CAMPBELL RIVER, BC

Some of my favourite stories are the lesser known ones. Short, simple and, all too often, unsubstantiated, what they lack in detail, they make up for in a certain real-life allure.

In all the years I’ve read and researched hauntings on Vancouver Island, the Lower Mainland, and ensuing coast, I’ve never heard anything about this one. It was only while reaching out in an online forum, that a Campbell River resident relayed an encounter their co-worker once had with the ghost of a girl, who allegedly haunts the town’s pier. 

The teller, who we’ll call “Jamie,” said she’d had a couple friends claim to see the ghost in the past, though she’d never taken the stories too seriously. However, after a newly hired co-worker returned from his lunch break one day, badly shaken and with a story to tell, Jamie began to rethink her stance on the paranormal 

The co-worker was a recent newcomer to Canada. His English skills weren’t great, hence he didn’t communicate often with other staff. Jamie described the man as being a bit older and having “a very reserved, stoic character.” 

So when she saw him that day, coming back from his lunchbreak with a “terrified” expression on his face, she was alarmed and asked what was wrong. She said the man was so shaken, he could hardly answer her at first, pointing instead towards the nearby pier and stammering “there is a girl. A ghost . . . a dead girl on that pier!” 

After the man calmed down, he explained that he’d gone down to the nearby pier for his lunch break. It was while down there, taking in the sights and unwinding from the stress of work, that he allegedly witnessed the apparition some locals claim haunts the structure. Who the girl is or what her ties are to the pier, I have not found any information on. Further digging through forums might, hopefully, turn up more information.  

Jamie said she got instant chills upon hearing his account. As stated, not only was the man usually quiet and reserved, he was also new in both the community and country. Language and cultural barriers meant it was unlikely he’d had any conversations about or heard rumours pertaining to the ghost. 

“It was the first time in my life that I thought ghosts might be possible,” said Jamie in summing up this short but, no less, frightening encounter.