7 Haunted Spots Across Canada To Visit — If You Dare
Artistic rendering of the Ghost Bride at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel. Photo, Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel/Handout.
Think you don't scare easily? We dare you to spend the night at the Ottawa Jail Hostel, where, legend has it a former inmate lurks at the foot of guests' beds, or have dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory in Vancouver's Gastown, where patrons have said they've seen lonely little girl sits by herself at the front of the restaurant, holding a balloon. Still not scared? Check out our roundup of Canada's most haunted spots, and, since you're so brave, go check them all out for yourself.
Haunted Canada
Algonquin Resort, New Brunswick
The Algonquin Resort boasts multiple hauntings. There is rumoured to be a ghostly watchman who roams the halls and stairwells, jingling his keys as he goes, a woman who rearranges table settings in the dining room, and a child who laughs and plays through the hotel. Specific rooms are reportedly haunted: 308, 373 and 473. And guests have claimed that an older man who shows them to their room and tells them all about this history of the hotel disappears when they turn around to tip him.
Ghost Ship of Northumberland Strait, PEI/NB/NS.
For more than 220 years there have been reports of a burning ship in the Northumberland Strait, which separates Prince Edward Island from New Brunswick and Nova Scotia and is known for its rough, choppy waters. The first recorded sighting of the fiery three-mast schooner dates back to 1786, with most apparitions usually occurring between September and November. Sometimes the masts are on fire; sometimes the entire ship is aflame, with seamen running back and forth trying to put out the fires. Over the years, several rescue attempts have been made when the ship is spotted, but whenever rescuers get close, the ship disappears.
The Keg Mansion, Toronto
Located in the heart of downtown Toronto, the Keg Mansion restaurant is housed in an old mansion originally built in 1867 for the McMaster family and then sold to the Massey family in the early 1880s. According to legend, in 1915, the Masseys’ maid hanged herself in the oval vestibule over the main staircase. Staff have reported seeing her ghost as they lock up for the night. Guests have reported hearing the footsteps of children and seeing the ghosts of kids running up and down the staircase. Several women have reported weird happenings is the ladies’ room, such as stall doors unlocking by themselves, and sudden cold spots throughout the mansion.
Plains of Abraham, Quebec City
As the site of one of Canada’s most famous battles — the 1759 Battle of the Plains of Abraham between the British and French — it is perhaps not surprising that many people have reported seeing the ghosts of soldiers on the field. People have also claimed that they’ve heard cannons going off and smelled sulfur (old-timey gunpowder had a sulfuric smell) in the area.
Old Spaghetti Factory, Vancouver
Would you like your pasta with a side of shivers? The Old Spaghetti Factory in Gastown (one of the oldest spots in Vancouver) is apparently home to four different ghosts. There’s a young boy who likes to bend cutlery and move place settings around, a red-haired man who appears in the kitchen and calls staff by their name, a young girl holding a balloon who sits at one of the tables at the front of the restaurant and, most famously, a conductor, in full uniform, who apparently came with an old tram car when it was installed in the restaurant as part of the décor.
Ottawa Jail Hostel, Ottawa
For the 110 years before it was turned into a hostel in 1973, the Ottawa Jail Hostel was was a maximum-security prison that housed some of Ottawa’s worst offenders and performed public executions, and many of the inmates who died in the prison were buried on site. Today, the cells have been turned into guestrooms, with some featuring the original cell bars. Guests and staff have reported hearing loud knocking and footsteps and seeing a man at the foot of guests’ beds, clutching a bible. Loney Planet ranks the hostel as the 10th most haunted place in the world. Book a room, if you dare.
Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel
The two most famous hauntings at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel are Sam the Bellman and the Ghost Bride. Sam is said to have died in 1975, but he still helps guests with their luggage and lets them back into their rooms when they’ve accidentally locked themselves out. Guests don’t realize it’s a ghost until Sam seems to vanish into thin air. He is also thought to be the reason the elevators sometimes stop at random floors that no one has pushed the button for. The Ghost Bride, meanwhile, is thought to be a woman who died on the way to her wedding reception at the hotel by falling down the stairs. Guest have reported seeing her on those stairs or in the ballroom of where her reception was supposed to take place.
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