NANAIMO, BC

Situated at the entrance to busy Departure Bay and nearby Nanaimo harbour, thousands of passengers pass Newcastle Island daily. However, few likely know of its dark history—nor reputation for being one of the most haunted islands in the Pacific. 

The origins of the story go back to the Nanaimo of 1868 and a man named Peter Kakua. Peter, a Hawaiian man who’d begun working for the Hudson’s Bay Company at their Hawaiian post in 1853 and had landed in Nanaimo by 1860, worked as a labourer in one of the many coal mines in the area at the time.  After marrying an indigenous woman named Que-en (who went by Mary) the two had a baby daughter together. 

The marriage between Peter (“Kanaka Pete,” as he’d come to be known) and Mary was not a good one. Peter was abusive and had even served time for assault on his wife.. By December 1868, Mary, with the help of her parents, packed up her things and infant daughter to leave Peter. Returning home to the small cabin they shared in the harbour, Peter became enraged when he saw what his wife and in-laws were doing. He went out, got drunk, and when he returned later, killed his wife, in-laws, and infant daughter with an axe in a fit of rage. Two days later, he climbed aboard a boat and fled to nearby Newcastle Island with another man, who was unrelated to the crime.  

After discovering the gruesome scene, a mob of searchers went on the hunt for Peter and when a fire was spotted on the beach of Newcastle, the group split up and ambushed him. On the way back, Peter managed to break out of his restraints and jump from the canoe in the middle of the harbour. A smack in the head with a paddle by one of his captors allowed them to recapture him.

The trial took place in Victoria and after being found guilty, he was returned to Nanaimo where he was jailed in the Bastion. In 1869 he was hung. 

Afterwards, officials found themselves in a bit of a bind when it came to what to do with the remains. Neither the settlers nor natives wanted them in their burying grounds. In the end it was decided that Kanaka Pete would be buried on the place he’d originally sought refuge on: Newcastle Island, once a smallpox colony. He was buried in what is now known as Kanaka Bay, on the island’s east side. 

In 1899 when Newcastle while mining operations were taking place on the island, a group of workers digging in the area unearthed Peter’s long buried coffin. What remained of the corpse was still clad in leather boots. The workers reburied the remains close by where they in all likelihood remain today. 

It’s believed Peter’s ghost haunts this part of the island which is today a provincial park and popular camping site, accessible only by boat or small ferry. When the sun goes down the atmosphere around Kanaka Bay is known to go from picturesque to downright frightening, Legends abound of Peter’s angry spirit stalking the beach close to where his remains lay. 

One account from 2007 is particularly chilling.

A college aged couple decided to spend the night on Newcastle in October of that year. After going on a recent ghost tour and hearing the stories of Kanaka Pete and his grisly crimes the pair were eager at a chance with the paranormal. Before setting up camp for the night, they were warned by “an oldtimer” to not camp on the far side of the island as Peter Kanaka and other spirits roam the area after dark. 

After setting up on the “safe side” and the last ferry had left for the night, the pair soon had second thoughts about their decision to test the legend. The first frightening encounter occurred when they decided to venture to the haunted side of the island and came across a mutilated rabbit. The animal’s head had been “chopped off” and appeared to be fresh. Disturbed, the pair headed straight back to camp. 

The weather, which had been calm and sunny during the day had now turned overcast. The winds picked up, chilling everything down. Being near Halloween, it’s likely few (if any) other campers would’ve been in the area at the time. 

After settling into their tent, the already uneasy duo heard what sounded like a scream coming from the far side of the island. Frightened now, the screaming continued followed by what sounded like chopping. The sounds intensified over the course of the night. The witness described hearing “the most eerie laughter,” “a fierce, demonic roar,” and more “violent chopping.” 

Terrified now, the couple had no choice but to wait out the night for the ferry to return in the morning. Their cell phones, which had worked fine during the day, no longer had service. When morning came the pair wasted no time packing up and leaving. By then the service on their phones had also returned. 

In 2013 a group of boys and their parents had a similar experience while camping on Newcastle. Familiar with the island’s eerie reputation, they decided to do a little paranormal sleuthing. As they made their way to “the haunted side” of the island and past the “No Camping Beyond this Point” sign (believed to be the point where the undead can’t pass beyond) the warm August evening suddenly turned cold. Making their way down the trail they witnessed a pair of glowing eyes, which continued to glow brightly even after shutting off their lights. Unnerved, they made their way further down the path toward the eyes, which then disappeared. When they reached where they’d thought they’d seen them, it happened to be at the spot of a tree where a symbol of Kanaka Pete is allegedly carved into it. The tree had been featured in the found footage film “Severed Footage” which was filmed on Newcastle and based on its lore, which the group had recently watched. One of the group had brought an EMF reader along and while examining the symbol, the device began to go off, the beeps of its indicator growing in intensity until reaching max. Screaming and terrified, they ran back towards camp. Upon passing the “No Camping” sign, the air temperature returned to normal again the wind stopped. 

So frightened were the boys and their parents, that they waited out the night around the fire until first light. 

These are just two of the numerous encounters allegedly reported by campers on Newcastle. There are also urban legends of people who have gone missing on the island over the years but those may well be just that, as no search substantiates those claims. 

Regardless, if you find yourself camping on this picturesque piece of land, do yourself a favour and heed the warnings of staying on the “safe” side after dark.  

Sources in the links.

Additional Source: “The Haunting of Vancouver Island” Shanon Sinn, Touchwood Editions, 2017