It's true.

Niagara Falls and its surrounding region are teeming with ghouls. The natives knew it, the colonists found out the hard way, and modern tourists have no idea how close to the brink of death they really are whenever they visit.

From cave demons handing out curses, to giant aquatic serpents sinking ships, mass wartime casualties, and more suicides and vanishings than we'll ever actually know, the falls hide some pretty dark secrets under its misty rainbows. Why is this relevant? Because my upcoming novel, THE PLUNGE, incorporates some of Niagara's most famous ghost stories, ominous lore, and tragic statistics in a way that (to my knowledge) has never been done before. Whether you've been here or plan to visit, once you take THE PLUNGE you'll never look at these waterfalls the same way again...

The Great Horned Serpent 🐍

Imagine this: you're on the Maid of the Mist boat tour, pushing ever closer to the largest waterfall in North America. The chaotic water is churning all around you in deadly whirlpools no Olympic swimmer could survive. And then something bumps into the boat, big enough to rock it. You catch a glimpse of a long, dark shape slithering beneath the foamy surface, and you can barely hear everyone scream above the roaring din of the falls...

According to Iroquois/Seneca mythology, this is a real possibility. The "Oniare" was a massive serpent creature that prowled the Niagara River and Lake Ontario in search of human prey. It was feared for capsizing vessels, devouring people, and breathing poison capable of sickening entire villages. Its only known adversaries were the powerful, benevolent Thunder Beings who lived behind the falls. Their frequent and ferocious fighting symbolized the delicate balance between good and evil in the world.

A balance not understood or respected by the Europeans who eventually colonized the region...

The Cave of the Evil Spirt 👤

When René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle (rolls right off the tongue) became the first European explorer to "discover" Niagara Falls during a 1678 expedition, he was warned by the Seneca to never enter a particular cave located within its limestone gorge. Of course, saying "never go in there" to a European explorer was like telling Garfield not to touch a fresh tray of lasagna.

According to legend, La Salle snuck into the cave and encountered an evil spirit which gave him a supernatural ultimatum: go back to France and you'll live, laugh, love, or... continue your colonizing ways and your life will suck in ways you cannot possibly imagine. Spoiler alert: La Salle ignored the evil spirit and paid the price.

Fast-forward to the 1700s, when the cave would earn the nickname "The Devil's Hole" after a gruesome attack by Seneca warriors left over eighty British soldiers dead and scalpless.

But they were merely a drop of blood in the bucket when it came to military casualties in Niagara...

The War of 1812 🪦

What happens when colonizers try to colonize each other? Lots and lots of death. The War of 1812 was far from the only conflict to soak Niagara's land with more blood than all the Evil Dead movies combined, but it was one of the biggest. Over the course of two turbulent years, clashes between the British/Canadian and US forces resulted in thousands of casualties––including their allied native tribes.

In other words, pick a random square foot anywhere in Niagara and chances are someone died violently there. It's hard to imagine the land beneath flashy tourist attractions and posh wineries as a virtual mass grave, but it basically is just that. As a result, Niagara-on-the-Lake is...

The Most Haunted Town in All of Canada 👻

Stroll down Queen St. and you will fall in love with NOTL––the quaint shops and restaurants, the historic pubs and hotels. Niagara Falls is all about spectacle and adventure, while Niagara-on-the-Lake is where you go to pamper yourself with a locally-sourced meal washed down with locally-grown wine. But when the sun sets and the charming storefronts close, this picture perfect little town becomes (in the words of Dr. Ray Stantz) "Spook Central."

Nearly every business here has a ghost story attached to it: The Olde Angel Inn, The Old Courthouse, The Royal George Theater, Cork's Restaurant... Honestly, there were far too many haunted locations to cram into a newsletter (hell, there were too many to cram into a 79K-word novel) but suffice it to say, the place is infested with spirits.

And yet, if we're talking strictly phantoms-per-capita, we'll need to come back full circle to where it all began...

700,000 Gallons of Terror Per Second ☠️

If we're quantifying a haunt by its sheer body count, the falls themselves win hands down from one century to the next. Consider this: since they began keeping records in the mid-1800s, over 5,000 bodies have been recovered from the gorge. The key word there is "recovered" because the actual amount of people who have gone over the brink and died can never truly be known. Due to its relentless currents and ancient whirlpools, many people swallowed by Niagara are never seen again. All we know for sure is it happens at least 30-40 times per year--some by accident, and even more sadly, some intentionally. If you happen to notice conspicuous blue public phones scattered throughout the park, those are 24/7 suicide hotlines because, yeah. That's how much it happens here.

Perhaps more chillingly, even those not wrestling with morbid thoughts can sometimes find themselves contemplating the plunge. Something about the rush of 700,000 gallons of water per second has a mesmerizing effect on certain people. Many tourists have explained feeling an irresistible pull towards the falls, as if they were being lured to jump in.

So, naturally, Niagara Falls became known as...

The Honeymoon Capital of the World ❤️

Since the early 1800s, newlyweds have flocked to Niagara to enjoy their post-nuptial bliss--a trend that exploded in the mid-20th century with the advent of heart-shaped Jacuzzis. Given everything you just learned about this place, you can probably guess why my protagonists get more than they bargained for when they booked their honeymoon trip on Expedia. What they experience is all based on real places, real legends, and real terror. So, if you like the idea of a supernatural story unfolding outside the confines of the typical haunted house trope, then put on your plastic poncho and brace yourself... THE PLUNGE is coming early 2027.

Dying to do a deeper dive? Check out this episode of the wildly popular Two Girls One Ghost podcast...

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Stay tuned... 📺

Next time on the Macabre Monday newsletter, we'll be changing things up as I tell you all about my personal real-life ghost story just in time for Halloween. It's the reason I believe in the paranormal and you won't want to miss it 🎃

Stay Spooky,

-MM-

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