Haunted Downtown

Haunted Montreal Blog #40 – Victorian Christmas Ghost Storytelling Traditions in Montreal

Meanwhile, in Victorian Montreal, there was no shortage of ghost storytelling during the Yuletide season. Indeed, Montrealers embraced the winter with fantastic carnivals that featured giant ice castles, mock battles involving hundreds of participants, skating parties at the opulent Victoria Rink and magnificent fireworks displays. When revelers arrived home after a day at the Winter Carnival, the hearth was stoked, mulled wine and brandy were prepared, and Victorian Montrealers gathered around to listen to and tell ghost stories as the flames crackled, casting eerie shadows across so many a parlor throughout the city.

Haunted Montreal Blog #39 – John Doe Pub

At other times, staff have found the faucets running when they were positive the taps were closed. In one case, a dishwasher turned off the kitchen's tap and went to the bathroom. When she returned, she could hear the water running and spotted the ghost of a young girl who had just turned it on again. The ghostly girl looked directly in her eyes and then vanished into thin air, with the water still running at full blast.

Haunted Montreal Blog #31 – Paranormal Activity at the Hotel Bonaventure

Fearing this might be some kind of warning or preemptive signal, hotel management immediately contacted the police. Francois Lippe was the first police officer to arrive at the hotel. Baffled, he contacted his superiors and asked them to come and look for themselves at the object that was floating above the City of Montreal. The Chief of Police, Robert Masson, soon arrived at the scene and he immediately spotted the bizarre object in question.

Haunted Montreal Blog #28 – McGill University Faculty Club

The McGill Faculty Club is the sort of place where things literally go bump in the night. Doors on the upper floors often slam on their own accord. The staff also reports that the elevator sometimes moves between floors, inexplicably, without any human passengers. In the billiard room, the balls are known to roll on their own, as though a game is being played by invisible spirits. Some servants are unnerved by the numerous portraits hanging on the walls, which they claim often follow them with their eyes. In 2010, Tony Austin, the Club’s longstanding maître d’hôtel, told the McGill Reporter: “I’ve never seen a ghost myself, but when you’re all alone in this house at the end of the night it can be a little creepy with all those portraits staring back at you.”

Haunted Montreal Blog #23 – Old Montreal General Hospital

Then one day something inexplicable happened. The nephew, being a curious fellow, was exploring the nooks and crannies of the hospital before visiting his uncle. Finding himself in an empty room, he was suddenly overwhelmed by a sweet, distinctive, penetrating odour. A cloud of fog began appearing to him and, as he inhaled, he began to hallucinate. The linoleum floor had somehow transformed into wood! Suddenly, he saw blood inexplicably pooling around his feet. As the smell got stronger, he tried to run away, but his foot slipped in the bloody pool and he fell to the ground. As he hit the floor in a panic, suddenly everything reverted back to normal – no blood pooling, no wooden floor and no weird odour.

Haunted Montreal Blog #22 – 1428 Stanley Street

"Then I saw the look of the people I was with, the manager and the owner. I saw the look on their faces: they were not laughing and their faces had become white. They were scared, confused and really shook up. No need to tell you that the fun was over and done with. Me, I was adamant that someone was clearly upstairs. It was obvious. They told me it was impossible because, firstly, both doors (to access the above floor) were locked and chained, with a padlock for extra security. Secondly, the entire upstairs floor was being used as a storage room to pack all the tables and chairs that weren't used for many years..."

Haunted Montreal Blog #18 – Haunted St. Lawrence Burial Ground

In September, 2016, dozens of skeletons were discovered buried underneath René-Lévesque Boulevard in front of the Hydro-Québec headquarters during construction work. Archaeologists were called in to extract and study the remains, before transferring them to the Protestant Mount Royal Cemetery. Originally the location of the Protestant St. Lawrence Burial Ground, which served the community from 1797 until the early 1870’s, today there is no indication of the cemetery's existence, except when digging up the road.

Haunted Montreal Blog #14 – Notman House

He continued: "To describe the inside during the film shoot: there was a large room used as living room and kitchen, another was a bedroom and another was an office. This house is connected by a passageway to the old St. Margaret’s Hospital for The Incurables. On the Notman House end of the passageway, there were western-style swinging doors." "During the night, at about 2 am, I was sitting on a couch in the living room and I heard someone walking down the passageway. The footsteps began walking more quickly, to the point of running! And bam! The swinging doors suddenly swung open and closed in rapid succession, as if someone had just rushed through. Immediately, I jumped up and lit the area with my flashlight, but there was no one there."

Haunted Montreal Blog #13 – Théâtre du Nouveau Monde

On another occasion, a manager whose office was in the basement was closing up for the night. He had felt an unseen presence when alone before, but on this particular evening the presence felt stronger. At first he thought it might be another employee playing a joke on him, but he soon confirmed that he was alone in the building. As the hairs began to rise on the back of his neck, he became more and more afraid. Overwhelmed with building feeling of terror, he bolted from the theatre, leaving the door unlocked, and ran home as fast as he could.

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