NL

The Haunting of … the Duke of Duckworth: The eerie incidents at a St. John's pub

Co-owner Colin Dalton said "odd things" have been happening at the St. John's pub since it opened in 1987 — including an unexplained incident that was caught on tape in September.

‘Bizarre’ occurrence caught on tape in September

Strange things have happened at the Duke of Duckworth in St. John's since it opened in 1987 — including an unexplained incident that was caught on tape in September. (Darryl Murphy/CBC)

It's a beloved local haunt in downtown St. John's for pub-goers, lovers of fish and chips — and a ghost named Fred.

Colin Dalton worked at the Duke of Duckworth when it opened in McMurdo's Lane in 1987.

He said strange occurrences have been happening there ever since.

"I have felt creeped out here lots of times," said Dalton, who became a co-owner of the pub in 1990. "Just funny things keep happening."

Dalton said the building's history might have something to do with it. 

It used to be a part of White's Clothing Company, which took up several civic numbers on that block of Duckworth Street.

He said he's heard many stories.

Colin Dalton, who became a co-owner of the Duke of Duckworth in 1990, has worked at the pub since it opened in 1987. (Darryl Murphy/CBC)

"The fella that owned it was called Sam White — or one of his sons or something like that. [He] hung himself in this part of the building," Dalton said.

"Can you prove it? Who knows. That's just stuff that's been told to us over the years."

Dalton said the first ghostly appearance happened more than 30 years ago, when, one night, a bartender saw a face in the back wall.

Now, a mirror hangs in that spot over the banquets, to mark where the apparition appeared.

"I don't think [that bartender] ever worked here again after, actually.… We have a couple of people that won't work here because of it. Cleaners and stuff like that, that don't like being here at all," said Dalton.

"They just get this weird feeling in here … like somebody's watching you."

'Odd things' happening

Dalton said "odd things" have happened at the Duke over the years.

"Just little things that throw you off," he said.

Like years ago, when ashtrays were placed on each table — a bartender would turn around, and all of a sudden, all  the ashtrays would be moved to one table.

Or doors that have been closed, and upon coming back into a room — they're open again.

Watch: See the first episode of  our "The Haunting of..." series:

The Haunting of... The Duke of Duckworth

4 years ago
Duration 2:51
In the first part of CBC NL's spooky series, Colin Dalton talks about the strange happenings at The Duke of Duckworth pub in St. John's — including an unexplained incident caught on camera in September.

Dalton said the staff blames these strange happenings on "Fred," the resident Duke ghost.

"Anything goes wrong, suspicious, curious, that type of way, we have to ask Fred," Dalton said.

He said the personal experience that freaked him out the most happened back in the 1990s.

"I turned off the TV, went downstairs, came up — TV's back on. And I remember even the next day, asking, 'How could that be possible?!'" he said.

"That one's never been explained to me."

Caught on video

One of the strange occurrences was actually caught on tape in mid-September.

When Dalton got to the bar, the bartenders asked if — when he'd left work the previous day — he had laid a stick that looked like a cracked-off pool cue on the floor.

Puzzled, Dalton said no. The workers seemed uneasy. 

They noted the time it happened, and Dalton headed downstairs to the Duke's small office, to check the security cameras.

Dalton says they placed a mirror on the back wall of the bar to mark where a bartender said he saw a strange apparition more than 30 years ago. (Darryl Murphy/CBC)

When he reviewed the tape, he couldn't believe his eyes.

"Sure enough, something bizarre was happening on the camera," Dalton said.

From the camera's angle from behind the bar, you can clearly see a stick that moves out of a shelf near the ceiling — "like somebody pushed it out," Dalton said — and it falls to the ground.

"Then [it] rolls around — which is the freaky part for me, when it starts rolling," he said.

Dalton said he doesn't know what caused it to move — since it wasn't busy at the bar when it happened. 

"Everybody blames it on Fred, though," Dalton said with a smile.

"It's just the time of year everybody kind of gets freaked out by that sort of stuff.… But it's a great video to watch!"

Dalton said Fred is a mischievous, not mean, spirit — who just likes to be noticed.

"When... most bartenders leave here at the end of the night, they say: 'Good night Fred!'"

Stay tuned for more ghost stories in our series "The Haunting of...," on Thursdays in October.  


Read more from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jen White

CBC News

Jen White is a reporter and producer with CBC News in St. John's, and the host of the CBC podcast One in Six. You can reach her at [email protected].

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