The Amherst Haunting: Canada's most notorious poltergeist case

In 1878, in the small town of Amherst, Nova Scotia, a series of strange events began inside the home of a young woman named Esther Cox. At first, it was the sound of knocking. Then objects started to move. Fires broke out without warning. What began as a private disturbance quickly became something much larger, drawing in neighbours, reporters, and even men described at the time as “scientific gentlemen,” all trying to make sense of what was happening inside the house on Church Street. Some believed Esther was at the centre of it. Others thought something else was at work entirely. Over the following months, the case would escalate to the point that Esther herself was brought before the courts - not as a witness, but as the accused. In this episode, we take a closer look at the Amherst Poltergeist, exploring the events as they were recorded at the time, the people who witnessed them, and the question that still sits at the centre of the case: what, if anything, was really happening in that house?