Haunted Old Montreal – Haunted Montreal

Haunted Montreal Blog #127 – Update on The Phantom Calèche

hauntedmontreal — Fri, 13 Mar 2026 07:00:00 +0000

Welcome to the one hundred and twenty-seventh installment of the Haunted Montreal Blog!

With over 600 documented ghost stories, Montreal is easily the most haunted city in Canada, if not all of North America. Haunted Montreal dedicates itself to researching these paranormal tales, and the Haunted Montreal Blog unveils a newly researched Montreal ghost story on the 13^th of every month!

This service is free and you can sign up to our mailing list (top, right-hand corner for desktops and at the bottom for mobile devices) if you wish to receive it every month on the 13^th! The blog is published in both English and French!

Our Haunted Pub Crawl still runs every Sunday at 3 pm in English. Tours in French happen on the last Sunday of every month at 2 pm. Plus there is a second English Pub Crawl this Sunday at 4pm.

Our regular outdoor public tours are on pause until next month, but the Irish Famine in Montreal Walking Tour returns on March 21st in the afternoon. Plus our second indoor Paranormal Investigation Montreal Art Center and Museum is March 21st in the evening.

More on this in our Company News section below.

This month, we revisit the story of The Phantom Calèche in Old Montreal, a part of town that no longer has actual calèches roaming its streets.

Haunted Research

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.

The plan seems to have worked – there were no sightings or reports of The Phantom Calèche for almost five years. Indeed, almost all of Griffintown’s stables were torn down and replaced with condominium towers.

The only remnant of this centuries-old tradition is a small plot of land on Ottawa Street, the site of the former Griffintown Horse Palace.

Built in 1862 by an Irish carter named Martin Kiely, the Horse Palace originally consisted of a central courtyard surrounded by buildings. These included a brick house with an attached stable. There was also an inn for travellers along with a few wooden barns and sheds.

For well over a century, the Griffintown Horse Palace served as a stable mostly for draft horses. These strong beasts pulled loaded carts in the port, train depots and factories along the Lachine Canal. The horses were also used in agriculture, construction, and to transport milk and ice into the city.

Later, as gas-powered trucks replaced horses for industrial work, the animals at the Horse Palace shifted their work to carriage rides in Old Montreal.

In April 2012, the City of Montreal acquired part of the original Horse Palace site with the goal of creating a park with the stables preserved for tourists.

However, by 2017 the Horse Palace stable was deemed to be too dilapidated and was demolished.

The city finally established the Parc de l’Écurie-Horse Palace on the site in March 2023. Despite having no more stable or horses, the small greenspace is meant to commemorate the neighborhood’s working-class history.

Everything seemed to be going according to plan until late one night in November 2025, when the sinister Phantom Calèche briefly reappeared. A tourist staying in a hotel adjacent to the Parc de l’Écurie-Horse Palace was awoken to the sound of horses snorting, neighing and clomping their hooves outside.

She pulled back the curtains and looked out of the window only to see what appeared to be an old carriage with two draft horses hitched to it. Peering into the darkness, she noticed a tall man wearing a black coat in the front seat of the calèche, holding the reigns.

With the crack of the reigns, the horses reared up. The mysterious man turned and looked the tourist straight in the eye. He then beckoned her to approach with his finger, sending shivers up her spine. Terrified, she quickly closed the curtains. After a few seconds, she parted them ever so slightly so she could peek out to see what was happening.

The calèche was no longer there. It was as though it had vanished into thin air along with the horses and coachman.

The tourist, who had attended our Haunted Griffintown Ghost Tour, reached out to Haunted Montreal to explain her creepy experience. When informed that she had likely encountered the infamous Phantom Calèche, she was relieved that she had stayed within the safety of her hotel room.

In conclusion, while former mayor Valerie Plante may have succeeded in getting rid of all living horses in the City of Montreal, it seems she was unable to abolish the undead horses pulling the Phantom Calèche.

Company News

With St-Patrick’s Day coming up on Tuesday, March 17th, we are offering related events leading up to the parade next Sunday.

On Saturday, March 21 at 2pm, The Irish Famine in Montreal Walking Tour returns (in English). Join Donovan King and explore the sites connected to the thousands of Irish refugees who fled brutality and famine in 1847, arriving in Montreal on what became known as coffin ships.

There is no Haunted Pub Crawl on parade day, but we’re running two English Haunted Pub Crawls this coming Sunday, March 15. The regular 3pm tour is almost sold out, so we’ve added a second Crawl at 4pm. Following the parade, the Haunted Pub Crawl returns every Sunday at 3 pm in English throughout the winter months. Tours in French happen on the last Sunday of every month at 2 pm.

Our bilingual Paranormal Investigations at the Montreal Art Center and Museum, the former Caledonian Iron Works Factory, sold out in February and is running again March 21 at 6pm. Good for beginners and seasoned investigators alike. Paranormal equipment will be provided, but please feel free to bring your own.

You can purchase your tickets here.

Haunted Montreal Founder and Owner (and the author of this very blog) Donovan King is still a working actor. He played deranged criminal and episode title character Chyldkrüsher on the TVA series ALERTES in French. You can watch his performance here.

King, as well as the host of our Colonial Secrets tour Sophie-Claude Miller were interviewed by City-TV News, talking about the unjust and exclusionary Montreal Municipal Bylaw G-2.

You can also bring the Haunted Montreal experience to your office party, house, school or event by booking one of our Travelling Ghost Storytellers today.

Hear some of the spookiest tales from our tours and our blog told by a professional actor and storyteller. You provide the venue, we provide the stories and storyteller. Find out more and then contact info@hauntedmontreal.com

In other news, if you want to send someone a haunted experience as a gift, you certainly can!

We are offering Haunted Montreal Gift Certificates through our website and redeemable via Eventbrite for any of our in-person or virtual events (no expiration date).

Our online shop is offline for the next few months. If you would like to purchase any Haunted Montreal-branded t-shirts or mugs in the meantime, please contact us at info@hauntedmontreal.com

Our team also releases videos every second Saturday, in both languages, of ghost stories from the Haunted Montreal Blog.

Hosted by Holly Rhiannon (in English) and Dr. Mab (in French), this initiative is sure to please ghost story fans!

Please like, subscribe and hit the bell!

Haunted Montreal also has temporarily altered its blog experience due to a commitment on a big writing project! Until further notice, we will be offering updates on old stories every second month and the regular blog service alternating.

Haunted Montreal would like to thank all our clients who attended a ghost walk, haunted pub crawl, paranormal investigation or virtual event!

If you enjoyed the experience, we encourage you to write a review on our Tripadvisor page and/or on Google Reviews – something that really helps Haunted Montreal to market its tours.

Lastly, if you would like to receive the Haunted Montreal Blog on the 13th of each month, please sign up to our mailing list.

Coming up on April 13: Ruins of Saint-Eusèbe-de-Verceil Church

Situated on Fullum Street, the crumbling ruins of Saint-Eusèbe-de-Verceil Church are causing a major headache for the Montreal Catholic archdiocese. Church services were halted in 2009 due to a dwindling flock and rumours that the building was haunted. A major fire gutted the church in 2019 and since then it has witnessed vandalism, urban explorers and TikTokers streaming within the ruins. Things have reached a boiling point and the archdiocese wants the cursed church demolished.

Author:

Donovan King is a postcolonial historian, teacher, tour guide and professional actor. As the founder of Haunted Montreal, he combines his skills to create the best possible Montreal ghost stories, in both writing and theatrical performance. King holds a DEC (Professional Theatre Acting, John Abbott College), BFA (Drama-in-Education, Concordia), B.Ed (History and English Teaching, McGill), MFA (Theatre Studies, University of Calgary) and ACS (Montreal Tourist Guide, Institut de tourisme et d’hôtellerie du Québec). He is also a certified Montreal Destination Specialist.

Translator (into French):

Claude Chevalot holds a master’s degree in applied linguistics from McGill University. She is a writer, editor and translator. For more than 15 years, she has devoted herself almost exclusively to literary translation and to the translation of texts on current and contemporary art.

Haunted Montreal Blog #124 – The Haunted Clocks of Saint James Street

hauntedmontreal — Sat, 13 Dec 2025 08:00:00 +0000

Welcome to the one hundred and twenty-fourth installment of the Haunted Montreal Blog!

With the winter weather already here, our public tour schedule has moved indoors. Our Haunted Pub Crawl runs every Sunday at 3 pm in English. Tours in French happen on the last Sunday of every month at 2 pm.

You can still book all of our experiences, except for Haunted Mountain, as private tours. These can be booked at any time based on the availability of our actors. Clients can request any date, time, language and operating tour. These tours start at $235 for small groups of up to 8 people.

We are also offering the Travelling Ghost Storyteller experience. Bring our stories to your party or event. More information on this, our schedule, Gift Certificates and our shop in the Company News section.

This month we take a look at purportedly haunted clocks along one street in Old Montreal and ask if it may have something to do with the desecration of French colonial cemeteries.

Haunted Research

Montreal, like most cities, has outdoor clocks gracing banks, train stations, City Hall and many other prominent locations. Some of these timepieces are freestanding whereas others are built into the facades of buildings.

However, while noted for their historical charm and timekeeping abilities, some of Montreal’s clocks are reputed to be haunted.

It is worth noting that, while rare, stories and legends about haunted clocks can be found all over the world. The most famous example is perhaps the Prague astronomical clock, officially called the Prague Orloj.

According to the legend, after clockmaker Master Hanuš built the Prague Orloj in 1410, city officials cut his eyes out to stop him from creating another masterpiece. In revenge, he supposedly cursed the clock, ensuring it would bring misfortune to the city if ever neglected, with his ghost personally guarding it.

The legend claims if the Prague Orloj stops, the city will suffer. Supposedly, the curse will be confirmed by the skeleton figure on the clock nodding its head.

Other infamous haunted clocks include The Sussex Grandfather Clock (Sussex, England) and The Warren Occult Museum’s Organ Clock (Monroe, Connecticut, USA).

So intriguing is the topic, that Brian Balmages wrote a musical score titled “Haunted Clocks” in 2014. The piece “tells the story of a haunted clock factory and its mischievous inhabitants,” and is wildly popular with school orchestras to this day.

Most of Montreal’s haunted clocks are located on St. James Street, an area associated with the extreme desecration of French colonial cemeteries by various financial corporations.

Rue Saint Jacques was first recorded on a map by François Dollier de Casson in 1672, thirty years after the founding of the French colony of Ville Marie.

For almost a hundred years, the area surrounding the street was associated with French colonial cemeteries, which stretched from the Place d’Armes all the way to today’s McGill Street.

When the city capitulated to the British Army in 1760, the new governors made plans to stop all burials within the then walled city for health and sanitary reasons. New Protestant and Catholic cemeteries were opened to the north-west and burials ceased to continue in the old colony.

Indeed, the older cemeteries were quickly forgotten, and Saint Jacques Street was anglicized into St. James Street.

Under British rule, Montreal soon expanded into being the largest city and economic hub of British North America. By the 1800’s financial entities of all sorts were setting up shop, spurred by the banking, trade and insurance sectors.

With the Industrial Revolution in full swing, rapid growth of the street was assured.

It began in 1818, when the first Bank of Montreal built its headquarters on St. James Street. Other financial companies soon followed, such as the Royal Bank of Canada, Banque canadienne nationale, Banque provinciale du Canada, Molsons Bank, Merchants Bank, Montreal City and District Savings Bank, Royal Trust Company, Crown Trust Company, and Nesbitt Thomson.

Numerous British insurance companies also installed their head offices on St. James Street, including the Life Association of Scotland, Liverpool & London & Globe Insurance, Yorkshire Insurance, Standard Life, Colonial Life, Guardian Fire and Life, and London and Lancashire Insurance.

With so much building and financial investment, it wasn’t long before St. James Street became known as the “Wall Street of Canada”.

However, it is hard to ignore that these opulent buildings were constructed on the footprint of the French, Indigenous and Black colonial cemeteries, meaning thousands of skeletons were unearthed and disposed of during construction.

Records are scarce about what happened to all these human remains, but during the era financial progress was seen as far more important than respecting the Dead. It is likely that in many cases the human bones were considered merely part of the soil to be excavated and disposed of.

According to the late historian E.A. Collard:

“The principal cemeteries were just inside the northern wall marked by Fortification Lane today. They occupied the area beginning close to the wall and extending down to about the middle of what is now St. James Street…This means that the buildings on the north side of St. James Street today are standing in these old cemeteries. When the custom of burying “within the walls” was abandoned, most of the old bones were left lying where they had been interred.”

Collard continued: “Later, when foundations and cellars for the buildings on St. James Street’s upper side were being dug the bones were unearthed. Even then, in some cellars, the bones were not all removed. They were left lying above ground. A story of a cellar full of bones is told about a building at or near the corner of St. James Street and Victoria Square.”

Indeed, a reporter at the Montreal Gazette wrote in 1872: “The writer has frequently been told by a gentleman who in his boyhood resided in St. James Street… that a wine cellar of more than ordinary depth was almost paved with bones and skulls, and that for this reason none of the servants could be induced to go into the place alone, save an old butler who had the cellar in charge, and who cared so much for his wines that all the ghosts in a dozen grave yards would not have frightened him from them.”

The fact that the cemeteries being desecrated by British financial interests contained mostly French, Black and Indigenous corpses likely did not sit well with these colonized communities. Indeed, two of these cemeteries contained interred slaves from the New France era, many of them children.

To make matters worse, British commercial interests began to install clocks on banks and a skyscraper along St. James Street.

It is worth noting that clocks are almost never found in cemeteries. The reasoning is that the Dead do not like to be reminded of the passage of time. The Dead usually wish to lie undisturbed in their final resting places for eternity.

The installation of the clocks disturbed the Dead even further with their constant ticking sounds, regulating the bustling commercial district built upon their burial grounds.

Today, four clocks overlook the street and three of them are said to have serious paranormal issues.

The clocks include, from the east on the corner of St. Laurent Boulevard to the west on the corner of St. Pierre Street:

An antique clock on the La Presse Building (north-west corner of St. Laurent Boulevard).

An astronomical clock on the New York Life Insurance Building clocktower (overlooking Place d’Armes, near the cornerof Côte de la Place-d’Armes).
A Modernist standing clock outside the Bank of Montreal Main Office Building (north-east corner of St. Francois-Xavier Street).
A classical standing clock outside the Molsons Bank (south-east corner of St. Pierre Street).

Starting with the antique clock on the La Presse Newspaper Building, this charming clock was likely installed upon completion of the edifice in 1900.

Situated on the north-west corner of St. Laurent Boulevard and St. James Street, the clock hangs off a pillar of the building overlooking the corner.

Shaped like a black box with tapered pyramids on the top and bottom, it features two round clocks on each corner with the words “La Presse” inscribed above the time mechanism.

Despite being situated a stone’s throw from the New France era jail, where prisoners were chained to the wall and tortured, the La Presse antique clock is not said to be haunted. This is probably because it was not built atop a cemetery, unlike the other three clocks on St. James Street.

Moving westward, the next clock soars high above the Place d’Armes on the tower of the New York Life Insurance Building.

