Tales from the Wine Crypt

“I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti…"

I recommend to anyone unfamiliar with this iconic line by Hannibal Lecter, to sit down this Halloween season and watch the infamously unsettling Silence of the Lambs, simply to see how this chilling reference can haunt your glass of Chianti for many years to come (should you share my sadistic obsession with scary movies).

Haunting stories of wine are not limited to pop culture references either. The antiquity of the wine industry alone gives it exposure to wars, disasters, and events such as the prohibition. Take these murderous backstories, add in a creepy old house and a deep cavernous wine cellar, and you’re almost asking for a scary movie to come to life. Haunted wineries have become a bit of a promotional gimmick, with owners capitalizing on these scary stories to attract tourists and ghost hunters. However, as you sift through the hype, a few stories stand out above the rest: vivid recollections of ghostly encounters that leave you disturbed, and you realize that these are not stories at all. —Laura Starr

Dry Creek Vineyard in California, built on top of a Pomo Indian Reservation, shares tales of the presence of a tall man, with lights on in rooms where there are no lights, and cell phones calling themselves in a room with only one person.

Bunker Hill Winery in Florida documents an ongoing incursion of events such as doors slamming, voices yelling and gravestones moving. The couple who own the vineyard track the events carefully and post a blog, hoping to attract interested parties who can offer answers and peace of mind to their situation.

Bartholomew Park Winery is built on top of an old 19^th century women’s prison, hospital, and morgue. In the ’70s, a refit uncovered a woman’s body in the walls of the building. Women’s voices can inexplicably be heard singing hymns in the early afternoon.

And in our own backyard, St. John’s, Newfoundland, is home to the Newman Wine Vaults, one of Canada’s oldest wine cellars, used to age port wine in the 1600’s. This heritage property’s haunted history made CBC news in 2011 after a digital camera captured a creepy image of a person who was not in the room.

And, should you feel particularly inclined, hop on over to France and stay the night in one of their haunted castles, plagued with stories of tortured souls from war battles un-won. You might need more than just a glass of nice Chianti.