Canada's most haunted places

Most people don't regard Canada as a scary place to live. But believe it or not, the country is riddled with houses and buildings that carry a very long history of eerie happenings. Here's our picks of Canada's most haunted places.

Victoria: Tod House Haunting

Vancouver: Hycroft

Completed in Shaughnessy in 1911 for General Alexander Duncan McRae, Hycroft has more than a handful of residents who have come back from beyond the grave.

One the sites of gatherings for Vancouver’s elite, Hycroft was donated to the Canadian Government by the McRaes in 1942, when it became a veteran’s convalescent hospital. Since 1962, Hycroft has been home to the University Women’s Club of Vancouver (UWCV).

Hycroft is also home to seven ghosts. Apparitions of an older man dressed as a WWI officer and a well dressed woman are generally believed to be General and Mrs. McRae, come back to their former home. The ghost of the head nurse from the days when Hycroft housed convalescent veterans has also been spotted at the mansion. “The Pranksters,” three army veterans from this same period appear to flicker lights and open and close doors throughout the house. The loud sobs of the “Crying Man,” another Hycroft ghost, have been heard coming from a lower floor room. A paranormal researcher visited Hycroft in the 1990s and witnessed a black orb floating over the dining room table.

Calgary: Deane House

Mystery and terror shrouds Inglewood’s Deane House a.k.a. the structure that has recently become known as Canada’s most haunted house. Sitting on the edge of the Bow River, the house was moved to its current location in 1926 where it became a boarding house. Today the Deane House is a restaurant as part of Fort Calgary. The house was originally built for Superintendent Richard Burton Deane of the Royal North West Mounted Police. Once it became a boarding house there were numerous deaths reported in the building; everything from murders, suicides, accidents and deaths of natural causes.

The Calgary Association of Paranormal Investigations confirms that the home is definitely very haunted and happenings have been documented on several occasions. Some minor occurrences include an antique phone that is obviously not plugged in, has been heard ringing multiple times as well as guests smelling tobacco, and hearing laughter when no one is there. Many different ghosts have also been spotted in the house over the years. The haunting is most apparent in the attic where a bloodstain keeps reappearing in one of the cupboards and no matter how many times staff tries to lock it up, the door somehow reopens on its own.

Edmonton: La Boheme Bed & Breakfast

That’s the eerie sound of a body being dragged down the stairs. The sound guests of this historic hotel have claimed to hear; an echo of a violent murder rumoured to have happened over a century ago. Legend says that the original caretaker of the then-luxury apartment building, murdered his wife, dragged her dead body down three flights of stairs, chopped her to pieces and burned her in the coal-fueled furnace. Her ghost continues to haunt the hotel. She’ll tap you on the shoulder, creak through your room and might even elevate your bed right off the floor. Want to meet her? Stay in room 7.

Winnipeg: Fort Garry Hotel

1740 Argyle Street is widely considered to be the most haunted place in Halifax. Originally built in 1817 as a schoolhouse, the building was later converted into the John Snow & Co. Funeral Home. The funeral home handled arrangements for many victims of the Titanic in 1912 and of the Halifax Explosion in 1916.

Over the years staff and customers have reported numerous sightings and curious incidents at the Five Fisherman’s Restaurant, and in October 2014, the restaurant was investigated by the Paranormal Investigations Nova Scotia group, with interesting results. Come here for good food and ghostly fun!