Ghostly Gala Reviewed

Fires popped and distant screams cut through the darkness as storytellers bowed over their gas-lit lanterns on Wednesday night. The annual Ghostly Gala at the Cole Harbor Heritage Farm Museum beckons one and all to hear the Storytellers Circle of Halifax tell ghoulish tales. The event, which has taken place on the farm for more than five years, was followed by hot chocolate and cookies in the museum’s Rose and Kettle Tea Room.

Stories took place in three different 20-minute stations, leaving spectators to venture through the old empty farm grounds to arrive at their destinations. The farm consists of a blacksmith’s hut, a barn, and an old farmhouse from Cole Harbor, which was transferred to the site in the 1970’s. According to the museum’s director, the farm still operates vegetable gardens and livestock from May until October.

An old barn door crashes open with the breeze as Cindy Campbell draws her cape tighter around her neck and continues her frightening tale. Campbell, who is the president of Storytellers of Canada, has been a professional storyteller for more than ten years.

“They make me happy, it’s a shared experience,” Campbell said over hot chocolate.“The nicest thing about hearing and telling stories is it’s never the same thing twice.”

Born and raised in Nova Scotia, Campbell’s love of stories began at a very young age with her interest in stories of her family history and community.

“I would sit in the corner of the kitchen and listen to the grown-ups talk; I just absorbed the stories,” Campbell said.

Lately, Campbell has been noticing the tradition of oral storytelling is losing the recognition it once had as an art form, and the industry is becoming less acknowledged in the public eye.

“I wonder if we’re missing out on the power of the storytelling,” she says.

Nancy Muzzatti, who loves to tell any type of story, says that her spooky repertoire is a combination of collected and real-life stories. As a member of the Storytellers Circle of Halifax, she says that the group holds monthly meetings at the Just Us Café on Spring Garden Road.

“They’re usually very good about it, they let us take over the whole space,” Muzzatti said.

Cindy Campbell’s blog is titled Story Telling Nova Scotia and informs readers all about the storytelling events going on in the area.

Hannah Witherbee
King's Journalism
Dalhousie University