by Dorah L. Williams
In moments of extreme duress, people often direct their entire focus toward thoughts of their loved ones and feel an overwhelming need to be with them—even if that requires transcending physical limitations.
Let’s explore this compelling concept with the following mystical anecdotes. Both readers share stories of century-old railway tragedies in Northern Ontario, which occurred only two years apart. But even more significantly, they both demonstrate the incredible determination and power of the human mind, will or spirit.
When we most need to be with our loved ones, especially in our darkest moments, can we make it happen through the sheer power of mind over matter? The following shared stories testify to this incredible possibility and are a reminder that perhaps nothing is impossible:
The Current River Reckoning
“When I was a young kid, I overheard my parents and aunt discussing some family history in hushed tones. Naturally, that piqued my curiosity, so I listened intently to what was being said, and I’ve always remembered it.
They were discussing my great-grandparents and saying it was thanks to fate that all of us are here today because of what occurred way back in 1908. My great-grandfather could have died in the tragedy, as others did, or he could have left my great-grandmother’s life altogether as was planned had his journey not been so dramatically changed on that date.
My great-grandparents were “courting” (as they called it in those days), and my great-grandmother was “the girl next door.” But his life’s ambition was to be a train engineer and settle out west, and he was always determined to do that. That would be a solo adventure, ending my great-grandmother’s hopes of marrying him. They said their goodbyes, and he started off on his long journey. However, as his trip proceeded, it was abruptly interrupted at Port Arthur (now Thunder Bay).
She didn’t know when, or if, she’d ever see or hear from him again when they parted ways. But then she had a deeply disturbing dream, not too long after his departure, in which he appeared to her in great distress.
In this dream, he told her about the train wreck at the Current River Dam. Five men had been killed. He was distraught and kept saying he was returning home and no longer wanted to work on the trains. He promised to return to her and his parents as soon as possible and never leave again.
The following day, the tragic news reached my great-grandmother and the rest of great-grandfather’s family and friends that there had indeed been a terrible train wreck that night in May of 1908 due to the CPR tracks and two bridges being swept away when the Current River dam burst in the catastrophic flooding in present day Thunder Bay (then Port Arthur) precisely as he had described to her in detail in her dream.
Everyone was horrified to hear the news, of course. The names of the three CPR employees killed in the accident were reported. But two more men who had also died were still unidentified.
My great-grandmother assured everyone he was not dead, though. She said he was distraught, unlike she had seen him before, but physically unharmed, and he promised to return to them soon.
She recounted the dream to many people at the time and apparently spoke of it occasionally throughout the rest of her life. But although she remained in awe of that experience, it must have seemed to those around her that she was in shock or complete denial. How could she know all that for a fact as soon as it happened, so far away? (Remember, this was in 1908, long before the days of 24-hour news channels and social media, and even telephones were few and far between.)
In her dream, he said he would return home as soon as possible, no longer wanting to work on the trains out west. Sure enough, that is precisely what happened. Instead of completing his original journey, he headed back home as soon as he was able. They married soon afterwards and raised a family.
But it was said that experience “changed him” from the carefree, adventurous young man he had once been. He never spoke of that train wreck to anyone except my great-grandmother. And only that one time, in a dream the night of the accident. He somehow found a way to be with her, tell her what had happened, and show her how deeply that tragedy affected him.”
The Worst Train Wreck
“I am 89 years old and have accumulated stories in my lifetime of strange happenings right across Canada. It all started with my own experience. I was so profoundly touched that it changed my cynical view of life and the hereafter.
So, in my lifetime, I would ask friends, family, and sometimes strangers if they ever experienced inexplicable happenings. Here is one of those stories:
I was in the habit of going to the library every Wednesday evening. I could not help but notice an elderly lady from my apartment block doing the same thing. In no time, we were going together and stopping at a little restaurant on our way home.
We discussed the books we enjoyed reading, and it was a good time. Eventually, I got around to asking her if she ever experienced anything unusual that she knew about or had heard about. She said she remembered her father telling the family of an apparition that occurred at the time of the region’s worst train wreck.
The following Wednesday we went to the library and got all the details from the newspaper concerning the train wreck of 1910. This is how she remembers the story:
A salesman for an insurance company was on that train, probably in the dining car. It was Friday, January 21, 1910. CPR Train #7, consisting of seven cars pulled by Engine #115, was approaching the Spanish River bridge (on present-day Highway 17 between McKerrow and Nairn Centre). Suddenly, the second-class car separated from the front of it, turned sideways and rammed into the bridge.
Half the train plummeted into the ice 27 feet below, and the other half was engulfed in flames. The first-class car cut like a knife through a foot of ice and then disappeared from view. The dining car followed, standing on end, the kitchen section remaining out of the water. Meanwhile, the Pullman had jumped the embankment and flopped over on its side, injuring every occupant. The fate of the other cars was worse.
Inside the partly submerged dining car, the conductor groped around in the frigid water, trying to find a way out for him and 13 passengers. He helped several people cling to coat hooks or anything else they could hang onto just to keep above the water.
For some, his help was too late. Too badly hurt to move, they either drowned or had been killed on impact. Bruised, battered and cut severely on the head, the conductor finally found an opening. Breaking a window, he reached the surface and climbed on top of the car. Through the window, he pulled out a young boy and a man. Together, they broke a large hole in the roof and rescued those who remained alive.
Over 40 people perished in the wreck out of about one hundred passengers.
In the meantime, that very night, the salesman’s wife was having her last cup of tea before bed when she heard what she thought was her husband’s step on the porch. She opened the door to meet him. He stood there with a stricken look on his face, struggling to speak but able only to manage a gasp, and disappear.
This upset her greatly, and she ran to her neighbour’s. A doctor was called. She was given a sedative and spent the night at her neighbour’s.
The next day, her husband arrived home safely. He explained he had been in an accident. There he was, floundering in the dark, cold water. He thought he was finished, but his next thought was of his wife. How would she manage without him?
The conductor who rescued him was later decorated with the Albert Medal by King Edward VII.”
Can the spirit of the living independently seek out another in exceptional circumstances?
Stories of visitations from apparitions of the deceased are intriguing but not uncommon. How fascinating, though, to consider that a living person could suddenly appear before us when they are in distress far away, or come to us in our dreams with vital and verifiable information in real-time that couldn’t be known otherwise.
Perhaps the power of the mind and the determination of the spirit are capable of overcoming any obstacle when most needed.
Do you also have a mystical tale to tell? Whether you’ve experienced a haunting, a mysterious cryptid sighting, or a brush with the inexplicable, please share it with Canadian author Dorah L. Williams at dorahlwilliams@gmail.com
Your story, too, could be featured in an upcoming column of Mystical Manitoulin!
