Jesse Winter, Centretown News
Glen Shackleton says Ottawa’s Haunted Walk will continue its tours in the city’s haunted hostel, HI-Ottawa Jail Hostel.Local tourist attraction the Haunted Walk of Ottawa has earned a stay of execution after it appeared as though its tours of Ottawa’s 19th-century jail would be barred by the Nicholas Street youth hostel.
The HI-Ottawa Jail Hostel issued a press release on Monday Sept. 28 to address the information circulating last week that, in order to focus on hostel accommodations, it would not renew the Haunted Walk’s contract in June 2016.
“The hostel was never intending to cut off access to the hostel by the public,” whether or not that involved the Haunted Walk,” says Alistair McLean, national executive director of HI-Canada.
Glen Shackleton, president of the Haunted Walks Inc., says he was initially confused because the two businesses have had a successful relationship without conflict for nearly two decades. He says contracts are usually for a few years at a time and did not expect the Jail Hostel might not renew.
Shackleton received a call from Hostelling International over the weekend to inform him that the hostel reconsidered its position and were interested in meeting to talk about continuing tours.
“It still isn’t clear to me really what issues exist, but that being said I am definitely very pleased.” Shackleton says.
“Given that they understand the importance of this (to the public), I don’t think it will be a massive challenge for us to find common ground,” he adds.
The historic landmark, formerly the Carleton County Jail, is a longstanding highlight of the Haunted Walk’s tours and offers a unique opportunity to tourists and Ottawa residents.
For more than 20 years, the Haunted Walk has led guests through the allegedly haunted building, known for its famous incarcerations and Canada’s last public execution of Patrick Whelan in 1869. He was convicted of the assassination of Thomas D’Arcy McGee and hanged in front of a crowd of 5,000 people. Whelan’s ghost is one of the most famous to supposedly roam the halls of the Jail Hostel.
“Our key message in discussions with partners has been the need to find a balance between the comfort of our hostel guests and the community interests,” says McLean.
The two parties mutually agreed to meet in early November.
“It is a pretty unique opportunity that we have had in Ottawa. For the sake of a few beds, I think the loss to Ottawa’s cultural history is irreplaceable,” Shackleton said prior to the Jail Hostel’s reconsideration.
The Jail Hostel notified him that his tours were on death row a few weeks ago.
“We wanted to make sure that the decision makers in this process heard people’s opinions. We think the city has a say and a vested interest in the use of that building,” says Shackleton.
For that reason, he said the Haunted Walk started a “Jail Campaign,” to seek community support. City residents took to social media in protest and have made their voices heard.
“(McLean) said they were certainly surprised by the amount of public interest and have received the message loud and clear that the people of Ottawa thought this was important,” Shackleton says, accrediting the Jail Hostel’s reconsideration to the passion of the public.
It remains uncertain whether or not the Jail Hostel is considering reconstructing the building to create more hostel accommodations.
“Since it became a hostel in the 1970s, the eighth floor has always been used primarily for tour use and has been preserved as it was when it was a prison,” Shackleton says.
“If the cells are converted to accommodations, I think the cultural history of the experience being there would be irrevocably changed,” he adds.
“While they have been using a few of the cells on the eighth floor so guests could experience what it was like staying in a death row cell, the hostel owners see the importance of them to the public and there will always be some open and available to the public to be seen,” McLean says.
The City of Ottawa recognizes the Jail Hostel for its historical, contextual and architectural value and it is listed on the Heritage Register.
The Quebec-Ontario derivative of Hostelling International owns the property, however, proposed physical changes would require city approval and development permits.
Heading into Halloween season, Shackleton says his focus has temporarily shifted to business over the next few weeks, but he remains “cautiously optimistic” about the meetings with the Jail Hostel in November.