Canada—my “home and native land”—is a pretty peaceable place known for its natural beauty … and most of the year, I like it that way. But come October, I’m ready to shake things up a bit by trading the natural for the supernatural. Luckily (or not, depending on your point of view), this country has loads of certifiably spooky spots to vacation in—including lodgings that boast resident apparitions. The disturbances they make mean I might not rest in peace. Then again, a ghostly encounter is always guaranteed to lift my spirits. So this Halloween, I’m skipping the tricks and treating myself to a night in one Canada’ most haunted hotels.
Victoria’s Secrets.
Some visitors to Victoria, British Columbia, choose the Bedford Regency (doubles from $89) because of its convenient Bastion Square location or enticing amenities like roaring fireplaces and fluffy duvets. But many are drawn by the boutique hotel’s otherworldly assets. Its assorted ghosts include a cigar-smoking barfly named Brady who was murdered on the basement stairs in the 1960s. His dearly departed girlfriend (identifiable by the pungent smell of her cheap perfume) also reappears regularly around Room 49, where she once lived.
Their presence is to be expected. After all, Victoria is considered to be Canada’s most haunted city and the hotel fronts on a prime piece of unreal estate. In fact, John Adams, author of Ghosts and Legends of Bastion Square, says, “almost every building in the vicinity has a ghost or two.” For instance, an eerie organ player haunts the Custom House Currency Exchange; a wraith rattles around Pounder’s Restaurant; and a notoriously nasty 19th-century judge reportedly still hangs out at the Maritime Museum, located in an old Supreme Court building.
Adams, who has been offering Ghostly Walks ($12) since 1970, will point out neighborhood hotspots along with other paranormal attractions in Old Town and Chinatown. He also organizes dinner programs in Victoria’s haunted eateries where creep-seeking connoisseurs can hear about the venue’s history and learn how to detect supernatural presences. Die-hard golfers, however, may prefer the sessions he devotes to Doris Gravlin at the Victoria Golf Course. Her shadowy figure appears both on the 7th fairway (site of her 1936 strangulation) and the nearby beach she was buried on.
If you’re planning a visit this month, you can take in the Ghosts of Victoria Festival, too. Running from mid-October through Halloween, this annual event celebrating all things that go bump in the night features themed trolley and bus tours, guided graveyard visits, even “nightmare entertainment” (if you’ve ever wanted to try out an electric chair, here’s your chance!). Click here for information on the festival line-up, Adam’s book, his walks, and sundry other ghoulish activities.
Upstairs, Downstairs.
The historic Fairmont Banff Springs (doubles from $249) is arguably Alberta’s best-loved hotel and has much to recommend it. Nestled in the Rockies, near the resort town of Banff, this castle-like gem boasts proximity to natural hot springs, pristine lakes, and to-die-for mountain scenery. But it’s the service as much as the setting and sublime architecture that makes the hotel unique. You see, employees there know just how to please—and little wonder. Some of them have kept working long past their expiry dates.
Visitors to the ninth floor, for example, report being helped with their luggage by one Sam McAuley, an elderly bellmen sporting an outdated uniform. Considering the genial gent has actually been dead for decades, his choice of vintage attire is understandable: it’s his dedication that is remarkable. Seems Sam was so devoted to hotel patrons that he decided to remain eternally at their service. Another ghostly staff member—a bartender—is equally conscientious. He has a habit of gently encouraging over-eager drinkers to call it a night.
Given the Banff Springs’ reputation, it’s not surprising that guests have been known to prolong their stay, as well. Notable among them (perhaps because this is such a popular wedding locale) is a high-class (though decidedly clumsy) young woman who was set to marry onsite. According to local lore, this bride-to-be was descending a grand staircase en route to the ceremony when she unceremoniously tripped. Entangled in her gown’s voluminous train, she tumbled to her death, but can still be seen in the iconic halls, presumably attempting to regain either her groom or her footing.
