Mrs Ceperley, a Favourite Spirit

Fairacres

Yes, most Canadians who watch tv have seen the stories about the Ceperley House in Burnaby-perhaps better known as the Burnaby Art Gallery. While the majority of television programs dealing with the Ceperley mansion are respectful and report accurately what people have stated, there are some that seem on the surface of things to just want to sell soap and do not care what they are broadcasting. We have seen some of these silly television stories that come as close as they dare in depicting the often visiting spirit of Mrs. Grace Ceperley as some kind of betrayed and avenging ghost.

We have sat in front of our television sets in utter incredulous disbelief as some mad eyes actress stalked the halls and rooms of this beautiful home in Burnaby BC and terrorized all that came under her crazed glare. And you know what? None of that is true.

I have wanted to address the story told by Creepy Canada since I first saw it. But without being able to fully investigate the gallery and examine the place for ourselves, anything I would have written would have been sloughed off as incidental. I know Marisa and I knew that she was just as offended as I was. The both of us hoped to tell Mrs. Ceperley's true story in the days and months to come.

Because Marisa also worked at the gallery, it was, believe it or not, a drawback as we did not want to ask for special privilege in accessing the gallery. We went to the gallery during regular hours, attending the tours and were content to do what we could. We were unable to scout about the interior passages (closed to the public) and other interesting much speculated over areas. When Marisa told me that we could accompany radio students from BCIT, who wanted to do a report on hauntings and paranormal investigations, I literally jumped at the chance. A chance to go into the house when it was closed and quiet. To roam around the quiet halls and stairwells and perhaps see for ourselves if Mrs. Ceperley would chase us out. Did we find Mrs. Ceperley? I don't know if we did or not but I do know that now we can put the silly stories to rest.

In 1909 Henry and Grace Ceperley of Vancouver purchased the old Clayton farm which was called "Woodlands" and began building the home which would eventually cost well over $150,000.00, a very princely sum for that day and age. R.P.S Twizell was the architect contracted to design the "retirement" home for Henry and Grace and it was the first of its kind to reside at the north shore of Deer Lake. James Charles Allen was the contractor who built the home.

Now eighty seven years to the exact day of her death, Vancouver Paranormal hopes that we can set the story straight or at least dispel the strange notions that have been circulating around the web that have been based on foolish and sensational television programs before these unfair allegations take firmer root.

Why defend a spirit?

For the simplest of reasons actually. We want the truth to be known and because it is the right thing to do. Mrs. Ceperley does not need to be remembered in life or in her immortal passage as some "hell bent witch chasing all and sundry out of her home". She and those who are her family and related descendants deserve a less sensational depiction of their ancestor. If her spirit is to be celebrated and if it causes an interest to paranormal enthusiasts then let it be for the person she probably was and not some nonsense spouted on Ghost hunting websites and television programs.

Most stories of encounters with her spirit report a calming presence or at the very least a mellow sadness. The sadness could be attributed to the very short time that she was able to enjoy her home. Mrs. Ceperley was likely not a saint but simply a woman of her times; possibly stern, perhaps overly kind or just maybe a nice normal balance of both. A simple woman who seemed to spend a lot of time in her garden and watching her birds. We do not know if she harboured suffragette sympathies, if she had concerns about the Great War raging in the fields of Belgium and France. So many young men from the local families had gone off to fight the armies of the Kaiser. Some like Kingsley Hart and Goldie Anderson (Military Cross winner 1916) were killed in the bloodshed and mayhem of the First World War. Had she been concerned for their safety?

Sadly history has left us very little concerning the thoughts and interests of this rather stern looking woman so many people are interested in. Her birds and gardens seemed to have been very important to her. The quiet rural setting of early Burnaby, the peace of Deer Lake in the early morning. Perhaps these were the important things that mattered to her. Her gardens were designed to fit naturally into the virgin timberlands that surrounded her home and many pictures that survive her, show her in these gardens or sitting in her terraced gazebo. What might she have thought about as she sat for long hours in solitude? Can we for a moment consider these gardens and her interest in birds and from that conclude that she was at the very least a woman who had artistic sensitivities? A woman who enjoyed natural peace? This doesn't sound like a woman who would turn monstrous after her passing. There are absolutely no other reports (aside from Creepy Canada)found that support the stories that her spirit terrorized Henry Ceperley or that she frightened a female (not male) security officer.

