What kind of adventurer are you? We’re only asking because a rock-climbing trip requires a different kind of bravery than, say, a night locked up in a haunted jail cell. For adventurers who’d pass up a nature trip for something more supernatural, this list is for you. Here are nine places to travel to if you want to freak yourself out a little (or a lot).
Help An Apparition Find Her Room At The Empress Hotel In Victoria
Photo: Getty
Some ghosts never give up. Rumour has it one Empress Hotel room used to be haunted by an elderly woman who died there. When the hotel was remodelled, that room became an elevator and the displaced, disembodied woman now goes knocking on doors asking for help to locate her lost room.
Catch A Show/Ghost At The Vogue Theatre In Vancouver
Photo: Getty
The coolest ghosts on the West Coast hang out at the Vogue—which is why you can still smell fresh alcohol and cigar smoke there even though smoking in places like that was banned a million years ago. Head to the washrooms if you want to get lucky (and by “get lucky” we mean “see the face of a dead person staring back at you through the glass”).
Lurk Around Thehe Burton Cummings Theatre In Winnipeg
Photo: Getty
In classic haunting style, this theatre is the site of lots of disembodied laughing, whispers, and applause, doors that slam shut on their own, and mysterious flashing lights. The creepiest thing of all? Burton Cummings is STILL ALIVE.
Go On A Headless Nun Tour In Nordin, NB
Photo: Getty
It isn’t certain how Sister Marie Inconnue lost her head—the blame belongs either to a mad fur trapper or a pair of ruthless treasure hunters (nuns being second only to pirates in their fondness for hiding random treasure). It’s said that her severed head was never found and so she roams the French Fort Cove area looking for it to this day. A local organization runs tours so you can enlist their help or look for her on your own.
Take A Ghost Selfie At Glendon College In Toronto
Photo: Getty
Part of York University, Glendon College is said to be home to several spirits, including a photobombing ghost who likes to show up in snaps of the campus library. In a city so big, there are lots of spots known to be popular haunting grounds, including a Keg franchise on Jarvis Street. No word on whether those particular spirits are human or bovine.
Turn Yourself In For The Night At The Ottawa Jail Hostel
Photo: CP
Inmates who died of natural causes or on death row during their stay at the old Ottawa Jail had their bodies burned and buried on the grounds behind the building. Apparently, their spirits didn’t appreciate the unceremonious end and now they’re like, ‘We are totally going to haunt you!’ Guests frequently see spectral beings lurking on the grounds. To say nothing of what happens when it’s lights out time…
Sleep Next To A Spectre At The Chateau Frontenac
Photo: Getty
A stay at this incredible Quebec City hotel comes with just one caveat: you might wake in the night to find the ghost of a long-haired woman lying next to you. There’s no data on which side of the bed she prefers, so that part is a bit of a coin toss. Another ghost, that of 17-century French governor Louis de Buade, prefers to perch on windowsills and watch guests sleep. Le yikes.
Lose Your Head Over St. John’s Headless Ghost
Photo: Getty
A stay at this incredible Quebec City hotel comes with just one caveat: you might wake in the night to find the ghost of a long-haired woman lying next to you. There’s no data on which side of the bed she prefers, so that part is a bit of a coin toss. Another ghost, that of 17-century French governor Louis de Buade, prefers to perch on windowsills and watch guests sleep. Le yikes.
Freak Out Around The Campfire In Dunvegan Provincial Park
Photo: Getty
This former fur trading post has a history as long as the country is old—and you know what that means: lots of dead people. The Alberta provincial park is known to be home to several different ghosts including a woman who froze to death waiting for her husband to return, a shoeless, white-cloaked woman who haunts one of the park’s bridges, and a priest who still picks up paper and pen to write otherworldly missives in the rectory.