The New York Life Insurance Building was erected from 1887–1889 and was the first skyscraper in Montreal at 152-feet tall. The first eight floors were designed for retail office space and hosted some of best lawyers and financiers in the city.

When the clock tower was completed in 1889, the owner created the largest legal library in the country on the ninth and tenth floors. Impressively, the red sandstone building also featured electric lighting, water tanks and the city’s first elevator. Designed by architects Babb, Cook and Willard and contractor Peter Lyall, the final cost was $750,000.

The clock tower features two whimsical astronomical clocks, one overlooking St. James Street on the west and the other the south.

The 1899 tower clocks feature a sun and a moon on its hands, which are typical elements of astronomical clocks. The symbolism represents balance and harmony between opposing forces, especially the perpetual cycle of day and night.

However, the New York Life Insurance Building was built on part of a cemetery on the Place d’Armes. The tower clocks have been anything but harmonious.

Notably, these giant towering clocks overlooking the square have been reported to cause paranormal disturbances during the Devil’s Hour.

While the area is usually devoid of human activity in the dead of night, there is a harrowing tale about a man who experienced paranormal activity beneath the clocktower while out late.

A client named Laurent Desjardins contacted Haunted Montreal in 2015, telling us that he had witnessed something unexplainable while crossing the Place d’Armes in the middle of the night during a blustery October evening.

He said: “I had finished my shift at a fancy restaurant on Saint Paul Street and was walking home to my apartment on the Plateau when I arrived at the Place d’Armes. All the shops were shuttered for the night, and a cold wind was howling and scattering leaves throughout the square. It was pretty miserable.”

He added: “Suddenly, the air grew heavy. Shadows began to move in an unnatural way, like ink spilling across a page. It was really creepy to watch. I then heard what sounded like thunder above me. I looked up and saw that the giant clock on the skyscraper, with its sun and moon hands. It seemed to be glowing red.” He noted that it was exactly 3:33 a.m.

A chill ran up his spine – and then the whispers began. They rose from the ground. It sounded like a layered murmur of voices, whispering in a muffled French. The faint voices, male and female, sounded as though they were pleading, warning and mourning.

He explained that the temperature felt like it plunged about 15 degrees Celsius. Laurent then saw about a dozen translucent figures slowly begin to emerge, headfirst, from the ground. Peering through the gloom, he saw the outlines of men and women wearing in tattered clothing from the colonial era. The apparitions rose to just above the pavement, where they hovered a few inches in the air.

Their eyeless faces turned toward Laurent, as though drawn to the living warmth he carried.

Trembling in the freezing air, Laurent felt extremely unwelcome and frightened as the ghostly, eyeless figures seemed to stare at him directly. He felt as though they wanted something from him.

“I began to run as fast as I could to the other side of the square,” he said, “and once I was safely past it, I turned around to look back in case they were following me. I was very relieved to see that here was nothing there. The temperature was normal again and the Place d’Armes was empty.”

When Haunted Montreal explained to Laurent that the Place d’Armes was built on top of a colonial cemetery and suffered all sorts of paranormal activity, he vowed never to take that route home ever again.

The second haunted clock is located outside the Bank of Montreal Main Office Building on the north-east corner of St. Francois-Xavier Street and St. James Street. Box-like and silver in colour, it has been described as a Modernist standing clock. Likely installed in 1960, this is the newest clock on the street.

The Bank of Montreal Main Branch was constructed in 1960 after the adjacent 1847 neoclassical bank was deemed too small to meet demand.

At 17-stories, the Modernist skyscraper overshadows the original bank.

The Bank of Montreal clock is reputed to be haunted by many visitors. Indeed, it is the meeting location for the Haunted Old Montreal Ghost Tour.

Guests have reported feelings that the clock is watching them and some have even heard tapping noises from within the clock face. It almost sounds like someone is inside the clock, as though wanting to be let out.

One client swears that he actually saw a distorted skull appear in the clock’s glass for a few seconds before vanishing.

In other cases, people have claimed to feel someone or something tapping them on the shoulder, grabbing their feet and even tripping them on occasion.

Lastly, electronics tend to malfunction in the vicinity of the clock, such as smartphones losing all battery power, video cameras having footage deleted and laptops turning themselves on and off.

Overall, most people who have experienced these phenomena described a feeling of being unwanted in the immediate vicinity of the Bank of Montreal clock.

The final clock stands outside the Molsons Bank on the south-east corner of St. James and St. Pierre streets.

The Molsons Bank was founded in 1837 by brothers William and John Molson, Jr., the sons of brewery magnate John Molson. As the bank grew, the brothers soon decided buy land on the prestigious St. James Street for their headquarters.

Designed by architect George Browne, the Molsons Bank was the first edifice in Montreal to be built in the Second Empire style, from 1864-1866. The building features an ornate stone facade, mansard roof, copper detailing, paired columns, and intricate carvings.

The street clock has a classical appearance and complements the handsome building.

However, there have been many instances when the clock has simply stopped ticking dead in its tracks. Historians note that this may be because the bank was partially built on the colony’s Black slave cemetery, along with the Royal Bank Building just to the west across St. Pierre Street.

People who witness the clock stopping often cross themselves if they know the legend of this haunted timepiece. According to the urban legend, when the time stops on the Molsons Bank clock, it signifies a bad omen. It usually foreshadows an inevitable tragedy in the vicinity.

This may be tied to an old European tradition of stopping the clocks when someone dies.

After getting over the initial shock of the death, mourners had to cover all the windows with thick curtains and let passers-by know of the death by putting black ribbons or a wreath on the door.

Precautions were needed to safeguard the spirit of the deceased. Clocks had to be stopped to respectfully mark the time of death and to ward off bad luck. This was said to prevent the spirit from wandering aimlessly through time and space, unsure where to go.

The clocks would be started again for the funeral so that the spirit could leave and not haunt the house or vicinity.

Returning to the Molsons Bank clock, it has stopped on many occasions in the past just moments before tragic events such as streetcar accidents, explosions and deadly fires.

The most infamous case occurred in the morning of June 13, 1910. Some bankers standing by the clock noticed that it suddenly stopped ticking and froze at exactly 10:29 a.m.

About 30 seconds later, they heard a loud crashing noise about three blocks west on St. James Street, followed by ear-piercing screams and falling glass and masonry. What they had heard was the devastating collapse of the nearby Montreal Herald Newspaper building. At five storeys tall, the building was full of workers putting together the evening edition of the paper.

The collapse was triggered when the 30,000-gallon water tank atop the structure, designed to assist in case of a fire, suddenly gave way and went crashing through the building. As the giant cistern plummeted through the floors of the building, it burst and swept press machinery, office furniture and shocked workers with it into the void of a quickly-flooding basement. The back portion of the building was completely destroyed. Ironically, a deadly fire then broke out in the front part the structure that was still standing.

With around 300 workers in the building, there was sheer panic as people tried to rescue their injured colleagues and evacuate the burning, wrecked building.

Once the survivors were rescued and blaze was extinguished, it took nearly a week for police, firemen, and volunteers to extract the remains of thirty-three unfortunate employees.

Nineteen men and fourteen women were killed in the tragedy. Many were young girls working in the bindery department near the back of the edifice, which was located directly under the water tank. Most of the corpses were found bloated in the flooded basement or charred beyond recognition. The disfigured bodies were taken to the city morgue to try and identify them.

It was perhaps the deadliest building collapse in Montreal’s history.

As for the haunted clock at the Molsons Bank, it had to be restarted by technicians, as it had many times before.

Today, St. James Street is a shadow of its former glory as the financial center of Canada. During the 1970s, Toronto overtook Montreal as the wealthiest Canadian city.

A mass exodus of corporate head offices was triggered by political uncertainty and new laws that made French the only official language in the province.

Since then, the old banks on St. James Street have mostly been repurposed into fancy hotels, high-end condominiums, events spaces, etc.

However, the clocks on the street are still there, bearing witness to the former financial era – and terrifying people at times with their paranormal activity.

In conclusion, haunted clocks fascinate and frighten people all over the world. According to superstition and folklore, installing a clock in a cemetery could have several potential consequences for the dead, primarily related to disturbing their eternal rest and disrupting the timeless, spiritual atmosphere of the graveyard.

The fact that St. James Street hosts three haunted clocks is remarkable. It is also understandable given that the former “Wall Street of Canada” was erected upon the vast colonial cemeteries from the old French colony of Ville-Marie.

Given the deranged history and paranormal activity, walk this historic street at your own risk!

Company News

Haunted Montreal is running our Haunted Pub Crawl every Sunday at 3 pm in English throughout the winter months. Tours in French happen on the last Sunday of every month at 2 pm.

Private tours for any of our experiences (including outdoor tours, except for Haunted Mountain) can be booked at any time based on the availability of our actors.

Clients can request any date, time, language and operating tour. These tours are based on the availability of our actors and start at $235 for small groups of up to 8 people.

Email info@hauntedmontreal.com to book a private tour!

You can also bring the Haunted Montreal experience to your office party, house, school or event by booking one of our Travelling Ghost Storytellers today.

In other news, if you want to send someone a haunted experience as a gift, you certainly can!

We are offering Haunted Montreal Gift Certificates through our website and redeemable via Eventbrite for any of our in-person or virtual events (no expiration date).

For those hoping to do some holiday shopping, our online store is open until the end of December!

We have Haunted Montreal t-shirts, mugs, and even toques, and other assorted items. Visit shop.hauntedmontreal.com

Our team also releases videos every second Saturday, in both languages, of ghost stories from the Haunted Montreal Blog.

Hosted by Holly Rhiannon (in English) and Dr. Mab (in French), this initiative is sure to please ghost story fans!

Please like, subscribe and hit the bell!

Haunted Montreal would like to thank all our clients who attended a ghost walk, haunted pub crawl, paranormal investigation or virtual event!

If you enjoyed the experience, we encourage you to write a review on our Tripadvisor page and/or on Google Reviews – something that really helps Haunted Montreal to market its tours.

Lastly, if you would like to receive the Haunted Montreal Blog on the 13th of each month, please sign up to our mailing list.

Coming up on January 13: Update on the Dow Brewery

The abandoned and haunted Dow Brewery is in the process of being repurposed into a new campus pavilion by the École Technologie Superieure. Amiante National Asbestos has been hired to deconstruct the old Brewery, including asbestos removal, decontamination, removal of toxic products and mold and stripping away all interior finishes. With plans to then demolish several buildings before new constructions begin, there are fears that human remains may be found and ghosts may be stirred up during the work.

Author:

Translator (into French):

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

hauntedmontreal — Mon, 13 Oct 2025 07:00:00 +0000

Welcome to the one hundred and twenty-second installment of the Haunted Montreal Blog!

Hallowe’en is just around the corner and Haunted Montreal has a plethora of experiences on offer!

These include Haunted Old Montreal, Haunted Mountain, Haunted Downtown and Haunted Griffintown. Paranormal Investigations include Old Sainte-Antoine Cemetery and Colonial Old Montreal.

Haunted Montreal is also running our Haunted Pub Crawl every Sunday at 3 pm in English. Tours in French happen on the last Sunday of every month at 2 pm.

We are also pleased to announce a new tour as part of our upcoming Hidden Histories series! The Colonial Secrets of Old Montreal Walking Tour is in its final testing phase and $5 tickets are available on weekends in October and early November in both English and French.

This tours will be under the umbrella of Hidden Montreal, our new division of daytime walking tours.

To learn more, see the schedule at the bottom of our home page and see more details in the Company News section below!

Private tours for all of our experiences can be booked at any time based on the availability of our actors. Clients can request any date, time, language and operating tour. These tours start at $235 for small groups of up to 8 people.

Email info@hauntedmontreal.com to book a private tour!

This month we look at haunted issues in the upcoming Montreal municipal election on November 2. With five candidates running for Mayor, Haunted Montreal is pressing all of them to do more to placate the city’s Dead.

Haunted Research

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.

Sadly, Montreal is littered with forgotten cemeteries, burial grounds are often desecrated in the name of progress and important historical figures and sites have never been commemorated.

This election has five candidates from five different parties vying for the reigns at City Hall:

Luc Rabouin (Projet Montréal)
Soraya Martinez Ferrada (Ensemble Montréal)
Jean-François Kacou (Futur Montréal)
Craig Sauvé (Transition Montréal)
Gilbert Thibodeau (Action Montréal)

It is worth noting that Projet Montreal has been in power for eight years under the helm of Mayor Valerie Plante and Ensemble Montreal was in charge before that. All the other parties have never been elected.

Montreal’s municipal politicians have a long history of neglecting the Dead. For example, during Valerie Plante’s tenure the Black Rock Irish Famine Cemetery was desecrated by the REM, which hammered a large metal caisson through layers of skeletons.

Indigenous remains were also disturbed during construction on Peel Street and at St. Joseph’s Oratory. There are now plans to disturb another mass grave at the Wellington Basin with the coming of a new neighborhood.

Furthermore, Montreal is falling behind on its commitment to Truth and Reconciliation. The city refuses to rename Christophe-Colomb Avenue despite its offensive and genocidal connotations.

Montreal also won’t repeal by-law G-2, which makes it illegal for the vast majority of Indigenous people to lead guided tours on their unceded territory.

Lastly, notable historical figures, sites and events have not been commemorated or marked in any way. Mayor John Easton Mills died of Typhus in 1847 after coming to the aid of Irish Famine refugees – and yet there is no statue of him. Indeed, the city has dozens of historical plaques marking the industrial revolution but only one marking the Irish Famine. Even Montreal’s most infamous ghost story, that of Headless Mary, has almost been erased.

Other historic sites are rendered invisible. For example, historic prison cells exist beneath Place Vauquelin in the heart of Old Montreal but are not open to the public. Furthermore, the holy site of Jeanne Le Ber’s death in the recluse of her church is now a parking lot. These places could be refurbished and become Old Montreal historic sites that respect the deceased associated with them.

Haunted Montreal follows all these issues very closely and has produced a list of 5 concerns and proposals for the mayoral candidates.

***

Election Issue #1: Commemorating Montreal’s Most Infamous Ghost Story

Our first election issue has to do with Montreal’s most infamous ghost, Headless Mary, who returns to the corner of William and Murray Streets in Griffintown every 7 years on the anniversary of her murder. Her next appearance is scheduled for June 27^th, 2026.

However, when Mary Gallagher’s ghost last appeared in 2019 the neighbourhood looked very different.

Back then, the famous corner was derelict and creepy, just as it always had been since the 1800s when the Griff was Canada’s most notorious Irish shantytown.

With rapid gentrification, the corner is now bursting with shiny new buildings constructed by the ETS (École de technologie supérieure). After an intervention by Haunted Montreal, ETS agreed to preserve the famous corner by making it a gathering space outside the new Pavilion F building. However, there is no commemoration yet for the city’s most infamous ghost story despite our request for one.

As such, Haunted Montreal has created a plan with local artists to start the ball rolling. Not wanting to frighten the students and professors at the ETS, we are not requesting a statue of Headless Mary. Instead, we wish to commemorate the site in a more subtle manner that reflects a fascinating part of Griffintown’s history.

When the Griff was Canada’s most notorious shantytown, the corner was very much feared due to rampant reports that Mary Gallagher’s ghost would return every 7 years on the anniversary of her murder. In 1999, the late renowned Griffintown storyteller Denis Delaney told CBC’s Anna Asimakopulous that “children used to take her candy and little bags of treats, and things like that, and we’d leave them for her and then run away so she wouldn’t harm us.”

