In the height of 2004, I had an idea to make a movie. I spoke with my friend James, and we bounced around some ideas. It turns out that both of us enjoy horror movies, and that he happened to move close to one of the creepiest towns in Alberta, Fort Kent.
I went to visit him and we took a trip to Fort Kent. Sure enough, it was the creepiest town I’ve seen that was still surviving. The school was abandoned, but not vandalized. The Grass in the schoolyard grew to the bottoms of the windows, blowing soft waves in the wind. A girl’s lone dirty shoe was turned over in the playground under a swing that rocked back and forth as though a child was still swinging in it.
Across the street, an abandoned church stood. In front was a bronze statue of Jesus, which was missing its hands. Jesus looked up at the sky as perhaps praying for his hands to return or praying for the salvation to Fort Kent. I don’t know. Just behind the church was an abandoned nunnery that was accessible through an underground tunnel from the church.
Kitty corner to the church and across the street from the school was a small two-story brick hotel. I don’t know how many rooms it had. But the rooms were on the second floor, and they all had bars on the outside of the windows. If you stood in the middle of that main intersection, you would not get hit by a car because there were no cars.
We spent the day walking through the rest of the town. Even though there were a few houses, there were no people. We were it.
There is a story here. A scary story.
I went home curious about the town and the region. I was able to find a lush history that included bootlegging, desolating disease, and Wendigo convictions. It was the Wendigo convictions that caught my eye. Enough that I started to build a story around it.
Once I had the basis for the story, I launched into making a movie. The equipment was purchased, casting calls went out, and locations booked. Things were good until I ran out of money. Then things were not that good at all. A change to the story was made to make a mockumentary. A fictional story made to look like a documentary. Changing the script helped cut costs, but in the end, no more money, is no more money. It was a little gutting then and still is today, but left me with some valuable lessons:
1) Leave movie making to people who like to make movies, or to people who are paid to make movies. Everything about this experience was fun for me until it was not. And then it really wasn’t fun. Not even a little bit.
2) If you like writing, just write. I love to write. Love it. I love the feedback component; I love collaborating to expand ideas. I love the excitement that surges in when a new idea strikes. Writing, the entire process, is fun for me.
3) When you make your story real enough, Discovery Channel calls you wanting to make a documentary. Yup, that happened. I was so intrigued by the fact that the show they were broadcasting wanted to do a piece on Fort Kent that I helped in whatever way I could. It ended up being a ten minute segment on Creepy Canada and was a highlight of the entire experience.
4) The mockumentary idea was good. And I we ended up with a teaser from it.
So now what?
Well, I am working on my second book at the moment, Progressive Academy, but this story has always stuck in the back of my mind. It will be my third book.
While you may find other sites claim these events to be true, they are not. I made them up. Most people have now figured that out.
Lost Town of Fort Kent Storyline.
1756 / April
The partially eaten remains of a local farmer attacked by a large white grizzly are found at the edge of his property. A hunting party of three men is sent out to exterminate the grizzly before it attacks again. They leave heading into the forest in the area near the Commune and never return.
1756 / July
Fear and superstition cause the local farmers to point blame at the Commune for the disappearance of the hunters and the death of the farmer. The farmers then form and send a militia to demand that the Commune vacate the area immediately. The leader of the Commune, William Blake, refuses.
1757 / April
After a harsh winter, the militia is sent to investigate the commune and find all occupants dead in a terrible scene of cannibalism. The compound is burned to the ground, leaving only ash behind. William Blake and the Commune are never spoken of again.
1871-1892
Over one hundred years later many new settlers have begun to populate the area, taking advantage of the free fertile land. In 1892, the town of Fort Kent officially is established with promises of a bright future.
1919 / May
Disgusted with the horrors of World War I, Thomas Burton and his wife Katie, move from England to Fort Kent. Once in Fort Kent the Burtons start a successful medical practice and quickly become active in the town of Fort Kent making many friends.
