Tour features a look at North Bay’s most haunted places

North Bay's most haunted spots The North Bay Museum is spotlighting North Bay's most haunted locations, including the old Winnipeg Hotel and The Capitol Centre.

There’s a chill in the air around the nearly 100-year-old Capitol Centre. Rumour has it the theatre has unwanted guests from another world.

“That’s why we have what we call a ghost light,” said the theatre’s interim executive director, Dan Misturada.

“We leave a little light on overnight so they’re never completely in the dark.”

Misturada said some guests, actors and staff have either seen apparitions or thought they saw something floating in the theatre.

“We have our dressing rooms down in the basement and we’ve had artists -- one comes to mind -- who was in tune with the spirit world, and she did not want to be down there,” he said.

One of the old ghost tales focuses on a former employee named Harold. Legend has it he was in charge of concessions, ushering and running movies when he fell madly in love with a box office attendant named Abigail.

Despite his best efforts, Abigail didn’t love him back and Harold’s eternally sad ghost is said to haunt the theatre’s projection room.

“You never know what you’re going to find up here,” said Misturada as he opened the door to the room and turned the light on to check out the room.

“The cleaners, when they’re up here, they hear sounds and banging around. There have been some crew members too scared to come up here.”

The Capitol Centre is one stop on the North Bay Museum’s haunted hike tours that take place Friday night. The 60-minute walk includes the retelling of true crime stories on top of creepy spirit tales that put North Bay in a whole new light.

It starts at the museum and loops the downtown ending at the courthouse.

“Our 1928 Bickle fire engine, it was just me in the museum and I was walking past it and one of the front headlights was flicking on and off,” said Ashley Bast, haunted hike guide and the museum’s education coordinator.

“It’s not hooked up to anything.”

One of the stops along the way is the old Winnipeg Hotel. It’s now the Oak East Eatery. It’s the oldest surviving building in North Bay.

“There are some patrons that have never checked out,” Bast said while taking CTV News on the hike and stopping in front of the restaurant.

“There’s a woman in a floral dress. When you try and move around her, she simply vanishes and there’s a gentleman with a bowler hat who likes to peek around corners.”

SOME LIKE BEING SPOOKED

Bast said the hikes have been more popular this year. For some, the thrill of spook or scare is nothing short of exhilarating. But why do some people enjoy being spooked so much while others don’t like it?

The chair of Nipissing University’s psychology department said it’s all about our brain’s fight or flight response.

“There are different chemicals in the brain. One of them is known as dopamine which is sort of a feel-good motivation chemical that’s released,” said associate psychology professor Andrew Weeks.

“Certain people who are maybe quieter and more introverted, they don’t need that level of stimulation.”

A new survey conducted by Research Co. reveals that almost two in five Canadians believe the phenomenon of haunted houses is real.

According to the survey, which was published this year, there has been a surge in the proportion of Canadians who believe that buildings can be inhabited by the spirits of dead people.

The survey found that 39 per cent of Canadians said they “definitely” or “probably” believe in haunted houses which indicates a seven-point increase compared to a similar survey conducted in 2021.