Top Ten Haunted Places to Visit in Canada
If you are up for such a thrilling adventure to experience something you believe is beyond ordinary, you should visit the spine-chilling haunted locations situated in the country of Canada.
It is not a fact unknown to us that most of us are intrigued by the idea of haunted places, the concept of supernatural garners our curiosity and all of us, irrespective of what age bracket we fall in, we love to explore something that is beyond the human world. Till today, there is no factual evidence about the existence of ghosts or spirits. This only triggers our curiosity further and feeds our imagination.
We have grown up listening to several myths, fairy tales, folktales and supernatural incidents that are perhaps not true but definitely manages to thrill us. It happens many times when we meet our friends or cousins after a long time, we sit together in groups and share tales of horror with each other, most of which are made up. Similarly, there are places in this world that are recognised with a sort of curse or are known to bear some spiritual existence that no one is sure of.
These places are a melting pot of mysteries. People often travel to such locations to look for their own share of truth. If you are up for such a thrilling adventure to experience something you believe is beyond ordinary, you should visit the spine-chilling haunted locations situated in the country of Canada. Before you travel to the destinations mentioned below, would you not like to have background knowledge of the places you have planned to visit? With a background story in your mind, you will be able to relate and understand the place better for who knows what it is to come!
It is always wise to have at least a bleak idea of what story the place holds within itself. What cries, what curses, what damsels and distress in encircles! If you wish to play it safe, you can choose to visit the locations during the daytime, otherwise, you can be an adventurer they show in films and visit the place during the evening or night.
Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel, Alberta
Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel in Alberta was built around the year 1888 near the Canadian Pacific Railway. If you believe that the Bates Motel in the film Psycho by Alfred Hitchcock was the palace of nightmares, you should totally visit this hotel which is surely going to erase your sleep at night. It has been claimed that there have been several ghost sightings within and outside the hotel premises. These sightings include a bride who fell and died on the stairs of the hotel and is now known to haunt the stairways at night.
Another sighting which many have claimed to see is that of a hotel staff bellman named Sam Mcauley who seems to be too attached to the legacy of the hotel and continues to attend to his duties even after death, fully dressed in his uniform. Imagine running into this man in the corridor late at night while he carries hot trays around.
Keg Mansion, Toronto
Have you ever wondered where films like Conjuring, Paranormal Activities, Psycho, Grudge and others get inspiration for their plots? It is hotels and houses like these where an accident so dark took place that the curse of it still looms in the air of the place. While today this place is known as the Keg Steakhouse Franchise, once upon a time the place called itself home to the famous industrialist Hart Massey and his family.
Stories from this mansion suggest that in 1915, after the passing away of Massey’s only beloved daughter, one of the maids named Lillian killed herself because she could not take the burden of grief. However, the other side of the story suggests that Lillian was perhaps having an affair with a male member of the family and chose to hang herself in fear of getting revealed and tarring her and the family’s reputation. Many have seen the dangling image of the dead maid in the mansion; it seems she is now a permanent member of the Massey family.
Tranquille Sanatorium, Kamloops
The Sanatorium was initially built in 1907 for the purpose of curing patients suffering from Tuberculosis, later, it got transformed into a mental asylum harbouring shrill cries and mad laughter. It was after this that the place finally got shut and abandoned. From then on the place was home sweet home to eerie moans,eerie waves of laughter, spine-chilling screams and everything that was not human. These voices and cries began to be heard at ungodly hours and locals of the area reported a series of paranormal activities they witnessed.
The place is now in absolute ruins and is a standing nightmare. Before the pandemic hit the world, the place was one of the most famous horror destinations. For those explorers who are way too curious to know the truth and are daredevils at heart, the place also offers lodging in the escape room in the stygian tunnels that connect various buildings on the campus. Be ready to encounter dead-ly personalities around the corners!
Craigdarroch Castle, Victoria
Craigdarroch Castle weaves a fascinating tale of an intriguing family
This majestic castle built in the 1890s, for the family of coal miner Robert Dunsmuir has become the chilling spot for ghosts for years now. This Victorian-era castle, upholding all the grandeur and aesthetics of its age is now one of the horribly haunted places in Canada . According to witnesses, there lives a ghost in this mansion who is a passionate piano player and is often noticed lost in the tune he creates.
