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Haunted Montreal Blog #17 – Poltergeist on Sainte-Famille Street

At the northern end of the street sits the beautiful, historic chapel of the Hôtel-Dieu Hospital. It almost seems like a utopian oasis quaintly tucked into an urban environment. However, a paranormal mystery has long-plagued this exquisite street. Since the summer of 1929, mysterious knots have been appearing in one of the homes, tying up curtains and bedsheets and the like. According to various reports, some residents blame the unsolved mystery on a poltergeist.

Haunted Montreal Blog #16 – Au-Pied-du-Courant Prison

According to many sources, the ghosts of the former prisoners and guards still haunt the building and former prison grounds. The apparitions of the executed men and other prisoners who died on the site have been spotted, along with those tasked to guard them. Hidden bodies are also rumoured to be buried on the grounds. There is said to be a host of paranormal activity in the old prison: shadowy figures, light anomalies, unexplained mists, disembodied voices, weird feelings (unease, not being wanted, not being alone, anger, despair, violent thoughts and physical illness), phantom footsteps, electrical disturbances, objects disappearing and then reappearing, doors and windows opening and closing, lights turning on and off and other unexplained noises.

Haunted Montreal Blog #12 – La Cinémathèque québécoise

In October, 2005, staff at the Cinémathèque québécoise were alarmed by a spike in paranormal activity in the building. As Hallowe'en approached, strange, inexplicable sightings and unexplained phenomena became more and more frequent. A young woman was working at the Cinémathèque québécoise as a ticket-taker and one evening she found herself in one of the projection rooms. As a film rolled, she witnessed the ghostly figure of a little girl, clutching a stack of school books, enter the cinema. Not believing her eyes, she began inquiring to other staff members if they too had noticed the spirit of the schoolgirl. The janitor who worked at the Cinémathèque québécoise at the time confirmed that the ghost had been spotted many times over the years, but had no explanation as to who she was or why she was haunting the old school-cum-Cinémathèque.

Haunted Montreal Blog #11 – St. John the Evangelist Church

As glossy new theatres, cinemas and performances venues go up, St. John the Evangelist Church remains firmly planted on the corner of St. Urbain Street and President Kennedy Avenue. It is both an architectural reminder of an earlier era and a fully-functioning Anglo-Catholic Church, which continues to serve its congregation and operate a drop-in center for the needy. What the tens of thousands of tourists streaming past during the festival season likely don't realize is that the Red Roof Church has long been rumoured to be haunted. The hauntings, however, are extremely unusual: they are benign. Interestingly enough, instead of unsettling cold spots and other unpleasant paranormal activities manifesting themselves, the spirit haunting the church is said to be very gentle. Indeed, "warm spots" are known to surface on occasion, comforting the parishioners lucky enough to experience one. The feeling, according to one church-goer, is not unlike “being embraced by a loved one.”

Haunted Montreal Blog #10 – Haunted Eden Musée Site at the Monument-National

Today, an intimate theatrical studio sits in the basement where Eden Musée once flourished and, according to staff and students, this part of the building is haunted. There are reports of pipes inexplicably banging and strange noises erupting in the basement studio. According to an article in Journal Métro, the school's Technical Director, Yves Duceppe, was very reluctant to go there alone when he was a student from 1979 - 81. At the time, the dark, un-renovated basement was creepy and infested with rats and insects. He never ventured there alone. Apparently, despite being converted into a versatile theatrical studio, the mysterious hauntings continue. Many of the students report unsettling feelings of unease and of being watched by someone or something hiding in the studio's dark recesses. Furthermore, two floors above the studio, there are also numerous reports of a ghostly woman appearing at the top of the stairs leading to the main theatre of the Monument-National.

Haunted Montreal Blog #8 – Hauntings at the Old Pointe Claire Hotel

When asked if she had ever experienced anything spooky, the waitress recalled that once she had gone upstairs for some supplies, and when she reached the top of the stairs she saw the shadow of someone entering a room. She approached and quickly realized that the door to the room, which the shadow had entered, was closed. Confused, she went to the supply room to carry out her task. As she was opening a box, she felt someone lurking behind her. She spun around and saw a dark form wavering in the doorway. The terrified waitress tried to back away, but stumbled and fell over a box as the shadowy form came into the room. The now-trembling waitress feared that the apparition would advance on her, but instead it turned and proceeded to walk right through the wall.

Haunted Montreal Blog #6 – Haunted Griffintown Tour & McLennan Library Ghost

Allegedly the 6th floor of the McLennan Library is haunted by the ghostly apparition of an elderly man who wears a strange old coat. He is known to float quietly above the floor, sometimes towards students who are deep in a book or librarians stacking the shelves. Once he selects his target, the apparition is known to glide up behind a person, then lurk, almost perfectly still. He stares intently at his victim until he is noticed. When the startled person reacts, usually by screaming and jumping up from their chair, this ghost is known to vanish into thin air, leaving the victim embarrassed for having disturbed the quietude that makes the McLennan Library famous.

Haunted Montreal Blog #4 – Villa Maria School

Schoolgirls enrolled at Villa Maria have been whispering about the hauntings for decades, often to the disapproval of religious officials who were once involved in the school's administration. Despite the school offering a more secular education nowadays, the hallowed halls are still said to be haunted by various ghosts. Certain locations are said to be extremely haunted, including the main lobby, where as mysterious rope sometimes swings on its own accord, and the fourth floor, where students often experience flickering lights and gusts of cold wind, not to mention phantom footsteps and disembodied weeping sounds. Delving into the site's history of the site can provide clues as to what may be causing the hauntings.

Haunted Montreal Blog #3 – Point Saint Charles Legion

McCaskill also mentioned a frightening encounter. One day, while going about his daily routine, he heard a sort of demonic growling noise. It got louder and more menacing, causing him to bolt from the building momentarily in a state of fear. On another occasion, he noticed that a cross had subtly burnt itself into the grass outside the Legion without any explanation - nothing had been placed on the lawn that could have formed the religious shape. Concerning the disembodied voices, in addition to whatever was growling, there is also a chorus of women upstairs who sometimes sing to the sounds of a piano; unusual, because the Legion’s piano is downstairs. There is also the mysterious voice of a child, which Ken McCaskill actually managed to record. Late one night in 2014, after he had locked up, he recorded a muffled child’s voice saying something like “Pick up your Tootsie Roll”. The same young voice, in a clearer tone, also asked: “Can I come downstairs now?”

Haunted Montreal Blog # 2 – Duggan House

The building is currently used by the Department of Education. At some point during the 1990s, a female Graduate student had a terrifying encounter in Duggan House. She was scheduled to have an important academic meeting her professor in the large foyer of the building. When she entered, she found him in a plush chair, awaiting her. The student sat down opposite him, put her purse on the ground to the right of her, and flipped open her notebook. She was in the process of explaining some new avenues of research, when suddenly she froze and stopped speaking. Her mouth agape, she stared at the shadowy, spiral staircase to the left behind the professor. The student appeared to be in a state of panic and started pointing at the staircase and screaming. She witnessed the ghostly specter of a woman, clad in a 19th Century petticoat, who materialized on top the spiral staircase and then begin descending into the foyer. The girl was now shrieking hysterically, causing the professor to panic. He immediately spun his chair around to see the imminent danger that was terrorizing his student. There was nothing there.

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