The Lumberjack Ghost at the Dungarvon River, Canada

Oct 27

During the 19th century, Canada welcomed a high number of immigrants from Europe in what became known as The Great Migration of Canada. By the mid-19th century, many immigrants arriving in Canada were from Ireland which was facing a devastating famine.

This would become the basis of one of the longest-enduring ghost stories in New Brunswick, Canada. One of betrayal, murder, and ghostly wails from beyond the grave.

The Legend of the Dungarvon Whooper

In the late 19th century a young Irish cook by the name of Ryan arrived in Canada carrying all his worldly possessions. Among them was a money belt that he kept on his body at all times as it contained all his savings.

Upon arriving in New Brunswick, Ryan was sent to a lodging camp near the Dungarvon River to work primarily as a cook, but his large frame made him an ideal lumberjack as well. As the cook, part of Ryan’s job was to wake up early, prepare breakfast, and wake up the rest of the men by whooping and hollering as loudly as possible. It was said Ryan could wake the dead with his lungs if he wanted to.

Though everything seemed to be going well, the boss of the lodging camp was a widely feared and short-tempered man. The other lumberjacks were known to follow orders without question. The boss demanded Ryan give up his money belt to add to the camp’s funds but Ryan refused and although it appeared as if the boss accepted this, inside he was planning revenge.

One cold Sunday morning the boss woke the men himself and sent them all on a pre-breakfast hunting trip. As Ryan was the cook, he stayed behind with the boss. A couple of hours later when the men returned, Ryan was dead and his money belt was missing.

The boss feigned ignorance and claimed Ryan had fallen ill and died. The rest of the men, afraid of what may become of them, chose to believe his story. The boss ordered the men to bury Ryan in a shallow grave in the forest. They all did as they were told without question.

That night the men were awoken by loud whoops and shrieking coming from seemingly everywhere around them. They searched for the animal they believed was causing the sound but couldn’t find anything as the cries became more pained and torturous. The men realized the screams could only be coming from the dead Ryan.

Terrified, the men, including the boss, ran from the camp that night and never returned. Ryan’s cries continued to be heard for decades as his story was passed around. In the early 20th century Reverend Edward Murdoch of Renous was called to the location of the lodging camp and asked to find a way to silence Ryan’s cries.

Murdoch led a group to find Ryan’s body and took his bones back to Renous for a proper burial. Though this was said to put Ryan’s spirit to rest, many have claimed to still hear Ryan’s cries throughout the woods near the Dungarvon River.

Other Versions

There are very few variations to the legend but most revolve around how Ryan was killed or died. The biggest alteration involves the hunting trip the boss organizes. On that cold winter morning, the boss awoke Ryan to go hunting with him, leaving the rest of the men at the camp.

While on the hunt, the boss turned and shot Ryan with a rifle, killing him. He then took his money belt and buried it in the snow to return for it later. When the boss returned to camp he told the other men that a bear had attacked him and Ryan.

The bear managed to knock him out and when he awoke, he saw the bear dragging Ryan’s lifeless body away. That night, the men heard Ryan’s screams and believing the boss was mistaken about his death, they searched through the snowy forest.

In this version, the rest of the lumberjacks didn’t run away from the camp but for over a week continued looking for Ryan. Once they realized that there would be no possible way Ryan was still alive in the blistering cold, they knew they were hearing his ghost. Every night for the next several weeks the men froze in fear hearing his ghostly wails and once spring arrived, each man left and never returned.

One other somewhat big variation to the legend switches the roles and makes Ryan the boss who immigrated from Ireland, while the cook is an already established and loved cook.

Did it Happen?

Did the story of Ryan’s murder actually happen? No, all sources I could find regarding the story always include a line stating the story has been passed down by lumberjacks for decades or that the origins are unknown.

I couldn’t find any actual sources from the first time the story was told or anything that proves this story happened. While it’s possible a similar murder happened at one of the lodging camps during the 19th and early 20th century, there was no record I could find matching this story.

I was able to find a document from the New Brunswick archives detailing Reverend Edward Murdoch’s life which proves he, at least, did exist. But, the document alludes that the Dungarvon Whooper was just a legend and gives multiple accounts of what Murdoch did to silence the spirit.

Though it might not be true, the story itself, or some variation, is widely known and has been accepted as folklore. A historical marker giving a summary of the story was placed in Blackville, New Brunswick to commemorate the legend.

In 2016 Canada’s Post featured a stamp inspired by the legend as part of the Haunted Canada stamp collection.