Middle School Boys Get a Spooky Lesson in Storytelling

Middle School boys were enthralled by guest speaker, Joel A. Sutherland, author of the Haunted Canada series of books.

Joel gave an animated talk to the students in Ketchum Auditorium on the morning of Oct. 21, sprinkling in spooky stories and creepy anecdotes about how he researches ghost stories from across the country. He told the audience that at every school he’s visited, he hears claims that there’s a ghost on campus and asked if that is the case at SAC. The boys answered with a resounding “Yes!”

He revealed that when he took over Scholastic Canada’s Haunted Canada series starting with the fourth book, he feared he wouldn’t find a lot of haunted stories. “How haunted can Canada be?” he pondered.

“Canada is very, very haunted,” Joel revealed. “Ghosts are everywhere!”

The students were delighted to know that one of their favourite authors has a supply of haunted tales to draw from.

Speaking about drawing, Joel spoke about his Haunted Canada graphic novels, which thrilled many members of the audience. He shared artwork from the novels to a chorus of oohs and aahs before delving into the terrifying tale of Marie-Josephte Corriveau from Quebec, who was convicted in 1763 of murdering her two husbands. The gruesome story involved a corpse, a cage and a haunted crossroads.

After Joel’s presentation, boys raced to a table set up in Staunton Gallery, stocked with a selection of Joel’s books and graphic novels, where they could purchase one and have it signed by the author.

He also led writing workshops with Grade 7 boys to help them enhance their writing through descriptive language and establishing mood and setting.