There also lives a woman who haunts the castle in her flowy white gown. A classic plot for a horror film it seems but spookily enough it is, perhaps, true. People are of the opinion that this is the state of the mansion because of the untimely death of the owner, just a year before the completion of the castle. Perhaps Mr. Dunsmuir decided if I could not live here during my lifetime, I will surely reign this place after my death.
The Old Spaghetti Factory, Vancouver
Ghosts in trains and planes are unparallel to the ones found in the dungeon or in the storehouse of old worn-down houses. These are the ones that will straight jump on your faces and you have nowhere to go! You are practically stuck with them in a metallic carriage. One such ghost is known to inhabit this famous eatery which is built on the ruins of an old underground railway cable. This ghost was perhaps the conductor of one of the many trains of that route and makes his existence felt by deranging tables, miraculously dropping the temperature of the restaurant and instilling a dark force in the place.
To make matters worse (or more exciting), the owner of the restaurant has put up a picture of a decommissioned trolley from the 1950s where you can clearly see the blurred image of the deceased conductor standing on the last steps of the trolley . When you visit this place, do not forget to carry your ticket. We are sure you do not want the conductor running after you, do you?
Plains of Abraham, Quebec City
Wars are not only tragic when they take place on the ground and in the minds of the warriors, but sometimes, the tragedy continues to live its legacy. The war-cries and the damage sometimes linger in the place they were born in. Such is the story of The Battle of the Plains of Abraham. It is believed that in the year 1759 Major General James Wolfe put up a 3-month siege at Quebec City with his British forces which ultimately culminated to form the Battle of the Plains of Abraham. This was one of the most famous and dynamic battles to have taken place in Canada's history.
No wonder people still witness soldiers walking around the plains, lost and bloodied. Ghostly sightings of wounded soldiers have also been seen in the tunnels. Both Major General Louis-Joseph de Montcalm and Wolfe were martyred in the battle. It still wonders us whether their ghosts are still at war on the battleground or are finally resting in peace. We might never know! And we can’t help but wonder whether their spirits are still battling it out to this da or have decided to settle with peace!
Maritime Museum of British Columbia, Victoria
Okay, this one is quite interesting to note. This museum is often called the place of the newly-wed and the dearly-dead. The peculiar nomenclature is because of the history the museum carries within itself. It seems that few people are way too attached to a place to leave it for their heavenly abode. One such place to inhabit the ghosts of the past is the Maritime Museum of British Columbia situated at Victoria's very famous Bastion Square. This place was once the city's jail and gallows and must have witnessed criminals of the highest order.
Stories suggest that if someone looks through the windows of the museum's entrance, they might find a shadowy slender-looking Van Dyk-bearded dark figure smoothly getting down the stairs. This ghostly figure is believed to be Matthew Baillie Begbie and is known to be Victoria's infamous judge called the hanging judge, maybe he was the one putting criminals and murderers up for execution. Do not forget to maintain law and order when you are at this place. The law seems to be unforgiving here!
Hockey Hall of Fame, Toronto
Legend has it, not all love stories die with the death of the lovers, especially if the story was left incomplete. Along with the tale, the lovers too sometimes stay behind to narrate their untold stories. One such tale which is still narrated to the world is of Dorothy, the Lonely bank teller. Before the Hockey Hall of Fame was built, the ground was serving as a branch of the bank of Montreal.
The story goes with Dorothy's romantic proposals to the branch's manager who continually rejected her pleas resulting in Dorothy killing herself. Dorothy's sad ghost now looms around the very famous Hockey Hall of Fame and some visitors have complained that they often hear the wails of a woman crying within the building. Do not know if a crying child at a museum is worse or the wailing of a dead woman!
West Point Lighthouse, O’Leary, P. E. I.
If you have watched The Lighthouse and the underrated TV series Marriane or read any of Conrad's grey novels, you would already be spooked enough to never gaze at a lighthouse wholeheartedly. There's something so dark and disturbing about the crashing waves at the foot of a gigantic lighthouse that it needs no other climatic effect to bring forth horror.
Rumours about one such lighthouse of Canada have long loomed the country. It is believed that the first keeper of the lighthouse named Willie still guards the illumined lighthouse and haunts the West Point Lighthouse Inn. One of the most peculiar hotels in Canada, offering all kinds of services at all times. Willie will perhaps make sure that the lights guide you home!
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Some of the oldest castles in Canada date as far back as the 1700s, which create an absolute joyful experience to revisit the times and the ways of living from the industrial era with restored artworks and costumes interpreters ready to welcome its visitors. Learn more at Guide to Top Castles in Canada.
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