Written by Cherilyn Sathorn 2022 Cohort
A few days ago, I went on a field trip with my Pre-MDM classmates at the Roedde House Museum in Vancouver’s West End, which is the spectacular Victorian Queen Anne-style house built in 1893 for Gustav Roedde’s family. At first, when I went inside, I felt very cozy because of the homey interior design and the pleasant reception from the museum tour guides.
Our tour started; we explored room by room, followed the tour guide, and listened to the house’s history and each of Roedde’s family members. It was fascinating. There are tons of stunning heritage items with beautiful stories behind them. But ‘Have you ever felt scared by something you can’t see?’ I think everyone might have felt this at least once in their lifetime. Yes, I felt terrified as I separated myself from the group and went alone to Roedde’s daughter’s bedroom. I previously went through Roedde’s sons’ bedroom with a very joyful feeling. Suddenly, my emotions changed as I saw a bunch of creepy tiny dolls mixed with some Halloween decorations inside the girls’ bedroom next to me. It was unsettling. I ultimately wanted to go back to be in the group, but I felt my feet numb at the sight of the room. I had no choice but to wait for my group to enter that room.
After everyone had come, the tour guide started telling the historical horror story of Roedde’s daughter Anna Henrietta. One of their previous daughters with the same name had died when she was four years old after she ate poisoned berries, and unfortunately, nobody could take her to the hospital in time. After that, a later-born namesake, Anna Catherine, the owner of this room, was killed by a psychotic patient when she worked the night shift at Vancouver General Hospital in 1925. After I heard this terrifying horror story, I got goosebumps! I’m sure there is some mystery within the name ‘Anna’! Do you believe they should have named their daughter differently?
This was a memorable trip for me in my first Halloween season in Canada. I got many oral history artifacts and took many pictures to keep every joyful yet spooky moment in my memory. I hope our class will have an amazing field trip like this again. And if you are interested in going there, you can follow the link below. https://www.roeddehouse.org