home > articles > Interview with a Ghost Guide: Lady Jade

Interview with a Ghost Guide: Lady Jade
A rare peek into the life of a Haunted Hamilton Ghost Guide

Bringing an aura of mystery and enchantment to Haunted Hamilton, Terri Pentlichuk, known as Lady Jade on her tours, sits down with us and explains her creative inspirations, her family history of gypsies, and her various other endeavours.

.....................................................................................

You’ve been with Haunted Hamilton for almost a year now. What is it like being a Haunted Hamilton Ghost Guide?

It’s a thrill! No other job offers the perks that Haunted Hamilton does. On one hand you have the challenge of good storytelling and entertaining your tour, and on the other hand you have the opportunity to visit numerous haunted locations and experience paranormal activity. To think, I get paid to lead people on a ghost tour at night, all the while telling stories and legends that give them goosebumps! It’s a fantastic job.

What is your most memorable experience while you were conducting a Ghost Walk?

The most memorable would have to be when a tour-goer told me I had a spirit follow me throughout the tours. It was at the Hermitage, and she had come up to me after the tour and told me that she had watched the spirit of an older man walking along and listening to my tour, and she believes it was not his first time doing so. She described his wardrobe much like that of our guides but said he was an older man with a grey mustache. Apparently he stood within the group listening intently and smiling at me all the while. She believes he’s connected to the Hermitage site somehow and was positive he’s joined my tours on more than one occasion. It definitely flatters me to know that my tours are popular with both the living and the dead!

You seem to always be calm and collected during the tours. Have you ever been really frightened during a Ghost Walk?

I can honestly say no, I haven’t. Perhaps it’s the cloak or the power of the lantern that gives you some sort of superhero bravery. But seriously, I am just too focused on doing a good job and entertaining my tour that I have no time to be frightened. In fact, I know I’ve been so involved on telling the stories that I’ve missed orbs floating right behind me, or so I’m told by my tour-goers.

What is your personal favourite Ghost Walk?

Well, that would definitely be the Hermitage. I love being outdoors so that tour is perfect! A lovely walk through a forest and the ruins of a beautiful estate. I’ve been lucky enough to have deer and raccoons join us on our tour as well. Equal to the amazing scenery is the energy that surrounds the Hermitage. Even when you don’t see or hear anything out of the ordinary, you will feel something there. You never feel alone even when you are.

On one occasion, after one of my tours I had to walk back to the ruins but all I had for light was my lantern which, anyone on the hermitage tour knows, gives off next to no light. It was autumn and the path was hidden completely with leaves, leaving only my memory and pure luck to help me get through the forest. Despite not seeing anything in front of me, I walked at a steady pace the whole time, twisting and turning along the path. At one point, completely amazed at how I was managing to stay on the path, I noticed a pressure on my upper right arm, as though someone was holding it and guiding me. At first I thought it was the weight of the lantern, but there was no mistaking the feeling of a grasping on my arm. I could’ve been imagining it all, but I like to believe someone was guiding me through that forest. With my horrible sense of direction, there’s really no other explanation how I made it through so quickly in complete darkness and not veering off the path once. Perhaps it was the older gentleman that enjoys my tours so much.

Where does your name, Lady Jade come from?

It’s quite simple really. Jade is my middle name. I’ve been called by both my first and middle name by different people. When I joined Haunted Hamilton I wanted a more elegant guide name than Terri, but Jade seemed a tad unpolished. Lady Jade was the end result. .

When did you first become interested in the paranormal?

Hoo boy, my whole life! I’ve never been a true “ghost hunter” or anything like that, but I’ve always been interested in “ghosts and goblins”! Growing up, anything that was considered “scary” to most people, was fascinating or beautiful to me. With my mother being a teacher and a librarian, I had countless books of ghost stories, vampires, witches and the entire Goosebumps collection. My father stems my interest from our family background. His whole side of the family is Romanian and Ukrainian, giving us a family history of gypsies and Transylvanians (the birthing grounds of vampire stories).

What’s always attracted me to ghosts, spirits or whatever you wish to call them, is the mysteriousness of life after death. Everyone knows the pain of losing someone dear to you, sometimes it’s unbearable. But the more ghosts stories I read or hear about, (whether good or bad) offers that glimpse of hope that we might still be able to communicate with those passed on. Or at the very least know that we go somewhere and don’t just vanish into existence. The whole idea that we still don’t really know, and probably never will until we take that path ourselves, is what fascinates me with the paranormal.

Do you have any personal ghost stories or experiences you’d like to share with us?

I’m not a “ghost magnet” by any means, and I’ve never actually seen a spirit in a recognizable human form. But I do have a few ghost stories. A friend of mine, after hearing this story, said that I might be a little empathic, someone who experiences the thoughts, feelings, or experiences of spirits.

It was my first ghost tour of Fort George, in Niagara on the Lake, and the guide had stopped between two buildings that were now the Gift Shop and a large storage building. I’d been to the Fort before but had only walked through, never had to stand between, these buildings. As the guide told her story my back started to ache, starting with the tailbone and then going up the spine. I leaned against the large storage building but the pain just seemed to grow. Now, I had always felt nauseous at the back of the Fort but had never had back pain like this before.

