Many tales of Forerunners often involve knocks on the door, church bells ringing when no one else can hear them, an owl hooting during the day, or seeing own apparitions of yourself.

Similarly to the Forerunners, which are associated with the sounds that occurs before an approaching event, the Foresights deal with the double visions and individuals who have the gift of being double-sighted, as well as having the ability to see a death ahead of time.

Unpredictable weather, some of the busiest shipping routes in the world, the rocky coastline, and its strategic location during wartimes has meant the demise of hundreds of vessels along the province's coast.

Creighton's stories explore this link between the supernatural and tragedy, making note of ties to significant historical events such as the Acadian Expulsion.

[6] Bluenose Ghosts quickly became a best seller reaching a far larger audience than Creighton's previous work collecting and publishing folk songs.

The Bluenose Ghosts Festival, which was inspired by the books, highlights the cultural heritage of the Halifax Regional Municipality and continues to collect stories of Downtown Dartmouth.

In the present day, stories are still being collected in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia in honour of Helen Creighton's extensive work on the subject.

[11] McKay also claims that Micmac and African Nova Scotian stories in the book relegated these cultures to the periphery and promoted racial stereotypes.

"[13] Tallman called her personal approach which validated belief in the legends refreshing, but characterized her as a parapsychologist rather than a folklorist, due her lack of professional academic training and popularizing slant.

Some critics also saw the tales collected in Bluenose Ghosts and its sequel Bluenose Magic as survivalism and vulgarization[14] A review in Resource Links was more complimentary, citing, among other elements, Creighton's attention to preserving the original voice of the Nova Scotians storytellers, and the book's ability to demonstrate "how the supernatural is as much a part of Nova Scotian life as is the sea.