This is a list of locations in Canada which are reported to be haunted. Many have been featured by television programs such as Creepy Canada, The Girly Ghosthunters and Mystery Hunters. It is in alphabetical order by province or territory, then by the name of the location.
Banff Springs Hotel in Banff National Park is a reported location of multiple hauntings, including the ghosts of a young bride, bellman and a Haunted room no.873 (now sealed and combined with room no.875, but underlines of the door and lights above the door place remain visible and a ghost still supposedly haunts the room).[1][2][3][4]
The Bowman Arts Centre in Lethbridge is reported to be haunted by the ghost of a young Chinese girl who was beaten to death in the women's restroom after being mistaken for a boy in traditional Chinese attire.[1]
The now-decommissioned Charles Camsell Hospital is regarded as one of Alberta's most haunted buildings. A former Jesuit College turned tuberculosis sanatorium, it was visited by the group Paranormal Explorers in 2005.[5]
Deane House in Calgary is reportedly haunted. It was built in 1906, and served as the official residence of Richard Burton Deane, the Superintendent of the Royal North West Mounted Police.[1][2] It was featured on Creepy Canada.
Dunvegan Provincial Park in Fairview. Hauntings include a woman who perished in a snowstorm while searching for her husband, a priest sitting at his desk in the rectory and a barefoot woman dressed in a long white cloak wandering around the bridge.[6]
The Edmonton General Continuing Care Centre is a palliative care centre that is speculated to be a site of multiple hauntings.[5][2]
The Fairmont Hotel Macdonald in Edmonton is reported to be haunted, including a spectral horse that was dropped dead during the 1914 pouring of the building's foundation.[5]
The Firkins House of Fort Edmonton Park is considered to be the home of a ventriloquist doll that suddenly materializes in cupboards, as well as a spectral small boy.[5] It was featured on Creepy Canada.
Frank Slide area when it occurred in 1903
Lower reaches of the Frank Slide in 2012
Frank Slide in Crowsnest Pass was the site of a massive rockslide in 1903 that claimed 76 lives. Several of their bodies were never recovered.[1][2]
The old Grace Hospital in Calgary is reportedly haunted by the ghost of a woman named Maudine Riley, who died in childbirth, and whose family was believed to own the land when the hospital was being constructed. The hospital is still in operation.[1]
La Bohème Restaurant Bed and Breakfast in Edmonton. According to some employees, it is haunted by the spirit of a former owner's wife who was murdered in a jealous rage.[5]
McKay Avenue School in downtown Edmonton is a museum that previously served as a school. It was the scene of the first two legislative sessions of the province. One particular entity is the spirit of a worker who perished in a fall during the construction of the building.[5]
The old Princess Theatre in Edmonton is claimed to be haunted by a spectral bride who committed suicide by hanging in the 1920s after being cast off by her loved one.[5]
Strathcona Museum and Archives is a former RCMP detachment that is considered to be haunted.[5]
British Columbia Penitentiary in New Westminster. The former penitentiary was active for 102 years, until decommissioned during the 1980s. Little of the building's remnants are left, save for the Boot Hill graveyard.
Craigdarroch Castle in Victoria. This historic mansion was constructed in the late 1800s as a family residence for the wealthy Scottish coal baron Robert Dunsmuir and his wife Joan. Robert died in April 1889, 17 months before construction on the castle was completed, and his sons Alexander and James took over the role of finishing the castle. Ghost sightings have been reported at this location.[8][4]
The Empress Hotel in downtown Victoria. One of the oldest hotels in the British Columbian capital, it was designed by Francis Rattenbury and opened in 1908. Undergoing two expansions (the first was in 1910-1912 and the second was in 1928), it welcomed several prominent personalities such as kings, queens, and movie personalities of the 1900s. However, the existence of multiple paranormal activities is possible, most notably the ghosts of the hotel's designer (who was murdered in 1935), a maid on the 6th floor, and a construction worker who killed himself.[8]
New Westminster Secondary School in New Westminster. One of the largest high schools in British Columbia, it witnessed the drowning of a boy in the basement pool in the early 1970s. That boy is claimed to haunt the high school.[8]
The Old Spaghetti Factory in the historic district of Gastown, Vancouver, is claimed to be haunted. Most notable is a phantom tram conductor that supposedly appears in an old trolley within the restaurant.[8]
Tranquille Sanatorium in 1920
Tranquille Sanatorium, located near Kamloops, is also considered by believers to be haunted. It opened in 1907 as a tuberculosis sanitorium, and witnessed the deaths of many of its patients.[8][10]
Vogue Theatre in Vancouver. Used for plays and concerts, it is reported to be haunted.[8]
Waterfront Station, the main transit terminus in Downtown Vancouver, is considered to be the "most haunted building in Vancouver", with multiple reports of apparitions and furniture moving on their own accord.[8]
Fort Garry Hotel in Winnipeg. Specifically, Room 202 is allegedly the spot where a woman committed suicide after knowing her husband perished in an automobile accident. One such believer was former LiberalMPBrenda Chamberlain.[2][11][4] It was featured by Creepy Canada.
