Haunted Places and Sites of Paranormal Activity

Haunted Places and Sites of Paranormal Activity

 


The sources provide an extensive list of locations across Ontario and Canada with reputations for being haunted, sites of dark history, or loci of paranormal activity.

The list below is organized by region, with a detailed focus on Southwestern Ontario (SWO), as defined in the source material.




I. Southwestern Ontario (SWO)

This region includes counties like Essex, Kent, Middlesex, Huron, and Elgin.

 

Essex & Kent Counties (Windsor, Amherstburg, Chatham-Kent)

 

    • Artisans’ Grill (Amherstburg, formerly Bullock Tavern/Old Bullock Tavern) – Haunted by a man wrongfully convicted and hanged for a crime.
    • The Barrel House (Sandwich Town, formerly The Mill Tavern) – Haunted by the phantom bouncer, Simon Girty.
    • Canadian Club Distillery (Windsor) – Security guards reported seeing a shadowy figure that bullets passed through.
    • Chatham Haunting Activity.
    • Chatham - Private Home/Residence.
    • Duff-Baby House (Sandwich Town, Windsor) – Believed to be haunted by the ghost of a dog, with sounds of paws and barking reported.
    • The Gordon House (Amherstburg, now Visitor Centre) – Haunted by a musician daughter of the original owners who died of a broken heart, with phantom piano music reported.
    • King’s Landing (Kingsville, now The Grovedale Arts & Event Centre) – Haunted by George the Ghost, allegedly murdered for rum-running profits.
    • Mackenzie Hall (Windsor, Olde Sandwich Towne) – Formerly a courthouse, prison, and execution site. Home to the "Dragging Ghost".
    • Maple Leaf-St. Anthony's Cemetery (Chatham-Kent) – Site of cemetery strolls and historical re-enactments where spirits allegedly watch and react.
    • Park House Museum (Amherstburg) – Haunted by the 'woman in black' (Mrs. Park), mourning a child lost at a young age.
    • Perth County Road Ghost.
    • The Poltergeist of Baldoon (Chatham-Kent/Wallaceburg area) – Site of Canada's earliest documented poltergeist outbreak (late 1820s).
    • Texas Road (Amherstburg/Essex County) – Site of a roadside haunting by a headless woman.
    • Texas Road Cemetery (Amherstburg) – Source of the legend of a headless woman in white.
    • Windsor - Tilston Armoury.
    • Windsor - University of Windsor.
    • Windsor - Private Residence.
    • Windsor - The Lady and the Soldier.
    • Willistead Manor (Windsor) – The basement has a sinister reputation due to terrifying, unexplained experiences causing catering staff to abruptly resign.


Middlesex County (London & Area)


    • Aeolian Hall (London) – Witnesses report a wild elevator operating on its own.
    • Drink Nightclub (London, now Cowboys).
    • The Donnelly Homestead (Lucan) – Linked to the notorious and violent Donnelly family.
    • Eldon House (London).
    • Idlewyld Inn (London) – Notorious for reports of people being scared, seeing, and hearing things, particularly on the third floor.
    • London Asylum for the Insane (former site/infirmary) – Remains a potent site of institutional memory and suffering.
    • London - Middlesex County Jail.
    • London - Private Residence.
    • The Old Courthouse/Original Jail Cells (downtown London).
    • The Grand Theatre (London) – Haunting linked to the unsolved disappearance of owner Ambrose Small in 1919. Spectres include Small's ghost and a cleaning lady on the stairs.
    • St. Joe's Hospital (London) – Reported to be spooky, with staff seeing and hearing things in certain parts of the building.
    • University of Western Ontario (Western Campus): UC Building (Top floor hallway and men’s washroom), Physics and Astronomy Building (The whole place), Boiler Room and Power Plant/Steam Tunnels.


