The Murder of Scotty McLaughlin with Melanie Cole – Part 1 – ParaGhoul Paranormal: Discoveries from the Dark
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Every so often, a story lands in my lap that blends true crime, prairie history and the kind of ghost lore that makes you lean in a little closer. In this episode, I talk with researcher and writer Melanie Cole, whose work uncovers forgotten Saskatchewan murders and mysteries from the early twentieth century.
Melanie does not consider herself a believer in ghosts, but her curiosity about the stories behind alleged hauntings led her down a path she did not expect. That path eventually revealed the truth behind a skull once kept in the Kerrobert Courthouse, a case wrapped in rumours, folklore and a murder that shook a small prairie town.
In our conversation, we walk through how she first stumbled into this world, how she conducts her research, and the chilling story of the murder of James “Scotty” McLaughlin. It remains one of the strangest intersections of performance, investigation and chance in Saskatchewan history.
Interview Highlights
What first pushed you toward researching Saskatchewan true crime?
Melanie: “My name is Melanie Cole, and this all started during the pandemic. I was researching things to write on my blog and wanted fascinating topics that interested me.”
Melanie: “I do not personally believe in ghosts, but the idea of them fascinates me. If a place is haunted, there has to be a reason.”
Melanie described how a simple Google search for haunted places in Saskatchewan left her disappointed by vague explanations. That frustration pushed her deeper into historical records, where she discovered the Kerrobert Courthouse haunting tied to a skull kept in an evidence locker. Her true crime instincts kicked in immediately, and she wanted to know whose skull it was, how it got there, and what really happened.
How did the Kerrobert Courthouse skull lead you to the story of Scotty McLaughlin?
Melanie: “They believed the courthouse was haunted because a skull from a murder victim had been kept in the basement until 1996.”
Melanie: “I started looking at murder cases from 1930, and nothing lined up. That is what sent me down the rabbit hole of murders in my own backyard.”
She could not match the courthouse lore with any documented case from Kerrobert in 1930. But as she sifted through archives and newspapers, she found another story entirely, one centred in Beechey, Saskatchewan. It involved a missing farmer named James McLaughlin, a vaudeville mind reader named Professor Henry Gladstone, and an investigation that reads more like a novel than a police report.
Can you walk us through the moment the mentalist became part of the investigation?
Melanie: “During his show, he pointed at a man in the audience and said, the man you are thinking of was murdered. There was foul play and the body will soon be found.”
Melanie: “Constable Carey had been investigating the disappearance for two years. When Gladstone made that callout, he realized people might start talking.”
Gladstone’s performance ignited the town. When he also pointed to the local constable and told him he would help find the body, the case cracked open in an unexpected way. The police invited Gladstone to accompany them as they interviewed locals, hoping his presence would shake loose new details. Shockingly, he guessed things no one had told him, including threats made by the suspect and the suspect’s illness at the time.
How did the truth about Scotty’s murder finally come out?
Melanie: “Gladstone suddenly snapped his fingers and said, the barn. A blow was struck and he was killed. The body is still there.”
Melanie: “There was silence, and then John broke down sobbing and confessed.”
Melanie walked me through John’s confession. He claimed Scotty had confronted him in the barn, chased him with a shovel and that he struck back with a pitchfork in fear. He hid the body under a manure pile near an old well and continued living on the farm, terrified someone would discover what happened. When volunteers dug through frozen ground and manure, they eventually uncovered Scotty’s remains exactly where John indicated.
What happened at the trial, and why was the skull kept so long?
Melanie: “The question was whether it was murder or self-defence. They found him guilty of manslaughter and sentenced him to seven years.”
Melanie: “Scotty’s skull stayed in the courthouse evidence locker until 1996 before being reunited with his remains.”
The trial focused on intent. John was twenty-three and large, while Scotty had a reputation for picking fights, sometimes violently. The jury settled on manslaughter, and Melanie has not been able to trace what happened to John afterward. As for the skull, the courthouse kept it as evidence for decades, long after the legal need had passed. The building developed a reputation for footsteps, whispers and doors being tried at night, which locals often linked to the disembodied remains stored below.
What has this research journey been like for you, and where is it taking you next?
Melanie: “I get emails from people all the time saying, thank you for writing about this. No one in our family ever talked about what happened.”
Melanie now runs a Facebook group with thousands of members who enjoy unpacking historical cases with her. She continues to write articles when time allows, sometimes going through months of archival requests to reconstruct a single case. She hinted at future projects, possibly novels set in 1930s Saskatchewan, where real history and fictional mystery could overlap.
Conclusion
Talking with Melanie reminded me how deeply the prairies are layered with stories, many of them forgotten, many of them unsettling. Her dedication to uncovering these lost cases, and to doing it with care and respect, gives a voice back to people whose stories were nearly erased.
The tale of the haunted courthouse skull is one of those rare intersections of rumour, tragedy and unlikely discovery. Hearing how Melanie pieced it together felt like watching a dusty corner of Saskatchewan history shift back into focus.
If you could see one forgotten Saskatchewan mystery explored in depth, what kind of story would you want uncovered?
You can find Melanie and her many articles showcasing Saskatchewan historical true crime at https://melaniecole.com/
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