Parents would use the ghost story as a way of keeping their children obedient, warning that “Headless Mary” would get them if they didn’t eat their cabbage, do their homework, or return home on time. The children believed that by leaving gifts for the ghost they would be spared from her wrath.

Keeping this idea in mind, Haunted Montreal is proposing a statue on one of the four corners of a small group of fearful children placing candies and treats on the corner to placate Headless Mary.

It is important to remember that Griffintown has enormous importance for the Irish community and most of the Irish heritage has been erased from the neighbourhood. The proposed statue would go a long way in helping to commemorate this heritage and offer something interesting and meaningful for locals and tourists to visit.

Haunted Montreal’s demands:

Support the commemoration project technically (e.g. permissions, zoning issues, Public Art Bureau policies, etc.) and financially, if possible.
Offer more support in the future for Irish heritage projects in the city.

Election Issue #2: Better Indigenous Representation

Our second election issue is about improving Indigenous representation in the city.

We would like the City to consult experts from the Mohawk First Nation to find ways to include more Indigenous representation and perspectives, especially in Old Montreal. There are many colonial statues, monuments, and plaques in the City of Montreal that should be re-evaluated and potentially removed due to their genocidal depictions and colonialist narratives.

There are also streets and other topographical features that are very problematic, such as Christophe-Colomb Avenue. Glorifying genocidal colonists should become a thing of the past, as we saw with the rebranding of Amherst into Atateken Street. The City of Montreal must listen to the Mohawk activists making the demand to retire the Christopher Columbus name from the cityscape.

It is also embarrassing that even “Mount Royal” is not yet acknowledged with its original Mohawk name – Tekanontak – on maps, websites and guided tours. According to Mohawk Elders, Tekanontak is one of the largest Indigenous burial grounds in North America. It deserves to be properly named and marked.

Lastly, by-law G-2 makes extremely difficult for Indigenous people to legally host guided tours of unceded territory. This “Tour Guide” by-law has resulted in a cartel of guides, the APGT, which is estimated to be 98% white.

Furthermore, to get a license students must attend a lengthy and expensive course at the ITHQ that barely covers any Indigenous history, language or contemporary issues.

Haunted Montreal’s demands:

Create better opportunities for Indigenous representation, business and tourism in Montreal.
Cancel by-law G-2.
Study problematic statues and plaques in the City of Montreal with the goal of removing them or addressing them in a satisfactory manner.
Rebrand streets named after genocidal figures, such as Christophe-Columb Avenue.
Restore the original Mohawk name Tekanontak for “Mount Royal” on maps, websites, tourism brochures, etc.

Election Issue #3: Protection and Commemoration of the Wellington Basin Famine Cemetery

The City of Montreal is moving full steam ahead with the creation of large new neighborhood in Point St. Charles called Bridge-Bonaventure. Working in tandem with Canada Lands, the project envisions a mixed-use neighbourhood with 2,800 housing units, an artisan district and even a public beach in the old Wellington Basin.

However, the chosen site also hosts the Wellington Basin Irish Famine Cemetery.

Today, an estimated 1200 – 1700 bodies repose in a mass grave beside the basin. There is nothing to indicate the presence of this Famine cemetery and the construction project risks disturbing the Dead.

As such Haunted Montreal is asking mayoral candidates to prevent anything from being built on the Wellington Basin Famine Cemetery. In fact, we are demanding a world-class Irish Famine Park on the burial site in collaboration with Canada Lands.

We also would like to see the creation of a commemorative monument dedicated to Mohawk First Nation’s solidarity with the Famine Irish. In 1847, they donated $150 and brought food to aid the Irish refugees. Mohawk artist MC Snow has committed to creating the monument and Canada Lands has also agreed that it should be installed.

There is also the problem that the Irish Famine is not commemorated along the Lachine Canal, where much of the tragedy played out. We are demanding plaques to be installed to tell this tragic story.

Lastly, we would like Montreal’s Martyr Mayor John Easton Mills to be properly commemorated in the new development with a statue and a street, square or park named after in his honour.

Mayor Mills was extremely compassionate and died caring for the Irish refugees in 1847 after succumbing to Typhus.

Haunted Montreal’s demands:

Protect the Wellington Basin Famine Cemetery from desecration.
Create a world-class Irish Famine Park on the footprint of the burial ground.
Support the creation of a Mohawk Famine Solidarity Monument to be created by MC Snow.
Add plaques along the Lachine Canal and other important sites commemorating the Irish Famine in Montreal.
Commemorate Martyr Mayor John Easton Mills with a statue and by naming a street or square after him in the vicinity.

Election Issue #4: Study opening the Old Prison Cells under Place Vauquelin

Over 80% of tourists visit Old Montreal and yet extremely important historic sites are rendered invisible and not used in an adequate manner.

For example, the Old Courthouse and the dungeons of the original Montreal Prison are located right beside City Hall in the heart of Old Montreal. The Courthouse has been rebranded the Lucien-Saulnier Building and is used by the city’s Department of Finance. Meanwhile, the old prison cells are located beneath the Place Vauquelin.

Many cities highlight their old prisons and courthouses as museums about the history of crime and punishment. In Canada, such museums exist in places like the Kingston Penitentiary, Ottawa Jail Hostel and St. Andrew’s prison and courthouse. These are popular educational and tourist attractions that enhance the heritage fabric of aforementioned cities.

Indeed, this type of attraction can be found all over the world. Perhaps the best example is the City of Las Vegas repurposing its old courthouse into the world-famous Mob Museum.

In a city with hundreds of attractions, the Mob Museum remains among Las Vegas’ most popular.

Haunted Montreal’s demands:

Study the possibility of converting the old prison cells and some of the original courthouse into a museum exploring crime and punishment in the city.

Election Issue #5: Study the creation of Parc de la Recluse in Old Montreal

Like Mayor John Easton Mills, Jeanne Le Ber was once considered a Montreal city hero.

Known as the “Angel of Montreal”, she spent much of her life as a recluse, cooped up in a small room behind the altar of a church which she funded. There, she prayed for the city while living in full reclusion, poverty and submission.

However, the site where she prayed and died in her church was demolished decades ago. It is now an unsightly parking lot in Old Montreal on the corner of Cours Le Royer and Saint-Laurent Boulevard.

Haunted Montreal is proposing that the City expropriate the parking lot to make way for a new greenspace called Parc de la Recluse. This park would commemorate her life and death on the site while removing an eyesore and improving the attractions in Old Montreal

Haunted Montreal’s demands:

Study the possibility of expropriating the parking lot to make way for a new greenspace, Parc de la Recluse, dedicated to commemorating Jeanne Le Ber’s remarkable story.

***

If you agree with any or all of Haunted Montreal’s electoral demands, please contact the candidates and make sure your views are known.

Contact details for all mayoral candidates:

Luc Rabouin : luc.rabouin@projetmontreal.org

Soraya Martinez Ferrada : soraya.martinez@ensemblemtl.org

Jean-François Kacou : info@futurmontreal.com

Craig Sauvé : https ://www.transitionmtl.org/nous-joindre

Gilbert Thibodeau: info@actionmontreal.ca

Are you registered to vote?

Visit this link to check your registration status. Your name must be registered no later than 6 pm on October 16, 2025.

Haunted Montreal would like to thank our readers for considering supporting our demands by contacting mayoral candidates – and by voting if eligible.

Company News

Hallowe’en is just around the corner and Haunted Montreal has a plethora of experiences on offer!

These include Haunted Old Montreal, Haunted Mountain, Haunted Downtown and Haunted Griffintown. Paranormal Investigations include Old Sainte-Antoine Cemetery and Colonial Old Montreal.

We are also running our Haunted Pub Crawl every Sunday at 3 pm in English. For tours in French, these happen on the last Sunday of every month at 2 pm.

This tours will be under the umbrella of Hidden Montreal, our new division of daytime walking tours.

Private tours for any of our experiences (including outdoor tours) can be booked at any time based on the availability of our actors.

Clients can request any date, time, language and operating tour. These tours are based on the availability of our actors and start at $235 for small groups of up to 8 people.

Email info@hauntedmontreal.com to book a private tour!

You can also bring the Haunted Montreal experience to your office party, house, school or event by booking one of our Travelling Ghost Storytellers today.

Our team also releases videos every second Saturday, in both languages, of ghost stories from the Haunted Montreal Blog. Hosted by Holly Rhiannon (in English) and Dr. Mab (in French), this initiative is sure to please ghost story fans!

Please like, subscribe and hit the bell!

In other news, if you want to send someone a haunted experience as a gift, you certainly can!

We are offering Haunted Montreal Gift Certificates through our website and redeemable via Eventbrite for any of our in-person or virtual events (no expiration date).

Lastly, we have reopened our online store from October to December!

Haunted Montreal would like to thank all our clients who attended a ghost walk, haunted pub crawl, paranormal investigation or virtual event!

If you enjoyed the experience, we encourage you to write a review on our Tripadvisor page and/or on Google Reviews – something that really helps Haunted Montreal to market its tours.

Lastly, if you would like to receive the Haunted Montreal Blog on the 13th of every month, please sign up to our mailing list.

Coming up on November 13: Update on the Hôpital de la Miséricorde

The ghost-ridden Hôpital de la Miséricorde has been empty for years and is starting to crumble. Located on prime real estate in Downtown Montreal, plans were announced to build social housing on the derelict site. However, it was suddenly purchased by Hydro-Quebec who want to build a transformer station on the old hospital. Paranormal experts advise against combining electricity with ghosts, meaning that this project could be doomed from the start.

Author:

Translator (into French):

Haunted Montreal Blog #120 – Place Royale

hauntedmontreal — Wed, 13 Aug 2025 18:27:40 +0000

Welcome to the one hundred and twentieth installment of the Haunted Montreal Blog!

This service is free and you can sign up to our mailing list (top, right-hand corner for desktops and at the bottom for mobile devices) if you wish to receive it every month on the 13th! The blog is published in both English and French!

We are pleased to announce a new tour as part of our upcoming Hidden Histories series!

The Colonial Secrets of Old Montreal Walking Tour is in its final testing phase and free tickets are available this upcoming Friday and Saturday at 1 pm! The test phase is in English and tours in French will follow soon.

After testing is finished, this tour and others such as the Irish Famine in Montreal Walking Tour will be offered on various afternoons for only $20! Stay tuned to this website or our Facebook page for upcoming tours!

These tours will all be under the umbrella of Hidden Montreal, our soon-to-be-born sister company.

Haunted Montreal’s season of public outdoor ghost tours is now in full swing and tickets are on sale! These include Haunted Old Montreal, Haunted Mountain, Haunted Downtown and Haunted Griffintown. Paranormal Investigations include Old Sainte-Antoine Cemetery and Colonial Old Montreal.

We are also running our Haunted Pub Crawl every Sunday at 3 pm in English. Tours in French happen on the last Sunday of every month at 2 pm.

To learn more, see the schedule at the bottom of our home page and see more details in the Company News section below!

Private tours for all of our experiences (including outdoor tours) can be booked at any time based on the availability of our actors. Clients can request any date, time, language and operating tour. These tours start at $235 for small groups of up to 8 people.

Email info@hauntedmontreal.com to book a private tour!

This month we examine Place Royale, one of the most deranged and haunted public squares in Old Montreal and its ghosts.

Haunted Research

Place Royale is an unassuming and overlooked historic square in Old Montreal that hides many dark, colonial secrets. Known as the Place du Marché during the French regime, the marketplace was essentially the town square for well over a century. Hosting markets on Tuesdays and Fridays, it was also known as a site of horrific public torture, punishment and execution.

While today the site looks banal and excludes its own history in public commemoration, Place Royale is considered one of the most haunted sites in Old Montreal.

The most common ghost sighting on the square is that of a miserable drummer boy who appears to be tearing up or crying. A look at the history of the Place Royale may help reveal the identity of this forlorn apparition.

For thousands of years before the French began colonizing the island in 1642, the site where Place Royale exists today was a well-frequented area because it was at the mouth of a creek. With the canoe as the main form of transportation, creeks provided access to the inner parts of the island and could be used to avoid dangerous rapids in the river.

Before colonial expansion, the island had a vast network of inland streams, marshes and lakes.

These waterways were used by various First Nations as internal transportation routes. Coupled with portages and other trails, it was possible to move efficiently around the island.

The mouths of these waterways were also popular areas to encamp, conduct trade, and meet others. These creeks were all very well-known landmarks.

When French explorer Jacques Cartier claimed all indigenous territories in 1534 by planting a cross into the ground in modern-day Gaspé, the King considered all the lands to be his. French authorities began making plans to colonize what they considered to be “New France”.

Interest in the modern-day Place Royale began in 1611, when French colonist Samuel de Champlain visited Montreal Island to create a colonization plan. He selected the site because it was located before the impassible rapids to the west and had a good harbour. It also featured a large meadow which could be strategically fortified in a triangular section which was contained within natural defenses of the river, creek and marshlands.

Champlain named the spot the Place Royale and settled there from May 28 to June 13, 1611. He ordered some trees be cut down and planted two gardens. He was was pleased when the seeds thrived in the fertile soil. He also had an earthen wall built, intending to see how it would last through the winter. He saw the area as an ideal place for a trading post and future French colony.

The French would not return to the meadow until May 17, 1642, when three colonial ships arrived under the command of Paul de Chomedey, the Sieur de Maisonneuve. Sponsored by “The Notre-Dame Society of Montreal for the Conversion of the Savage Peoples of New France”, de Maisonneuve chose the site for his Ville-Marie colony. His mission was to build a fort and a hospital. Allegedly, God had demanded this to the brainchild of the operation, Jérôme le Royer de la Dauversière.

After claiming the island as their own and holding a Catholic Mass, the colonists began constructing Fort Ville-Marie on the site of today’s Pointe-à-Callière Archaeology Museum. Across the creek, which the colonists named the St. Pierre River, the Hotel-Dieu Hospital would be constructed.

Today’s Place Royale was initially part of the Ville-Marie commune, a strip of land granted to residents for grazing animals.

In 1676, a marketplace was established on the eastern bank of the creek. The French called it the Place d’Armes and began using it for military drills and hosting public markets every Tuesday and Friday from dawn to 11 a.m.

Here colonists could buy and sell foodstuffs and wares of various types.

There were also occasional slave auctions on the site, where French colonists could sell or purchase Black and Indigenous peoples forced into slavery.

Additionally, the marketplace was a centre of communications between colonial authorities and settlers. A royal drummer would draw a crowd by hammering on their drum before making important public announcements and sharing official news. Those in attendance could then spread the information to other colonists.

News might include royal edicts and religious proclamations, colonial developments, information about warfare and the schedule for public humiliation, torture and executions.

In “New France”, crime was seen as a dangerous threat to the existence of the colonial project. Public punishment and live executions were used as a deterrence to warn others to obey the law. Under the French Regime, there were four major types of crime:

Crimes against the State: treason, sedition, smuggling, embezzlement, counterfeiting, and resisting a legal officer.

Crimes against Property: theft, arson, concealment of stolen goods, and desertion of servants – or slaves.