Elgin County (St. Thomas)


    • Alma College (St. Thomas, former girls' school) – Although tragically burned down, the grounds are still associated with the legend of 'Angela,' a cruel music teacher, and apparitions/cries of young girls.
    • Balaclava St. School (St. Thomas) – Rumours of a girl hanging herself from pipes in the girls' bathroom and an allegedly haunted attic.
    • Destination Church (St. Thomas, formerly Wilcox House/Empire Hotel) – Site of paranormal activity, possibly linked to an unidentified dead man buried in Hamilton.
    • Jackson Street Apartment Building (St. Thomas) – Reported to be very haunted, with lights turning on/off and figures running in the hallways.
    • Myrtle Street School (St. Thomas) – Sightings of ghostly children in the windows and apparitions of 19th-century soldiers in the hallways.
    • Old Rail Station (St. Thomas) – A photo captured a full ghost woman in 1800s clothing holding luggage.
    • Princess Ave Playhouse (St. Thomas, originally a church) – Hotspot for multiple spirits including Maisie (a young girl), an old female church secretary, and Mort (a top-hat-wearing ghost).
    • Sparta Tearoom/Sparta House (St. Thomas) – Home to two mischievous ghosts: a woman in a dress and bonnet, and a man in a dark coat.
    • St. Thomas Courthouse – Site of multiple hangings, haunted by the spirits of the executed.
    • St. Thomas Psychiatric Hospital – Listed among the most haunted places in Canada.
    • Wellington Street School (St. Thomas, now STEAM Centre) – Unexplainable and alarming noises reported, along with ghostly children peering out of windows.


Huron, Perth, Waterloo, Wellington, and Other SWO Locations


    • Arthur - Private Residence.
    • Arkona - Private Residence.
    • Brantford - Drummond St.
    • Brantford - The Pajor House.
    • Brantford - Private Residence.
    • Cambridge - Galt Collegiate Institute.
    • Cambridge - Post Office Building/Fiddler's Green.
    • Cambridge - Private Residence The Thing.
    • Cambridge - Southworks Antique Mall.
    • Elora - Elora Gorge.
    • Elora - Private Residence And Business.
    • Elora - The Wellington County Museum.
    • Elora Hauntings.
    • Fergus - Bed and Breakfast.
    • Fergus - Bookshop.
    • Fergus - The Phantom Piper.
    • Fergus - Phantom Tabby Cat.
    • Fergus - Private Home/Residence.
    • Forest - Haunted Bridge.
    • Grovesend - Salter's Gully.
    • Guelph - Gordon Street.
    • Guelph - Norfolk Street.
    • Guelph - Private Home 1970s.
    • Guelph - Private Residence.
    • Hagersville - Church.
    • Harmony - The Haunted Bridge (Gore of Downie, Zora Boundary Road) – Connected to fatal accidents and strange sounds/figures.
    • Huron Historic Gaol (Goderich) – Notorious for auditory phenomena like jangling keys and footsteps; functioned as a prison and House of Refuge.
    • Kitchener - Converted School.
    • Kitchener - Joseph Schneider House.
    • Kitchener Area - Private Home.
    • Norfolk - Private Residence.
    • Port Dover - Ivey's Hill House.
    • Port Dover Private Residence.
    • Port Rowan - Backus Mill Conservation Area.
    • Preston - An Old Hotel.
    • Putnam - Haunted Road.
    • Stratford - Avon Theatre & Queen’s Inn – Featured on ghost tours with stories of murder, a hanging, headless bodies, and the infamous theatre curse.
    • Stratford - Headless Ghost?.
    • Stratford - Woods Villa.
    • Topcliff School (U.S.S. No. 10, Glenelg & Egremont, Grey County) – Known as "Haunted Schoolhouse" due to a persistent, unfathomable sound heard in 1894.
    • Vittoria - 'Spooky Hollow'.
    • Waterloo - Private Residence.
    • Waterloo - Wilfrid Laurier University.
    • Woodstock - Old Oxford County Court House.
    • Woodside National Historic Site.


 

