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Spooky Canada: 25 places around the country with a haunted history
From hotels to restaurants, here are 25 places across Canada with a spooky history.
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Where: Ottawa
This luxury hotel located steps away from Parliament Hill has hosted a variety of politicians, royalty, and Hollywood stars. But the hotel's founder, American businessman Charles Melville Hays, never had the chance to see it completed.
The Fairmont Chateau Laurier in Ottawa is seen in this undated image. (Fairmont)
He died just days before the hotel's official opening, drowning in icy Atlantic waters during the sinking of the Titanic.
Sailors on the cable ship "Minia" recovered Hays' body on April 26, 1912, but his spirit is believed to reside at the Chateau Laurier, haunting hotel guests and employees.
The Fairmont Château Laurier in Ottawa is seen in this undated image. (Fairmont)
Where: Winnipeg
One of the more infamous places believed to be haunted in Winnipeg is the Fort Garry Hotel, the site of several ghostly legends.
The Fort Garry Hotel is seen on May 11, 2026. (Jamie Dowsett/CTV News Winnipeg)
The most infamous is Room 202, where a bride purportedly died of suicide after her husband's death and now haunts the room.
The Fort Garry Hotel at 222 Broadway in Winnipeg, is seen on April 3, 2026. (Gary Robson/CTV News Winnipeg)
Where: Quebec City
Apparitions have been reported on Quebec's Plains of Abraham, the battlefield where French and British soldiers clashed 1759, and the infamous Marie Josephte Corriveau was hanged for murdering her second husband.
A depiction of the Battle of the Plains of Abraham and the Battle of Sainte-Foy from 1759-1760. (plainsofabraham.ca)
In modern times, tourists have reported smelling cannon smoke, hearing the sounds of battle, and spotting the figures of soldiers walking through the field.
View of Quebec City from the Plains of Abraham. (Daniel J. Rowe/CTV News)
Where: Toronto
The ornate mansion that now houses the Keg restaurant on Toronto's Jarvis Street was once the scene of a tragic suicide. Legend has it that a maid hanged herself in the home's front entrance, back when it was known as the Massey Mansion.
A view of The Keg Mansion in Toronto, Oct. 20, 2026. (Joanna Lavoie / CP24)
After the Keg bought the space and turned it into a restaurant, diners reported seeing a ghostly apparition hanging from the ceiling, and hearing the footsteps of children running upstairs.
There is also a rumour that a spooky presence haunts a washroom there.
A view of The Keg Mansion in Toronto, Oct. 20, 2026. (Joanna Lavoie / CP24)
Where: Banff, Alta.
The Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel has stood in Banff National Park since 1888, and in the past 127 years people there have reported numerous paranormal encounters.
Among the ghostly guests rumoured to be staying at the hotel are a young bride who died on her wedding day after falling down the stairs, and a bellhop who passed away immediately after announcing his retirement.
The Fairmont Banff Springs is seen in this undated image. (Fairmont)
Their spirits – one wearing a white wedding dress and the other in full bellhop uniform -- are believed to roam the hotel's hallways and rooms.
The Fairmont Banff Springs hotel is seen n this undated image.
Where: Victoria
Perched on a hill overlooking Victoria, B.C., Craigdarroch Castle is home to a piano that reportedly plays itself, objects that inexplicably move on their own, and a mysterious woman in white.
Morning fog surrounds Craigdarroch Castle in Victoria, B.C., Tuesday, November 9, 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito
Robert Dunsmuir commissioned the house to be built in the late the 1800s, but he died before its completion in 1889.
Pictures and keepsakes from the Dunsmuir family adorn rooms during a tour of the Craigdarroch Castle in Victoria, B.C., Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito
Daily life is pictured at Craigdarroch Castle in Victoria, B.C., Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito
Where: Halifax
The upscale seafood eatery is a place of happiness and celebration, but as day becomes twilight, and customers drift away, some say a different type of patron roams the halls of the Five Fisherman and they never leave.
The 5 Fishermen Restaurant is seen in this undated photo. (Discover Halifax)
From flickering lights and unknown footsteps, to cold drafts that come from nowhere, staff say they have experienced it all.
5 Fishermen Restaurant in Halifax, Aug. 14, 2026. (5 Fishermen Restaurant / Facebook)
Where: Ottawa
The jail-turned-hostel once housed some of Ottawa's most notorious criminals, including Patrick Whelan, who was convicted and hanged in the death of politician Thomas D'Arcy McGee.