Crimes against the Person: murder, manslaughter, abortion, infanticide, dueling, defamation, poisoning, rape and suicide.

There were also Crimes against the Church, or moral crimes, that were the most serious of all: adultery, bigamy, prostitution, homosexuality, sorcery, and blasphemy.

Anyone accused of any of these crimes was arrested and brought to the jail before a man known as Le Bourreau, the torturer. His job was to obtain confessions.

He produced a device known as Le Brodequin, the Spanish Boot: two planks of wood attached to either side of the lower leg and tied around tightly with rope. He always began with what was known as la question ordinaire, the ordinary question: four questions designed to get the accused to admit to their guilt.

Armed with four thick wedges, he would insert the first between the boards. If the prisoner refused to confess to the alleged crime, he would hammer it in!

Most prisoners confessed after the first or second wedge. Once the boot was removed, marrow often oozed from the crushed bone through the split wounds.

For those who endured all four wedges, they were returned to their prison cell where usually they expired during the night. If they were still alive the next morning, the torturer would ask la question extraordinaire, but instead of using four wedges, he always used eight.

Once a confession was obtained, a punishment was established by the judge. This could include everything from fines, public flogging and branding with a red-hot fleur-de-lis symbol to banishment, being sent to row the King’s galleys and public execution.

The criminal was dressed in a long, white robe known as a chemise. A sign was placed dangling around the neck with the word of the crime. The criminal was then hoisted onto the back of a horse-drawn garbage cart – and was wheeled throughout the city for all to see the condemned.

The first place they would take the criminal was to the front doors of the church. There they had to get down on their broken knees for their amende honorable – to beg forgiveness from the King of France – and God himself.

The criminal was then placed back onto the garbage cart and was wheeled away to face punishment. For those being executed, they were taken to the scene of the crime, or by default, the Place d’Armes (later renamed the Place du Marché).

It was there that criminals were either hanged by the neck until dead, burnt alive at the stake or broken alive on a torture wheel. A torture wheel is a horizontal wheel with a pole going into a scaffold in the ground.

The torturer spun the wheel and then used a large hammer to smash in the limbs, one by one, through the gaps in the wheel. This process was repeated several times per limb, and once the criminal’s bones were smashed apart, they were left to die with their “face turned up to the sky”.

For the most serious crimes of all, they always would always draw and quarter the criminal. They lay the criminal in the center of the square and tied ropes to the arms and legs. These ropes were fed to the four corners of the square where they were attached to horses.

When the torturer gave the signal, the horses began pulling the criminal apart. The torturer would then use his sword to slice open their belly, scattering the intestines across the square for the enjoyment of all the colonists.

On June 19, 1721, during a military drill on the Place d’Armes, soldiers fired a volley into the air to celebrate the Feast of Corpus Christi. A misfired bullet hit the Hotel-Dieu Hospital and triggered a devastating fire. The inferno destroyed half of Ville-Marie. The Place d’Armes, hospital and 171 homes were all reduced to ashes.

Shortly thereafter, an ordinance was issued that all new houses were to be built exclusively with stone instead of wood.

The military drills were also relocated to the square north of the parish church, which was baptized the new Place d’Armes. The original square established in 1676 was rebuilt and given the name Place du Marché.

In 1701, the square was instrumental as a major gathering of dozens of First Nations who came to negotiate a peace treaty with the French colonists. Known as The Great Peace of Montreal, the treaty ended hostilities and opened up the market to large-scale fur trading.

In 1760, the city capitulated to the British after being surrounded by thousands of redcoats under the command of General Jeffery Amherst, effectively putting and end to the “New France” colonial project.

In 1786, the British justices of the peace decided that the market would be laid out as a double row of 38 stalls in a U-shape. That same year, the Place du Marché became the first area to be paved after Montreal residents raised funds through a public subscription.

As the British expanded the city and port, it soon became evident that the market square was too small for the increase in commerce.

In 1808, the New Market (Place Jacques-Cartier) was established further to the east. The “Old Market” (Place du Vieux Marché) was reorganized and reduced to a single row of 14 stalls.

In 1836, the government of Lower Canada expropriated the old market square and built the Customs House in the center. The southern part of the square was redesigned with trees, wrought iron fences, and a fountain. The British renamed it “Customs Square” (square de la Douane).

While no longer a marketplace, the square was still busy with merchants paying various tariffs and fees to the British government’s customs officers.

In 1892, the square was renamed yet again for the 250th anniversary of the founding of Montreal. “Customs Square” was rebranded as “Place Royale” (even though the original Place Royale was located across the street where the Archaeology Museum now exists).

In 1940, municipal authorities removed the fountain and moved a tall granite obelisk to Place Royale which commemorates the first French colonists to settle Ville-Marie. Known as The Pioneer’s Obelisk, it was originally unveiled on the Place d’Youville in 1893 after being commissioned for the 250^th anniversary the year earlier.

The obelisk was returned to its original location in 1982 to facilitate a major archaeological dig under the Place Royale and surrounding areas.

The purpose of the dig, which ended in 1991, was to preserve archaeological remains from the original colony and to highlight them underneath Montreal’s new Pointe-à-Callière Archaeology Museum.

As part of the construction of the museum, Place Royale was rebuilt as an “archaeological crypt”. The ground-level of the square was raised by several feet and encased in granite with a series of steps leading to the platform.

This was done to allow tourists below to navigate the ruins below. Small models of the original Place du Marché over the years were installed within the crypt for visitors to enjoy.

The Pointe-à-Callière Archaeology Museum opened in 1992 for the 350^th anniversary of the city, with Place Royale and its crypt included in its complex.

Since then, there has been a lot of criticism about the banal look and feel of the redeveloped Place Royale. For example, in 2010 Jessa Alston-O’Connor wrote “What Lies Beneath: Erasure and Oppression at Place Royale, Montreal”. The author states:

“The museum presents this square as a site of collective history and pride. However, research into the site reveals accounts of torture, public executions, and a history of slavery in Montreal and New France all relating to Place Royale. These events occurred at the square during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries but have been erased from the visual and historical narratives of this site.”

O’Connor goes on to argue that the museum “has rendered controversial histories largely invisible,” thus creating a whitewashed narrative for the “tourist gaze.”

Discussed in John Urry’s 1990 book The Tourist Gaze, the idea is that those who design touristic spaces can choose which narratives to focus on and which ones to erase.

This concept applies to the architecture, commemorations, museum displays and performative elements.

For example, the museum hosts the “Pointe-à-Callière’s 18th Century Public Market” every August. Their website claims:

“The Museum brings back to life Montréal’s very first marketplace under the French Regime. One of Pointe-à-Callière’s main events, put on every year in August in the area around the Museum, the Public Market is a magnificent historical re-enactment. There are stalls, musicians, artisans and historical figures reproducing period scenes with stunning authenticity: There’s no doubt you’ll feel like you’ve been instantly transported back to the days of our ancestors.”

However, tourists visiting the 18^th Century market re-creation will never see any signs of slavery, torture, execution or other erased history. Instead, they will be treated to colonial military drills, merchants dressed in period costume and other similar re-enactments. In short, all colonial horrors have been rendered invisible on the Place Royale.

When a contested space has been so compromised by the “tourist gaze”, often the only way people can learn the truth of a site is through its ghost stories. As a place of colonial atrocities, Place Royale has been associated with dozens of ghost stories over the centuries. Many of these tales are related to the execution of innocents, deranged soldiers and tortured slaves.

For example, an episode of Creepy Canada mentions the ghosts of a man named Vallière who was wrongfully imprisoned and tortured. He committed suicide with the chains that bound him to the prison wall.

His spirit has been seen wandering St. Paul Street and the Place Royale on many occasions.

The most common sighting is the spirit of a desolate drummer boy dressed in a French colonial unform. The encounter usually begins with the sound of a rolling drum, which is usually out of rhythm.

Then, the ghost of the drummer boy materializes. He appears to be very upset and has been described as teary-eyed and sometimes weeping. He usually stops playing his drum before falling to his knees in despair. When approached, he always vanishes into thin air.

He is not to be mistaken for the actors dressed in make up and spooky costumes who carry out ghost tours on the site most evenings in the warmer seasons.

While most people have no idea who this ghostly apparition might be, Haunted Montreal has done some deep research and found a probable answer.

Just six years into the colony’s existence, in 1648 Ville-Marie’s military drummer and public announcer was arrested after being accused of “crimes of the worst kind,” namely a homosexual relationship.

This was first recorded mention of homosexuality among Europeans.

According to the Journal of the Jesuit Fathers of September 1648:

“About this time, there was brought from Montreal a drummer, Convictus crimine pessimo (convicted of a crime of the worst kind), whose death our Fathers who were at Montreal opposed, sed occute; he was then sent hither and put in the prison. It was proposed to him, so that he might at least escape the galleys, to accept the office of executioner of Justice; he accepted it, but his trial was first disposed of, and then his sentence was commuted.”

In other words, Jesuit authorities reduced his sentence from execution to being enslaved to rowing on the King’s galleys. He was then offered the role of public executioner to avoid enslavement, which he accepted, probably reluctantly.

While historians debate about the name of the unfortunate drummer boy and his male lover, details are sketchy. The lover may have escaped because he was never arrested. While some historians say the drummer boy’s name has been lost to history, others such as Pierre Hurteau and Patrice Corriveau called him “René Huguet dit Tambour.”

While little is known about him, historians do know that his first execution was of a girl of 15 or 16 who was convicted of theft.

After that, the paper trail runs cold.

It is also known that in 1653, the colony was looking for a new executioner. The fate of the drummer boy is unknown, although there is speculation he may have committed suicide or escaped the colony.

The psychological torture endured by the drummer boy may have very well resulted in his suicide. Due to his forbidden sexuality, he was transformed from a well-respected military drummer and public announcer into a torturer and executioner, the most despised position in the colony.

After having to torture and execute a teenaged girl for an alleged theft, he may have suffered from suicidal thoughts.

Whether he escaped the colony or died by suicide, only one thing is known: his miserable ghost returns to haunt the Place Royale. His ghostly appearance sheds a glimmer of the horrific colonial history that unfolded in an otherwise whitewashed public square.

Company News

We are pleased to announce a new tour as part of our upcoming Hidden Histories series! The Colonial Secrets of Old Montreal Walking Tour is in its final testing phase and free tickets are available this upcoming Friday and Saturday at 1 pm!

These tours will all be under the umbrella of Hidden Montreal, our soon-to-be-born sister company.

Our season of public outdoor ghost tours is now in full swing and tickets are on sale! These include Haunted Old Montreal, Haunted Mountain, Haunted Downtown and Haunted Griffintown. Paranormal Investigations include Old Sainte-Antoine Cemetery and Colonial Old Montreal.

We are also running our Haunted Pub Crawl every Sunday at 3 pm in English. For tours in French, these happen on the last Sunday of every month at 2 pm.

Private tours for any of our experiences (including outdoor tours) can be booked at any time based on the availability of our actors. Clients can request any date, time, language and operating tour. These tours are based on the availability of our actors and start at $235 for small groups of up to 8 people.

Email info@hauntedmontreal.com to book a private tour!

You can also bring the Haunted Montreal experience to your office party, house, school or event by booking one of our Travelling Ghost Storytellers today.

Our team also releases videos every second Saturday, in both languages, of ghost stories from the Haunted Montreal Blog.

Hosted by Holly Rhiannon (in English) and Dr. Mab (in French), this initiative is sure to please ghost story fans!

Please like, subscribe and hit the bell!

In other news, if you want to send someone a haunted experience as a gift, you certainly can! We are offering Haunted Montreal Gift Certificates through our website and redeemable via Eventbrite for any of our in-person or virtual events (no expiration date).

Lastly, we have decided to close our online shop due to low sales and high maintenance costs. It will only be open from October to December in the near future.

Haunted Montreal also has temporarily altered its blog experience due to a commitment on a big writing project! The book is titled Haunted McGill, and is authored by yours truly, Donovan King! Our publisher is The Stygian Society.

Until publication in 2026, new stories at the Haunted Montreal Blog will be offered every two months, whereas every other month will feature an update to an old story.

As always, these stories and updates will be released on the 13th of every month!

Haunted Montreal would like to thank all our clients who attended a ghost walk, haunted pub crawl, paranormal investigation or virtual event!

If you enjoyed the experience, we encourage you to write a review on our Tripadvisor page and/or on Google Reviews – something that really helps Haunted Montreal to market its tours.

Lastly, if you would like to receive the Haunted Montreal Blog on the 13th of every month, please sign up to our mailing list.

Coming Up on September 13: Update on Montreal’s Mysterious River Monsters

In May, 2020, Haunted Montreal published a blog about Montreal’s Mysterious River Monsters. Since then, the waters surrounding the city have witnessed more bizarre sightings and situations involving unknown and dangerous marine creatures. The most notable case occurred in June 2024, when an eight-year-old boy was attacked by something predatory in the enclosed waters of Jean Doré Beach. He sustained several deep gashes in his leg that required stitches. While some scientists think the predator was a muskie (a large fish with sharp teeth), others believe it was it was a river monster who had somehow entered the waters of the enclosed beach in search of its next meal.

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Translator (into French):

Haunted Montreal Blog #111 – Update on Montreal’s Haunted Pubs and Drinking Establishments

hauntedmontreal — Wed, 13 Nov 2024 18:08:47 +0000

Welcome to the one hundred and eleventh installment of the Haunted Montreal Blog!

With the Halloween Season now over and colder weather setting in, Haunted Montreal is running our Haunted Pub Crawl every Sunday at 3 pm in English. For tours in French, these happen on the last Sunday of every month at 4 pm.

We have also extended our outdoor Haunted Old Montreal ghost tour and paranormal investigations until the end of November.

To learn more, see the schedule at the bottom of our home page and see more details in the Company News section below!

Email info@hauntedmontreal.com to book a private tour!

Lastly, we have an online store for those interested in Haunted Montreal merchandise. More details are below in our Company News section!

This month we update information about Montreal’s dozens of haunted pubs and drinking establishments!

Haunted Research

In 2019, the Haunted Montreal Blog identified 40 haunted pubs, watering holes and other drinking establishments dotting the city. In the bar industry, places often fold and new businesses are born, including in haunted buildings. One common question is this: do the ghosts remain when a new owner takes over the drinking venue?

In 2024, the haunted drinking landscape has changed somewhat in Montreal. Some places have gone bankrupt and been reopened under new brands. Others were demolished and replaced with condos – and new haunted drinking establishments have also been discovered!

Starting with bars that have closed, these include Charlie’s American Bar, Club Le Cinq, Le Pionnier, the John Doe Pub and Maison Pierre du Calvet.

Le Pionnier was demolished and replaced with condos, Maison du Calvet is presently vacant and the others now host new establishments.

Charlie’s is now the 042 AFRO LOUNGE, Club Le Cinq has become the Yoko Luna Japanese Steakhouse and the John Doe Pub is now a branch of Tsukuyomi Ramen, a noodle joint.

Secondly, Ken McCaskill passed away in December, 2023. He was the Point Saint Charles Legion’s bartender who regaled his clients with ghost stories from the establishment. May he rest in peace.

