There is no question that the east coast of Canada is the most haunted area of Canada. The main reason is because it has been settled and fought over for the longest period of time. It also has the most cosmopolitan heritage and folklore. English, French, Irish, and Scottish are the strongest influences, but Native, German, Portuguese, Italian and Spanish have played their part too. The Portuguese, Italian and Spanish influences on the east coast are generally ignored and almost unknown, both in the timeline of history and their effect upon the land and the emerging culture and it’s representation in folklore. For instance, though Cape Breton Island was French for much of its history, the influx of Scottish after the Acadian deportation in 1755-57 has masked much of its heritage, and little evidence of the French occupation exists outside of Fortress Lousibourg and the French areas and names between Port Hawksbury and the former port and fort Toulouse at what is now St. Peters.
So too, other than the story of Glooscap, Native folklore is ignored and generally unknown even though they have some of the most disturbing folk beliefs. Glooscap is over represented in Native mythology so much so that he obscures many more interesting aspects of Native mythology.
It is almost certain that the Norse were aware of Cape Breton Island though no archeological remains have been found. We know they must have been to the Miramichi River area to gather beechnuts that only grow there, and this, coupled with their exploration-minded mindset makes it almost certain they were the first people to explore and roughly map Atlantic Canada and eastern Quebec though nothing of their explorations still exists, either in the archeological record or in their literature. Still, only the most pedantic or obtuse observers could believe that the Norse only settled L’anse aux Meadows and didn’t dare go any farther.
After them came the Basque fishermen from France and Spain prior to Columbus discovering Central America and John Cabot discovering Newfoundland in the great European western migration. The Basque never established permanent settlements, and no one asked them about their fishing areas, so no one in power knew they were the second people in Europe to find North America. Thus, both the Norse and Basque folklore has not been recorded in relation to eastern Canada. We are instead left with primarily French, English, Scottish and Irish folklore. And there is plenty of that. Much more than the rest of Canada, with Quebec following close behind because of its early settlement. @haunted @ghosts @Canada
Ghost Project Canada 