The poltergeist attack on the MacDonald family from the village of Boldun has no analogues in the history of parapsychology. The "devilry" was stopped by magic and its real culprit was found.
Scottish settlers
In 1803, Lord Thomas Selkirk decided to help the poor Scots settle in the empty lands of Canada. He chose a site near the St. Clair River. After staking out the land, Selkirk informed his compatriots that each of them could receive a plot of 50 acres for free.
The first 102 settlers arrived in Canada in the summer of 1804. While houses were being built, people were freezing in tents. The difficulties of the first year cost many lives: the surrounding swamps turned out to be a breeding ground for malaria. The new village was named Belldun - "Beautiful Lowland" in Scottish. Later, the name was naturally shortened to Boldun.
Daniel MacDonald, one of the most brave and energetic immigrants, built a house on the outskirts of the river. He married and became the head of a prosperous family. When it came time to marry his son John, his father helped build a separate house for the newlyweds. John McDonald soon had three children. The future seemed to the young couple bright and cloudless.
First attack
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In the summer of 1829, the men went to work in the fields, while John's wife and the girls in the neighborhood gathered in a barn to prepare straw for weaving hats. They chatted and laughed, enjoying the opportunity to communicate.
Under the gable roof of the shed above the log house, poles were laid, from which the owner hung various items to dry. Suddenly, one of the poles moved and fell - fortunately without catching anyone. The girls thought that it was poorly secured, and after a slight confusion, they continued to work. When the second pole collapsed with a crash, they searched the barn, but did not understand who pushed it. The fall of the third pole caused them to flee in fear to John's house.
An unknown force did not leave them alone there either. The girls did not have time to really catch their breath after running, as the sound of breaking glass was heard and a lead bullet fell at their feet.
- What a disgrace! Some of us could have been hurt! one of the girls screamed. She decided that some hunter had inadvertently shot towards the village.
She had hardly finished speaking when a second bullet broke through the window. Third. Then a real hail of lead flew, as if the house was being shot from a machine gun. Breaking through the glass, the bullets immediately lost their lethal force and fell without hitting anyone. The girls rushed to their neighbors in horror. One of them examined the house and was amazed: judging by the holes in the glass, the bullets flew with great speed, but inside the house something was extinguishing it.
Ghost steps
Returning from the field, John found only the consequences of the shelling of the house. At night, his wife woke him up and said that someone was walking in the kitchen. Indeed, loud footsteps were heard behind the wall. John rushed into the kitchen and threw open the door and saw no one. All things were in their places.
The sounds were repeated every night. The MacDonalds could not sleep because of them: the steps now and then approached the bedroom door and went away. The couple expected that one day the door would open and a ghost would appear on the threshold.
Over time, the sounds of footsteps began to haunt family members even during the day, heard behind them. People turned around but saw no one. Every now and then, bullets flew out of nowhere, shattering newly inserted glass. John boarded up the windows with boards, but the bullets somehow flew through them without damaging the tree. Soon not a single intact glass remained in his house. Then stones joined the bullets.
One of the neighbors, Neil Campbell, came to John and said that he would quickly expose the tricks of the intruders posing as ghosts. Immediately a stone flew from somewhere and hit him in the chest. The blow was harmless, but Neil turned pale with fear. He picked up a stone, went outside and threw it away. In less than a few minutes, the same stone fell at his feet.
Reanimated objects
By that time, everything flew in the house that was not nailed down. Plates flew off the table, iron tongs banged with a crash on the shovel right in the fire, chairs and tables toppled over and over again, the kettle threw off the lid and jumped on the floor. An Indian dagger on a shelf flew across the room and sank deep into the window frame.
The victim of invisibility was Mrs. MacDonald's dog: a scoop flew out of the pan and began to beat the animal. The dog ran away from home in horror and did not return for several days.
One day, something tore the deadweight weights from a net hanging in the courtyard and threw them into MacDonald's house. When the net was examined, it turned out that someone had removed the sinkers without breaking or untiing a single rope. The family members collected the weights and threw them into the river. A minute later, the sinkers, wet with water, fell at their feet.
