Haunted Griffintown

Haunted Montreal Blog #129 – Update on The Black Rock

In March 2018, Haunted Montreal first wrote about The Black Rock, a 30-ton granite boulder that marks the site of the city’s second mass grave for Irish Famine victims. Located in an industrial area on Bridge Street, the cemetery has been desecrated repeatedly since 1847. Over the years, companies have used it as a garbage dump, laid railroad tracks across it and surrounded it with a highway. Needless to say, all of the desecration has resulted in paranormal activity at the cemetery. Ghosts are allegedly haunting both the cemetery and the REM train system.

Haunted Montreal Blog #127 – Update on The Phantom Calèche

In September, 2018, Haunted Montreal first reported on The Phantom Calèche, one of the city’s most dangerous and sinister hauntings. Described as a horse-drawn carriage that took unsuspecting visitors to the netherworld, it was able to blend into the urban fabric because calèche rides were a major part of the tourism industry in Old Montreal. However, former Mayor Valerie Plante banished all horses in the City of Montreal in 2020. While some say animal rights activists prompted this decision, others believe it was to try and get rid of the phantom carriage once and for all.

Haunted Montreal Blog #126 – Montreal Art Center and Museum

Nestled among the new condo towers in western Griffintown, the Montreal Art Center and Museum stands out like a rare gem. It occupies the former 1879 Caledonian Iron Works factory, a Victorian-era company that produced engine parts for ships and trains, turbines and other complex metalworks. Today, the Montreal Art Center and Museum is considered as one of the most historical - and haunted - buildings in Griffintown.

Haunted Montreal Blog #125 – Update on the Dow Brewery

The abandoned Dow Brewery is in the process of being repurposed into a new campus pavilion by the École Technologie Superieure. Once the contamination and interior machinery are removed, the plan is to demolish several buildings of the old brewery. Architectural designs suggest some buildings will be preserved and repurposed whereas others will be destroyed to make way for the new campus. Because there have been breweries onsite since the early 1800s, many of the existing buildings have historical value – and ghost stories.

Haunted Montreal Blog #122 – Haunted Issues in the Montreal Election

Montrealers are heading to the polls on November 2 to elect a new mayor. While the citizens have the democratic privilege of voting, the Dead certainly do not. As such, Haunted Montreal will be representing them and making demands to the mayoral candidates on their behalf. Generally-speaking, the Dead want two things: to be remembered and to be respected.

Haunted Montreal Blog #109 – Update on the Mary Gallagher Story

This month we provide an update on Montreal’s most haunted street corner – William and Murray Streets in Griffintown! With a radical revamp of the neighborhood unfolding, Haunted Montreal demanded that the haunted corner be preserved and commemorated. The École de technologie supérieure (ETS) has been busy buying up real estate in Griffintown to expand its campus. One controversial purchase was the land on the south-east corner of William and Murray Streets – also known as the “Mary Gallagher Corner”. Indeed, her headless ghost returns to this spot every seven years on the anniversary of her death.

Haunted Montreal Blog #108 – Montreal’s Forgotten Irish Famine Cemetery

Plans are afoot to build a whole new neighbourhood in the Bridge-Bonaventure sector of Point Saint Charles, just south of the Lachine Canal at Griffintown. Glossy designs depict new high-rise condominiums, trendy spaces for commerce and arts - and even an “urban beach” in the old Wellington Basin! However, this utopian vision is partially located on the site that hosted Montreal’s first Irish Famine Cemetery in 1847.

Haunted Montreal Blog #97 – The REM’s Ghostly Gamble Part 3

This month we examine one section of Montreal’s new light rail system, the REM, which is finally operational. The line, running from Central Station in Montreal to Brossard, passes over the Black Rock Irish Famine Cemetery. Given that the REM desecrated the hallowed ground by removing over a dozen bodies to insert a concrete pylon, many people speculated that the REM would become haunted. It appears to be the case – since its opening, the REM has been plagued with numerous electrical problems and was even struck by lightning!

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