Hello guys,

My experience at the Boundary Waters occured seven years ago in July 2008, but sometimes when I think back to the incident I just can't get it out of my head. Anyways, here's my story:

It was the summer of 2008, and this was going to be my third time camping in the boundary waters. I was 16 years old and the group of campers consisted of my Dad and around 6 other adult males. We took off from Moose Lake in Ely, canoed past Newfound Lake, and took two portages to reach Ensign Lake. I don't remember how long it took to reach Ensign lake, but the sun had just started to set so we were trying to find a campsite before nightfall.

We looked on the map and most campsites were already occupied. The closest one that was unoccupied was a campsite located on a small island in the middle of Ensign Lake. We pointed all four canoes in the direction of the island and started paddling towards it. Once we landed, we set up camp and made a fire for the night. There was nothing unsual about the island, and we had a good night of sitting by the bonfire and eating various kinds of food.

We went to bed and the next morning woke up to enjoy a day of swimming and fishing on the lake. Fastforword to the evening of day 2 and the group is sitting around the bonfire eating dinner. The sun had begun to set and Mosquitos were out in full force. One of my Uncle's took out his digital camera and started snapping photos of the campsite. He reviewed his photos and started passing the camera around for each of us to see. In one of the photos he took, there was a family of people wearing clothing that was not from this time period standing in front of our tents. I can vividly remember that they stood side by side in two lines. The front line had around 3-5 children and the back line consisted of 3-6 adults.

The weird thing was that the family was in black and white even though the rest of the picture was colored. Their legs and arms were barely visible, as if someone took a photo editing tool and brushed the parts away. They were transparent enough that the tents in the background could be seen through their bodies, but the outlines were clear. I couldn't make out any of the faces but they seemed to be staring directly into the camera, as if they were taking a family photo.

Now when I saw the photo I was freaked out, but most of the adults remained calm and the group decided to stay the night (it was our last night before we went back home). We talked about the photo for a while but dismissed it as the night went on. Before we went to bed one of my other uncles wanted to see the picture again. So my uncle took out his camera from his tent and looked through the photos. To his amazement all of the photos from our camping trip had become corrupted, but the photos taken before the trip were unharmed.

So any physical proof we had of this pilgrim ghost family was erased the same day he took the photo. All of us who have seen it can vouch it's authenticity, but it sadly didn't make it out of the boundary waters, nor the island. I only found out about an urban legend of this "pilgrim ghost family" years later while talking to a friend of mine who was a camp guide in that area over the summer. He told me that they tell this story to campers about an island in the middle of a lake which is said to be where a pilgrim ghost family has appeared to campers around the time that the sun is setting.

Now I was pretty much a skeptic on ghosts until I saw the photo, but since that day I can honestly say that I believe that there are ghosts out there. I'm just curious if anyone has heard or experienced something similar to this incident. I'm planning to go back to that very island next summer with a couple cameras. I'd hope to try and capture the ghosts/spirits again, but I know it's a long shot. Thanks for reading about my experience and none of this was fabricated in any way. I am telling the honest truth when speaking about this incident.

I appreciate you sharing your experience. Thanks.

Sounds like a good campfire ghost story to tell at night

As a descendant of Peregrine White I can tell you that no pilgrims ever set foot in New France. They stayed in Plymouth and Massachusetts colonies. Maybe Pierre Du Gua de Monts and family paddled to Ensign on holiday.

Haven't there been other posts on this site about strange sightings or occurrences in the Ensign Lake area?

Hans Solo

i have never heard the pilgrim ghost story. long ago i had lived in a haunted house, so i have no issues with believing in ghosts, but in this case why were pilgrim ghosts in ely? that seems odd. Massachusetts maybe?

not a ghost story but there is an evil bigfoot who lives in the forests north and west of gull lake. i mention him in my only trip report. my daughter and her stupid idiot ex-boyfriend had an encounter with him(her) just last year.

about my haunted house, at the time a couple of my friends were in the punk band husker-du , they weren't famous yet. it seems ghosts don't like punk music, she (the ghost) left. if this ghost continues to be a menace i suggest getting a punk band in these, maybe do an acoustic set.

