Hammerson Peters tells tales of strange Canadian history

“There are just so many first-hand accounts by reliable witnesses describing exactly the same thing that I’m convinced there has to be something to these phenomena.”

Peters is a phenomenon in his own right as a talented fiddler and carver who also became an animator and narrator for his YouTube videos. He was less confident at being a one-man show when he started.

“I didn't have any money at all. For my very first video, which was a sort of prolife commentary on the Trudeau regime that YouTube has since taken down, I found all these Christian voice actors that had the same opinion, [saying] ‘Oh, I'll do it for free.’ I'd offer to pay them, and they’re like, ‘Don't worry about it. You can't afford me.’”

Since 2018, Peters has published six books—Legends of the Nahanni Valley, three volumes of Mysteries of Canada, and two volumes of The Oak Island Encyclopedia.

Hammerson hasn’t reached firm conclusions about the tiny island off the southeast coast of Nova Scotia, but he’s sure something unusual happened. In 1795, settler Daniel McGinnis discovered a curious depression in a forest clearing. He and friends began to dig, hoping to find pirate treasure. They found a stone slab with mysterious markings and more curiosities until at a depth of almost 100 feet, the entire shaft filled with seawater. As it turned out, the shaft connected to a 500-foot horizontal tunnel to a nearby cove.

The first European to learn of the the Nahanni Valley of the Northwest Territories was Alexander Mackenzie around 1789. In future decades, missionaries, fur traders, and anthropologists documented the fear local indigenous tribes had of the Nakani, a rumoured group of hairy and fierce giants. The 1908 discovery of gold prospectors in the valley with their heads missing did nothing to diminish the legend.

Peters, an Alberta resident who grew up on the Pacific Northwest Coast and later lived in Moose Jaw, says research in one part of Canadian history inevitably leads to “a whole realm” of others.

“It happens all the time. I think I know something about Canadian history, and then I stumble upon a whole new aspect of that subject I had never heard of before. That phrase, ‘The more you know, the more you know you don't know,’ it's totally true, you know?” Peters asked.

“It's amazing. Researching stories is like battling a hydra. For every story that I knock off, two more appear in its place. There's no end to it. I could do this for the rest of my life. If I live to be 80 years old, I could still keep doing it.”

Peters’ cousins asked him to look into the Ogopogo, the rumoured creature of BC’s Okanagan Lake. The documentary of nearly two-and-a-half hours followed three years of research.

“My cousins enjoyed the Ogopogo doc, despite that I delivered it two years after they asked me for it! They sent me some very kind comments after it aired, which were a real pleasure to read,” Peters said.

“I really enjoy working on larger projects like these, but the reality is that if I want to keep momentum on my YouTube channel, which is the primary avenue by which I market my books, I'm obliged to post something at least once a week. Accordingly, a lot of my larger projects end up on hold indefinitely.”

One purpose for the YouTube videos is to promote Peters’ books. He keeps rising to the challenge of posting regularly to keep the platform’s algorithm and his viewers happy.

“The past holidays, I thought I could take a week off. Nope, you can't take a week off. You’ve got to keep going,” Peters said.

“I have a Tiktok account despite my better judgment. My marketing efforts there have fallen pretty flat. Unfortunately, I’m not a cute girl with dancing skills, so I don’t expect I’ll have much success in that arena,” Peters said with a laugh.

Peters’ books, articles, fiddle music, carvings, and links to his videos are available at HammersonPeters.com.