard of the city’s dark past and took the Haunted Downtown tour because it seemed like a fun way to learn about it.

“History is fun and whoever doesn’t think it does not understand it,” Crowson highlights.

The historian believes teaching people differently attracts more interest in history. “History is gossiping about dead people,” says Crowson, former president of Lethbridge Historical Society.

History doesn’t necessarily support the ghost stories, but Crowson is interested in why they exist and have been shared over time. The historian remarks that her goals are to “make sure the sites are respected and the tours are done appropriately.”

The main takeaway she hopes first-time visitors gain from the tours is that history is fascinating.

The historian encourages tour participants to learn more. “The tours are the gateway to learn more about our history,” she says.

Lethbridge Historical Society hopes the reception to Deathbridge tours supports the organization’s mission to preserve history and educate about the past. The tours are limited to 20 participants at a time and cost $10 per person.

Crafting these tours comes with a unique set of challenges compared to standard historical tours: unpredictable October weather, misconceptions about the tours and targeting an audience who sees fun in learning about the past with a touch of spookiness.

Because of the limited availability and popularity of the tours, it is recommended to register in advance through LHS’ website or ticketing platforms. Lethbridge Historical Society shares information about the events and activities on its website and social media pages.

This year’s catalogue of horrors includes St. Patrick’s Cemetery Flashlight Tours, where participants bring a flashlight for a dark, history-focused walking tour through St. Patrick’s Cemetery and Haunted Lethbridge Downtown Tours, for a spooky historical ghost-story walk in downtown Lethbridge after dark.

From summer daytime tours to winter monthly programs, LHS expects to shake the ground and get bodies out. The organization is always looking for history lovers, volunteers and new members.

Post-secondary students can step into the past with a free membership, gaining access to all tours and firsthand accounts of the society’s activities.