(Incidentally, the female security officer was going outside for a small break and apparently wandered into an apparition of a monk praying. She said "oh excuse me" and inched around the manifestation. The spirit or manifestation got up, turned around and disappeared. *Source: Marisa)

Grace Dixon was born in Mt Clemens Michigan in 1863 (if we did the math correctly-the Michigan census has her being born approx 1858 or 1859), the American Civil war still had two more bloody years before ending. In reviewing an Michigan census for 1880 there is a Grace Dixon shown as residing in the state (1880 - Mt. Clemens, Macomb, Michigan Census) Of her earlier life nothing has been noted (although I'll continue to look). She married Henry in Vancouver on March 14 1894 and I wonder how she came to be in the city. We do know she was his second wife.

Mrs. Ceperley died on November 21 1917, in Point Grey at the age of 54 (perhaps older in light of the Michigan census for 1880). It is thought that she had suffered a short illness...We are fairly sure that she was not a victim of the Spanish Flu which had been slowly making its way around the globe. The Spanish Flu did not seem to reach Vancouver until the early part of October 1918. I have spent the better half of the last year trying to determine her resting place and finally discovered why her resting area was not well known. She is listed as Sipperly Grace Dixon MCM 1917 NOV 23 instead of Ceperley (Mount Clemens Monitor-newspaper). She is interred in the Mount Clemens cemetery in Michigan with Henry.

Little is known about the home life she shared with her husband and real-estate magnate Henry Ceperley except that both were originally from the United States-Grace was from the state of Michigan and Henry was born in Oneonta, New York. We are fairly sure he moved to Vancouver in the 1880's where he eventually built Ceperley, Rounsefell, and Company, Ltd. which was a real-estate and insurance company. His first wife died in 1892 and we assume that some time later he met and married Grace. I did find out though that his grandfather Francis Ceperley, fought in the War of 1812 (Against Britain/Canada). And that in present day Oneonta, there is a Ceperley Street.

We know that the house was large enough that a woman of her standing would have been able to hire local people to maintain the housework and kitchen and general tasks about the home. We can see from being inside the house that she probably practiced the "station in life" prejudices-Interior hidden stairwells for the "help" to move around on. It was unheard of for maids etc to roam around the main areas of the house and alternative passages were created to facilitate their movements. These were built off the kitchen area and link the entire house from attic to sublevels. The majestic stairwell located at the west side of the building only allowed access to the second floor bedrooms. We know this was her first marriage and that she married "later in life". The couple had no children together although Henry had adult children and they and their children often stayed at the elegant home in the Burnaby forest.

Time line:

1890: T.J Trapp buys and auctions off plots of land in the "new city of Burnaby" -the plots are advertised as having rolling landscapes and first rate soil. The first landowners are mostly farmers and immigrant families from Great Britain.

1909: Headline in Vancouver Province: "Beautiful Burnaby Valley, Reminder of Delightful Spots in Rural England"

1909: Strawberry farm belonging to George Clayton is purchased by the Ceperley couple. Architect R.P.S Twizell is commissioned to build a home that would be a "high class country residence using a popular English Arts and Crafts" style. While Henry Ceperley is wealthy from his real-estate ventures, it is rumoured that Grace has paid for the construction of the house herself. Many of the cobblestone walls and chimney stones are all stones taken during the clearing of the land.

1911: The Ceperley's take residence in their retirement home

1911: Stables are completed.

1912: The last of the exterior buildings and outhouses are completed. (Out of the nine buildings constructed only five remain to this day)

1912: newspaper article:"Fairacres, Mr. H.T. Ceperley's palatial home with its fine lawns, terraces, rockeries, greenhouses, pumping station for irrigation, lodge, stables and out houses, costing $150,000.00 is alone worth a visit to Deer Lake. The estate comprises twenty acres, ten of which are landscaped. Much credit is due to Mr. Legge, the landscape gardener, for his artistic temperament. A fine glimpse of Deer Lake is to be had from the grounds"

1917: (November 21)Mrs. Grace Ceperley dies-after short illness

1917: (November)Henry leaves the home to live in a room at the Vancouver Club and leases the house to Arthur Bogardus

1918: (November)Henry Ceperley bequeathed Vancouver's second supervised playground. (The work begins in 1922)The park is called Ceperley Park.

1922: Henry Ceperley sells home to Frederick Buscombe- Former mayor of Vancouver

1922: Following Grace's wishes a park is built in the Stanley Park area of Vancouver

1929: (December 29) Henry Ceperley dies at approx the age of 71 (there is no record of his death in the British Columbia records of Vital Statistic but it is listed in the Oneonta Daily Star and in the Mount Clemens Daily Leader) At this time I do not know if he died in Canada or the United States-I suspect it was in the States.

