Dungarvon Whooper – Part 1
The Dungarvon Whooper is perhaps the most popular ghost story and folk legend in New Brunswick. But while many know the tale about a murdered cook named Ryan, few realize that, long ago, it was just one of many. In this episode, we'll take a trip to the lumber camps of the late 1800s and hear four different legends, all shared in an attempt to explain a terrifying sound that once echoed through the wilderness of Northern New Brunswick.
Canada Post released a Whooper themed stamp in 2016. The illustration is based off a particularly gruesome version of the legend of Ryan the cook, where the camp not only kills him, but throws his body in the camp’s cook pot and feeds him to the starving but unsuspecting workers.
Sources
“Tales from the Campfire.” The Boston Globe Sun. Boston, MA, January 11, 1891. Page 13.
“Tales from the Camp-Fire Whence Comes the Blood-Curdling Cry of the Whooper.” Marion Headlight. Marion, KS, March 19, 1891. Page 3.
“Dungarvon Whooper, A Ghost That Chews Gum.” The World. New York, NY, February 5, 1898. Page 13.
“Good Stories For All. Here’s a Ghost That Whoops.” The Boston Globe. Boston, MA, April 28, 1898. Page 8.
“A Hermit of the Forest.” The Sun. New York, NY, January 22, 1899. Page 7.
“Good Stories For All. New Brunswick Ghost Robs Dinner Pails and Scares by His Whooping.” The Boston Globe. Boston, MA, March 2, 1900. Page 10.
“Haunted by Dungarvon.” The Boston Globe. Boston, MA, January 6, 1918. Page 34.
Pogue, Pollough. “The Dungarvon Whooper.” The Province. Vancouver, BC, October 19, 1925. Page 6.
“‘Whooper’ Train Makes Last Trip.” The Boston Globe. Boston, MA. May 23, 1936. Page 13.
De Lue, Willard. “‘Whooper’ Born of an Evil Deed.” The Boston Globe. Boston. MA. April 11. 1952. Page 17.
Morris, Chris. “Maritime panthers not mythical: residents.” The Citizen. Ottawa, ON. July 6, 1985. Page E12.
Underhill, Doug. Miramichi – Tall Tales & True. Saint John, New Brunswick: Neptune Publishing Company Ltd., 1999. Pages 27-34.
Spray, Carole. Will O’ The Wisp. Fredericton, New Brunswick: Brunswick Press, 1988. Pages 66-68.
Donovan, Ben. The Deep and Dark Dungarvon Sweeps Along. Saint John, New Brunswick: Quebecor World Atlantic, 2001.
MacKay, Donald. The Lumberjacks. Toronto, Ontario: Natural Heritage Books, 2007. Pages 144-146.
