Mysterious woman in a white dress spotted at Trethewey House stakeout

Mysterious woman in a white dress spotted at Trethewey House stakeout
February 15, 2011
By Rochelle Baker
The Times

It appears Abbotsford's Trethewey House on Mill Lake is housing as much mystery as history.

Over the years, staff, neighbours and even visitors to the 1920s home built for timber baron J.O. Trethewey have seen, felt or heard things they couldn't explain: a sudden pressure or dizziness, flickering lights, and apparitions in the windows and at the top of the polished wooden staircase.

"Supposedly we have a ghost," said Christina Reid, collections manager with MSA museum.

"A couple of people have said they've seen them or taken photos with a strange image."

As such, a project catering to the spirit of exploration was recently undertaken at the historical home.

Members of the Fraser Valley Paranormal Research Society (FVPRS) spent a night in the home with all their equipment and got some interesting results.

"The place definitely has paranormal activity going on it, no doubt about that," said FVPRS member Jennifer Holman.

"Whoever is in that house thinks it's their home and they want people to know it."

Holman said four members of the group spent the night in the home and worked in teams of two.

Both teams had some interesting experiences, she said.

"All four of us saw a woman in a white dress . . . I was in the guest room upstairs looking out the window, and I saw something under the three large evergreens."

She was unable to get a photo because it happened so quickly, but the group still has to go through close to 60 hours of videotape from a total of six cameras.

The FVPRS crew also employed an assortment of different equipment, including electromagnetic field readers, infrared night vision cameras, audio recorders and a Frank Box - a modified radio that acts like a "ghost telephone."

Holman and another investigators were in another room when they heard somebody audibly say the name William.

"At the exact same time the room filled with the smell of cigar smoke," she said.

In another room while using the Frank Box, the members heard a child's voice say the name Joey.

And when asked if it wanted to play the voice replied, "Ball." said Holman.

EMF readings by the chimney were also really high, which unusual as brick usually dampens any frequencies, she added.

Before the investigation started, Reid said she wasn't aware of many tragedies taking place in the house.

However, the grandmother of the Dumas family, who moved into the home following the Thretheweys, died in an upper bedroom.

The house was also very close to "Mill Town" which housed all the immigrant workers, she said.

While tragic accidents or deaths in the camp wouldn't necessarily be recorded, they likely occurred.

In addition to the woman in the dress, all the members had the impression they weren't welcome in the house, said Holman.

"Nothing bad happened, but you know what, I'd probably feel the same," said Holman.

"I felt it necessary to end our session by apologizing to whoever is in the house for intruding and thanking them for allowing us to investigate."

Members individually record their experiences and data and only share and compile it after the exploration, so they can't influence one another, she said.

Holman knows her passion for the paranormal can be the subject or ridicule, but she notes the FVPRS spends a lot of time "debunking" reports and finding normal explanations for odd happenings in a house.

"Even some of my own family members rib me a lot," she said. "They call me a ghost hunter, but I'm not. I'm a paranormal investigator and search for anything unusual or out of ordinary."

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