Thirdly, Haunted Montreal has blogged several of the drinking establishments on our original list to provide more detailed information regarding their hauntings. These include Place Viger, Hotel Place d’Armes, Auberge Saint Gabriel and Hurley’s Irish Pub.

Last but not least, we have discovered two haunted drinking establishments we were not aware of!

The first one is Gibby’s Steakhouse in Old Montreal, which has a mysterious ghost haunting its courtyard.

The second haunted watering hole is the ATIPIK PUB at 1458 Crescent Street in Downtown Montreal. Formerly the location of the Dragon & Dame Pub Urbain and then Ayers Rock MTL, the ATIPIK PUB has attracted paranormal investigators.

In May 2023, the team from Entre deux tombes conducted a paranormal investigation at the ATIPIK PUB. In search of a “Kitchen Devil Lady”, they encountered everything from screaming noises, phantom footsteps, shadowy movements, chairs moving on their own and glasses falling off the bar.

While change is not unusual in the bar and hospitality industry, the question always remains how ghosts adapt to new ownership and décor in the places they haunt. Only time will tell what paranormal surprises await the new owners of the old haunted drinking establishments that have changed hands!

Company News

We have also extended our outdoor Haunted Old Montreal ghost tour We have also extended our outdoor Haunted Old Montreal ghost tour and paranormal investigations until the end of November.

To learn more, see the schedule at the bottom of our home page!

Private tours for any of our experiences (including outdoor tours) can be booked at any time based on the availability of our actors. Clients can request any date, time, language and operating tour.

These tours are based on the availability of our actors and start at $215 for small groups of up to 7 people.

Email info@hauntedmontreal.com to book a private tour!

You can also bring the Haunted Montreal experience to your office party, house, school or event by booking one of our Travelling Ghost Storytellers today.

Please like, subscribe and hit the bell!

Haunted Montreal is also pleased to announce the publication of the book “Montréal hanté. La mémoire macabre d’une cité victorienne”, written by Pierre-Luc Baril.

Directly inspired by the Haunted Montreal Blog, the book tells several ghost stories, including those of Simon McTavish, the mysterious Trafalgar Tower and the murder of Mary Gallagher.

You can purchase a copy by clicking on this link.

In other news, if you want to send someone a haunted experience as a gift, you certainly can!

We are offering Haunted Montreal Gift Certificates through our website and redeemable via Eventbrite for any of our in-person or virtual events (no expiration date).

Finally, we have an online store for those interested in Haunted Montreal merchandise. We are selling t-shirts, magnets, sweatshirts (for those haunted fall and winter nights) and mugs with both the Haunted Montreal logo and our tour imagery.

Purchases can be ordered through our online store.

Haunted Montreal has temporarily altered its blog experience due to a commitment on a big writing project! New stories at the Haunted Montreal Blog will now be offered every two months, whereas every other month will feature an update to an old story. As always, these stories and updates will be released on the 13th of every month!

Haunted Montreal would like to thank all our clients who attended a ghost walk, haunted pub crawl, paranormal investigation or virtual event!

If you enjoyed the experience, we encourage you to write a review on our Tripadvisor page and/or on Google Reviews -something that really helps Haunted Montreal to market its tours.

Lastly, if you would like to receive the Haunted Montreal Blog on the 13th of every month, please sign up to our mailing list.

Coming up on December 13^th: Sault-au-Récollet

Located on the eastern edge of the borough of Ahuntsic-Cartierville, Sault-au-Récollet is one of Montreal’s many haunted neighborhoods. Historically the site of Montreal’s oldest church, creepy cemeteries and a colonial fort used to try to evangelize Indigenous Peoples, today the area reeks of paranormal activity and disturbing cemetery rituals involving animal sacrifice.

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Translator (into French):

Halloween 2024 in Montreal

hauntedmontreal — Wed, 02 Oct 2024 00:25:09 +0000

We’re entering the spooky season, and Haunted Montreal is offering our full slate of ghost walks, paranormal investigations and pub crawls for your 2024 Halloween in Montreal. They’re available as both public and private events. Plus, we can also come to your office, school, or party with our Travelling Ghost Storyteller experience.

Here is what we are offering this Halloween Season:

Halloween Ghost Walks

Haunted Old Montreal: Step back in time into Montreal’s most historic and most haunted neighbourhood. Guided by a professional actor and storyteller, you will learn the dark history behind some of the city’s most popular tourist spots. Join a Haunted Old Montreal walk for Halloween 2024

Haunted Griffintown: A professional actor and storyteller takes you through mysterious ruins, a polluted canal, former burial grounds and creepy old buildings that are said to be haunted. Also, Griffintown’s most famous ghost, Headless Mary. Join a Haunted Griffintown walk for Halloween 2024

Haunted Mountain: A theatrical guide will regale guests with ghost stories, mysteries and legends about Mount Royal, including haunted hospitals, abandoned castles, cemeteries teeming with undead spirits, and all sorts of paranormal activities on the mountain. Join a Haunted Mountain walk for Halloween 2024

Haunted Downtown: Follow a professional actor and storyteller through Downtown Montreal’s haunted bars, a forgotten graveyard, hotels rife with paranormal activity, and other locations where ghosts have been spotted! Join a Haunted Downtown walk for Halloween 2024

Halloween Paranormal Investigations

Old Sainte Antoine Cemetery: Learn strategies and techniques to locate and communicate with spirits while walking on top of Downtown Montreal’s largest forgotten cemetery, with approximately 70,000 buried beneath! Hosted by paranormal expert Dominique Desormeaux. Investigate the Old Sainte Antoine Cemetery for Halloween 2024

Colonial Old Montreal: Hosted by professional Ghost-hunter Dominique Desormeaux, our newest haunted experience takes guests on a dark adventure into the mysterious world of ghost hunting in Canada’s most haunted neighbourhood. Investigate Colonial Old Montreal for Halloween 2024

Halloween Haunted Pub Crawls

Led by a professional ghost storyteller, the Haunted Montreal Pub Crawl visits three haunted pubs. Guests will not only learn about many of the haunted drinking establishments in the city, but will also hear Montreal’s most infamous ghost stories. Raise a glass at the Haunted Pub Crawl for Halloween 2024

Private Tours

Haunted Montreal offers private tours for all of our ghost walks and other experiences based on the availability of our actors. These are ideal for tour groups, corporate groups, school groups, bachelorette parties, and gatherings of all types. Book a Private Tour for Halloween 2024

Travelling Ghost Storyteller

A professional actor and storyteller brings some of the most popular Montreal ghost stories from our tours to your office Halloween party, school event, house party, or other event. Book a Travelling Ghost Storyteller for your Halloween 2024 event

Any questions? Please contact tours@hauntedmontreal.com

See you this Halloween!

Haunted Montreal Blog #103 – Auberge Saint-Gabriel

hauntedmontreal — Wed, 13 Mar 2024 12:02:03 +0000

Welcome to the one hundred and third installment of the Haunted Montreal Blog!

With over 500 documented ghost stories, Montreal is easily the most haunted city in Canada, if not all of North America. Haunted Montreal dedicates itself to researching these paranormal tales, and the Haunted Montreal Blog unveils a newly researched Montreal ghost story on the 13th of every month!

As we enter into spring, Haunted Montreal is preparing for a whole new season of ghost tours and haunted experiences!

Our first outdoor tour is the special Irish Famine in Montreal Walk on Saturday, March 16 at 1 pm (in English)! Offered only twice per year, this tour delves into the history and ghosts of the Irish Famine in Montreal!

On this walk, we will also experiment with augmented reality to resurrect desecrated haunted sites, including St. Ann’s Church and the Black Rock Famine cemetery!

We also offer our Haunted Pub Crawl every Sunday at 3 pm in English. Tours in French happen on the last Sunday of every month at 4 pm.

Private tours for all of our experiences (including outdoor tours) can be booked at any time based on the availability of our actors. Clients can request any date, time, language and operating tour (except Haunted Mountain due to wintry conditions). These tours start at $215 for small groups of up to 7 people.

Email info@hauntedmontreal.com to book a private tour!

We also have an online store for those interested in gift certificates and company merchandise. More details are below in our Company News section!

This month we examine the Auberge Saint-Gabriel, a favorite haunt in Old Montreal that is also reputed to reek of the paranormal. While rumours swirl that a little girl and her grandfather died in a controversial fire, Haunted Montreal delves into the real history behind this legend.

Haunted Research

The Auberge Saint-Gabriel is a quaint stone building in the heart of Old Montreal. Reeking of old world charm, it is a popular attraction for tourists and locals alike.

The building was constructed in 1688 by retired French soldier Étienne Truteau as his residence. The following century, Richard Dulong opened the Auberge Saint-Gabriel on the site and it would go on to become the city’s most legendary inn.

Today, the building hosts a fancy restaurant, several dining rooms and even a speakeasy. However, the auberge is also reported to be haunted. From ghostly piano music to the spirit of a little girl who allegedly burned alive during a fire, the Auberge Saint-Gabriel is said to be a hotbed of paranormal activity. The ghostly girl, wearing a Royal Blue dress, has allegedly been spotted and heard laughing on many occasions.

Another claim to fame, according to its website, is that the Auberge Saint-Gabriel was the first inn that opened in North America. The website justifies this because the auberge received “the first liquor license in the country, on March 4, 1754.”

This statement is widely-circulated online and even the Bonjour Québec tourism website boasts: “The oldest inn in North America and the first to be granted a liquor licence under British rule, the Auberge Saint-Gabriel in Old Montréal offers fine dining wrapped in elegance, charm and 300 years of history.”

Such historical claims are undoubtedly good for business.

However, given that European colonization of Turtle Island (today’s North America) mostly began in the 1500s, one might question if no inns existed before 1754.

Historical research reveals that there were indeed inns all over the place dating back to the early days of colonization. For example, on September 19, 1648, the Council of New France granted Jacques Boisdon permission to operate an inn at the address 20, Côte de la Fabrique in Quebec City. Today, a historical plaque marks the site, labelling Boisdon as “Quebec’s first inn-keeper, 1648.”

Furthermore, there were many other inns elsewhere across the continent. For example, in Massachusetts, Concord’s Colonial Inn opened in 1716.

Another important point is the fact that the British did not rule Montreal until it capitulated in 1760, thus could not have granted a liquor license in 1754.

If the Auberge Saint-Gabriel’s publicity about being the oldest inn in North America is false, it is possible that the various claims that a little girl haunts it are equally baseless.

There can be no denying that the Auberge Saint-Gabriel has a very haunted reputation. It has been covered by dozens of media reports and websites, most of which claim that the ghost of a little girl haunts the establishment.

In an article for Exemplore titled “13 Most Haunted Restaurants in the World”, author Cristina Vanthulupdated exclaimed that Auberge Saint-Gabriel comes in as number seven on the list. She wrote: “Auberge Saint-Gabriel has had many ghost stories circulate within its walls. The enduring legend says that a child was burned in a fire, and she still roams the restaurant. She can be heard playing the piano from time to time.”

In 2017, Global News covered the haunting. Reporter Matt Grillo statied: “Some insiders tell us there is a ghost of a little girl that was basically burned out in a fire and she can be heard playing piano from time to time.”

Canadian Rail Vacations also recommends dining at the Auberge Saint-Gabriel as part of a spooky train trip across Canada that visits some of the country’s most haunted locations. This scary train vacation also invites clients to partake in the best Canadian ghostly experiences (including our Haunted Pub Crawl!)

Concerning the Auberge Saint-Gabriel, author Brianne Byiers states: “A little girl, who is said to have died in a fire in the nineteenth century, is the most famous of its ghosts, and has been seen on the top floor.”

However, the most detailed version of the tale comes from student journalist Alex Hutchins. He wrote an article called “A glimpse of our haunted history” for The Concordian on October 30, 2018 where he identified influential fur trader Joseph Frobisher as being responsible for the fire.

Hutchins wrote:

“The most notable tale is that of Joseph Frobisher, an affluent fur-trading businessman, who acquired the establishment in 1809. Frobisher needed his business to survive the winter until, come springtime, European tourists would come and buy his fur. Frobisher nefariously ordered the neighbourhood arsonist to burn down his competitor’s establishment, and while he specified that the arsonist should be sure no one was in the building, 12 workers burned to death.”

Hutchins continued:

“The arsonist begged Frobisher for money to flee town, and though he agreed, when Frobisher reached into his drawer to retrieve money, he instead took out a knife and stabbed the arsonist to death. During their altercation, the arsonist’s satchel carrying explosives fell into the fire, and soon the entire establishment went up in flames.”

He added:

“Standing on the streets, Frobisher wept in horror as his establishment was engulfed in flames, however it was not for fear of losing his business. His six-year-old daughter was still trapped on the second floor, in the middle of a piano lesson with her grandfather. A small shred of hope emerged when Frobisher saw his father trying to hoist his daughter up to a window to get her out of the house. However, when the window was opened, the oxygen intake fueled the fire and Frobisher watched his daughter and father be incinerated alive. A year later, Frobisher died from nostalgia, a term then used to describe cases where people speculatively died from either grief, fear or suicide.”

Finally, Hutchins concluded:

“On top of the countless inexplicable fires that have since occurred at the Auberge St-Gabriel, present-day staff have reported hearing a piano being played and the occasional laughter of a child.”

Given the murky backgrounds of various legends and ghost stories, it is often worth investigating them thoroughly. Were the authors of these tales taking poetic license – or was the haunted story based on fact?

In the case of the Auberge St-Gabriel, a deep dive into its history is required. Were there actually any fires? Which years did Joseph Frobisher live on the site? Is there any historical evidence that he was responsible for arson?

Firstly, Joseph Frobisher acquired the property in 1777. Their home represented only part of a real estate complex, including offices, stores and warehouses for the fur trade.

In 1779, when he was 38 years old, Frobisher married a sixteen-year-old girl named Charlotte Jobert. She was the daughter of a prominent surgeon who consented to the marriage. Twelve children were born from this union, but only three survived into adulthood.

Given, according to Hutchins, “Frobisher died from nostalgia” a year after his daughter’s fiery death, the fire should have happened in 1809. It is worth noting that Joseph Frobisher died in 1810 – of natural causes.

Records show that the only fire on the site occurred in 1768, when a man named Sabrevois de Bleury was living there. This suggests that the lifespan of the 1754 inn was very short.

After the blaze, he hired mason Jean-Baptiste Coquillard to do repairs and install a firewall between two of the buildings.

If the only fire in the building occurred in 1768, it was eleven years before Frobisher even moved in. Indeed, he hadn’t have gotten married or had children at this point. These facts suggest that the tale is likely bogus.

Furthermore, Joseph Frobisher was among the city’s top elite.

Had he have been an arsonist, why wasn’t he convicted? Why are there no historical records of these claims? Where does this story originate from?

Joseph Frobisher was born in England at Halifax, Yorkshire in 1748. He arrived in Montreal around 1763 with his brother Benjamin. They began working in the fur trade and associating with other wealthy merchants such as James McGill and Simon McTavish.

Like their peers, the Frobisher brothers married into prominent French-speaking families to solidify their grip on the fur trade. Before British colonization, this lucrative business was run with great profit during the “New France” colonial period.

In 1775, the Frobisher brothers participated in the founding of the North West Company, a rival to the Hudson Bay Company in the lucrative fur trade. Members of this elite company tended to become wealthy through their various business transactions.

