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home > articles > Interview with a Ghost Guide: James Pettitt
Interview
with a Ghost Guide: James Pettitt
In a first of several articles, Haunted Hamilton will feature a different one of our Ghost Guides. For our very first interview, we'd like for you to become a bit more aquatinted with our ever-popular and "dreamboat" of a Ghost Guide, James Pettitt. Continue reading to learn more about James and his challenging moments at some of the haunted locations he leads tours at. ..................................................................................... First
things first… what is it like being a Haunted Hamilton Ghost Guide?
What is your most memorable experience while you were conducting a Ghost Walk? Hmmm, this is a tough question. I would have to say the most memorable tour experience is actually not one specific event but all the tours when I see the tour members absolutely glued to me and involved in the stories. This happens a lot at the Hermitage. This is the most rewarding for me. I’m not the type of actor who is doing it to fill his ego but rather, entertain and give people a memorable experience. So when I see people really happy about what they have just experienced and have questions and comments for me that is when it is most memorable. Have you ever been frightened during a Ghost Walk? YES!!! This happens the most at the Customs House. During the last few months of our winter season, we had many tour members screaming during the tour. When that happens it totally breaks my focus… I’m only human! So that makes me jump and a few tours I have had to leave the area as soon as possible. What is your personal favourite Ghost Walk? Ohh, well that is a toss up between The Hermitage and our very successful Niagara Bus Trip. The Hermitage is my favorite tour because of the sheer numbers that come out and how excited people are for it. However the Bus Trip is a full day of excitement with a great final event. So for regular tours I would have to say the Hermitage but if you have the chance to do the bus trip, jump on it! You have a wide fan-base, ranging from young teenage girls to active senior citizens. What is it like being the infamous heartthrob, “Ghost Guide James”? Well it's something that took a while to adjust to that’s for sure. Coming from the theatre you really don’t have fans. People will like your performance but you don’t really become someone who people flock to and try and see and talk to, which is what happens to me at the tours and events. I’d be lying if I didn’t say I love it. It’s nice to be liked and appreciated for your performance. However, for the people who have called me a “dreamboat” and “heartthrob” I am greatly flattered by it but I take it with a grain of salt because people are in love with the image not the actual person. Its still really nice and its great when I get fan mail in my Haunted Hamilton e-mail box. When did you first become interested in the paranormal? Well my parents were somewhat believers. My family weren't the crazy type, but too many people have experienced things for someone to say it doesn’t exist. We don’t go on and on about it. It’s just in our minds and a fact to us and we leave it at that. I would have to say I became interested in the paranormal when I was about 6 years old, when my grandfather passed away. Do you have any personal ghost stories or experiences you’d like to share with us? Well if you have ever been on one of the tours that I am a guide on you know that I have hours of material. Those stories are something that I don’t normally tell to people in e-mails or after tours because they are stories I like to tell on the tour, such as my infamous cross story that thousands of people have heard. So if you want to hear one of my personal stories, I’m going to have to say come to a tour and you’ll hear one... that’s a promise! What would your ideal haunted location be to visit? Anywhere in the world! Well with my Welsh… ok well entire UK background I would probably say something like a castle, but... to be interesting, I would actually like to walk through Auschwitz. The trauma, pain, cruelty and so forth that took place there in 1944 would be very moving I think. People who have talked to me after a tour or at an event know that I love Hamilton (i've moved here 6 times for the love of God!!) It makes me feel great to know that people have learned more about our wonderful city and actually see what is so great. It is steeped in history and could be very beautiful if it was cleaned up and restored to how it looked in the 1940’s. As I say on my tours, I am a very worldly person. I have lived in both Canada and Wales (UK). In Wales I lived in a city called Llandaff North, which is a city within the capitol Cardiff. I have also lived all over Canada. I’ve lived in Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia and have been in almost every province. I must say, from all the places that I have been, from Jamaica to Europe, Great Britain to the USA, Canada is hands down the best place to live!! Aside from being a Haunted Hamilton Ghost Guide, what other things are keeping you busy right now? Currently, I am involved in a sold out show at the Hamilton Players Guild called “How Could You Mrs. Dick”. Coming up in July, I have a show called “Mambo Italiano” where I play Angelo. I also teach at Theatre Aquarius as a Performance Arts Teacher. Other then that I go to auditions and try to line up more shows. On the Haunted Hamilton Message Board, what happened to Ghost Guide James’ Useless Fact of the Day? Any plans on bringing that back to light? Well with my crazy life at the moment I have been unable to make any posts in months. My days are generally 12-18 hours long (typical actors life, work your tail off and still have no money! hehe). With how the year has been shaping up thus far from December till June, I will have performed in 4 shows. That’s quite a bit and a lot of my life taken away. I haven’t had a social life in about 8 months! So I wont make any promises but you never know what I might have up my sleeve!! Any advice you can give a person who is about to venture on a Haunted Hamilton Ghost Walk for the first time? Anyone thinking of venturing out onto one of our tours is to keep and open mind, listen carefully, and bring a friend to cling onto!! ......................................................................................... Many thanks to Ghost Guide James Pettitt for agreeing to be interviewed by us! We look forward to our new 2006 Ghost Walk season and are pleased to have James continue to lead his tours with us! If you are so fascinated with James that you need more, you can download a wallpaper from below to your home or work computer!
Be
sure to visit our Ghost Walks website at www.ghostwalks.com.
Stay tuned for our next Ghost Guide soon...
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It
must be a great feeling to share your wealth of knowledge with others.
Do you get a personal satisfaction knowing that tour goers have just
left knowing a bit more about our city and it’s vast history?
