The Murder Mirror
The Ghosts of Fort Langley Part 1
Hello, Friends! 👋
Thanks for sticking with me thus far. It’s been an incredible few months, bringing you some personal ghost stories and all things haunted from Canadian locations within the provinces of Ontario and Nova Scotia.
Now, we’re on the final leg of this year’s journey. 😱
Welcome to Haunted British Columbia, a 16-part series that will dive into some creepy stories based on local history.
First up? Let’s explore Fort Langley.
It’s quite possibly one of the most haunted forts I’ve come across to date. And it’s home to what I call the murder mirror.
Fort Langley - A Brief History
Fort Langley started as a fur trading post owned by Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) in 1827.
Before this, the area already had an extensive, working trade route run by the local indigenous people, the Kwantlen First Nations. As a result, HBC encouraged its traders to build relationships and marry members of the indigenous people to strengthen alliances and gain access to trade routes.
The arrangement helped both sides to prosper. Trade flourished, and the Kwantlen received priority access to crucial resources at the fort.
In turn, the Kwantlen, led by Chief Whattlekainum, introduced cranberries and salmon to the European traders. Soon, shipments of salted salmon were headed to Hawaii and cranberries to California, prompting many traders to devise innovative ways to ensure goods survived long journies.
This thriving community lasted until 1858, when gold was discovered in the Fraser Valley. The British grew fearful that the Americans would try and take this valuable resource, so Governor James Douglas proclaimed the land part of the Colony of British Columbia.
It’s crucial to recognize that Douglas proclaimed the land as British even though it belonged to the Kwantlen people. Therefore, Fort Langley is on unceded land because the Kwantlen First Nations people never signed their land over to the British Crown (or Canada).
Today, Fort Langley is considered a national historic site and makes up part of an area of preservation within Parks Canada.
Visiting Fort Langley
From the moment I mentioned that i hope it’s a ghost would include episodes on British Columbia, many folks told me I needed to visit Fort Langley.
I’ve since learned that Fort Langley sits on a fault line, one that paranormal investigators claim is the cause of an incredible amount of spirit activity.
When visiting youngest sister back in April of this year, she took my parents and me to Langley, where we spent the morning stuffing our faces with an incredible high-tea experience.
With nothing planned in the afternoon, my parents and I headed to the fort to learn more about the area’s history.
We spent some time going from building to building, exploring what life had been like for those living at the fort during the height of its trading power.
The day, gorgeous and sunny, didn’t put me on edge or leave me wondering if I would sense any ‘out of the ordinary’ activity.
Don’t worry. That changed the moment I entered The Big House.
The Big House (quite literally) is the largest building in the fort and is a reconstruction of the fort’s managers building.
When we walked inside, my parents walked over to look at something on the other side of the room. Please don’t ask me what it was. I definitely wasn’t paying attention because I was drawn to this mirror.
Initially, I simply appreciated the look of it, but the longer I spent standing in front of the mirror, the more unsettled I felt.
It wasn’t until we headed back outside and started talking to one of the employees working the grounds that I learned I was right to feel so uncomfortable.
The Farmer and His Mirror
As the legend goes, the mirror initially belonged to a local farmer. In the family for generations, it stood proudly in the living room of the homestead he shared with his wife and children.
The farmer, for the most part, lived a happy life. He didn’t need much, and what he did need, he could work the land and grow himself.
Until one summer, when nothing he did could get his crops to grow.
Forced to sell his land or starve, the farmer bought a small house in town. He, his wife, and his children packed up their things, including the mirror, and grudgingly moved into their new home.
The family placed the mirror in the family room, where it belonged, even though they had lost everything.
One evening, after a hard day trying to find work, the farmer, who was no longer a farmer, returned home. He enjoyed a quiet meal with his wife and children and prepared to settle in for the night.
He chose that moment to bludgeon his wife and children to death.
The only witness to these brutal and bloody murders?
Why, the mirror, of course.
The mirror eventually returned to the fort and the land where it had lived for generations. Despite this, many people, like me, feel disturbed when looking into the reflective glass. Many believe it’s because of the horrible event seen by the mirror years ago.
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