In 1785, Joseph Frobisher purchased several plots of land in the Faubourg Saint-Antoine where he built his luxurious country residence “Beaver Hall”.

That year, the Frobisher brothers, James McGill and sixteen other founders of the North West Company established the Beaver Club. Membership requirements included having spent at least one winter working in the fur trade outside of Montreal. The club would meet occasionally to hold wild and raucous parties at Beaver Hall and other locations throughout the city. At these gatherings, the men sang voyageur songs, reenacted dangerous canoeing adventures, and engaged in rowdy behavior like breaking bottles and glasses.

The rules and social values of the club reveal the racist underpinnings of the group – its members were exclusively white and male. It is also worth noting that many of them were either slave owners or supported the slave trade.

In 1798, Joseph Frobisher retired from the North West Company and, two years later, he sold his rights to fur baron Simon McTavish. He spent the next twelve years making investments and entertaining the city’s elite in his homes, Beaver Hall and today’s Auberge Saint Gabriel. Frobisher also became involved in politics as a Member of Parliament for Montreal East from 1792 to 1796, in Lower Canada.

In 1800, Frobisher held the rank of captain in the British Militia of Montreal and was promoted to major in the 1st Battalion. He also obtained numerous commissionerships, including responsibility for the demolition of the old fortifications of Montreal in 1802.

Joseph Frobisher died on September 12, 1810. He perished at Beaver Hall at age 62 due to natural causes. His corpse was interred at the Christ Church Cathedral on Notre-Dame Street, which has since been demolished. Incidentally, his beloved Beaver Hall burned to the ground in 1847.

Returning to the claims that Joseph Frobisher hired an arsonist to destroy a competitor’s warehouse in 1809, there is simply no evidence that this is true. Firstly, he had retired from the fur business in 1798. Furthermore, the grandfathers of Frobisher’s daughter who allegedly burned to death were not alive in 1809. Joseph Frobisher Sr. died in 1763 and surgeon Jean-Baptiste Joubert in 1798. As such, neither of them could have been giving her a piano lesson on the day of the alleged fire in 1809.

In conclusion, while the Auberge Saint Gabriel certainly looks and feels haunted, there is no historical evidence to back up the legend of a girl and her grandfather burning alive. Like its claim to being the oldest inn in North America, the ghost story is likely also fictitious.

That being said, the Auberge Saint Gabriel is still well worth visiting! This fine establishment guarantees spooky vibes, an excellent menu and professional hospitality!

Furthermore, other paranormal activities that exist at the Auberge are beyond the scope of this blog. Look forward to a Part II that will explore these phenomena!

Company News

Haunted Montreal is preparing for a whole new season of ghost tours and haunted experiences for the 2024 Season!

Our first outdoor tour is the special Irish Famine in Montreal Walk on Saturday, March 16 at 1 pm (in English)! Offered only twice per year, this tour delves into the ghosts of the Irish Famine in Montreal! We are also experimenting with Augmented Reality and guests will be invited to download an iPhone app or see the demolished sites through a tablet!

Desecrated Irish Famine sites include Saint Ann’s Church and the Black Rock Famine cemetery! We want audience feedback to see which other historical sites should be resurrected in Augmented Reality!

Our Haunted Pub Crawl is offered every Sunday at 3 pm in English. Tours in French happen on the last Sunday of every month at 4 pm.

Private tours for any of our experiences (including outdoor tours) can be booked at any time based on the availability of our actors. Clients can request any date, time, language and operating tour (except Haunted Mountain due to wintry conditions) These tours are based on the availability of our actors and start at $215 for small groups of up to 7 people.

Email info@hauntedmontreal.com to book a private tour!

You can also bring the Haunted Montreal experience to your office party, house, school or event by booking one of our Travelling Ghost Storytellers today.

Please like, subscribe and hit the bell!

In other news, if you want to send someone a haunted experience as a gift, you certainly can!

We are offering Haunted Montreal Gift Certificates through our website and redeemable via Eventbrite for any of our in-person or virtual events (no expiration date).

We also have an online store for those interested in Haunted Montreal merchandise for the holidays. We are selling t-shirts, magnets, sweatshirts (for those haunted fall and winter nights) and mugs with both the Haunted Montreal logo and our tour imagery.

Purchases can be ordered through our online store.

Haunted Montreal would like to thank all our clients who attended a ghost walk, haunted pub crawl, paranormal investigation or virtual event!

If you enjoyed the experience, we encourage you to write a review on our Tripadvisor page and/or Google Reviews, something that really helps Haunted Montreal to market its tours. We are a small, specialized tourism company for fans of deranged history, ghost stories and the macabre and appreciate all the support and feedback we can get!

Lastly, if you would like to receive the Haunted Montreal Blog on the 13th of every month, please sign up to our mailing list.

Coming up on April 13: Montreal’s Gargoyles and Grotesques

High above the streetscape, Montreal is home to hundreds of gargoyles and grotesques carved into the architecture of various older buildings and churches. Sculptors allegedly created gargoyles to drain water and ward off evil spirits, a tradition dating back to mediaeval Europe. Grotesques are similar stone creatures but do not feature any plumbing. Some legends say that gargoyles can communicate with others when the rain passes through their mouths. Other myths claim that gargoyles and grotesques sometimes come to life at night. Montreal’s gargoyles are shrouded in mystery and a local legend from the late 19th Century highlights one of their deranged antics after sunset.

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Translator (into French):

Haunted Montreal Blog #102 – Youville Stables

hauntedmontreal — Tue, 13 Feb 2024 08:00:00 +0000

Welcome to the one hundred and second installment of the Haunted Montreal Blog!

With the winter upon us, our public tours are on pause until March, when the weather warms up. Our first outdoor tour is the special Irish Famine in Montreal Walk on Saturday, March 16 at 1 pm (in English)! Offered only twice per year, this tour delves into the ghosts of the Irish Famine in Montreal! On this walk we will also experiment with augmented reality to resurrect demolished and desecrated sites!

We also offer our Haunted Pub Crawl every Sunday at 3 pm in English. Tours in French happen on the last Sunday of every month at 4 pm.

Private tours for all of our experiences (including outdoor tours) can be booked at any time based on the availability of our actors. Clients can request any date, time, language and operating tour (except Haunted Mountain due to wintry conditions). These tours start at $215 for small groups of up to 7 people.

Email info@hauntedmontreal.com to book a private tour!

We also have an online store for those interested in gift certificates and company merchandise. More details are below in our Company News section!

This month we examine the Youville Stables in Old Montreal, a charming stone complex that hosts the famous Gibby’s Steakhouse. However, a ghost has been spotted in the courtyard reading a book – and he does not like to be disturbed!

Haunted Research

The Youville Stables is a charming stone complex in Old Montreal that was built on the hospital grounds of the Grey Nuns in 1827, originally as a warehouse. Today the site hosts the tony Gibby’s Restaurant, one of Montreal’s finest steakhouses. However, there are reports that its courtyard is haunted by an irate ghost who sits on a bench while reading a book. When approached, he tends to look up as though annoyed and proceeds to glare at those intruding his solitude – before disappearing into thin air.

While there have been several sightings of this ghost, the most prominent one was penned by Sonny Orr, a Cree writer and journalist from Chisasibi.

On February 10, 2010, he penned an article called “CREEEPY CCCANAADA…” for an Indigenous publication called The Nation.

In the article, he recounted two ghostly encounters, including one in the courtyard of the Youville Stables.

He explained:

“The first was at the popular Gibby’s restaurant in Montreal, where on a nice evening several years ago, we had a business supper and I brought my young daughter along. Since talking business wasn’t exactly her cup of tea (or milk), we decided to take a short break and check out the quaint ivy-covered courtyard. Holding hands, we noticed that a man holding a book was sitting on a bench further back.”

They did not want to disturb him, but as they circled the courtyard, they soon found themselves close to the man quietly reading on the bench.

Orr explained: “He slowly put down his book and looked at us, at first annoyingly then glaringly. He spoke volumes with his do-not-disturb attitude without saying a word. I, being naturally polite, stated that it was a nice evening to be out reading, but he didn’t respond, except by glaring even more sterner, so we walked away. Turning for a last look before going back into the restaurant, he was gone.”

Years later, after watching an episode of Creepy Canada about Old Montreal, Orr said “my neck hairs stiffened after realizing that what we had seen was a ghost.”

Orr isn’t the only one who has had a ghostly encounter at the Youville Stables. Indeed, the complex was once referred to as the “Phantom Stables” by Montreal’s now-banished calèche drivers. The site has a fascinating history.

The complex, made up of three solid stone warehouses, was constructed starting in 1826 for potash inspector Jean Bouthillier.

For twenty years, he had been doing his job in a wooden shed located on a large site that he rented from the Grey Nuns on a long-term lease.

That year, he and his then 32-year-old son Louis-Tancrède renewed the long-term lease. They planned to demolish the existing wooden structure and build a complex of three stone warehouses. Completed in 1828, the two warehouses to the east housed an ironworks yard and a nail factory, while the one to the west was used mainly for the Bouthilliers’ potash inspection business.

Built in the horseshoe shape of monastic complexes, the warehouses were built in the Neo-Classical tradition, with œil-de-bœuf windows, pediments and quoins. The cut-stone façade and large scale of the property reflected prosperity and solid construction methods for the era.

In the center, Jean Bouthillier created a quiet garden oasis within the horseshoe shape of the architecture. At the time, most gardens in what is today Old Montreal were off-limits to the less well-to-do. Private gardens at the time were seen as status symbols for powerful priests, wealthy citizens and influential merchants. As such, Jean Bouthillier saw his small courtyard as a private piece of paradise in an otherwise bustling urban area. It was a quiet and leafy place where he could relax, entertain guests and otherwise escape the hustle-bustle of the urban environment,

It was here that he enjoyed relaxing and holding deep conversations with his son, Louis-Tancrède. Jean Bouthillier encouraged him to pursue investment and educational opportunities. He explained to his son that he could move up the social ladder with hard effort, wise investments and solid social networking.

In 1832, Jean Bouthillier passed away. Louis-Tancrède was devastated, but he inherited a handsome sum, including 75% of the complex and property. The other 25% went to Pierre de Rastel de Rocheblave, his father’s brother-in-law.

Bouthillier used the rest of his inheritance to buy several properties in and around Montreal, including a farm at Côte Sainte-Catherine. The following year, he began to build a large, two-story brick house for his family on his newly-acquired farm. He named the property Outre-Mont, which means “the other side of the mountain” in English. He named it this given that his property was on the opposite side of Mount Royal from the City of Montreal. It was here, in his opulent home, that he would raise his two sons, Charles-Frontenac and Henri, along with his wife Françoise-Geneviève.

Louis-Tancrède continued to return to his garden oasis at the complex in Old Montreal on a regular basis. Recalling his father’s encouragement to aim high, he would often sit on a bench in the courtyard, studying business investments, famous literature and other writings.

Louis-Tancrède’s work paid off. In 1835, he was appointed Commissioner of the Lachine Canal, followed by Commissioner of Crown Lands in 1838.

When de Rocheblave sold his stake to Louis Renaud in 1850, Louis-Tancrède decided to rent the entire complex to him to serve his grain and provisions trade. Louis-Tancrède had become too busy moving up in the world to waste his time in the warehouse business.

In 1850, he assumed the role of the Customs Collector of Montreal. In 1863, Louis-Tancrède was appointed as the Sheriff of the city, a position he would hold for almost ten years. He also became the president of the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society in 1864.

In 1875, Louis-Tancrède was honored when the area surrounding his home was recognized as a village and named Outremont, after the home he had built decades earlier. With only 300 inhabitants, Outremont would later grow into a very wealthy municipality for the city’s francophone elite.

Now retired, Louis-Tancrède Bouthillier could look back on a very successful career. Not only had he enjoyed some of the most important positions in the city, but his investments had made him a wealthy man. He had also raised a wonderful family. He often recalled his loving father and the magnificent time they spent together in the courtyard oasis between the stone complex of warehouses in Old Montreal.

Unfortunately, after a period of illness, Louis-Tancrède Bouthillier died in his home of Outre-Mont on February 28, 1881. The Saturday Budget announced:

“Mr. Louis-Tancrède Bouthillier, who formerly filled several public offices under the government, but long since retired from advanced years and infirmity, died here last evening at the age of 85. Among the offices which he held were Commissioner of Crown Lands, Collector of Customs and Sheriff of Montreal.”

Returning to the stone complex, the Grey Nuns decided to take over the administration of their property in 1869. Almost a century later, they sold the land and buildings to real estate developer Écuries D’Youville Limitée.

The company initiated a major restoration of the complex in 1967, under the direction of architect Janusz Warunklewicz. The project was rebranded “Écurie Youville / Youville Stables“, which was seen as odd because the property was never used to board horses or other animals.

Nevertheless, Gilbert (Gibby) Rosenberg was very impressed with the site and installed his second location of Gibby’s restaurant there in 1972.

He had opened the first location in St-Sauveur with two business partners in 1969. Serving high-end steak and seafood, Montreal Gazette food critic Lesley Chesterman described Gibby’s as “arguably Montreal’s most popular restaurant.”

Many people believe the ghost in the courtyard to be that of Louis-Tancrède Bouthillier, given his love of the garden oasis. There are many theories that ghosts sometimes return to the places they loved the most while alive.

However, some detractors think the ghost is none other than François Dollier de Casson, Montreal’s first historian.

On August 28, 2008, Norman Goldman published an article entitled “A Summer Walk into Montreal’s Early Years under French Rule” on a blog called BootsnAll: One Stop Indie Travel Guide. Goldman suggested:

“If you are in Montréal on a sunny weekend summer day and if you want to hear and perhaps see the ghosts of early Montréal, take a walk through “Vieux Montréal” (Old Montréal). The best time to embark on this venture is very early in the day on a Saturday or Sunday where you may encounter Monsieur Dollier de Casson Father Superior of the Seminaire de Montréal and perhaps Canada’s first town planner.”

François Dollier de Casson was a major figure in the early days of the Ville-Marie colony, as Montreal was formerly known. He was born in France into a wealthy bourgeois and military family in 1636. After serving in the French Army for three years, he decided to study to become a priest. Once accepted into the Sulpician Order, he was deployed to “New France”, an assignment he took on with some reluctance.

When he arrived in Quebec in 1666, his superiors appointed him as military chaplain to Prouville de Tracy, a commander carrying out a genocidal campaign against the Mohawk First Nation, whose territory the French were attempting to colonize.

Dollier de Casson was active as a missionary and explorer until becoming Superior of the Sulpicians in “New France” in 1671. He also contributed to church architecture, served as vicar general of the diocese of Quebec and ordered the first street survey of what is now Old Montreal.

He was also one of the key figures of the first attempt to dig the Lachine Canal, in 1689, which ultimately failed.

While Dollier de Casson was well known as a religious figure and public authority, he also appointed himself as the city’s first “historian” and wrote Histoire du Montréal, 1640-1672, Issues 1-5.

Furthermore, Dollier de Casson appears with a book in his hands in an official portrait, adding weight to the theory that he is the ghost in the courtyard.

Remarkably, Dollier de Casson also wrote about paranormal activities in the colony.