II. Greater Toronto Area (GTA) & Niagara Region





    • Black Creek Pioneer Village (Toronto) – A magnet for paranormal activity.
    • Distillery District (Toronto) – Site of ghost walks and reported paranormal activity, including floating lights and vanishing people.
    • Fort George (Niagara-on-the-Lake) – Famous for its ghosts.
    • Fort York (Toronto) – Reportedly offers ghost tours.
    • Fusion Mansion (Mississauga/Oakville).
    • Gibraltar Point Lightouse (Toronto Islands) – Haunted by lighthouse keeper JP Rademuller who disappeared in 1813.
    • Glenerin Inn (Mississauga, Carriage House) – Reports of breathing on the phone line, shadows under the door, and feelings of being watched.
    • The Hermitage Ruins (Hamilton) – Ruins of a manor house in the woods, offered on ghost walks.
    • The Keg Mansion (Toronto) – Famously haunted.
    • Kirby Road (Vaughan) – Associated with an abandoned home near a tombstone.
    • Lower Bay Station (Toronto) – Supposedly haunted, "abandoned" subway station investigated by researchers.
    • Lynde House Museum (Whitby) – Investigated by The Paranormal Seekers.
    • Mackenzie House (Toronto) – Former home of Toronto's first mayor, haunted by a long-haired woman and a bald man in a frock coat (possibly William Lyon Mackenzie himself).
    • Olde Angel Inn (Niagara-on-the-Lake) – Included on ghost walks.
    • Prince of Wales Hotel (Niagara-on-the-Lake) – Haunted by the ghost of Molly Mcguire, killed there during the American invasion.
    • Queen Station (Toronto).
    • Royal George Theatre (Niagara-on-the-Lake) – Included on ghost walks.
    • St. Lawrence Market (Toronto) – Reportedly a site where people died when a floor collapsed during a town hall meeting.
    • St. James Cemetery (Toronto) – Used as a creepy filming location.
    • Tanglewood Building (Courtice) – Home to Critical Hit Gaming Lounge, investigated due to its infamous past.
    • Valley Halla (Toronto Zoo property) – An old Victorian mansion once used for the TV show Hannibal, located on zoo property.
    • Whitby Psychiatric Hospital (former site) – Reported to be "pretty freakin creepy".
    • Niagara Parks Power Station (Niagara Falls) – Historic building with a dark side linked to the original founder and his wife Annette.


 

III. South Eastern Ontario & Ottawa


    • Allan Macpherson House (Napanee) – Former home of a prolific entrepreneur, now a museum investigated multiple times by paranormal groups.
    • Ameliasburgh Heritage Village (Prince Edward County) – Site of ghost walks and public investigations.
    • Blinkbonnie (Gananoque) – Former mansion with accounts of disconnected taps running, slamming doors, and unexplained footsteps.
    • Brockville - Fulford Place – Edwardian mansion where Mary Fulford, fascinated with spiritualism, held séances.
    • The Bunker Military Museum (Cobalt) – Marked as the most haunted location in historic Cobalt, with reports of dark shadows, unexplained footsteps, and disappearing items.
    • Bytown Museum (Ottawa) – Stories abound of crying porcelain dolls, sudden temperature drops, and moving items, possibly haunted by two separate ghosts.
    • Chalmers United Church (Kingston) – Haunted by a disgruntled former organist who disliked women playing the instrument.
    • Chateau Laurier (Ottawa) – Ghostly tales of its original owner, Charles Melville Hays, who died on the Titanic.
    • Commanda Museum (Commanda General Store) – Believed to be haunted by its founder proprietors.
    • Fort Henry National Historic Site (Kingston) – Site of hangings and a prisoner of war camp, known for paranormal activity.
    • Fort Wellington National Historic Site (Prescott) – Allegedly inhabited by the ghost of soldier Terrence Anderson from the War of 1812.
    • Goulbourn Museum (Stittsville) – Investigated by The Paranormal Seekers.
    • HI Ottawa Jail Hostel (Ottawa) – Former jail found to have inhumane conditions, hauntings linked to prisoners who died there, with reports of screaming and apparitions.
    • Huron Historic Gaol (Goderich) – Mentioned here for location, but categorized under SWO.
    • Kawartha Settlers' Village (Bobcaygeon) – Site of public investigations.
    • Kingston Penitentiary – Canada’s oldest maximum-security prison, known for unexplainable horrors, including the sound of jingling keys, moans, and visions of William Wentworth.
    • Lost Villages Museum (near Long Sault) – Phantom footsteps and the spirit of a little girl wandering the property reported, related to communities displaced by the St. Lawrence Seaway expansion.
    • Macaulay Museum (Prince Edward County) – Potential haunting related to Peter Laziers' murder and the double execution of two men who maintained their innocence.
    • McBurney Park (Kingston, known as “Skeleton Park”) – Used as a burial ground for soldiers and cholera patients; skeletal remains sometimes surface. Locals report visions of children playing who vanish.
    • North Bay Courthouse – Haunted by the tormented spirits of executed people.
    • North Bay Museum and Downtown North Bay – Spirits linger in historic buildings, including the museum (former CPR railway station).
    • Old East Hill Neighborhood in Belleville – Home to many historical houses said to be locations of séances and spooky happenings.
    • Old Hay Bay Church (Greater Napanee) – Numerous spirits allegedly seen, linked to a tragic drowning in 1819.
    • Prince George Hotel (Kingston) – Haunted by Lily, who died in a fire; her ghostly figure has been seen staring out her third-floor window.
    • Prince Edward Heights / PRZ Paintball (Prince Edward County) – Former military barracks converted to a "hospital for the mentally disabled," associated with unconfirmed stories of abuse/fatalities and menacing images.
    • Rochleau Courtyard (Kingston) – Eerie site tied to the murder and dismemberment of Theresa Ignace Beam in 1868; her restless spirit allegedly wanders the alley.
    • Rockwood Asylum (Kingston) – Former home for the 'criminally insane' where visitors can expect to feel a spirit or two.
    • Royal Theatre (North Bay) – Believed to be haunted by a stagehand who mysteriously fell from the flies.
    • Sault St. Marie Canal (Algoma Country, Superintendent’s Residence and Administration Building) – A hub for paranormal activity, including the ghost of a young girl in a frilly dress.
    • Scugog Shores Museum Village – Site of public investigation events.
    • The SDG Jail (Cornwall) – Alleged hot-spot for paranormal activity; ghostly apparitions, doors slamming, and visitors claiming to be 'touched'.
    • Whitchurch-Stouffville Museum.