Inside the Citadel Hill in 2004Fortress of Louisbourg's fortifications
Acadia University in Wolfville. An apparitional Baptist girl who found out about her pregnancy in the 19th century hanged herself in "The well", a large open area on the second floor (four-long) surrounded by banisters and under a candle light. Her ghost is most often seen by faculty staff members on the back stairwell at Seminary House's campus. Other paranormal activities are people having strange visions in this location, lights that turn on and off by themselves as well as doors opening and closing on their own, light anomalies, disembodied voices, objects moving by themselves and strange unexplained noises.[16]
All Saints Cathedral in Halifax. This church is allegedly haunted by one of the former deans. He is mostly standing at the altar.[17]
Bedford Basin in Halifax.[18] This site is reportedly haunted by spirits of Native Canadians, French, British and Canadian soldiers and family members. There are touches, pushes and pulls by invisible presences, light anomalies, apparitional footsteps, shadowy figures disembodied voices and other unexplained noises.
Citadel Hill in Halifax.[19] Its legend is about a ghost of a woman named Cassie Allen. She intended to marry a sergeant in the early 1900s. On their wedding day, her fiancé fatally shot himself because he was already married to a woman who resided in Bermuda's asylum.[20]
Seal Island, an island on the outermost extreme of Southwestern Nova Scotia, in Municipalité Argyle in Yarmouth County. There is a local legend of a ghost from a shipwreck during 1891, the SS Ottawa. A stewardess named Annie Lindsey was believed drowned when her lifeboat overturned. She was buried beside the East End church where her grave marker can still be seen today.[21] Some, however, believe that when the coffin was later disinterred, it showed evidence that she was buried alive. Her spirit is said to haunt the Seal Island villages.
Young Teazer at Mahone Bay. Paranormal incidents have been reported by witnesses since it sunk on June 27, 1813. This ghostly burning schooner is seen by mariners on this bay. It is most often seen by visitors near the anniversary of this ship's fatal explosion in its historical location. Most witness reports state once seen it then just vanishes. It was featured by Creepy Canada.
Welland Canal, Bridge 13 in Welland. This bridge is said to be haunted by canal workers who perished during its construction, and no less than 7 people who have died trying to scale the bridge towers.
Bytown Museum in Ottawa. This building is said to be haunted by Colonel John By, the builder of the canal, and his assistant General Duncan McNab. It was featured by Creepy Canada and The Girly Ghosthunters.
Fort George in Niagara-on-the-Lake. It was one of Canada's strongholds during the War of 1812.[24] It was featured by Creepy Canada, The Girly Ghosthunters, and "Knock Knock Ghost".
Gibraltar Point Lighthouse on Toronto Islands. The first lighthouse keeper, John Paul Radelmuller, was murdered by soldiers from nearby Fort York looking for bootlegged beer on January 2, 1815. These soldiers were charged with murder, but were eventually acquitted. A coffin was found in 1893 buried in the sand with a jawbone in it, however, it is not clear whether this was part of the lighthouse keeper's remains or not.[4] It was featured by Creepy Canada.
Grand Theatre in London. Ambrose Small's apparition reputedly roams this theatre. It was featured by Mystery Hunters, The Girly Ghosthunters, and "Knock Knock Ghost."
Ghost Ship of Northumberland Strait is described as a beautiful schooner that has three masts (sometimes four masts, as reports vary) with pure white sails, all of which become completely engulfed in flames as onlookers watch.[28] There never seems to be a predetermined place for where the ship will appear.[28] Sightings have occurred throughout the seasons, but seem to be more prevalent from September to November.[29] These visions are also apparent before a northeast wind, and folklore has it that this brilliant ghost ship is a forewarning of a storm.[29]
The Kings Playhouse in Georgetown, Prince Edward Island is said to be haunted by a naval captain and other spirits lost at sea. Originally built in the 1880s, the Playhouse served as a townhall and recreational facility. After a devastating fire in 1983, the theatre was rebuilt, but the hauntings continued. Spirits are said to often be seen near the stage, in the upstairs hallway, or heard whistling from afar. It was featured by Creepy Canada.
John Abbott College in Montreal. This building is about 100 years old. Spirits allegedly roam around in a specific areas, opening doors. The spirits have been recognized by the janitors or guards, and by the students.
Marr Residence in Saskatoon. It was featured by Creepy Canada.
St. Louis, a village near Prince Albert, in which believers claim witnessed a railroad accident that killed an entire family, and the suicide of the guilt-ridden engineer responsible for the mishap.[4][2]
Saskatchewan Hospital in North Battleford. The original buildings of the hospital from the early 20th century, in the adjacent census subdivision of the North Battleford Crown Colony, still stand and had witnessed the most distressing conditions brought forth by extreme overcrowding.[2] The fate of the old structures remain unknown,[42] as the newer and more modern hospital was opened on March 14, 2019.[43]
Souris Valley Mental Health Hospital, also known as Weyburn Mental Hospital, a now-demolished (since 2009) institution for mentally insane in Weyburn. One of the first institutions for such purpose in the 1930s, it was notorious for using cutting edge experimental medical treatments for people with mental health issues, including some of the controversial LSD treatments in Canada.[2]