Where to find a ghost in Toronto
Web staff, cp24.com
Human remains found under a parking lot at the Don Jail are unveiled to the media in Toronto on Wednesday Sept. 26, 2007. The remains were unearthed during Bridgepoint Health’s site redevelopment. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn
Toronto is home to millions of people, so perhaps it should be no surprise that quite a few ghosts, ghouls and spirits live among them.
From luxury hotels to abandoned penitentiaries, there is no shortage of the supernatural in Canada’s largest city and with Halloween upon us, we here at CP24.com are giving you a run down.
Here are five local haunts, in no particular order, that possess a history of terrifying sightings, unexplained occurrences and even an unsolved murder or two.
Old Don Jail
Home to 34 executions before capital punishment was abolished, the old Don Jail is said to be haunted to this day by two of those prisoners — Robert Turpin and Arthur Luca. Turpin and Luca were the last men sentenced to death in Canada in December of 1962 and many think their spirit still lurks in the dark corners of the jail. A female prisoner, who committed suicide years ago, is also thought to be patrolling the dingy hallways of the jail with a chip on her shoulder.
The Royal York Hotel
It’s one of the nicest hotels in the city but it’s also one of the scariest. According to Torontoghosts.org, the Royal York is haunted by a former employee who hung himself from a stairwell railing on the 19th floor. The site says hotel staff routinely hear screaming and other weird noises coming from the roof, but when they investigate, there’s nothing to be found. Ghosts are invisible after all.
Old City Hall
Remember Robert Turpin and Arthur Lucas, the two men who haunt the Don Jail? While it turns out they are roving ghosts. The men were the last Canadians sentenced to die in 1962 and learned of their fate inside courtroom 33. Many believe they lurk inside that very courtroom to this day. Of course they are not the only ones in what is widely considered one of the most haunted buildings in Toronto. According to Torontoghosts.org, screams and cries of desperation are often heard coming from the cellar, a one-time holding room for inmates awaiting trial.
Keg Mansion
The Keg Mansion near Jarvis and Wellesley Street is a good place to get both a steak and a fright. The ghost of a former maid is said to still be wandering the halls of the old home, which was built in 1867. Some have even reported seeing Lillian Massey’s maid hanging from a noose above the main stairs.
Casa Loma
What is a giant castle without a few ghosts to call its own? Casa Loma, which was built by Sir Henry Pellat in 1911, has its share of ghost stories to tell. There is the ghost of Lady Pellat, who is said to haunt her bedroom, the library and the conservatory, and a plethora of creepy nameless spirits believed to call a tunnel running under the castle home.
