As home to some of this city鈥檚 political pioneers, the Bennett house may have more than a few skeletons in its closets.

But its ghosts are what Andrew Bennett is most interested in.

When he was in his early 20s, Andrew lived there with his grandmother while attending Okanagan College. While he came away from that time with an education in business, he also gathered a few spooky stories.

Brookside Manor, located off of Ethel Street, was owned by Andrew鈥檚 grandfather the former B.C. premier W.A.C. Bennett. It was built in 1914 by Francis R.E. DeHart, the then-mayor of 琉璃神社, and it became known as the DeHart house. F.R.E. DeHart died in 1935 and his son Francis, who was born in 1897, sold it to W.A.C. Bennett.

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The house is still standing, but Andrew said he last saw the place around 12 years ago.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been fixed up quite a bit, they used to have what we called memory lane in the basement as it had my grandfather鈥檚 memorabilia. (It鈥檚) a three storey building really, and has an attic too,鈥� he said.

The spooky tale starts in March 1982. Bennett鈥檚 grandmother left to see her sister in New Westminister and the family housekeeper, Aunt Winnie, warned him his home in Westbank after she left.

鈥淚 said 鈥榦h, I鈥檓 not afraid by any ghosts,鈥欌�� Andrew said. 鈥淭hat night I looked at my college textbook, laid down on the couch and when I woke up it was 1 a.m.鈥�

He went upstairs to his room on the third floor. Then he heard a sound coming from the staircase.

鈥淚 could hear this heavy breathing, shuffling on the carpeted stairway and rustling on the handle of the bannister like an old man going up the steps, going up very slowly and I could hear it coming all the way up and there (was) a door to the bedroom, right next to the stairway, and there (was) silence for a good minute, before a loud knock at the door,鈥� he said.

鈥淥h my goodness, I just about jumped out of my skin, my hair went straight up.鈥�

He left the light on all night and got up at sunrise.

Andrew said Aunt Winnie also saw a ghost in her bedroom, who she thought was one of the DeHart sons who had been killed in the Second World War.

But he isn鈥檛 sure of who the ghost belonged to on the staircase. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 a mystery because my grandfather didn鈥檛 use the stairs,鈥� he said.

The visit from the ghost on the stairs wasn鈥檛 the only experience Andrew had while staying in the house.

He once saw a creepy figure in his grandfather鈥檚 old bedroom, which he described as 鈥渁 lion-like being with huge ears and hands by its side.鈥�

鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 say it was my imagination,鈥� he said.

Andrew also saw an outline of what he thought to be his grandfather after he died, sitting in his old rocking chair. And while he was praying one night, he said something knocked and twisted hangers in a closet.

鈥淢y dad (RJ) was one of the first ones to notice. He saw the man in the grey suit, which started the DeHart ghost stories as a young boy,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey thought it was possibly Mr. DeHart.鈥�

Andrew didn鈥檛 stay by himself in the old house after his first weird encounter and believes there are lingering spirits on the property. But whose spirits they belong to remains the biggest mystery. The house is still owned by the Bennett family, but part of the property was developed into the Bennett Estate townhomes.

Michael Rowland is the ghost guy in the Okanagan and owns Healing Haunted Houses, an organization that purges homes of spooky happenings.

鈥淕hosts are essentially the spirit or energy or essence of the person who passed away,鈥� he said. 鈥淢ost of the time they cross over, as the term is, to where they鈥檙e supposed to be, wherever that is depending on your belief system, and the reason they don鈥檛 is primarily they are attached to loved ones, children, spouses, that sort of thing.鈥�

鈥淭here are other cases where they don鈥檛 feel worthy to cross over, and feel like they鈥檙e going to be judged鈥� or if they鈥檝e done something they feel is unforgivable, they stay behind,鈥� Rowland said.

He said ghosts will attach to houses or people and can change the atmosphere of the thing they attach to.

鈥淚t seems that earthbound spirits, like attracts like. If it鈥檚 a loving household, the earthbound spirit desires that, it may attach to that,鈥� Rowland said. 鈥淭hey tend to collect together and I鈥檓 not sure exactly why that is.鈥�

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A haunted house will also have unexplained happenings, that can鈥檛 be attributed to things like a creaky floor, or a running refrigerator, he said.

鈥淗ouses have all kinds of their owns noises, from settling and floors creaking, but usually, if the house is haunted unusual things will happen like lights and TVs will turn themselves on and off,鈥� Rowland said.

鈥淪ome people will have a knock at the door鈥� some people can feel a sense of anger or anxiety in their house and when they leave they don鈥檛 have that feeling.鈥�

But it鈥檚 not like Hollywood, ghosts can鈥檛 hurt people, but they can affect the health and wellness of the hosts, he said.

Although there necessarily more ghosts out and about around Halloween, Rowland thinks people are more attuned to them around this time.

carli.berry@kelownacapnews.com
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