Lake Anjikuni
How did an entire tribe just vanish?
Lake Anjikuni can be found deep in rural Canada in the province of Nunavit and was once home to a tribe of 30 Inuit.
Today, it is only a peaceful slice of beauty, but where did the people go?
In 1930, a fur trapper named Joe Labelle was working in the area and needed to find shelter for the night. Joe had been in the area many times before and had stayed with the tribe near Lake Anjikuni on several occasions. The tribe were a friendly lot who enjoyed visitors and would always welcome travelers to stay for the night. These travelers would be offered warm food, warm beds and warm company.
On this November night, as Joe was walking toward the village an eerie feeling washed over him. The moon sat not quite right in the sky cast a strange glow across the lake. He realized instead of crying huskies and happy conversation; a terrible silence had fallen over the village.
Upon entering the village, Joe saw no one. Even stranger he saw no smoke coming up from any of the cabin chimneys. He saw a fire burning on the other side of the village and carefully made his way toward it, hoping to find someone on the way who would tell him what was going on. Around said fire were all the fixings for a meal that had never been started. It looked as if the fire had been burning for a considerable amount of time, out in the open, with no one to tend it. At this point, he knew something was wrong.
Investigating further, he began going into the homes, to see if he could find any clue about where the villagers had gone. In each home he found everything they would need to take with them had they moved on from the village. The food supplies sat where they always had. Clothing was folded neatly. Weapons were left behind.
The tribe obviously had not just decided to up and leave, so where was everyone?
The worst parts of his discovery were yet to come. As he walked about the village, he found the huskies that he hadn’t heard. Still tied up and starved to death. These sled dogs would have been vital to the tribe’s survival, there was no way they would have left them behind.
Then came the graves. Each had been opened and the bodies completely removed and taken somewhere else completely. The grave markers had been stacked in a neat pile.
The dogs and the graves disturbed him so badly, he knew he had to leave the village immediately and contact authorities. Although it was already freezing and he was hungry, Joe made his way to the nearest telegraph. He contacted the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and insisted that they launch an investigation immediately.
On their way to the village, the Police found a shack the belonged to another trapper by the name of Armand Laurent. He and his two sons occupied this shack and when asked if they had seen anything, they had a tale to tell. They told of seeing a luminous flying object in the sky several days prior. The object had even changed shape before their very eyes. This object was heading in the direction of the lake, they said.
The police launched an intense 9-month investigation but found nothing to help conclude what had happened to the tribe. They had just vanished without a trace. To this day, no one knows what happened to the Inuit tribe of Lake Anjikuni.
*This story is based on events that may or may not be true and is part of our annual Hauntober series.