The Harbour of Corpses | Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax
Season 2 Episode 20
In this episode of The Grim, Kristin opens the gates to Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia—a place where tragedy, memory, and history converge. Best known as the final resting place of 121 Titanic victims, Fairview offers a tangible encounter with sorrow: rows of granite markers transform distant history into something immediate and haunting. From the meticulous recovery work of John Henry Barnstead to the long-unidentified Unknown Child, the cemetery preserves lives lost at sea with dignity and care.
But Fairview is more than Titanic. Just five years later, Halifax endured the Halifax Explosion, the largest man-made blast of its time. Amid the devastation, acts of heroism—like Patrick Vincent Coleman warning a train away from the blast—stand out against unimaginable loss, leaving lasting lessons in courage and resilience.
The cemetery also honors those who served in uniform, with the Veterans' Columbarium providing dignified resting places and permanent recognition for Canadian and Allied servicemembers. Visitors sometimes report fleeting, unsettling sensations—cold spots, whispers, or a feeling of being watched—particularly near the Unknown Child's grave, reinforcing the cemetery's quietly haunting presence.
From unexplained orbs and shadowy figures at the Titanic wreck site to the silent stones of Fairview, this episode explores how history, tragedy, and memory leave echoes that refuse to fade. Kristin reflects on the human stories beneath the stones, the courage amid disaster, and the hauntings of history that linger, waiting to be remembered.
Featured Stories:
The Titanic Tragedy – April 15, 1912: RMS Titanic sank claiming approximately 1,514 lives. Of 2,224 passengers and crew, only 710 survived. The ship carried 16 standard lifeboats and 4 collapsible ones—legally compliant by 1912 standards yet insufficient to save everyone aboard.
The Recovery Operation – Halifax ships carried embalming fluid and undertakers, not rescue equipment. When the CS Mackay-Bennett ran out of supplies, Captain Frederick Larnder prioritized first-class passengers for preservation while many third-class passengers and crew were buried at sea. Of 338 bodies recovered, 150 came to Halifax—121 buried at Fairview in individual graves rather than mass burial.
The Unknown Child – Mackay-Bennett sailors pooled money for his headstone when no family claimed him. DNA testing eventually revealed Sidney Leslie Goodwin, a 19-month-old British child whose entire family perished. His preserved shoes at the Maritime Museum helped confirm his identity nearly a century later.
Joseph Dawson (J. Dawson) – An Irish coal trimmer mistaken for James Cameron's fictional Jack Dawson. After the 1997 film, visitors flooded Fairview leaving trinkets at his grave where fiction and history blur.
William Denton Cox – A steward who guided third-class passengers toward lifeboats. His grave remained unidentified until 1991—79 years after his death—when the Titanic International Society helped restore his name.
John Henry Barnstead – Halifax's Registrar created an unprecedented identification system: numbered sealed bags, catalogued belongings, photographs when no ID existed. His son Arthur Stanley Barnstead later applied these methods during the Halifax Explosion.
The Halifax Explosion – December 6, 1917: SS Mont-Blanc, laden with explosives, collided with SS Imo and detonated at 9:04 a.m., killing at least 1,782 people. Railway dispatcher Patrick Vincent Coleman stayed at his telegraph warning an incoming train, saving hundreds but losing his life.
