Ancient legend tells of an evil witch woman that spread misery across the lower mainland.  Bringing death to her would not halt her evil ways, for death would release her spirit to wander the land. The only alternative was to trap her spirit within stone in the middle of the forest.  Doing so would limit the range of her evil deeds.  The stone is said to exist today and can be identified by ugly pock marks etched into the rock like acid stains -- each mark is representative of an act of black magic performed by the evil witch woman. To keep people away from the evil spirit, the Gods brought together the kindest entities in the land and transformed them into trees.  Much like evil is transformed into ugliness, the good spirits were transformed into giants of beauty.  As humans are innately lured to beauty, the trees were considered protectors. Perhaps the most popular version of this story was told by Pauline Johnson (pictured right).  In her book "Legends of Vancouver" the legend of the evil witch woman can be found in "THE LURE."

Although the stone has never officially been found, the Cathedral Trees (also known as the Seven Sisters) were a popular Stanley Park landmark until they were chopped down for safety reasons.  In some versions of the legend, the death of the protectors will lead people to the ugly rock and unwittingly release the witch woman.  Those that venture too close to the stone are said to be lured like a magnet soon loosing their way in the dense forest.  There have been several documented cases of lost hikers and tourists in Stanley Park which have been attributed to the lure of the witch.

Pauline Johnson's version of "THE LURE" tells of how the witch woman was captured.  It doesn't discuss her life.  The witch was easily recognizable by the garland of skunk tails she wore.  And what few people realize is that the Witch lived on the northern slopes of Burnaby Mountain.  It is said that if she ever escapes her prison in Stanley Park she will return to her home to create havoc and invoke despair to all people that dare to enter her domain.
 

In the years Burnaby Mountain was logged, workers at the Pacific Lumber Company claimed that they found remains of a homestead complete with a stone fireplace.  Because no pioneers were known to have lived on the mountain previously, they considered the remains of what looked like a small version of a cedar longhouse to an abandoned aboriginal meeting place.

(Insert archival photo Pacific Lumber Co.  #2905886 here)

This cache will take you to...