(Saintlo Ottawa Jail Hostel)
Stephanie Clark, the activities co-ordinator at the hostel, says Whelan spent ten months on death row there, before he was hanged in front of an audience of 5,000 people on Feb. 11, 1869.
(Saintlo Ottawa Jail Hostel)
(Saintlo Ottawa Jail Hostel)
Where: Vancouver
Legend has it the ritzy downtown Vancouver hotel is sometimes inhabited by a well-dressed spectre dubbed the 'Lady in Red.' She’s said to be the ghost of Jennie Pearl Cox, a socialite who frequented events in the hotel ballroom in the 1940s before dying in a car crash.
The Fairmont Hotel Vancouver is seen in this undated photo. (Fairmont)
Most sightings of the “Lady in Red” have reportedly taken place on the 14th floor, but she has also sent a chill down the spines of people in the ground floor lobby.
A picture of a red figure at a window of the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver created a stir on social media, May 26, 2017. (Twitter/Scott Graham)
Where: Montreal
The Mother House of the Grey Nuns was used for more than 130 years as the centre of the order’s extensive charity work, according to Parks Canada.
Mother House of the Grey Nuns in Montreal in 1890. (Musée McCord Museum)
It is widely considered one of Montreal’s most haunted places. The facility is now a student residence owned by Concordia University, and open except for a basement crypt, which hold 276 people, including 232 Grey Nuns.
(Concordia University)
Where: Dorchester, N.B.
Dorchester is iconic among Maritime ghost stories. The former prison is said to be haunted by several ghosts including the Bannister Brothers who were the last prisoners to be hanged at the penitentiary, side-by-side, after being convicted of murder during a botched kidnapping in 1936.
(Tourism New Brunswick)
The jail now operates as a bed and breakfast, allowing guests to sleep in a jail cell.
(Tripadvisor)
Where: Kensington, P.E.I.
This now-spooky attraction for families tells the story of Dr. Jack, who created the home and opened an inn in the mansion in the 1890s, and many of his guests were never heard from again, according to Haunted Mansion PEI.
Haunted Mansion in Kensington, P.E.I., is seen in this undated image. (hauntedmansionpei)
Dr. Jack also disappeared, and legend says some of his guests still walk the halls of the mansion, including the infamous Lizzie Borden, who was found not guilty of murdering her father and stepmother in 1892.
Haunted Mansion in Kensington, P.E.I., is seen in this undated image. (Haunted Mansion / Facebook)
Where: Saskatoon
Ghost stories float around the Western Development Museum in Saskatoon, with reports of a Victorian-Age woman in a red dress peering in from the street that was totally black.
(Tourism Saskatchewan)
According to Discover Saskatoon, other spooky sightings have been reported at WDM, including glasses mysteriously stacked in event halls and a woman who mysteriously disappeared.
(Tourism Saskatchewan)
Where: Halifax
The former British military fort has been the subject of ghost sightings over the years, and a ghost tour takes visitors through tunnels and old prison cells.
Tourists enjoy a summer's day in Halifax, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Kelly Clark
Halifax citadel is reportedly haunted by Grey Lady of the Cavalier, a spirit that has wandering the site looking for her fiancé after his apparent suicide since the early 1900s.
Luke Fournier shovels snow at Halifax Citadel National Historic Site in Halifax on Monday, Feb. 8, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan
Where: Northwest Territories
The stunning park, which can only be accessed via boat or floatplane, has its share of creepy stories. It started with brothers Frank and Willie McLeod who travelled to the park in 1905 and never returned. Their headless skeletons were discovered in 1908.
(Parks Canada)
Others have mysteriously disappeared, and there have been numerous other events, including series of unexplained plane crashes and UFO sightings, according to Northwest Territories Tourism.
Where: Saskatoon
This historic site in Saskatoon reportedly has at least two ghosts within its walls – a child and a man.
The Marr Residence on 11th Street East in Saskatoon. (Laura Woodward/CTV Saskatoon)
The ghostly child has been spotted looking out the front window of the house, while the man lives in the basement and aggressively yells at women, according to Discover Saskatoon.
The Marr Residence in Saskatoon is seen in this undated photo. (Tyler Barrow/CTV News)
Dawson City, Yukon
The house, built n 1901, hosts artists-in-residence, and many have reported apparitions and presences over the years, according to the town.