UPDATE: Recently Carol, a new member, found this source of information regarding Henry: Henry Ceperley died in Coronado Beach California on December 14, 1929. Source "History of Metropolitan Vancouver 1929 Chronology"--Author Chuck Davis set to be published in 2007.

1935: House is sold to Mr. and Mrs. Alexander Munro

1939: Benedictine monks send five monks to BC with the purpose of establishing a priory-They purchase the Ceperley house and add a large gymnasium to the property (which becomes the James Cowan Theatre in 1966)

1939: The aviary is demolished.

1939: A two story tower is added to the breakfast room

1955: The home is sold to the "Temple of the More Abundant Life"

1959: (June 25) Article in the Vancouver Sun newspaper "exposes" cult-(it should be noted that Marisa has spoken to some of these former cult members at the gallery and they claim much of what has been printed was untrue-just another side to this story)

1959-1960's: The house is leased by remaining members of the temple to Delta Upsilon Fraternity-SFU Fraternity house.

1967: Burnaby City acquires the property and the house becomes the Gallery at Ceperley House.

1998: The two story tower erected by the monks is removed.

2004: Apparently a diary has been discovered in an old closet behind one of the "fake walls".

Sunday 21 November 2004 Pacific Standard Time

SUN
Begin civil twilight	6:53 a.m
Sunrise	7:29 a.m.
Sun transit	11:56 a.m.
Sunset	4:23 p.m.
End civil twilight	4:58 p.m.
MOON
Moonset	1:39 a.m.
Moonrise	2:12 p.m. on preceding day
Moon transit	8:32 p.m.
Moonset	2:53 a.m. on following day
Moonrise	2:26 p.m.

Phase of the Moon on 21 November: waxing gibbous with 77% of the Moon's visible disk illuminated.

First quarter Moon on 18 November 2004 at 9:50 p.m. Pacific Standard Time

Light Rain Moderate Mist
Temperature:	7?C	Dew Point:	6?C
Barometer:	102.1 kPa	Wind:	E 15 Km/h
Humidity:	93.3 %	Ceiling:	183 Meters
Visibility:	4.8 Km

Equipment used: hp Photosmart 318 digital camera, Sony n/v 360 vid cam , Olympus dig. d-360l cam , pentad 35 mm supper me cam (infrared film), Olympus Camedia D 380 2.0 mp, Olympus D 100-1.3 mp,Kodak cx7300 dig camera, Olympus film camera, cell sensor,

We met with Marisa Ferrari of the Burnaby Art Gallery at 6pm Sunday evening on November 21 2004-Marisa and I went into the small alcove that serves as an office. Marisa remarks that two blue balloons are sitting in the recycling bin...it is not until today when I begin (and also continue) my research on the house that the balloons take on significance. Marisa cannot explain the balloons and while I noted they were there, did not really attach any supernatural significance until today. While reviewing my records I was stunned to realize that eighty seven years to the date, Mrs Ceperley died. Fluke or coincidence? While it was not her birthday yesterday, it most definitely was the anniversary of her passing.

1.Address of site: 6344 Dear Lake Ave

2.How many occupants at location: The gallery is a public art gallery. There are five employees and the home is open to the public Tues through Sunday-On Mondays the gallery is closed but staff are in the building. The gallery hosts weddings and special tours for school children and other kinds of seasonal events. Admission is by donation. Activities such as weddings and receptions etc must be made (booked) through the central gallery office for larger functions (604)205-7332.

3.Time of occupancy at the location: Since its completion in 1911 the Ceperley Home has housed at least four families including the Ceperley household, a missionary home for Benediction monks, an interesting cult group "Temple of the More Abundant Life" and a student fraternity. It was empty for a number of years before being commissioned and made to serve as the Art Gallery. (in total seven groups of people, four families and the monks, the cult and the SFU frat have all stayed at the house.)It was never a sanatorium for patients with TB.

4.Age of the site:construction began in 1909-previous to this it was a strawberry farm.

5.How many previous owners:see above

6.History of site: (tragedies, deaths, previous complaints)There have been no actual recorded deaths or injuries to people while at the site. Mrs. Ceperley died in their "winter" home. I am unable to find out where Henry Ceperley died (I have found newspaper obituaries for Henry). Regarding accidental death or injury to members of the household during any period of occupation, nothing is known or can be verified.

7.Has the location been blessed:We do not know if the house has been blessed but we do know that Benediction monks used the house as their priory. No doubt they held services within the walls of the home.