In one case, he described a “phantom ship” arriving in the city’s harbor on a misty day. The colonists could not agree whether it was a ship or not, and it later disappeared without having attempted any form of communication with the inhabitants of Ville-Marie. Another story involved a blood-stained handkerchief that could speak and even covert people to Catholicism!

Perhaps the most bizarre tale from Dollier de Casson is about a notary named Jean Saint-Père, whose decapitated head began harassing Oneida warriors after they had killed him.

In 1701, Dollier de Casson died at the age of 65 at the Montreal seminary. Those who suspect he is the ghost in the courtyard believe he loved the colony so much that he decided to stay after his death.

Whatever the case, both men suspected of being the ghost clearly loved the area that is today Old Montreal.

For those thinking of entering the courtyard of the Youville Stables, tread carefully. If anyone spots a man reading a book on one of the benches, it is best if he is left undisturbed!

Company News

Haunted Montreal is now in winter mode and is preparing for a whole new season!

Our first outdoor tour is the special Irish Famine in Montreal Walk on Saturday, March 16 at 1 pm (in English)! Offered only twice per year, this tour delves into the ghosts of the Irish Famine in Montreal! On this walk we will also experiment with augmented reality to resurrect demolished and desecrated sites of interest!

Our Haunted Pub Crawl is offered every Sunday at 3 pm in English. Tours in French happen on the last Sunday of every month at 4 pm.

Private tours for any of our experiences (including outdoor tours) can be booked at any time based on the availability of our actors. Clients can request any date, time, language and operating tour (except Haunted Mountain due to wintry conditions) These tours are based on the availability of our actors and start at $215 for small groups of up to 7 people.

Email info@hauntedmontreal.com to book a private tour!

You can also bring the Haunted Montreal experience to your office party, house, school or event by booking one of our Travelling Ghost Storytellers today. Hear some of the spookiest tales from our tours and our blog told by a professional actor and storyteller. You provide the venue, we provide the stories and storyteller. Find out more and then contact info@hauntedmontreal.com

Please like, subscribe and hit the bell!

Purchases can be ordered through our online store.

Haunted Montreal would like to thank all our clients who attended a ghost walk, haunted pub crawl, paranormal investigation or virtual event!

If you enjoyed the experience, we encourage you to write a review on our Tripadvisor page and/or Google Reviews, something that really helps Haunted Montreal to market its tours.

We are a small, specialized tourism company for fans of deranged history, ghost stories and the macabre and appreciate all the support and feedback we can get!

Lastly, if you would like to receive the Haunted Montreal Blog on the 13th of every month, please sign up to our mailing list.

Coming up on March 13: Auberge Saint Gabriel

The Auberge Saint-Gabriel is a quaint stone building in the heart of Old Montreal. Constructed in 1688 by a French soldier, the building would become the city’s first inn in 1754. Today, it hosts a fancy restaurant but is also reported to be haunted. From ghostly piano music to the spirit of a little girl who allegedly burned alive during a fire, the Auberge Saint-Gabriel is a well-known hotbed of paranormal activity.

Author:

Translator (into French):

Haunted Montreal Blog #95 – Hôtel Place d’Armes

hauntedmontreal — Thu, 13 Jul 2023 07:00:00 +0000

Welcome to the ninety-fifth installment of the Haunted Montreal Blog!

Haunted Montreal’s seasons of public outdoor ghost tours is now in full swing! Offered every Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday night, we have four ghost tours on rotation (Old Montreal, Griffintown, Downtown and Mount Royal.)

Our Haunted Pub Crawl is also offered every Sunday at 3 pm in English. For tours in French, these happen on the last Sunday of every month at 4 pm.

Our Paranormal Investigation in the Old Sainte Antoine Cemetery happens on the first Friday and Saturday of every month.

Email info@hauntedmontreal.com to book a private tour!

Our Virtual Ghost Tour is also available on demand!

Want to give the gift of a haunted experience?

You can now order a Haunted Montreal Gift Certificate through our website. They are redeemable via Eventbrite for any of our in-person or virtual experiences. There is no expiration date.

Lastly, we have an online store for those interested in Haunted Montreal merchandise. More details are below in our Company News section!

This month we examine the Hôtel Place d’Armes, a boutique hotel in Old Montreal that allegedly hosts the ghost of a Lady in Black.

Haunted Research

The glorious Hôtel Place d’Armes occupies the south-eastern corner of Old Montreal’s most famous plaza. Opened in 2000, the boutique hotel with neo-Renaissance architecture caters to well-off tourists, corporate clients and the international jet-set crowd.

However, despite its prestige, some say that the hotel is haunted. During an interview in 2009, a top-notch concierge explained that a mysterious woman with a black dress and American accent haunts some of the suites.

The four historic buildings that house Hôtel Place d’Armes were originally constructed for pre-eminent Montreal businesses during the Victorian era.

The western-most building dates back to 1870, when the Great Scottish Life Insurance Company built a five-story edifice for its Montreal headquarters. Designed by architectural firm of Hopkins & Willy, the magnificent structure has withstood the test of time. Indeed, on November 7, 1975, the Quebec provincial government designated the building as an historic site.

At the turn of the millennium, the Antonopoulos Group purchased the Great Scottish Life Insurance Company building. Seeing its potential, being located in the heart of Old Montreal, they renovated the structure and re-opened it in 2000 as “Montreal’s first boutique hotel”.

According to Tourisme Montréal, “Boutique-hotel luxury is all about the particulars – the style, the amenities, the unique touches that are offered only there.”

Generally, boutique hotels are more expensive but offer a luxurious and unique experience. Clients tend to be more pampered. They can also usually purchase anything they wish to keep, such as bathrobes, slippers, pillows, beds, shaving mirrors and even the paintings on the walls.

Usually set in repurposed heritage buildings and located in desirable locations, Montreal has several of them. Tourisme Montréal invites visitors to book one, exclaiming: “Treat yourself to the personalized experiences hidden all over the downtown core, at Montréal’s beautiful boutique hotels, and start building lifelong travel memories.”

Upon opening, the Hôtel Place d’Armes was an immediate success. Due to high demand, it has since expanded considerably. Over the years, the Antonopoulos Group has purchased and incorporated three other buildings to the east on St. Jacques Street. These include the former People’s Bank, Alexander Cross Building and lastly an edifice built in 1899 by the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society of Montreal.

According to the hotel’s website: “We are proud to be a part of Old Montreal’s vibrant culture and one of the neighbourhood’s most distinguished architectural structures. Housed in four historic buildings, we offer a plethora of amenities, including two restaurants, a magnificent rooftop terrace, over 12,000 square feet of versatile meeting spaces, and an exquisite Hamman spa. As a cherished Old Montreal hotel, we’re popular with business and pleasure travelers alike.“

With a rating of 4.5 stars out of 5 on TripAdvisor, it is clear that the hotel is popular. Furthermore, unlike some other hotels, none of the low ratings of Hôtel Place d’Armes included complaints about ghosts or paranormal activity.

Indeed, it would seem that the ghostly lady haunting the hotel does not interact with clients, but rather with certain staff members.

On April 3, 2009, a McGill University History student interviewed Marie-Ève Larin, the Concierge of the Hôtel Place d’Armes at the time.

Marie-Ève Larin had been working there for about a year and a half at the time of the interview. Marie-Ève was handling both concierge and front desk jobs, providing service for 135 rooms, including suites and penthouses.

When working as a concierge, Marie-Ève’s job was to take care of client requests, such as arranging flowers, making dinner reservations, giving directions, and providing suggestions for tourist activities. While those requests are the most common ones, the concierge must literally answer every client’s wish, as long as it is legal (e.g. no drugs or escorts.)

There can be no denying that Marie-Ève was prepared for this type of specialized service work; after all, her official title is still “Concierge, Membre Clefs D’or Canada”. Following a process that took her over 3 years of intense professional development, full-time employment, and being severely tested by “mystery guests,” Marie-Ève was welcomed into the elite global order of concierges. Organized by the Union Internationale des Concierges d’Hôtels (UICH), Les Clefs D’or has approximately 4000 members working in over 80 countries and 530 destinations – spread over 5 continents.

Unlike all other countries where Les Clefs D’or operates, in Canada concierges must earn one golden key at a time, making the process that much more difficult. It is a sign of distinction to have earned the keys, and Marie-Ève was the youngest member in Canada to have been awarded them at just 25 years old. Marie-Ève’s considerable talents, efforts and accolades have not gone unnoticed; she has been sought after and recruited directly by many fine hotels in Montreal, including Hôtel Place d’Armes.

In addition to granting the client’s wishes, the concierge must also know the city inside and out in order to give them the best recommendations possible, such as locations for fine restaurants, extraordinary shopping opportunities, and the most enjoyable tourism activities. According to Marie-Ève, the biggest challenge of her job is to “always be on top of what’s going on in the city.”

With its hundreds of festivals, performances, and events, Montreal is famous for keeping its concierges constantly on their toes.

The best part of the job is “making people happy and making their stay in Montreal extraordinary,” said Marie-Ève, adding “It’s very rewarding.”

When asked about any negative sides of the job, while Marie-Ève noted that the hours in the busy summer season can be excessive, she personally doesn’t mind and actually thrives on it. There are also persistent rumours that the hotel is haunted, and some of the housekeeping staff fear entering certain rooms alone. “Hôtel Place d’Armes is divided into several historical buildings,” explained Marie-Ève, “the first one was the Great Scottish Life, which was an Insurance Company in the 1860s.” This section of the hotel maintains its old-world charm, and there have been reported ghost sightings, especially in Suites 1702, 1703, 1704 and 1705.

On several occasions housekeepers have noticed that a door to one of these Suites is ajar, and upon entering noticed a beautiful woman in her twenties, with long hair, who sometimes asks for a glass of water. When the staff member returns with the water, the woman is no longer there. “She vanishes into thin air,” according to Marie-Ève. These encounters usually happen when the room in question is unoccupied. On other occasions, staff servicing the mini-bars in each room reported seeing her wandering the hallways. Sometimes encounters with the beautiful, long-haired woman can be more terrifying.

There was one instance when a housekeeper noticed that the door of 1704 was ajar, and when she went to open it heard the woman’s voice telling her to “Come back later”. The housekeeper knew that the room was supposed to be unoccupied, so entered to confront the woman. What she saw caused her to panic: a thin, beautiful woman with long dark hair and wearing a long, black dress was standing on the ledge of a window, as though about to jump seven stories to her death.

“Don’t do it!” cried the housekeeper, but it was too late: the woman jumped. The housekeeper ran to the window and looked down on the street below. She was expecting to see a shattered corpse. However, there was no broken body or pool of blood. Where the victim’s corpse should have been was a flock of pigeons, pecking away at seeds on the sidewalk.

Terrified, the housekeeper quit her job shortly thereafter. While Marie-Ève did not have any personal theories about who this ghost might be, she was not bothered by the fact the hotel is haunted, saying it is all part of the job. Being a top-notch concierge means accepting whatever circumstances a hotel may have, including ghosts and paranormal activities.

When asked what skills a good concierge needs, Marie-Ève replied: “Strong people skills, patience, humour, resourcefulness, and always being a tourist in your own city! Dedication, most of all, is the key. I love my job, my city, and my guests… (ok, most of the guests.)” When asked if she would recommend the job of concierge to others, she said: “It’s the best job in the world! I would recommend it to everyone, but not everyone is cut for the long hours, meetings outside work, and dealing with everyone’s problems!”

With such exceptional service skills and a sterling reputation, Marie-Ève’s future was looking very bright. While she loved her job at Hôtel Place d’Armes, she aspired one day to become a concierge in Toronto, and perhaps after that in New York City: “Since I am a Clefs d’Or member,” she said, “my keys are valid everywhere in the world.”

It is worth noting that Marie-Ève Laurin has since moved on from the Hôtel Place d’Armes. Indeed, she was recently spotted working as the Concierge for American Express Centurion.

Returning to the mysterious ghostly woman, nobody really knows who she is or why she haunts the Hôtel Place d’Armes. Could she have been a client in mourning at the Great Scottish Life Insurance Company? Could she have jumped from the window because the life insurance of her deceased husband was denied? Could she have been a former guest at the hotel who somehow met her demise there? Could she be someone else? No evidence has been found in the historical record as of yet, so until more information becomes available there is only speculation.

Hopefully, one day the identity of this sad and ghostly woman in black will be revealed. Until then, the housekeepers at the Hôtel Place d’Armes will likely remain on their toes when working near Suites 1702, 1703, 1704 and 1705.

Company News

Our Haunted Pub Crawl is also offered every Sunday at 3 pm in English. For tours in French, these happen on the last Sunday of every month at 4 pm.

Our Paranormal Investigation in the Old Sainte Antoine Cemetery happens on the first Friday and Saturday of every month.

Email info@hauntedmontreal.com to book a private tour!

You can bring the Haunted Montreal experience to your office party, house, school or event by booking one of our Travelling Ghost Storytellers today. Hear some of the spookiest tales from our tours and our blog told by a professional actor and storyteller. You provide the venue, we provide the stories and storyteller. Find out more and then contact info@hauntedmontreal.com

Please like, subscribe and hit the bell!

In other news, if you want to send someone a haunted experience as a gift, you certainly can!

We are also offering Haunted Montreal Gift Certificates through our website and redeemable via Eventbrite for any of our in-person or virtual events (no expiration date).

Finally, we have opened an online store for those interested in Haunted Montreal merchandise. We are selling t-shirts, magnets, sweatshirts (for those haunted fall and winter nights) and mugs with both the Haunted Montreal logo and our tour imagery.

Purchases can be ordered through our online store.

Haunted Montreal would like to thank all of our clients who attended a ghost walk, haunted pub crawl, paranormal investigation or virtual event!

If you enjoyed the experience, we encourage you to write a review on our Tripadvisor page, something that really helps Haunted Montreal to market its tours.

Lastly, if you would like to receive the Haunted Montreal Blog on the 13th of every month, please sign up to our mailing list.

Coming up on August 13: Notre-Dame-des-Neiges Cemetery

The Catholic Notre-Dame-des-Neiges Cemetery is the largest burial ground in Canada. Featuring more than 65,000 monuments and 71 family vaults in a garden landscape, the cemetery contains the remains of over a million people. Not only is this vast graveyard reputed to be haunted, but in recent years it has witnessed all sort of deranged activity. Groundhogs have dug up numerous bones and sets of dentures. Trees have collapsed onto tombs during an ice storm. Hundreds of bodies are piled up awaiting burial due to striking gravediggers and other staff. To make matters worse, families are locked out and cannot even visit their Dead. Once Canada’s most picturesque burial ground, today Notre-Dame-des-Neiges Cemetery is a desolate, overgrown and forlorn place. With no maintenance, shattered trees and scattered bones, this massive graveyard has become a place of true horror.

Author:

Donovan King is a postcolonial historian, teacher, tour guide and professional actor. As the founder of Haunted Montreal, he combines his skills to create the best possible Montreal ghost stories, in both writing and theatrical performance. King holds a DEC (Professional Theatre Acting, John Abbott College), BFA (Drama-in-Education, Concordia), B.Ed (History and English Teaching, McGill), MFA (Theatre Studies, University of Calgary) and ACS (Montreal Tourist Guide, Institut de tourisme et d’hôtellerie du Québec). He is also a certified Montreal Destination Specialist.

