TV show to share haunted side of Atlas - East Coulee, AB
Posted by: Groundspeak Premium Member T0SHEA
N 51° 19.741 W 112° 28.939
12U E 396726 N 5687456
Home to Canada's last remaining wooden coal tipple, the Atlas No. 3 Coal Mine, a museum and a National Historic Site, is reportedly haunted by a young boy who was lost and never found.
Waymark Code: WM17B9G
Location: Alberta, Canada
Date Posted: 01/18/2023
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member saopaulo1
Views: 0

Sited in the Red Deer River Valley, here better known as The Badlands, and about 22 kilometres south of the city of Drumheller, the Atlas No. 3 Coal Mine National Historic Site is today the best preserved and most complete coal mining site in Canada. Home to Canada's last remaining wooden tipple, the site also contains several of the original buildings, including managers' houses and a storage shed, as well as rail lines which connected the mine to the Canadian Pacific's main rail line. To the northwest of the mine site still stands a four span Howe truss wooden bridge first built by the CPR in 1936, only to be destroyed by heavy flooding and ice floes in April 1948, rebuilt shortly thereafter.

Of the 139 coal mines which once operated in the Drumheller Valley, The Atlas Coal Mines were the most successful, with the four, all operated by the Patrick family, producing about 20% of the coal mined in the valley. After barely a fifth of a century of operation the Atlas #3 mine itself had produced around 5 million tons of coal. The mine remained in full production for only 20 years, from 1936 to 1956. The mine soldiered on for another 23 years with reduced production, finally closing for good in 1979, making it the last coal mine in the valley to close, signalling the end of coal mining in the Red Deer Valley.

Today the Atlas #3 Mine site has become not only a Canadian National Historic Site, but a Province of Alberta Historic Place and a Coal Mining Museum, as well.

In addition, the site is apparently haunted by a little boy who was lost in the mine and never found, today occasionally seen playing on the grounds. As well, "those who work at the Atlas Coal Mine have felt the presence of spirits at the national historic site. In fact the stories have become lore in the valley". As a result, a nationally televised TV program was shot on site in the fall of 2012, showcasing the "hauntedness" of the site.
TV show to share haunted side of Atlas

Those who work at the Atlas Coal Mine have felt the presence of spirits.

11 Oct 2012
It is not news that those who work at the Atlas Coal Mine have felt the presence of spirits at the national historic site. In fact the stories have become lore in the valley, and without question add to the “haunted” at the annual “Haunted Atlas Coal Mine.

Next fall these stories will be shared nationally on television.

Last week a crew was on site shooting for the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) at the Atlas telling some of the paranormal stories the site offers.

Member of he crew Jason Bohn told The Mail, a crew of 10 were at the site working on a series called The Other Side, which is to debut in the fall of 2013. It is a 13 part series, and the Atlas Coal Mine was on of the last sites it is shooting.

He explains the premise. Hosts Jeff Richards and Bill Connelly are two investigators, Connelly is sort of the gadget guy, and Richards is more of an intuitive investigator. They will seek out the presences of the paranormal. Pricilla Wolf, a journalist for APTN is also a character in the show and she acts as an objective observer. Tom Charles, an aboriginal Elder also brings his particular take on each situation.

“We find a story that sort of has a paranormal tie to it and we go in and investigate,” said Bohn. “Jeff and Bill go in and try to make contact with whatever or whoever it is.”

He says in 90 per cent of the cases they are able to find something. They then conduct interviews to learn more about what they are picking up and to corroborate their findings. They follow up and try to make contact again.

Each half hour episode is shot in about three days.

“We have seen a lot of neat stories, made a lot of contacts and had some weird things go on,” said Bohn, adding that most people that work on the show become less and less skeptical of the paranormal.

“Everything we have seen and encounter seems to add more credibility to what we are doing here,” said Bohn.

Darryl Kesslar is director of photography and Rob King is directing the show. They hope to wrap up shooting this month.
From the Drumheller Mail
Type of publication: Newspaper

When was the article reported?: 10/11/2012

Publication: DrumhellerMail

Article Url: [Web Link]

Is Registration Required?: no

How widespread was the article reported?: regional

News Category: Entertainment

Visit Instructions:
Give the date of your visit at the news location along with a description of what you learned or experienced.
Search for...
Geocaching.com Google Map
Google Maps
MapQuest
Bing Maps
Nearest Waymarks
Nearest News Article Locations
Nearest Geocaches
Create a scavenger hunt using this waymark as the center point
Recent Visits/Logs:
There are no logs for this waymark yet.