did reveal that there were sometimes mobile gravity anomalies all over the Lake Ontario area. He especially noted areas of “reduced binding” in the atmosphere above the lake. He described the areas as “pillar-like columns a thousand feet up in the atmosphere.” Some of these invisible, mysterious columns appear to change location.
One phenomenon that might play a role in the unexplained events in the Marysburgh Vortex is the number of magnetic anomalies. According to Smith there are no fewer than 14 of these magnetic anomalies — areas of strong local magnetic disturbance — plainly marked on present-day navigation charts. The majority of these locations are clustered in the eastern end of Lake Ontario.
The Marysburgh Vortex was also one area where Smith conducted a number of investigations into UFO sightings. There had been another earlier discovery here that may have the same origins but also has some folkloric aspects. In 1804, Captain Charles Selleck and his crew of the Lady Murray detected something on the surface of the water during a crossing of Lake Ontario. It seemed that in one small area the wave movement was different. The ship was stopped and a lifeboat was lowered over the side. He and some crew members rowed to the area to investigate.
What they found was a gigantic stone monolith just three feet (one metre) beneath the surface. It measured 40 feet (over ten metres) square. Sounding it revealed a sheer drop on all sides of approximately 300 feet (less than 100 metres) straight down.
The captain entered his findings in his logbook; this object was a major navigational hazard and others would need that information. Curious seekers sailed out to poke and prod this immense monolith for many months to follow. Among the visitors to the site was Captain Thomas Paxton of the government schooner Speedy. No one knew what this foreshadowed for Captain Paxton. An event near the village of Port Perry on Lake Scugog would precipitate this strange incident.
In 1806 the Farewell family opened a trading post for barter with the Native peoples on Washburn’s Island on Lake Scugog. One day the Farewells left their agent, John Sharp, in charge of the post. When they returned, they found him dead. It was alleged that a Native named Ogetonicut had done the deed to avenge the murder, by a white man, of his brother, Whistling Duck. Ogetonicut was arrested and after a preliminary hearing it was decided that the trial would be held at the Newcastle courthouse.
Newcastle was the new district town planned for Northumberland and Durham to be located at Presqu’ile. The murder had been committed in that judicial district. Ogetonicut was taken first to York, now Toronto, to await transportation to Presqu’ile. A government schooner named the Speedy was chartered in October to take those who needed to be present at the trial down the lake. Judge Thomas Cochrane, court officials, and a selected group of dignitaries were to officiate.
The Speedy had two alternate captains. One was Thomas Paxton and the other was James Richardson. Apparently Richardson had some forewarning concerning the trip, his intuition told him not to go. There was danger. He attempted to change the minds of the officials. Even the witnesses refused to board. Paxton, however, was ordered to do the job.
According to local lore, Ogetonicut’s mother travelled from Lake Scugog to the shores of Lake Ontario near Oshawa to watch for the Speedy. When she caught sight of the vessel, and in the knowledge that her son was on board, she began to chant against those who had taken him away.
That evening a violent storm struck. By midnight, enormous waves crashed the shore. The Speedy was being pursued by a deadly gale. Captain Paxton, for some unknown reason, never sought the shelter of the harbours he passed in the night. Instead, the ship steered straight for Presqu’ile Bay.
As the ship neared its destination, locals lit bonfires to help direct the ship into harbour, but the Speedy seemed to be on a different course. Hugh Cochrane elaborated, “The captain paid them no heed. Nor did he appear to have control of his vessel, for her course seemed unerring. As if drawn by a huge magnet, the ship headed directly for the area of the monolith, then was lost from sight as the storm closed over the scene.”
That was the last time anyone saw the Speedy.
The ship had simply disappeared. The next day searchers sailed out to the area of the monolith hoping to find either survivors or wreckage of the ship. They were shocked when they dragged the lake and found nothing. Even the stone monolith was gone. There was no longer a three hundred foot depth of water; instead, it was shallow and sandy.
No wreckage and no survivors of the Speedy were ever found.
Janet Kellough is a seventh generation Prince Edward County resident. She knows about the existence of the Marysburgh Vortex. “When you’re in a recreational boat your compass doesn’t work out there. I know a pilot who was flying out over the middle of the vortex when he encountered a strange phenomenon. It was like a giant hand reached out and flipped his plane over. Then a sudden force righted the craft. People also report seeing strange lights out over these waters.”
Dave Whatton has lived in Prince Edward County for the past 54 years. He is a local historian who is knowledgeable concerning these events and who has theories about this mysterious area in Ontario. I asked David to share his views.
“I will say that many of the doomed sailors on the vessels that disappeared undoubtedly experienced some form of shock, which can separate various aspects of the Etheric body from the other body layers. This results in emotionally charged energy fragments that loop. We know them as ‘ghosts.’ They are quite akin to an endless loop video of a few seconds duration. The figure appears, does its thing, then disappears, only to repeat the scene any number of times.
“This repeating pattern has been noted throughout the world, and certainly has manifested itself in this area. I recognize that the phenomenon is truly real to the perceiver and that certain individuals are more able to receive this sensory-based communication than others.
“I live in the so-called Marysburgh Vortex. It is a quiet, rural area populated by a mixture of farm folk, fisher folk, and city escapists.
“The specific area referred to by some as the Marysburgh Vortex is in the extreme southeastern sector of Prince Edward County, bounded by water on three sides with no more than two miles of land separating an arm of inland sea, namely Prince Edward Bay, from Lake Ontario proper.
“The Marysburgh Vortex is more than just a mysterious place where people, ships and planes go missing, it is a sacred territory emitting a strong atmosphere of mysticism and of healing qualities.”
As to the spirituality of the area, David points out that shamans of various Native cultures spanning thousands of years have treated this area as sacred. The Hopewell/Adena (circa 300 B.C.) not only settled in this spot for several hundred years but built their Mounds here as well. “Two thousand years later, the island of Waupoos was named after a Cayuga holy man. The ancients knew that this area was special and I concur.”
If you plan to sail in The Marysburgh Vortex or even to pay a visit, keep your eyes peeled for the unusual — lights, mists, and vanishing objects; keep your ears keened and listening for unexplained cries in the night and keep your mind and other senses tuned and open. Light your candles; and say your prayers. The mystery continues.
The Ghost of Tom Thomson
~ Canoe Lake in Algonquin Park ~
When a woman or man is murdered their soul often remains the prisoner of the circumstance. They remain on in the vicinity of the crime. For nearly a century, the death of Tom Thomson on Canoe Lake in 1917 has remained a mystery. Was it accidental drowning or was it murder? The existence of his spirit on Canoe Lake could support the theory of murder. You be the judge.
Tom