I have only heard that urban legend from a friend of mine.
But the ghosts captured in the photo looked like they were dressed in old style clothes.
If they are not pilgrims, then they are people of European descent.
I can't explain anything else but that I saw the photo on the digital camera.

Another thing is that we were on a very small island with only one campground.
You can find it on the map of the boundary waters.
Just go to point 25(Moose Lake) canoe up past Newfound Lake, and to the right there should be a portage, a small lake, another portage, and you'll end up in Ensign.
There should be a small island with a red dot.
I doubt people would settle there for a long period of time, so I don't know why those spirits would stay in that small area.
We didn't have any bad vibes from the island at all, and our camping trip was pretty normal aside from the picture.

I could imagine something like that in an old house...hard to imagine it in the "wilderness". Although not wilderness, the story reminds me of those YouTube videos of Gettysburg ghosts. Also Ghost Island on the Chippewa Flowage near Hayward WI. We always stay at a resort near Ghost Island. There is some photo of a misty figure taken by a musky guide up there. Outdoor apparitions are interesting

@ Hue V. and jwartman59: Is this some kind of a joke?

I hope their joking...

Sounds like I need to do some photoshopping, and mess with my boys next time we are up there.

- Bring an SD card with pre-loaded BS photos
- Hit up a campsite I've already been to
- POP the flash a couple times
- Show the group the bogus pictures
- Freak everyone out
- Laugh my a** off when alone
- Reveal the truth in 5-10 years

That is a very interesting story...I'm sure there are alot of situations that can not be explained... I've heard unexplainable noises close to my campsite on Shell lake area last year in early May. The kind of noise that paralyzed my wife and I in our tent. It is something we will always have in back of our minds. Although very Frightening we will keep on hitting the lakes..

quote nightcrawler: "That is a very interesting story...I'm sure there are alot of situations that can not be explained... I've heard unexplainable noises close to my campsite on Shell lake area last year in early May. The kind of noise that paralyzed my wife and I in our tent. It is something we will always have in back of our minds. Although very Frightening we will keep on hitting the lakes.. "

Like hearing the smoke monster from LOST?

That's what my mind started thinking one early morning on a solo trip, as I heard crashing through the woods and brush. Intellectually, I knew what it had to be (the only real world possibility), but the mind decided to try to convince me I was five and needed to run and tuck my head under the covers.

Instead of doing that, I crept back to the tent and grabbed my camera, and this was my reward...

This is an good story, and there were plenty of northern European immigrants working the logging camps in the area in the 1800's. Some undoubtedly met I'll fate. Perhaps pilgrims in the John Wayne sense rather than the Puritan-Plymouth Rock sense. Next time I'm on Ensign I'm going to stop and check that site (but not stay there!)

This reminds me of the night I saw the strange lights in the sky over Basswood...

quote HikingStick: "

quote nightcrawler: "That is a very interesting story...I'm sure there are alot of situations that can not be explained... I've heard unexplainable noises close to my campsite on Shell lake area last year in early May. The kind of noise that paralyzed my wife and I in our tent. It is something we will always have in back of our minds. Although very Frightening we will keep on hitting the lakes.. "

Like hearing the smoke monster from LOST?


That's what my mind started thinking one early morning on a solo trip, as I heard crashing through the woods and brush. Intellectually, I knew what it had to be (the only real world possibility), but the mind decided to try to convince me I was five and needed to run and tuck my head under the covers.


Instead of doing that, I crept back to the tent and grabbed my camera, and this was my reward...








"

nice reward

Instead of doing that, I crept back to the tent and grabbed my camera, and this was my reward...

Great pictures!

quote johno: "

Instead of doing that, I crept back to the tent and grabbed my camera, and this was my reward...

Great pictures!"

+1

Spooky story!!

What about those 3 foot hairy men?

quote HikingStick: "

quote nightcrawler: "That is a very interesting story...I'm sure there are alot of situations that can not be explained... I've heard unexplainable noises close to my campsite on Shell lake area last year in early May. The kind of noise that paralyzed my wife and I in our tent. It is something we will always have in back of our minds. Although very Frightening we will keep on hitting the lakes.. "

Like hearing the smoke monster from LOST?


That's what my mind started thinking one early morning on a solo trip, as I heard crashing through the woods and brush. Intellectually, I knew what it had to be (the only real world possibility), but the mind decided to try to convince me I was five and needed to run and tuck my head under the covers.