8.Has there been any recent remodelling: The gallery is always being renovated as per safety codes. Interior stairwells have been strengthened. Electrical and plumbing have been brought up to code where applicable. New carpeting and a re-varnishing of hardwood floors is presently scheduled.

9.Any occupants interested in the occult: (Ouija, seances, psychics, spells) Trick question :) Since this is a public facility-we have no idea how many people may be going in and out of the home who share a spiritual interest. One of the staff workers at the gallery (office manager Marisa) has always had an interest in the supernatural and paranormal and joined our team last year shortly after meeting us. The rumours of spiritual bumps and bangs were recorded long before her employment at the gallery. The monks were obviously spiritual. We do not know if the Ceperleys and other families were interested in occult activities (which were actually popular during the late 1980's and 1900's. This was the time when "ghost" photos and medium photos and seances were all the rage.)

10.Has there been any media involvement: Yes-The Gallery is often contacted by various television and radio programs and newspapers for stories about the spiritual occupants. The Gallery also provides backdrop interior and exterior sets for movie and television work.

11.Have there been any other witnesses besides the occupants: Numerous people including staff, police officers and social workers, caterers, as well as the visiting public have reported seeing ghostly manifestations. The gallery has also received photographs sent in by visitors of strange blobs and vortex images.

12.Have there been any odors: (perfumes, flowers, sulphur, excretement): Cigar smoke, perfume. The second floor male washroom is unpleasant quite a bit of the time and heavy disinfectant and deodorizer is used.

13.Have there been any sounds: (footsteps, knocks, banging)Footsteps are most commonly reported. Rapping or tapping on windows

14.Have there been any voices: (whispering, yelling, crying, speaking)Marisa has heard chanting. We heard a small shriek or high pitched "oh" sound while on the second floor. (more on this below). Marisa once heard when in the south garden, a man clearing his throat.

15.Has there been any movement of objects:keys have gone missing-coat hangers have been thrown all over kitchen floor, doors to patio that are alarmed are opened when no one is in attendance. Curator Darrin Martens office furniture has been arranged on some mornings. Sometimes doors will not open or seem jammed.

16.Have there been any uncommon cold or hot spots: A lot of cold spots. The kitchen is a hot spot for cold spots and also up on the second floor in the art rental room. The attic is also uncommonly cold but the upper floors are in some disrepair and insulation has been lost from some of the walls.

17.Have there been any problems with electrical appliances: (TV, lights, kitchen appliances, doorbells) Alarms go off for no reason. Calls come in on "dead phone lines", lights are found on when they have been turned off. Sprinkler systems seem to turn on when there is too much noise or when people wander around the grounds and they are unwanted. Fax prints out one single letter every now and then. Heavy static or screaming sounds heard on phone (this actually happened once when Marisa and I were updating each other)

18.Have there been any problems with plumbing: (leaks, flooding, sinks, toilet bowls) A persistent leak that was hard to isolate and kept dripping on the guestbook. The aforementioned sprinkler system. The paranormal enthusiast also has to remember that the house is 93 yrs old and a lot of the problems could be associated with older pipes etc.

19.Have there been any physical attacks: Marisa is not aware of any person, staff or public visitor being harmed or attacked or scared off whilst they were in the gallery. She is aware that stories exist about this. She knows that people have been "spooked" in the gallery but not attacked.

20.How often does the phenomena occur: We have no idea-The first known reports began shortly after the House became the gallery. No records exist that suggest that other occupants-either the monks, the students or the members of the cult had ever had an encounter with a paranormal phenomena. *incidentally while Mrs. Ceperley is the best known spirit in attendance, there are believed to be four others (Henry Ceperley, a monk (or monks), a caretaker, and a little blond haired girl.) June 2006-***Recently a woman carrying an old lamp on the back porch was added to the ghostly host. This woman is thought to be Henry's daughter (no name available as of yet)

21.Do the occupants feel the phenomena is threatening: Marisa doesn't feel that it is threatening. She does know that some other staff are occasionally spooked.

22.What do the occupants believe is happening: (is it supernatural) There is a diversity of belief and Marisa does not want to answer this based on their privacy.

23.Do all of the occupants agree on what is happening or do they think it's nonsense: The general feeling from the employees in the gallery is: "yes there are some strange things that happen here but we are willing to consider other causes"

I asked Marisa if there was anything else she wanted to add...Was there anything I didn't ask that she thought I should have asked."This is my home. I feel so totally comfortable here. I know I am welcomed here by the energies that seem to reside in this house. I am trusted. I love this old house.

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