Ghost investigators tap into spirits at Alexander Keith’s Brewery

HALIFAX — There was an investigation brewing in downtown Halifax on the eve of All Souls Day.

Attendees of the Halifax Paranormal Symposium materialized outside the front entrance of Alexander Keith’s Brewery for a two-and-a-half-hour, hands-on look into the work of the Haunted Heart and Soul team.

Chelsey Lacelle, Lomar Mendz, Kim Moser and Amy Murphy greeted 30 guests at the historic landmark as night settled over the Nova Scotian capital, then led them through its halls. Brewery staff handled the guided tour, but once it wrapped in the bar — where a lively ceilidh broke out, a Gaelic kitchen party with half pints, sea shanties and hearty slàinte mhaths — the spirits became the focus.

Moser, the Boos and Bourbon podcaster and paranormal investigator who helmed Eastlink’s Haunted, met Lacelle and Mendz three years ago. The trio have since collaborated on the YouTube series Paranormal Discovery. Earlier on November 1, the three sat down with The Superstitious Times at the Halifax Tower Hotel to talk about their plans for the night.

“A lot of spookiness,” Lacelle said with a laugh. She and Mendz have been producing Paranormal Discovery for six years.

A night at the brewery

The investigation team split off into three rooms, giving event goers a chance to try dowsing rods and the Estes method in the Stag’s Head bar with Moser, learn the tools of the trade with Mendz in the main foyer and sit in on a séance in the dining room with mediums Lacelle and Murphy.

The goal, as Lacelle and Moser scouted earlier in the day, was simple: reach out and psychically touch someone. Chiefly, the brewery’s namesake.

Alexander Keith’s Brewery is named for the two-time Halifax mayor, freemason and entrepreneur who emigrated from Caithness, Scotland in 1817. Keith started working at the brewery and bought it from owner Charles Boggs in 1820.

He ran it until his death on December 14, 1873. He was well-respected in the city, serving three mayoral terms in 1843, 1853 and 1854, and presiding over the Legislative Council from 1867 to his death.

Meticulous in business and in crafting his famous India Pale Ale, Keith left such a mark on the grounds that writers Steve Vernon and Darryll Walsh have both chronicled the measured footsteps still heard in the hallways.

Welcome to my workshop

But Keith’s presence isn’t the only energy claiming the brewery after hours. A woman in Victorian garb has been spotted, and custodians have reported the image of a bloodied man staring back at them from the men’s washroom mirror.

“There’s one that is supposed to appear by the bar,” Mendz said of sightings in the Stag’s Head.

The Haunted Heart and Soul team avoided learning anything about the resident ghosts of the 200-year-old building and its adjoining spaces, including Keith’s private residence on Hollis Street.

“We had two guides from Alexander Keith’s Brewery take us through, tell us the history and we specifically said we don’t want to know anything about the ghost stories,” Moser said. “So tonight, when people are going through, we’re not included in the tour so we don’t hear any ghost stories.”

Still, Moser was poked twice by an unseen finger.

The team couldn’t set up their equipment until the historical tour wrapped, but they knew how to work under psychic pressure.

“I also love, while I investigate, to wear historic pieces,” Lacelle said, referring to her long white Victorian dress. “A white one to help bring in the energy a little bit.”

“That’s funny, because I’m wearing a dress in a very similar plaid to the one always associated with Alexander,” Moser added, nodding to the deep green and dark blue Keith tartan on her dress and corset. “Trying to get people who are no longer of this realm to be like, ‘Does she work here?’”

Last call

During Moser’s segment, several people said they heard the clopping of hooves and the creak of a horse-drawn cart during the Estes method.

The method, named for Estes Park, Colorado — home of the infamous Stanley Hotel — uses sensory deprivation (a blindfold and noise-cancelling headphones) to help investigators listen beyond the veil. A spirit box feeds white noise into the headphones while others ask questions in another room.

There was plenty of activity throughout the evening, with a motion-activated music box chiming as eight guests asked questions on the landing above the brewery’s main entrance. Mendz watched closely as the music ting-tinged along.

“I’m hoping to accomplish some communication with Keith himself,” Mendz said earlier in the day. “That’s legendary for me. But it’s also about people experiencing the startup.”

As guests shuffled into the dining room, both Lacelle and Murphy used pendulums to draw out responses from those beyond. Earlier, Murphy shared that while mirror scrying she saw the image of a disapproving woman, a sallow-bearded man and what she believed was a man on his deathbed.

The quartet will appear on Haunted Heart and Soul in 2026 — a somewhat calmer setting for mediums Lacelle and Murphy, who have reached across the veil to witness heavier things.

As for Alexander Keith’s, the draw is still its history. “To have an event like this in Halifax, and to go to such a notable place is very iconic and we’re really excited to be a part of that,” Moser said.