1920 / Spring
Much of the valuable lumber in the area has been removed. With government regulated reseeding policies yet to be invented, the logging business has exhausted its supply of timber. Many of the logging companies go out of business forcing many locals to head to larger cities like Edmonton for work. Fort Kent dwindles in size.
1920 / October
An inexplicable wave of rats pours into Fort Kent and the surrounding area from seemingly nowhere. Many of the town’s people become sick with various symptoms. Thomas Burton does his best to help the sick members of the community. However, a great number of people are still lost to the disease.
1920 – 1921 / November – April
The winter of 1920 is the worst winter in the Fort Kent area in recorded history. Many farmers spend the winter secluded and trapped in their homes while their livestock perish.
1921 / April
When spring returns the infestation of rats, which should have died off have grown larger in number. (expand) Throughout the spring, many animals are found dead and partially eaten in the area. Farmers begin telling stories involving a large white hairy bearlike creature that hungers for living flesh.
1921 / August
Katie Burton succumbs to the disease despite Thomas’s best efforts and soon died of smallpox. Frustrated with so much death and the threat of an epidemic Thomas Burton quarantines his house / hospital, taking no more patients while he takes time to mourn his wife.
1921 / September
The townspeople are unaware that the doctor’s wife had died and that he is alone in the house building a shrine with her lifeless body. After many weeks of anger and confusion Thomas turns his back on God. When he reappears, he calls himself William Blake, a name not spoken in the area for over one hundred years.
1921 / October
Thomas Burton / William Blake begins to bring transients and isolated farmers to his home in secret. It is found that these people are tortured and killed. None are identified.
1921 / October 12
On this night, the town of Fort Kent is attacked by Thomas Burton / William Blake. He moves from house to house acting quickly, giving no one time to defend. Most families are butchered with parts of the body taken. For unknown reasons, eleven people are spared.
1921 / October 13th
Rumrunner Russell Foley comes into town with his illegal shipment of alcohol and finds most of the Town members murdered. Those that have not been killed by Thomas Burton / William Blake are in shock. Struggling with what to do, Russell Foley heads to the nearest town and notifies the RCMP.
1921 / October 14th
After a short investigation The RCMP easily suppress news of the events since very few people still lived in the area and Russell Foley, who found the murdered town, was eager to obey police for fear his Rum Running operation would be shut down.
The Lost Town of Fort Kent © 2006 Leslie Chivers
Literary Dialogue 
It is really too bad that you didn’t get to finish your movie. I am a huge horror fan, and the story was very good. I know it wasn’t true as I grew up there, but it sure created a huge buzz! I encourage you to write the book. There are really creepy things that did happen on that town, I wouldn’t say windego related. Reading your story was the first I ever heard about that. But you are right definitely a creepy little town.
I heard about this story when I moved to cold lake to launch 953 k-rock, I wanted to talk about this but management wouldn’t let me on air..
When the film was first in production, I think a lot of people embraced it. Then the town became known for the story, and the people in the town came to resent it.
This is freakin’ phenomenal. No pun intended.
Thanks Lori, I was actually contacted by someone in the publishing industry and convinced to write the story. With the projected timelines, the story will be finished in the middle of 2015. If a publisher picks it up, I would probably be released in 2016.
*like
For everyone who believes this, look up more information about actual Fort Kent Alberta.
The hamlet is not abandoned and though a friend and I drove down there which was 20 minutes from my own home we saw nothing of the so called abandoned lost Fort Kent and we were there for hours.
While there I had vehicles constantly driving by on the road. The abandoned school was purchased and the owner is attempting to rebuild and the hotel is so old it was unsafe to use. It stands as a historical site.
Though I loved reading your comments I would love to meet you in person and talk, maybe possibly take you back up to Fort Kent so you could see it again for what it really is.
The hotel is very much in use. There are strippers there every Wednesday 😂😂.