Podcast that goes bump in the night Giving Up the Ghost tells tales of the supernatural from all over Manitoba By: Eva Wasney Posted: 5:30 PM CDT Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023

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This article was published 25/10/2023 (1011 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Jas Flamand and Sherrie Sigurdson are using a (relatively) new medium to keep the oral tradition of ghost stories alive.

The Winnipeg friends are co-hosts of Giving Up the Ghost, a podcast dedicated to sharing Manitoba’s haunted history. Since 2019, they’ve amassed a collection of supernatural stories that run the gamut from well-known local lore to obscure personal encounters.

“Everything is word-of-mouth and word-of-mouth gets lost,” Sigurdson says.

“People aren’t going to write the ghost stories down in history books,” Flamand adds. “We call ourselves audio curators, because we’re hoping to retain a lot of these stories.”

Their shared interest in the paranormal runs as deep as their friendship. The pair of like-minded Libras met in junior high school — “150 years ago,” Sigurdson jokes — and reconnected over Facebook as adults.

Both grew up with an appetite for creepy folklore.

“I had a ouija board at 12,” Flamand says. “I’m the older cousin who would drag the younger kids into a spare bedroom and tell them about Bloody Mary.”

“I grew up up north and heard a lot of Indigenous stories that kind of piqued my interest, about little people and things like that,” Sigurdson says. “When I came back to big ol’ Winnipeg, you didn’t hear many people talk about that kind of thing.”

Flamand, a fiction writer, is the instigator of the podcast. While she’s written at length about mysterious phenomena, she saw audio as a more accessible format for collecting and sharing ghost stories.

At the time, there was also a lack of podcasts that focused specifically on Canadian or Manitoban legends. It took some convincing to get Sigurdson — an introverted artist — on board, but she eventually warmed to the idea of being a disembodied voice on the airwaves.

Since launching Giving Up the Ghost nearly five years ago, the hosts have recorded more than 160 episodes covering everything from the haunted room at the Fort Garry Hotel to the Huldufólk (hidden folk) of Gimli to St. Andrews on the Red, an Anglican church near Selkirk shrouded in ghostly lore.

“I had a ouija board at 12 … I’m the older cousin who would drag the younger kids into a spare bedroom and tell them about Bloody Mary.”–Jas Flamand

The regular programming is interspersed with “ramblesodes” about a wide array of supernatural concepts and stories from further afield.

Much of the content is grounded in historical research; the hosts spend a lot of time combing through local archives.

“We effin’ love history,” says Flamand.

Cursing — as in expletives, not dark magic — is another cornerstone of the pod. Thanks to years of friendship, Flamand and Sigurdson have a comfortable, casual rapport that makes for an entertaining and sometimes rambly listen.

Both women have had their own paranormal experiences. Their goal is to create an inviting platform for others to share what is often considered taboo subject matter.

Many stories have come directly from listeners, such as a Halloween episode from 2021 featuring a plumber with a terrifying encounter in the basement of a long-abandoned house.

“A lot of people denounce (the supernatural), because maybe it scares them — people fear the unknown,” Flamand says. “We believe what happened to them happened, so this is a safe place. We call it sharing the ghost love.”

“It’s cathartic that they get to sort of spew their information to us, because we’re non-judgmental,” Sigurdson adds. “We’ve shared anonymous stories too from people that just want to say (their experience) out loud, but don’t want to give their name.”

The hosts have connected with other local supernatural investigators and have found success soliciting stories from the public during pop-up recording sessions around town.

This Sunday, they’ll be at the Mystics, Mediums & Mindfulness Market at Four Crowns Event Centre (1030 McPhillips St.) from noon to 7 p.m.

Find Giving Up the Ghost on most major podcasting platforms.

eva.wasney@winnipegfreepress.com

X: @evawasney

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