The castle-like gothic towers of the old B.C. Penitentiary gatehouse still loom over New Westminster — and so too, perhaps, the spirits of its former inmates. Once home to some of the province’s most dangerous criminals, the historic prison in the Sapperton neighbourhood is now a place of fascination for ghost hunters who believe not everyone who entered ever left. “It’s not a happy bunch,” said Greg Mansfield, author of Ghosts of Vancouver. “Usually a very, very aggressive bunch, a very violent bunch.” Among the inmates was train robber Billy Miner, who escaped and then left British Columbia. Most of the prison is long gone, but the gatehouse — which began taking shape in 1924 — remains, and ghost hunters swear it’s still full of energy. Paranormal investigator Robb Demarest calls it “the most paranormal location on the West Coast of Canada.” Fellow spirit seeker Amanda Quill says she felt an overwhelming feeling that someone was always behind her. “A feeling like I needed to protect myself,” she said from building’s basement. Mansfield agreed, describing “a lot of unhappy, angry people” and a “funny energy that presses up against my back.”
