Bell Island, Newfoundland is rich with myth and legend. For many years, the area was mined for iron; as you may expect, lives were lost. The mines have long since been shut down and entrances sealed but ghosts are not easily deterred.

There are reports of shadows of men leaving mine shaft 2, as if at shift end.

The ghost of woman has been reported, standing and watching the mine entrance, perhaps waiting for a loved one from long ago. Miners reported seeing the ghost of a man who, reportedly, had died after being struck by a falling rock.

The most famous non-corporeal being on Bell Island is the Bell Island Hag. It must be remembered that many of Newfoundland’s settlers were Irish and they brought their legends with them, across the Atlantic.

Apparently, origin of the Bell Island hag is found in a tragic tale of death. A young woman became lost in the Bell Island marshes (Dobbin’s Garden marsh); she cried out for help but the townspeople feared the marsh. They believed the little people inhabited the area. Irish folk do not interfere in the lives of little people in the hope that the little people will leave them alone. Little people are the source of bad luck, missing and broken objects, disappearances and even death. The woman screamed for help but the people in the town closed the windows, doors and ears to the cries which became increasingly pitiful until they suddenly ceased. It is assumed that she died although a body was never recovered.

After her tragic death, men began to report losing days after venturing into the marsh; emerging with confused tales of a beautiful woman or a horrible hag but with one consistent detail – a horrible smell of decay and death surrounding them. The last thing many remembered was being forced to lie down by one of the two figures. (One imagines that the beautiful woman entity has far less difficulty getting the men to “lay upon the ground”)

There are also tales of a Banshee wail prior to the death of inhabitants close to the marsh.

Some people believe that the little people took the woman and are responsible for the missing memories/days of the men who were so foolhardy as to enter the marsh alone.