As Halloween approaches, haunted houses and ghost tours are offering a chance to experience the eerie and mysterious history of Ottawa. Capital Current takes a close look at a few.
The Haunted Walk offers guided tours through Ottawa and Gatineau’s most haunted locations including the Fairmont Château Laurier, Bytown Museum, Cumberland Heritage Village Museum, Beechwood Cemetery and the Mackenzie King Estate. Guides share the histories of these locations at night, while dressed in black robes and carrying lamps.
Here are a few “haunted” locales:
Billings National Historic Site
Situated on Park Hill in a quiet residential area, the Billings Estate was built in 1827 and is Ottawa’s oldest surviving house. “This was the home of one of the first European settlers to arrive in this area,” Jim Dean, the creative director of The Haunted Walk, told Capital Current.
The Billings Estate, Dean said, “is nothing like a haunted house in the sense of being scared or frightened or jump scares. I mean sometimes slightly eerie or creepy things do happen, but it’s not like a haunted house, in the sense of someone jumping out, trying to grab you.”
Nevertheless, during tours of the house, Dean said that some guests have spotted what looks like a mysterious old woman in the basement and “phantom footsteps” can be heard.
“We don’t have anything rigged, there’s nothing set up, every group’s experience is completely different.”
Settlers’ Graveyard is located on the Billings Estate grounds and is the final resting place of four generations of the Billings family and others from the community. Dean says the site has had its share of tragedy, including a fire that destroyed family heirlooms and vandalism incidents that damaged headstones.
“From a paranormal perspective, it makes us curious when final resting places are desecrated. When people are knocking over tombstones, and breaking markers, is the kind of thing that can kind of, promote or encourage paranormal activity,” Dean said.
Saintlo Ottawa Jail Hostel
The Saintlo Ottawa Jail Hostel offers a unique “night in jail” in the restored Carleton County Gaol, Ottawa’s main jail for more than a century from 1862 to 1972. The historic building stands at 75 Nicholas St., across from the Rideau Centre. Guests stay in cell blocks in Ottawa’s earliest jail.
Some say the hostel is haunted because the jail was the site of the hanging of Patrick J. Whelan for the assassination of MP and Father of Confederation Thomas D’Arcy McGee in 1869. Whelan maintained his innocence throughout. He was one of the last people to be hanged publicly in Canada. Staff and guests have reported seeing Whelan at the end of guests’ beds and in his death row cell.
Fairmont Château Laurier
Built in 1912, the hotel is known for its luxury but also for some paranormal activity. Many believe that Charles Melville Hays, the original owner, lingers in the building. He died on the Titanic just 12 days before the hotel’s grand opening.
An article by Micheal Kleen describes strange occurrences on the seventh floor, the former CBC radio studio. Patrick Watson, the former CBC chairman, reported some unnerving incidents he experienced near his office.
1Department: “Behind the Screams” Haunted House
1Department, an Ottawa-based film, television, design and practical entertainment studio, is opening its doors to the public for a “Behind the Screams” haunted house experience.
Guests follow the story of a film set possessed by a demon named “Andi Cryst.” He has possessed and killed studio workers, taking their souls for himself. Bound to the set, Andi is unable to leave and now seeks to attract the public (and their souls) to his space.
The haunted house is in the studio’s new property in Alta Vista and took 1Department two months to create. Shane Boucher, producer and president of 1Department, says “behind the Screams” is an homage to Old Hollywood and horror movies. “Developing it was very important to us; as filmmakers, we’re storytellers.”
“We didn’t just want it to be just a haunted house that was scary for the sake of being scary, or have no real kind of purpose or design to it,” he said. “We are a film studio and this is a film-quality haunted house. We thought the best way to engage with the audience was to lean towards older films. References from old horror films like The Shining, or anything from that genre, played really well with retro Old Hollywood designs. There’s a level of uneasiness as you’re walking through.
“For us this is really about horror movies personified more so than necessarily real life,” said Boucher.
1Department created the haunted house to provide a more personalized experience than traditional “conga line” haunted houses, said Boucher.
This interactive map shows different haunted locations around Ottawa
Why do people love being scared?
The excitement of fear is what draws many people to haunted houses and ghost tours. Quinn Maloney-Tavares, a hairstylist and haunted house enthusiast, says it is all about the rush. “I mostly just like to get scared. I don’t know why, but I like to feel the thrill of getting scared,” Tavares said.
Whether you are a believer in the supernatural and paranormal activity or simply love being scared, Ottawa’s haunted houses and ghost tours offer a way to explore the city’s darker side.