It was beginning to seem like this guide was never going to stop talking!
The pain had now developed into a heavy pressure on my upper back, almost like someone was pushing on me from above. Since leaning against the wall didn’t help I tried shifting my weight from one leg to another, then bending over to stretch my back, then bending backwards - and forwards - and sideways - until finally my friend leaned over to me and whispered “What the heck is wrong with you?” It was then the guide pointed out that the building behind me (that I was again leaning on) was originally the Infirmary, and the building on the other side was the Morgue. So I was standing between two buildings that held copious amounts of pain and death. Incidentally, only minutes after I came out from between them, the pain had completely vanished.

I still go to Fort George on a regular basis, for both day and ghost tours, but I now stand just outside the buildings if the guide stops in between.
There are many other places that cause this mystery pain. Yes, I feel it on certain Haunted Hamilton tours, in case you’re wondering, but I’ve learned to tolerate it.... most of the time.

What would your ideal haunted location be to visit?

Salem, Massachusetts is at the top of my list right now. I’ve always been interested in the Witch Trials and it would be great to visit the place it all happened. I’m aiming to take a trip down closer to Halloween when they really go all out for tourists. The United Kingdom would be another dream vacation. I’ve heard the castles in Scotland are truly breathtaking and the Tower of London in England is a must-see for any ghost-enthusiast.

Your bio on the Ghost Walks website mentions that you are an avid musician/singer/songwriter. Care to elaborate on this?

I’ve played guitar for a number of years now (I picked it up when I was 16 or 17 years old), but I must admit I’ve been a little lax in my guitar playing/songwriting lately. I haven’t written anything new in awhile. I do, however, sing a lot, either with my guitar or karaoke with friends. Music runs in my family (that gypsy blood maybe?) and luckily I’ve been blessed with a little musical talent.

I’ve busked on the streets of Niagara Falls and played live in a coffee house, as well I’ve indulged large groups of people at parties all because one friend shouts “Hey, Terri, play a song!”. So I don’t mind paying or singing in front of large groups of people, despite my ‘himming and hawing’ before I finally agree.

But as I’ve said, I haven’t really sat down and written anything in quite some time. It’s not that I haven’t tried, I guess I just haven’t been inspired lately. I recently read an article that stated “Creativity comes easier to those who are happy with their life.” Well, I’m not sure if I agree with that completely, because I feel I wrote my best songs when something was bothering me. So, with that being said, maybe I’m not inspired because I’m too content with my life. No wonder most great artists are depressed and self-destructive!

You are known to some as “Cemeterri”. How did you get this nickname?

Aside from the obvious play on words, it just demonstrates my love of cemeteries. Headstones and crypts are among the things I find beautiful.
Some people like a walk in the park, I like a walk in an old cemetery. As to how I was given the name, it was a friend in college that actually started calling me “Cemeterri”. I was always dragging him to different cemeteries around Niagara (to his displeasure).

Aside from being a Haunted Hamilton Ghost Guide, what other things are keeping you busy right now?

I hate to say it but not much! Winter is such a down-time for me. My spare time is usually spent with friends and family. Normally I’d be enjoying a frozen river in my backyard but our winter this year has left much to be desired! So instead, I’m doing anything and everything just to keep myself amused - from concerts and movies to museums and books!

Any advice you can give a person who is about to venture on a Haunted Hamilton Ghost Walk for the first time?

Yes, don’t look too hard. My experience is if you try too hard to see something, you won’t see anything at all. Just enjoy the stories, take in the surroundings and keep your senses alert. Most people will pick up ghostly activity in other ways and not even realize it. A smell, a chill, or maybe a whisper. These things are missed when people focus too hard on seeing with their eyes. If you’re like me, you might feel it in your body.
If you’re really dead-set on experiencing something on a tour (no pun intended), my best advice is to come often. Ghost Tours aren’t shows where we ‘bring out the ghosts". Anything you’d experience on a tour is as random as who you might bump into walking down the street. The more tours you go on, the better chances you have of noticing something unusual. That’s what I did before I was a Ghost Guide. I’d go on a tour once to hear the stories, and then many times after to pay more attention to my surroundings. It was then that I would hear, smell, feel or see things that I can now count as ghostly experiences.

Lastly, just enjoy yourself! Let the experience take you over. Go ahead and get scared! There’s nothing more fun than getting spooked! Never knowing who, or what, is with you in the dark.

.........................................................................................

Many thanks to Terri Pentlichuk (Lady Jade) for agreeing to be interviewed by us! We look forward to our new Ghost Walk season and are thrilled to have Terri start her second year with us!

If you are so fascinated with Lady Jade that you need more, you can download a free desktop wallpaper from below to your home or work computer!

Download 1024x768 Download 800x600 Download 640x480	Download 1024x768 Download 800x600 Download 640x480

Be sure to visit our Ghost Walks website at www.ghostwalks.com.

Stay tuned for our next Ghost Guide soon...

: top :