S2.E9: Restless Corpses (Halloween Special Pt. 3)
Season 2, Episode 9 (Halloween Bonus 3)
When nights grow long and familiar paths suddenly lead you astray; when fog shrouds the coast in deathly gloom and strange lights flicker in empty bogs,
that’s the time when ghosts and ghouls explore this new found land.
Welcome to the Strange Truths & Tall Tales Halloween Special.
Title: Restless Corpses
Time: 24 minutes
Locations: La Poile, St. John’s
Story: The Restless Corpse of La Poile & Mrs Coyle and the Corpse
Listen:
About The Episode:
Halloween Bonus Episode Pt. 3
It’s October and the nights are getting noticeably longer. As darkness takes a hold. I’ve decided to embrace the ‘spooky season’ for some shorter Halloween episodes.
This episode features an old story concerning a corpse in La Poile that seemed to have trouble realizing it was dead. It’s a strange that makes my blood run cold… and warms my heart. It’s based on a story written by ‘R’ and published in the Public Ledger newspaper in 1831.
Read: Mrs Coyle and the Corpse
After La Poile, I’ll move onto St. John’s and the story of Nancy Coyle — a woman who spent her life with the dead and, perhaps, her death with the living.
Coyle provided mortuary care in St. John’s in the 1800s, and was rumoured to have resurrected the dead. While she appears to have been a real, historical figure, she is more famous these days as a ghost story.
Nancy Coyle is rumored to haunt the graveyards of old St. John’s.
Listening Options
You can listen to the episode here or on your favourite platform.
Credits
Tocatta & Fugue in D Minor (Bach) from orangefreesounds.com, Paul Pittman, public domain.
Thunder (bajko) from freesound.com, Creative Commons 0
Thunder With Synth (klangfabrik) from freesound.com, Creative Commons 0
Knock of the Door (deleted user) from freesounds.com, Creative Commons 0
Sources & Further Reading
The Restless Corpse of La Poile, Product of Newfoundland
The Widow of La Poyle: A Newfoundland Tale, Public Ledge, May 6, 1831
Mrs Coyle & The Corpse, Product of Newfoundland
The Oldest City, Paul O’Neill, 2003
Nancy Coyle (1840s), Heritage NL
Queen of the Dead, Haunted Canada 5, Joel Sutherland
An Encounter with Nancy, Queen of the Dead, Anecdotage.
A Christmas voyage gone wrong, the story of the Ellen Munn lives on in song—as a tale of courage, kindness, and the perils of Newfoundland winter.
In 1887, a tragic accident at St. John’s Atlantic Hotel claimed the life of beloved porter William Shea. A mistaken step in the dark led to a 36-foot fall, leaving behind a grieving family and community.
In 1889 there was a mysterious light appeared off the coast of Lawn. It was bright enough that some believed it posed a risk to mariners.
In 1946 a comet crossing earth’s orbit lead to an unforgettable night in Griquet.
Oh, give me a home where the buffalo roam
Where the moose and the caribou play?
In September 1775 a horrible hurricane hit Newfoundland, killing thousands of people and spawning ghost stories still told today.