If that isn’t enough to make your hair stand on end, the Banff Springs’ concierge can also arrange excursions to area attractions that are more than just hauntingly beautiful. Daring souls can venture out to see the classic western ghost town of Bankhead, Lake Minnewanka (a.k.a “Lake of the Water Spirit”), Devil’s Gap, and a collection of surreal rock formations, dubbed the Hoodoos, that early aboriginals believed were inhabited by malignant forces.
A Room With A Boo.
Thanks to its turreted facade and opulent interiors, the Fort Garry Hotel (doubles from $129) in Winnipeg, Manitoba, is the grande dame of city hotels. So it seems appropriate that it is also home to the grande dame of local ghosts. She is an elegantly attired apparition dressed in the fashion of 1913: the year that the hotel first opened with a lavish ball. Yet both her image and her true identity remain shrouded in mystery.
Some maintain that this ethereal lady in white, not content to have danced the night away, regularly returns to take another twirl around the floor after death. But writer Barbara Smith notes in Ghost Stories of Manitoba that she may be “a Cinderella-like spirit—the essence of a woman who wanted desperately to attend the gala and wasn’t able to. Lacking the necessary magic of a fairy godmother during her life, the lady might have chosen to celebrate in eternity.”
In either case, she should have no problem finding dance partners since the hotel supposedly has several other specters. One appears as an inexplicable light hovering in hallways; another casts reflections in mirrors. Room 202 even has a rakish ghost that enjoys crawling into bed with unsuspecting overnighters. Guests are welcome to try a little DIY ghost busting while on the premises; and non-guests can gain access to the hotel on one of Heartland Travel’s themed coach tours ($29), which covers the Fort Garry as well as other favorite haunts scattered throughout the city.
Looking for a dramatic alternative? Try paying a visit to either the historic Walker Theatre or Manitoba Theatre Centre. The former hosts the ghosts of Laurence Irving and Mabel Hackney. Although the acting duo died shortly after appearing at the Walker in 1914, they linger on in spirit to applaud other performers. The latter is haunted by a caretaker’s son who was killed in a tragic fire. Once an aspiring thespian, the young man now acts out by playing with seats, props, and electrical equipment.
Hostel Apparitions.
You can’t mistake the Jail Hostel (dorm-style bunks $32, private cells $77) in Ottawa, the nation’s capital, for any ordinary accommodations. If the stocks outside weren’t indication enough of its former incarnation as the Carleton County Gaol, the steel bars on guest room doors would be a dead give-away. The 145-year-old building operated as a maximum and minimum security institution until it was closed because of inhumane conditions in 1972. A year later, it was wholly refurbished for hostellers. However, former inmates continue to make their presence felt.
According to Glen Shackleton, owner of Haunted Walks, “many believe prisoners who died by way of execution, suicide, disease, and exposure (some of whom were buried in the courtyard), still haunt the building today.” Among them is Patrick James Whelan, a political assassin hanged onsite in 1869, who continues to appear in his death row cell obsessively reciting the Lord’s Prayer. Fellow phantoms manifest themselves through disembodied sounds, slamming doors, flickering lights, and levitating objects.
These original inhabitants might no longer recognize the facility’s chapel or debtor’s prison (transformed into a lounge and dining room respectively), yet the spot retains much of its character and guests typically bed down in cells lit by a single overhead bulb. Lodgings, as a result, can be rather unnerving. That’s the point. But if you’re not willing to sacrifice amenities for ambience, you can always book into the unabashedly upscale Château Laurier (doubles from $249). It is rumored to be haunted by Charles Melville Hays, who commissioned the hotel but died on the Titanic days before it opened in 1912.
Shackleton offers separate hour-long historical tours of both the hostel (where you’ll see Canada’s last working gallows) and the Château Laurier. For the full spectrum of city specters, sign on for his Original Haunted Walk, which also includes stops at top tourist attractions such as the Bytown Museum. The ninety-minute, lantern-lit tour is loaded with lurid lore and goose bump-inducing details. Walks cost between $10 and $14.50 depending on the route you choose.