Paranormal investigator Artie Martin faced an internal conflict during the filming of Ghost Hunters of the Grand River Season 4.
It was late December, the chill of winter settling in, and Martin was thinking about how viewers might react to the Six Nations Investigating Paranormal Encounters (SNIPE) team’s investigation of One Market in Brantford, Ont.
Now part of Wilfrid Laurier University, One Market Street was formerly a mall and is tied to a long and complex history. In 1904, a Six Nations medicine woman imposed the curse after promises made by the city were broken. That was renewed by clan mother Alma Green in 1974 and by the end of that year, development plans came to a halt.
What unsettled Martin most about the One Market investigation was a moment involving a guest on the show who identified as a witch and was sharing her medicine. Lori Green was very open with her practices, which created an internal conflict for him.
“For me personally, when someone identifies themselves as a witch, that’s significant,” he said during a December Zoom interview. “This woman was sharing her medicine and traditionally you’re not supposed to see other people’s medicine.”
SNIPE founder and fellow investigator, Todd Thomas, also shared his concerns.
“Stories about witches have been part of my life since childhood, and they genuinely shook me to my core,” he wrote in an email. “We were raised not to talk about such things—fear and secrecy were a big part of it, especially the fear of the unknown.
“So, to have someone speak about it openly and offer to show us how it’s done was very unsettling for me,” Thomas added. “That’s something I personally was not comfortable engaging with.”
According to the teachings of Seneca prophet Handsome Lake, known as Gaiwiio, witchcraft aimed at individuals and the performance of medicine rituals were discouraged, as those powers could be used for harmful purposes. Medicine is also considered sacred and private within Haudenosaunee traditional societies, with restrictions on sharing meant to protect cultural knowledge from misuse and exploitation.
Martin said Tristyn Thomas-Miller chose to leave the investigation, but he stayed to see what unfolded.
“I got on the horn with some of our traditional leaders, our title holders, our chiefs. And they were like, you should burn that footage. Don’t show it,” Martin recalled.
Ultimately, the decision was out of the SNIPE team’s hands. As the episode went through the editing process, the concerns eased.
“It turned out pretty good. A lot of people were talking about it on Six Nations,” he said.
The SNIPE team travels to locations selected by producers, with some input from the investigators. Ghost Hunters of the Grand River focuses on sites with documented history and eyewitness accounts so a story can be shared with viewers.
“We give them options and they’ll do all the reaching out,” Martin said.
For Season 4, the cast and crew travelled to 13 locations across Manitoba and Ontario, including Pickering Museum Village, Leaksdale Manse, the Gordon House in Amherstburg, Oshawa Museum, One Market in Brantford, Cambridge’s Old Post Office, Flato Academy Theatre in Lindsay, Whitby’s Station Gallery and the Scugog Shores Museum. Manitoba stops included APTN’s national studios, the Winnipeg Firefighters’ Museum, the Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada and the Burton Cummings Theatre.
At APTN’s national studios at Portage Avenue and Hargrave Street, Mi’kmaq spirit talker Shawn Leonard joined the team, offering guidance as they explored the difference between residual energy and active presences.
“It was funny, because when we showed up at the airport together in Toronto, we were sitting there and he was thinking,” Martin said. “When they told us the story of this guy, everything Shawn was talking about at the airport matched what happened.”
The studio is said to be haunted by ancestral spirits, with staff reporting voices heard throughout the building.
“A man was beaten to death in the back parking lot, and Shawn had told us about his tragic passing,” Thomas said. “During the investigation, that man’s presence came through on my portal, which strongly supported and validated Shawn’s impressions and abilities.”
Another standout location for Martin was the Burton Cummings Theatre. The SNIPE team was joined by Leonard and Anishinaabe and Ininiw knowledge keeper Michael Pierre as they explored stories connected to stage actors Laurence Irving and Mabel Hackney, who died in the sinking of the Empress of Ireland in 1914.
Originally opened in 1903 as the Walker Theatre, the building was named after founder Corliss Powers Walker and his wife, Harriet, a noted suffragette. It was a popular venue and is believed by some to be where Charlie Chaplin and Groucho Marx first met.
The Walkers added a second balcony known as “The Gods,” now considered one of the spookiest areas of the theatre. The venue was renamed in 2002 in honour of Winnipeg native and Guess Who co-founder Burton Cummings.
“You meet some people and they have this very soft demeanour. You can just tell they know. They’re wise,” Martin said of Leonard and Pierre.
During the investigation, Leonard described what he was sensing in the building while Pierre, off camera, texted director Peter Esteves with his own impressions. Their accounts aligned closely.
Season 5 of Ghost Hunters of the Grand River is set to air in October 2026 on APTN. New episodes of Season 4 air Wednesdays at 9 p.m., with reruns Mondays at 8:30 p.m. The full series is available to stream on APTN+ and APTN Beyond.
Photo courtesy S.N.I.P.E.