IV. Other Haunted Locations in Canada (Outside SWO/Eastern/Central/Northern Ontario)

 

    • Charles Camsell Hospital (Edmonton, Alberta) – Abandoned facility formerly housing indigenous tuberculosis patients; staff reported seeing a ghostly apparition of a little girl in white.
    • Dorea Institute (Franklin, Quebec) – Former ‘insane asylum’ for orphans; visitors reported seeing ghosts of several children and phantom shrieks.
    • Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel (Banff, Alberta) – Known as the “Castle in the Rockies,” haunted by the ghost of a bride whose dress caught fire and the alleged murder victims in room 873.
    • Fairmont Empress (Victoria, British Columbia) – Haunted by architect Francis Rattenbury, a maid, and an employee who died in 1960.
    • Fort Garry Hotel (Winnipeg, Manitoba) – Reputation as one of the most haunted places in Canada; specifically Room 202 is haunted by the spirit of a woman who took her own life.
    • James Bay Inn (Victoria, British Columbia) – Haunted by Canadian painter Emily Carr, who died in her room (now a men’s washroom).
    • Maison Notre-Dame de la Chesnaie (St. Clothilde de Horton, Quebec) – Abandoned hospital where visitors claim to have encountered the ghosts of several children.
    • Manitoba Legislature Building (Winnipeg, Manitoba).
    • Riverview Hospital (Coquitlam, British Columbia) – Abandoned asylum for the mentally ill, built atop an old Stahlo Indian burial ground.
    • Tranquille Sanatorium (Kamloops, British Columbia) – Abandoned facility where local legend says many spirits haunt the grounds.

V. International Locations (Mentioned in Sources)

 

    • Eastern State Penitentiary (Philadelphia, PA, USA) – Old, dark stone prison, widely regarded as haunted.
    • Frederic Remington Art Museum (Ogdensburg, NY, USA) – Quite active and investigated by paranormal teams.
    • Hinsdale House (Hinsdale, NY, USA).
    • Myrtles Plantation (St. Francisville, LA, USA).
    • Queen Mary (Long Beach, CA, USA) – Hotel/restaurant/ship known for multiple paranormal attractions.
    • Stanley Hotel (Estes Park, CO, USA) – Luxury hotel and inspiration for The Shining.
    • Villisca Ax Murder House (Villisca, IA, USA) – Remote location requiring deliberate travel due to its reputation.
    • Wildwood Sanitarium (Salamanca, NY, USA) – 124+ year old building with a "non-stop night of wild activity".
Winchester Mystery House (San Jose, CA, USA).
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