Macaulay House in Dawson City, Yukon is seen in this undated photo. (Parks Canada)
Residents have reported sightings of a little girl, a figure on the stairs, and an apparition in a mirror.
Macaulay House in Dawson City, Yukon is seen in December 2025. (Jake Kimble / Klondike Institute of Art & Culture)
Where: Regina
Darke Hall is named after Francis Nicholson Darke, a businessman who also served as Regina mayor and ember of Parliament. He died in died in 1940 and lay in state at Darke Hall. It is said that the ghost of Francis Darke still roams the venue.
The outside of Darke Hall is seen in this undated image. (University of Regina)
Darke Hall was home to the Regina Symphony Orchestra and today is a 470-seat premier concert and performance venue.
Where: Calgary
Built in 1906, Deane House is now an upscale restaurant and garden, but is considered one of Calgary’s most haunted places.
(Deane House Restaurant & Garden / X)
According to Calgary Heritage, the home has been plagued with stabbings, suicides and accidental deaths, and there are reported sightings of a mysterious man with a pipe.
(Deane House Restaurant & Garden / X)
Where: Niagara Falls, Ont.
This 38-metre long tunnel in Niagara runs under railroad tracks linking Niagara Falls to Toronto, and is apparently haunted by the ghost of a young girl who died in there more than 100 years ago. Screaming Tunnel in Niagara Falls, Ont. on May 18, 2026. (CTV News)
According to Niagara Public library, a nearby farmhouse caught fire and a girl fled from the house screaming with clothes engulfed in flames. She then ran into the tunnel but collapsed and died on the tunnel floor.
Legend has it that if you stand in the middle of the tunnel at night and light a match, you will hear the girl’s screams once the flame disappears.
Screaming Tunnel in Niagara Falls, Ont. on May 18, 2026. (CTV News)
Where: Newfoundland and Labrador
Wabana Iron Ore Mines were in operation from 1895 to 1966 on Newfoundland and Labrador’s Bell Island
The main slope into the No. 2 Mine in Wabana, N.L. Its dark corridors have been left largely untouched since the mine's closure in 1949. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Tara Brautigam
From a mysterious boom in 1978, a marsh home to fairies, to ghostly miners who haunt the tunnels of the No. 4 mine, the island is no stranger to spooky legends.
A ferry is seen arriving from Bell Island to Portugal Cove, N.L. during the last moments of daylight Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2009. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward<>
A large mural outside the town hall of Wabana, N.L., stands as a testament to Bell Island's mining history. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Tara Brautigam
Where: Prince Edward Island
The West Point Lighthouse, the tallest on Prince Edward Island, was built in 1875 and was converted to an inn in 1987.
(westpointlighthouse.ca)
According to the P.E.I Lighthouse Society, there have been incidences of lights being turned off or on in various rooms when no one was there, which is believed to be the ghosts of old keepers William Anderson MacDonald, or ‘Lighthouse Willie’, and Benjamin ‘Bennie’ MacIsaac, the only two keepers in 88 years.
(westpointlighthouse.ca)
Where: Rankin Inlet, Nunavut
The fire hall, located in Rankin Inlet, Nunavut, has been in operation for more than three decades.
(Rankin Inlet Fire Rescue EMS / Facebook)
According to local reports, people have reported seeing spirits in the hall, with some seemingly interacting with them.
(Rankin Inlet Fire Rescue EMS / Facebook)
Where: St. Andrews, New Brunswick
The historic seaside resort has been in operation since 1889 and has had its fair share of ghostly encounters.
(The Algonquin Resort / Facebook)
There are reports of a ghostly bride in room 473, a friendly bellhop, a former night watchman, and dining room staff roaming around the resort.
(The Algonquin Resort / Facebook)
Where: Kingston, Ont.
Kingston Penitentiary is a notorious former prison that operated from 1835-2013, and saw riots in 1932, 1954 and 1971, the latter lasting four days and resulting in the deaths of two inmates and much of the prison damaged.
The notoriety of the prison and its staff grew, fuelled by many prisoners’ accounts of daily beatings at the hands of wardens, brutal riots, and "the box" -- a notorious upright coffin in which inmates were sealed for hours at a time as punishment. It also held some of Canada's most notorious criminals.
Today, the former prison is a museum and open to the public.
The central atrium of Kingston Penitentiary in Kingston, Ontario on Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2013. (Frank Gunn / THE CANADIAN PRESS)