For literally centuries, Lunenburg County has been the source of an unending stream of spooky, enchanting tales, witnessed and passed along from one generation to the next.

 The folklore and myth that influenced the lives of the first German and Dutch settlers who built the foundations of the early, permanent communities in this region have been preserved to this very day.

 Not only have academics, such as the great folklorist Helen Creighton, found value in the superstitious beliefs and remembrances, but we, the people of Lunenburg County, still hold true to the very notion that there is more to the world around us than simply that which meets the eye.

 While many of the more popular folk tales involve mysteries of the sea, or haunting ghost ships darting in and out of Mahone Bay and Lunenburg, there are a handful of lesser-known tales recounted that involve some strange occurrences along the river that cuts a mighty path into the very heart of the county.

 Yes, the LaHave River region, much like Robert W. Service's "northern lights" of "Sam McGee" fame, has seen many a queer sight over the years.

 One such tale from the community of LaHave, along the river's western bank, recounted a vision of a low-lying vessel ascending the river on a calm, clear evening.

 With no inclement weather to play tricks on the observer's senses, two men more than 50 years ago claimed to have seen a single, solitary light approaching their vessel from downriver. They assumed it was an encroaching ship, and as the vessel drew closer, the low light seemed to separate, as if a series of lights were lining the hull of the vessel.

 The only problem was, as the two onlookers quickly gathered, while the low-lying lights on the craft were unmistakably positioned, the hull that the lights should have been attached to simply wasn't there.

 The pair were immediately convinced that they were witness to the ghostly resurrection of Capt. William Kidd's pirating vessel, which they believed was ascending the LaHave to check on the treasure the crew had deposited along the nether regions of the river centuries earlier.

 Ludicrous though it might sound, the idea of a ghost ship returning to protect or retrieve the treasure it had once secured in the Nova Scotia soil was once quite common.

 Another tale, coming from Petite Riviere, recalled the fiery appearance of a sloop that quietly sailed its way into the Green Bay region.

 According to the story, the vessel dropped anchor in the vicinity of the shoreline and well within eyesight of four other crewed vessels in the area. Witnesses later reported that they could hear men talking from the unidentified vessel, before she suddenly disappeared from sight, as though she had never been there at all.

 Similarly, another man claimed that in his teenage years he went to visit one Miss Romkey, an older woman who resided at Dublin Beach below the mouth of the LaHave.

 Upon arriving at the house, Miss Romkey greeted him hastily at the door, and enquired immediately as to whether he had seen the "fire ship" moving on a course toward the river during his trek.

 When the youngster replied he had seen no such thing, Miss Romkey explained that a number of men working the shoreline had earlier spotted a glowing ball that seemed to manifest itself in the form of a ship.

 Worse yet, the shoremen claimed to have heard much talking, singing and the rattling of chains from the apparition - the irrefutable sign of a ghost vessel in search of its treasure.

 While ghost ships have traditionally been associated with stories of lost treasure waiting to be found by the dedicated pursuer, not all stories of treasure are linked with talk of supernatural spirits.

 Some, like one story coming from near Riverport, on the opposite bank near the end of the LaHave, seems to have a distinctly earthly element.

 According to old myths, the early settlers of the lower LaHave region have long believed that there had been booty of some kind buried near Kraut Point. To add credence to the rumours, many residents through the 19th and early 20th centuries claimed that they had dreamt of finding treasure at Kraut Point.

 The stories and dreams took place with such frequency that, eventually, a party decided to investigate the shoreline near Five Houses to either confirm or dispel any notions of treasure.

 To their astonishment, they found that they had been beaten to the task.

 In an oat field atop Five Houses Hill, several man-made holes were found cut into the surface. Upon further exploration, the investigators stumbled upon a series of tracks - including what appeared to be the trail left by a large crate or case - that descended the hillside toward the shoreline.

 If there was something snugly stowed beneath the soil at Five Houses, it had been carted away in the night by some unknown parties.

 But just because one treasure buried within a stone's throw of the LaHave River managed to get away, that doesn't mean they all have.

 One little-known folk tale recounted in Lunenburg told of an older gentleman named Mason, whose grandfather had sailed on fishing schooners out of Lunenburg as a young man the century before.

 On one voyage, the elder Mason was bound for the West Indies on a schooner with a cargo of fish. Upon landing, he and a few of his mates found themselves in an alehouse seeking out a bit of refreshment after the long journey.

 After a few drinks, one of the crew, between swigs, bemoaned being so far away from home, adding, "I'll be glad to see Cape LaHave again."

 An old man of African descent, overhearing the remark, stumbled out of the corner, approached the group and asked, "Did I hear somebody wanting Cape LaHave?"

 "Yes," the crewman responded, "what do you know about LaHave?"

 The old man proceeded to explain that in his youth, decades earlier, he had been a cabin boy on a pirating vessel that operated in the North Atlantic. During those days, the ship often landed for outfitting at LaHave, so he knew the area well.

 One time, the man continued, his vessel sailed north darting along the coastline. Finally, they entered a bay where, from the deck of the ship, the crew spied a hill with a salty pond in front of it, a sandbar separating the ocean from the pond.

 On the captain's orders, the crew - including him, the cabin boy - lowered a boat, filled it with several heavy chests, then rowed to the sand bar between the ocean and the pond, unloading the chests on the beach. They hoisted the boat across the beach, dropped it in the lake, reloaded the chests and proceeded onward to the foot of the hillside, where the chests were buried.

 The old African even remembered the co-ordinates, which the Lunenburg crew figured to put the treasure somewhere in the vicinity of Blue Rocks.

 So far as anyone knows, however, despite the clues offered up by the former cabin boy, the chests were never uncovered, and a treasure may await unearthing this very day.

 Though there have been many reports of fortunes unfound and ghostly appearances over the years stemming from the LaHave River region, like all good yarns it's entirely possible that many of the circumstances may simply have been conjured up by an overactive imagination.

 Take, for example, the story of a young man returning home from a party in the vicinity of the community of LaHave, who happened upon two frightened girls. The ladies explained that they had seen a blue light on the road ahead and were afraid to approach any closer.

 Summoning up all his courage, the boy declared he would investigate and, with a stick in hand, he closed in on the glowing, luminous object.

 The boy poked at the apparition with his stick. The girls gasped. The boy poked some more, making the object grow even brighter.

 Then, much to the horror of the young ladies, the boy picked the spirit up with his stick and walked toward them to present the mystery object - a squid, which had been dragged up from the shoreline, its phosphorus goo shining in the dark of night.

 Sources: Creighton, Helen, "Folklore of Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia"; Bauchman, Rosemary, "The best of Helen Creighton"; Service, Robert W. "The Cremation of Sam McGee."

Written and researched by Patrick Hirtle.