Ghost Hunters discover spirits at Fort la Reine Museum

Two brave Saskatchewaners spent the entire night at Fort la Reine Museum to investigate a few paranormal theories.

Curtis and Nathan Riersgard have been uncovering spirits in haunted places for a decade and wanted to branch out from their home province. Curtis says Fort la Reine seemed like an easy first choice.

"I just typed into the computer, 'Most haunted places in Manitoba.' The first option was Fort la Reine," Curtis continues. "I saw a news report that was done with a gentleman that talked about his experiences here. That interested me. I looked into it and found a few more (paranormal) claims. I sent an email, and we came to check it out."

The Riersgards explored the premises until 1 a.m. before they split up and slept in different buildings, with cameras rolling the entire time. Curtis says what they came across at Fort la Reine was unbelievable.

"We started out in the train car. We tried using our EVP (electronic voice phenomena) recorder and our spirit box in there, but we weren't capturing very much. We went into the Burton House and started doing spirit box in there. We captured some of the most amazing spirit box voices I've ever captured. When we were talking to it and asking it questions, it was replying in such a clear voice. It almost sounded like we were talking to another person," Curtis explains.

While they were thrilled to talk with this spirit, Curtis says it wasn't all fun and games.

"We asked the spirit how it died, and it said, 'I was stabbed.' We also had several other voices come through. One saying my name," says Curtis. "Hearing your name come through is a very scary thing, and it definitely said my name. All night long, it told us its name was Burt."

He notes they didn't capture much paranormal activity outside of the voices but he says that's more than substantial. Curtis adds it's not the first time a spirit has called him out by name.

"It's only happened to me at one other location but it's happened to Nathan a few times. When your name comes through, you know it. It's a really freaky thing, and you can't mistake it for anything else. It gives you a sense of disbelief."

The Riersgards have been interested in the spirit realm since their youth, but over the last few years, they have started documenting their experiences on YouTube under the name Purgatory Adventures.

Their video at Fort la Reine will mark the first time in their channel's history that they stayed the night at a haunted spot in Manitoba but Curtis says coming to Portage was a full-circle moment for them.

"I started doing this when I was 12 years old, and we actually started in Manitoba. The first location we ever investigated was Criddle/Vane Homestead."

A full video on the Riersgard brothers' overnight experience at Fort la Reine will be released in the coming weeks.