Canada’s most haunted attractions

The Halloween season is an ideal time for discovering dark tales of days gone by. Here’s a rundown of some of the most popular places in Canada to find scary stories and eerie encounters.

The Halifax Ghost Walk is one of North America’s oldest ghost tours, illuminating plagues, pirates, and shipwrecked souls. As twilight falls, the storyteller leads guests through city streets and along the harbour, sharing unsettling accounts of the devastating Halifax Explosion; the Titanic’s tragic aftermath; and Citadel Hill, the fortress built in 1749, where the spirits of former soldiers still patrol the ramparts after dark. It’s equal parts historic lessons and haunting highlights, and a chance to learn about the side of Halifax not typically told in textbooks.

The Original Haunted Walk of Ottawa takes you deep into the darkest corners. Led by black-cloaked guides carrying lanterns, you’ll wind through cobblestone streets and shadowed courtyards that reveal Ottawa’s creepiest locales. Stops include the renowned Fairmont Château Laurier hotel, originally owned by a man who perished on the Titanic; Grant House, built in 1875 by a prominent physician; and Lisgar Collegiate, the city’s infamous ghostly high school. It all makes for one memorable evening that will forever alter your perception of Canada’s capital.

Step into the past of Old Montreal on a ghost walk of shadowy streets and centuries-old buildings. Visit places like Place d’Armes, a public square over 300 years old, where duels, executions, and public gatherings took place. Château Ramezay is an 18th-century museum reportedly frequented by the ghost of a former warden who continues to spook visitors. While the former site of the Montreal Prison, the city’s earliest British-era jail, is home to whispers and shadowy figures who linger among the remaining cells.

Here in our city, the Trolley of Terror ghost tour offers an intimate and immersive spine-chilling trip through Winnipeg’s best-known hauntings. Climb aboard a custom replica of a vintage-style trolley bus to visit sites such as Fort Garry Hotel, where a ghostly bride has never checked out of room 202; the Dalnavert Museum, a Victorian-era mansion with unexplained footsteps and sightings; Seven Oaks House Museum, Winnipeg’s oldest home, whose former residents are restless spirits; and the former Vaughan Street Jail, where executions took place in the early 1900s.

Calgary Ghost Tours offer journeys through the city’s first neighborhoods, uncovering mischief, mayhem, and murder, while delving into local legends and creepy occurrences. The Inglewood district is a hotspot for ghosts, with century-old buildings and alleyways that give way to mysterious figures, unexplained noises, and dark secrets hidden amongst the charming streets. In downtown Calgary, the core is filled with buildings and sites where apparitions and unnerving sounds are often present after dark. While the vibrant neighborhood of Kensington features mysterious occurrences and unexplained phenomena.

Victoria’s Ghostly Walks leads you through the dimly-list streets of Canada’s most haunted city – considered so because of its dense concentration of sites with reported paranormal activity. Here you’ll find hotels, theatres, former hospitals, and homes playing host to countless ghosts. From spectral miners and shipwreck victims to lingering spirits of brothels and convents, it’s a hotspot for enthusiasts of the supernatural. The compact downtown with preserved 19th century streets amplifies the atmosphere, with multiple stops within short walking distances – making for the perfect blend of history, mystery, and intrigue, in the postcard-perfect city that is as ghostly as it is beautiful.