Mather-Walls site for Creepy Canada ghost stories

By Shirley Sandrel

From the Kenora Enterprise June 15^th, 2003

Reprinted with permission

A Toronto-based production company will recreate the lore and legend of Keewatin’s Mather-Walls House for an episode of Creepy Canada.

Segment director Larry Santos and a crew from Eye Beam Media will be on location Tuesday afternoon for what is expected to be 10 hours of shooting.

Creepy Canada is a series dedicated to ghost stories, legends and mysterious events. Each 60-minute program tells six different tales from different parts of the country. In production for its second season, Creepy Canada’s first year of episodes aired on the Discovery Channel and the Travel Network.

For the Mather-Walls segment, producers will focus on a ghost said to haunt the historic Queen Anne style home. Bill Burke, also a segment director for the program, said the hauntings are attributed to a sawmill employee who lived in the house and committed suicide after his wife died.

The Mather-Walls House was commissioned by the Mather family in 1889. David Mather (son of John) lived there until 1901, and then the house was rented to, and eventually purchased by, the Walls family. It was one of the sons of this family who committed suicide.

In retelling the tale, Creepy Canada will recreate strange encounters experienced by tour group leaders and contractors working in the house.

Burke said some production companies will just shoot establishing footage on location then stage the recreations in Toronto to cut costs. But in order to get the ‘flavour’ of the place, the entire segment will be shot on location in Keewatin.

“We find it’s a lot stronger to go to the local community,” said Burke. In addition, Eye Beam Media – through local theatre companies – has enlisted the help of local actors to play some of the roles. “We like working with them,” said Burke, “and they like doing the show. It’s a win-win situation.”

Creepy Canada’s second season will start airing this Halloween on the Travel Channel. The episode containing the Mather-Walls segment has yet to be scheduled but will air within the 10 weeks following the season opener. Burke expects the series will also run on the Discovery Channel.