Instead of doing that, I crept back to the tent and grabbed my camera, and this was my reward...









"

Now that's what I'm talking about...

quote mr.barley: "What about those 3 foot hairy men?"

Is that the little guy on Ashagon lake?

Not a joke at all.
I understand that the whole story sounds far fetched, but it's all the truth.
The camera didn't flash when he took the photos, the sun was setting but there was still plenty of light.

The whole step by step breakdown of what happened was this:
- Uncle gets up from bonfire circle, heads to his tent, takes out camera, snaps photos.
- Tells us he got something weird on camera, shows it to all of us at the camp.
- Informs us that the reason he took the photos was because he thought he saw something weird from the corner of his eyes.
- We each take a look at it, flick around the photos to see if there's any more photos like it.
- Give the camera back to my uncle, he turns it off and places it back in his tent.
- Some other campers of our group returns from fishing and we tell them what happened. They want to see the photos so my uncle gets the camera from his tent.
- He turns on the camera but it gives a "battery low" message and turns off.
- He states that his camera battery had at least half a full charge left.
- He grabs out his spare battery and puts that in.
- The camera starts up, but all the camping photos have become corrupted.


What are the odds of that happening again? Probably one in a million.
I was just curious to see whether anyone has experienced something similar or has camped on that island.
If you want to try and recreate the photo, go to the bonfire pit of the campsite and take a photo of the woods just left to where the trail leading to the toilet starts.
If you are afraid of what I experienced then just don't camp on the small island at Ensign lake.
Great place though.

There is a feisty troublemaker in the woods. He will untie your canoe, move things about, Tip food over, and cause other maladies and conundrums. He is harmless really, but just the thought of typing his name this early in the season causes me some trepidation.

Now s Eddie Murray said, "don't ruin a perfectly good story!"

quote fitgers1: "This reminds me of the night I saw the strange lights in the sky over Basswood..."

A buddy of mine said he saw strange lights in the BWCA one trip. A super bright beam of light going straight up in the middle of nowhere.

the beam of light was me sending a signal with my 7 cell flashlight.
i'm using it to read at the Moose Lake bunk house but out on the canoe trail i use it guide my friends from the planet Nubain to a lake so they can fill up with pure lake water.they need that for the faster than light cold fusion drive.
it's true,i saw it even if you don't believe me and anyone else in the area had their minds blanked out so they never saw it..i tried to take pictures but they all turned out looking like Kim Kardashian on a bad hair day.really---

quote Savage Voyageur: "

quote mr.barley: "What about those 3 foot hairy men?"

Is that the little guy on Ashagon lake? "

Oh great, the little hairy man story just in time for my trip to the Knife/Ensign area. Now with the added bonus of ghost people. I am going to be too afraid to hit the thunder box after dark.

Could of been an animal, but this was "Moose" was clearly talking in a baby's crying voice...

quote mr.barley: "What about those 3 foot hairy men?"

We call those guys "beaver" They do look like men, but none of them wear glasses, and they are better swimmers.

quote nightcrawler: "That is a very interesting story...I'm sure there are alot of situations that can not be explained... I've heard unexplainable noises close to my campsite on Shell lake area last year in early May. The kind of noise that paralyzed my wife and I in our tent. It is something we will always have in back of our minds. Although very Frightening we will keep on hitting the lakes.. "

Might have been a mountain lion. They have crazy screams that sound like a woman or girl screaming.

quote caribouluvr: "

quote nightcrawler: "That is a very interesting story...I'm sure there are alot of situations that can not be explained... I've heard unexplainable noises close to my campsite on Shell lake area last year in early May. The kind of noise that paralyzed my wife and I in our tent. It is something we will always have in back of our minds. Although very Frightening we will keep on hitting the lakes.. "

Might have been a mountain lion. They have crazy screams that sound like a woman or girl screaming."

as do bobs and lynx.

quote rtallent: "

quote mr.barley: "What about those 3 foot hairy men?"

We call those guys "beaver" They do look like men, but none of them wear glasses, and they are better swimmers."

I don't know... beavers don't steal your fish, tip your canoes over, or suddenly summon storms.