Shotguns and pistols in John's house fired at the most unexpected moment. Guests who came to see the anomalous phenomena were warned to put their weapons in the corner, otherwise the bullet could hit them through the holster.
Trader Patrick Tobin, when he came to Baldun, used to stay overnight at the MacDonald's. He was not afraid of stories about devilry, and the owners were only glad to have an old acquaintance. One morning, waking up, Tobin was missing 20 50-cent silver coins. Not doubting the honesty of the owners, he told them about the loss. The MacDonalds replied that they often lose items and then reappear, you just need to wait. Indeed, as Tobin sat down to breakfast, there was the clink of a falling coin. She fell right into his plate. It was followed by another 18 coins. Patrick did not wait for the last coin and hastened to leave, saying that if it arrives, the owners can keep it for themselves. The coin never appeared.
End of the Macdonald House
Then the worst began. Fireballs began to fly in the house. Wherever they touched combustible materials, fire broke out. The flame could break out on its own, for no apparent reason. The family had to be on duty day and night with buckets of water, flooding the fires. The flames arose even inside the locked boxes. Smoke poured from the walls, as if someone was trying to set them on fire from the inside.
One day, John's youngest son suddenly screamed terribly. Taking him in his arms, the father saw that a red-hot stone lay on the back of the baby under the clothes. John rolled up the stone so as not to burn himself, and threw it into the river. The water hissed. A minute later, the stone returned - as usual, thrown through the broken window.
Finally, flames broke out at once in a dozen places throughout the house. The family didn’t even have enough time to take things out. The house burned down. John and his family were forced to move to live with his father.
For several weeks everything was calm. Then the devilry resumed: steps, stones and bullets breaking glass, flying objects. The family's animals began to die one by one. Bulls and cows fell and did not get up again, the horses died in the stable. The owners noticed that if a hen in the poultry house laid an egg, she, too, would soon die. An unknown force fell upon the house with such force that it tore it off the foundation. One of the corners could rise almost a meter above the ground, forcing furniture and people to roll towards the opposite wall.
Deliverance
Someone from the neighbors told the MacDonald's that 80 miles from Boldun lives Dr. John Troyer, about whose paranormal powers were legendary. Maybe he will be able to say something about the devilry happening?
John had nothing to lose, and he set off on a long journey. The doctor kindly received the guest and introduced him to his patient, a 15-year-old clairvoyant girl. She went into a trance and said:
- The neighbors wanted to buy part of the land, but you refused them.
John confirmed that this was the case.
“I see a long, low log house. Your enemies live there - and she described the neighbors in such detail that it was impossible not to recognize them. That family consisted of an elderly woman, two sons and a daughter.
“I see fire,” the girl continued. “Another shed of yours burned down two hours ago. Have you ever caught a strange goose on your land?
- Yes, and wanted to catch, but he ran away, - John admitted.
“This is an enemy in the guise of a goose. He cannot be shot down with a lead bullet. We must cast a bullet of pure silver and shoot at the bird. If you hurt her, you will see what happens. Go in peace.
Returning, John learned that while he was away, his father's barn really burned down. Now he had no doubt that everything else was also true. He cast a silver bullet and loaded his gun. The black goose was not slow to appear. A shot rang out. A bird with a broken wing let out a cry similar to a human, and huddled into the reeds.
John did not finish off the goose and hurried to the neighbors. Everything became clear to him at a glance. An old woman sat on the porch, covered with monstrous curses, and clasped her shattered hand to her chest. MacDonald realized that the bullet had found the right target.
The MacDonald's troubles were over, as if by magic. John rebuilt the barns and replenished them with a good harvest. The old woman took to her bed, suffering from severe pain in her hand, and soon gave her soul to the devil. Dying, she wanted to see John, but he did not dare to go to her, fearing the dying curse of the witch.
Today Baldun has merged with the neighboring town of Wallaceburg. In 2004, on the site where John's burned down house stood, McDonald Park was opened. A stone with a bronze plaque was installed in it, telling about the events of 1829. Near the Selkirka bridge there is a monument: a black goose in a sight ring desperately rushes into the sky, reminding residents of a long-standing tragedy.
Magazine: Secrets of the 20th century №33, Mikhail Gershtein