Devils Island is located at the northeast entrance to Halifax Harbour just off of shore of Eastern Passage. The first mention of the island historically can be found in , when it was included in an early French map depicting what is now the Province of Nova Scotia.
The island has gone through many name changes, but it is believed that it was first known as Devilles or Duvals Island. Over the years of English habitation in the area the name was eventually anglicized and came to be known as Devils Island. The first European settlers began a community on the island by , this quickly grew to include at least families, a school, and a general store. At one point there were two lighthouses and a lifesaving station based on the island; today only the southeast lighthouse remains along with a later light keepers residence. Paranormal activity has been recorded on the island since the first settlers came to the island.
A former lighthouse keeper, after having just finished painting the stairs inside the lighthouse, turned to look at his handy work only to see that unexplained footsteps were left in the wet paint.
After a party on the island one resident caspar henneberry reported seeing a talking halibut who he claimed was the devil. The next day they found caspar hanging over the side of his boat drowned. some say this is how the island got the name "devils island".
There once was a house on the island which was subject to a large amount of poltergeist activity. The property suffered mysterious fires, knockings, objects would move, disembodied voices heard, foul odors would suddenly come and go, and apparitions were witnessed by the owners and guests at the home. The house was eventually demolished. Over the last century visitors have reported seeing mysterious fires and lights where the house once stood.
One of the more recent experiences of a paranormal nature on the island took place in the mid s. A camper visiting the island had heard that the island was haunted and wanted to put it to the test. The camper placed his tent a good distance from the light keepers house. At night when it came time to turn out the light in the tent, he observed a light in the window of the light keepers house. The camper walked over to the light keepers house and ventured inside to where he had seen the light. When he went to the window sill there was a candle but it had blown out, but was still warm as if it had been blown out just seconds before. It is of interest to note that the camper walked around the island earlier to make sure he was the only one present on the island. This story is also of interest as there is no electricity on the island.