Translator (into French):

Haunted Montreal Blog #94 – Old Montreal’s Forgotten Cemeteries

hauntedmontreal — Tue, 13 Jun 2023 17:19:03 +0000

Welcome to the ninety-fourth installment of the Haunted Montreal Blog!

Haunted Montreal’s seasons of public outdoor tours is now in full swing! Offered every Friday and Saturday night, we have four ghost tours on rotation (Old Montreal, Griffintown, Downtown and Mount Royal.)

Our Haunted Pub Crawl is also offered every Sunday at 3 pm in English. For tours in French, these happen on the last Sunday of every month at 4 pm.

Our Paranormal Investigation in the Old Sainte Antoine Cemetery happens on the first Friday and Saturday of every month.

Email info@hauntedmontreal.com to book a private tour!

Our Virtual Ghost Tour is also available on demand!

Want to give the gift of a haunted experience?

You can now order a Haunted Montreal Gift Certificate through our website. They are redeemable via Eventbrite for any of our in-person or virtual experiences. There is no expiration date.

Lastly, we have an online store for those interested in Haunted Montreal merchandise. More details are below in our Company News section!

This month we examine the numerous forgotten burial grounds that litter the historic district of Old Montreal – and the paranormal activity associated with them!

Haunted Research

The City of Montreal welcomes millions of tourists every year. Around 85% of them visit the historic district of Old Montreal. What these visitors likely do not realize is that they are literally walking over the Dead. Numerous forgotten cemeteries, which still lie beneath the streets and buildings, haunt Old Montreal.

Indeed, there are at least a dozen graveyards in the district. A handful of them are commemorated but most are totally forgotten. Almost all of these colonial burial grounds are reputed to be haunted.

Quebec City, which has mapped out its colonial burial grounds, is light years ahead of understanding where their colonial Dead are buried.

In Montreal, one must dig deep into historical accounts and old maps to try to piece together cemetery locations and statistics of the Deceased. There are some conflicting reports, but it is possible to obtain a good idea where these colonial graveyards were located. A tally of the graves listed in the registers of the Parish of Notre-Dame, between 1642 and 1800, reveals that Old Montreal served as the final resting place for more than 21,000 people.

Montreal’s first colonial cemetery sat right beside Fort Ville-Marie, as the original colony was called.

Founded on May 17, 1642, by the “Notre-Dame Society of Montreal for the Conversion of the Savage Peoples of New France”, the colony was built without permission on the Mohawk territory of Tiohtià:ke.

At the time of colonization, the Mohawk Nation was not in this part of their vast territory. When scouts discovered that the French were attempting to colonize Tiohtià:ke, a brutal war erupted between the French and the Haudenosaunee (an alliance of Five First Nations at the time, including the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga and Seneca.)

Needless to say, when there is warfare cemeteries tend to fill up quickly.

The first colonial burial site in Montreal was at Pointe-à-Callière, on the piece of land jutting out where the St. Pierre and St. Lawrence Rivers met. The first interment took place on June 9, 1643. The deceased was Guillaume Boissier, a carpenter from Limousin in France.

Over the next 11 years, 37 more people would be buried there. Many settlers and their allies died in warfare with the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, who were defending Mohawk territory from the French colonization efforts.

This was one of the few cemeteries ever to have both Europeans and Indigenous people buried together. Twelve bodies are Indigenous from the Anishinaabe and Wendat First Nations, which were allied with the French colonists. As for the French colonists who perished, the archives include well-known names such as Archambault, Bonenfant, David, Hébert, Tessier and Thibault.

In The First Catholic Cemeteries of Montreal, this burial ground was described as “a large meadow enlivened with the warblings of beautifully feathered birds, and adorned with a variety of the most exquisite flowers.”

However, due to its location between two rivers, the Pointe-à-Callière cemetery frequently flooded. Such was the case on January 15, 1654, for the burial of a colonist named Frangois Dhaidin. It is noted in the burial register that the floodwaters prevented access. As such, he was buried elsewhere in a location that is unknown today.

Furthermore, bodies were only buried 30 to 50 centimeters below the ground. With the cycle of freezing and thawing, the bones sometimes rose to the surface.

Due to these ongoing and macabre problems, the cemetery closed in 1654, paving the way for a second burial ground in the gardens of the Hotel-Dieu Hospital. It was located at the corner of Saint-Paul and Saint-Sulpice streets near the hospital chapel.

Today, the remarkable first cemetery is located within the Pointe-à-Callière Archaeology Museum. Officials decided to excavate seven tombs, which are on display in the museum’s basement. The remaining bodies still lie beneath the floorboards.

In 1654, a new cemetery was laid out in the in the garden of the Hôtel-Dieu, at the corner of Saint-Paul and Saint-Sulpice Streets. The site may have been chosen because of the presence of the hospital chapel.

The first burial was a colonist named François d’Haidin. As the years passed and the war with the Haudenosaunee Confederacy continued, the cemetery began to fill up with those killed in battle and others who had died of diseases, accidents, or natural causes.

The cemetery had two annexes, one for the poor and one for Indigenous people, whom the French referred to by the racist term “savages”.

Several years after its establishment, cattle started wandering through the burial ground, grazing and defecating on the hallowed ground. After numerous complaints, religious authorities held a meeting on November 30, 1674, in one of the rooms of the seminary. They resolved to build a wooden fence around the cemetery to keep the beasts from disturbing the dead.

The city’s third cemetery was opened in 1673 when authorities realized that the hospital cemetery would soon be full.

The new graveyard was situated in the commons between today’s St. Paul, St. Sacrement, St. Eloi and St. Pierre streets.

Unfortunately, this third cemetery also suffered from flooding, both in the spring an autumn. Colonists also allowed cattle to graze there.

Approximately 400 people were buried in these commons between 1673 and 1682.

Then, in 1683, the Notre-Dame Parish sold the land at auction. With a church under construction, they needed the money. A colonist named Charles de Couagne purchased the burial ground for the sum of 955 livres. He then subdivided it into plots of land and sold them to other colonists.

A map from 1695 shows that just three years after it closed, several homes had been built over the Dead.

Today, the area is dense with historic buildings but there is no indication that they sit on this old cemetery. There are numerous reports of paranormal activity in this area of Old Montreal, such as floating orbs, disembodied voices and undead spirits roaming the streets at night.

In 1680, the construction of the first Notre-Dame Church included a fourth and more permanent graveyard to welcome the dead on its south-east side. Catholics strived to be buried as close as possible to their place of worship and so it was a popular location to spend eternity.

The parish purchased neighboring lots over the years on several occasions when the cemetery needed to be expanded.

It is also noteworthy that people were buried inside the newly-constructed Notre-Dame Church.

A documentary video called In the Shadow of Notre-Dame highlights excavation work at the site of the old Notre Dame Church. In 2001, the ministère de la Culture, des Communications et de la Condition féminine and the City of Montréal assigned archaeologists to examine and then move these graves. They discovered over 100 skeletons in the old crypt and its environs. After recording and analyzing every single bone, the remains were reburied in the Notre-Dame-des-Neiges cemetery on Mount Royal.

Another cemetery was opened in the Place d’Armes in 1685, but was again only used for a few years. It was on a lot at the northwest corner of St. Jacques and St. Francois-Xavier Streets. This graveyard remained in use for only a few years until the bodies were apparently moved to another site a short distance to the west.

In this cemetery, a chapel had been built in the place where the Bank of Montreal is today to deposit the bodies awaiting burial.

With all of the warfare, death and burials, the French authorities decided to fortify the colony. From 1687 to 1689, workers constructed a wooden palisade around the city.

Later, between 1717 and 1744, these were upgraded into stone walls. The fortifications were built by Chaussegros de Lery, a military engineer during the reign of King Louis XV.

The Place d’Armes cemetery would continue expanding westwards, with corpses usually buried beside the stone fortifications.

In 1718, a new cemetery was created, outside the wall. It was beside the new Charon Brothers General Hospital and was opened while the stone walls were being completed.

Located outside the city walls, the General Hospital opened in 1694. As a charitable foundation, its main objective was to care for the poor, orphans, the elderly, those vulnerable and single women.

In 1747, management of the hospital was transferred to Sainte-Marie-Marguerite d’Youville and the Order of the Grey Nuns. In addition to its main cemetery, the hospital also included a cemetery for the poor.

When work was done refurbishing St. Pierre Street in 1991, archaeologists discovered a mass grave under the road. They removed the skeletons of several children. Granite markers were then placed on the road to highlight the cemetery’s footprint and an interpretive sign was installed next to the old General Hospital.

In 1749, a new cemetery was created near the Powder Magazine, allegedly for the poor. This was slightly west of the Place d’Armes Cemetery.

Indeed, it would seem that burial grounds continued to expand westwards along the northern city wall, and then beyond some.

This is where is becomes difficult to ascertain how to separate all these burial grounds, which are now both forgotten and desecrated.

According to the late historian E.A. Collard:

“The principal cemeteries were just inside the northern wall marked by Fortification Lane today. They occupied the area beginning close to the wall and extending down to about the middle of what is now St. James Street. And they ran from about St. Francois-Xavier Street (rue Saint- Francois-Xavier) to the present beginnings of Victoria Square. This means that the buildings on the north side of St. James Street today are standing in these old cemeteries. When the custom of burying “within the walls” was abandoned, most of the old bones were left lying where they had been interred.”

Indeed, when Montreal capitulated to the British in 1760, the new colonial masters also created Protestant cemeteries in the same vicinity along the walls.

Given all of the luxurious buildings constructed over the cemeteries along St. James Street, many question if they are haunted due to being built over the Dead.

For example, the French Catholics created separate cemeteries for the poor, Black people and Indigenous people.

The February, 1885 edition of La Patrie noted in a column called “Le Bon Vieux Temps: “Speaking of slaves, I must say that the Negro cemetery in Montreal in 1800 was a plot of land located at the corner of St Jacques and St Pierre streets, precisely on the spot where the Mechanics Institute was built.”

Indeed, in 1855 the Mechanics Institute was built on the former cemetery for Black people. The mandate of this organization was to “educate workers for the emerging industries of the growing city.“ Apparently, that “education” did not include any Black History or the fact that a Black burial ground was desecrated to allow the construction of the Institute.

Today, the former Royal Bank of Canada occupies the site and hosts the popular Crew Collective & Café.

This high-end café and co-working space is reputed to experience paranormal activity such as malfunctioning coffee machines, flickering lights and doors opening and closing by themselves.

Another example can be found on a colonial map where the cartographer noted a “Cimetière des sauvages” (a racist expression for an Indigenous cemetery) just outside the city walls to the north of the Sulpician Seminary.

There is very little historical knowledge about who was buried there or why.

Was the cemetery for the Indigenous people killed or executed by French authorities? Was it for those who converted to Catholicism and then passed away? Or was the cemetery already present when the French started colonizing the island? It is certainly a mystery.

Today, there is a luxury condominium on the site called Les Étoiles and there is not even a historical plaque to mark the now-destroyed Indigenous cemetery. Rumours swirl that the underground parking in this building is haunted, although the details are thin and more research is required.

Another example is the St. James Theatre, which exists in the former Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. This magnificent building was constructed in 1907 on the site a former Methodist Church.

The Great St. James Street Church, built in 1845, was considered Montreal’s most comfortable and welcoming house of worship.

With its magnificent interior and beautiful stained-glass windows, parishioners absolutely loved attending services here. Indeed, the Methodist Church made many converts because of the Great St. James Street Church’s positive reputation.

Some people called the church “Heaven on Earth.” It was said that when parishioners passed away their souls drifted up into the rafters of the church because they wanted to spend eternity there.

When the church was demolished to make way for the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, a decision was made to incorporate the stained glass windows into the wall behind the banking counter.

During construction, workers uncovered two skeletons when digging the foundations of the bank. Given that forgotten cemeteries exist all over Old Montreal, the find was creepy but no surprising.

As the bank neared completion, there were rumors that it might become cursed or haunted. Replacing a house of worship with a house of Capitalism was likely to displease God, after all.

Sure enough, strange paranormal activity started happening once the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce opened its doors.

From the first day of operation, bank tellers encountered disturbing feelings of unease. The most common description was as though someone – or something – was staring at them from behind.

As the days and weeks passed, the feelings of discomfort intensified. The bank began to take on the atmosphere of a funeral home.

There were problems with the employees such as a high turnover and frequent absences.

Then something truly bizarre began to happen. The beautiful stained-glass windows behind the tellers’ desk began to slowly change. Some parts of vibrant red, green, yellow and blue glass began fading to the color of human bone. Within a month, the image of two large human skulls had appeared within the stained-glass windows, staring down at clients and the backs of the bank clerks.

The building also housed the Montreal offices of the White Star Line. It is where the tickets for the RMS Titanic were sold. On April 15th, 1912, when the Titanic hit an iceberg and sank, the bank to became even more disturbing and ostracized.

As the years passed, the problems persisted. Employees hated working there and clients complained that the skulls staring down at them from the stained-glass windows were ruining their banking experience. They claimed that the skulls intimidated them and brought on bad luck. Some clients started moving investments and accounts to other banks because of the morose employees and terrifying skulls in the windows.

Because the situation was becoming unbearable. In the early 1960s, officials made a decision to build a new, modern 45-story CIBC bank tower. The head office vacated the St. James location in 1962 for the new downtown location.

In 2012, the old bank was finally repurposed. The owners of The Rialto Theatre purchased the former Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and re-branded it as The St. James Theatre. After a full renovation, today it is a high-end venue that hosts weddings, parties and private corporate events.

While it’s unknown if whatever spirits that haunted the bank continue to disturb the theatre, the bizarre skulls continue to stare down from the stained-glass windows at the fancy events that unfold within the venue.

There are also other crypts full of bodies in Old Montreal, such as those of the Notre-Dame Basilica and Notre-Dame-de-Bonsecours Church. Other since-demolished churches, chapels and the Motherhouse of the Sisters of Notre-Dame may also contain forgotten remains under the ground.

In 1799, the Attorney General of Lower Canada abruptly halted all burials “within the walls”.

One consequence of the British take-over was the influx of Protestant settlers, which put a lot more pressure on the small cemeteries within the walls. The population had quadrupled within 40 years, reaching up to 5000 city-dwellers. Space was running out to bury the Dead within the City Walls.

As such, the cemeteries were busting at the seams and could no longer accommodate the endless corpses being sent there.

There were fears that with so many dead bodies in the vicinity, contagious diseases like Cholera and Smallpox might spread from beyond the graves of those affected by these ailments.

As such, the churchwardens of the Notre Dame Parish submitted their petition to close the burial grounds once and for all. The Attorney General of Lower Canada approved the petition and demanded the closure of all the cemeteries “within the walls”.

In response, authorities opened up two large new cemeteries in 1799. Well away from the city proper, officials established both the Protestant Burying Ground and the Catholic Saint-Antoine Cemetery to welcome the over-flow of the Dead. Once these were full in the mid-1800s, new cemeteries were opened atop Mount Royal.

Today, those roaming the cobblestone streets of Old Montreal are literally walking over the Dead. Hopefully, with more research, Montreal will one day be able to publish its own authentic map of all the forgotten cemeteries littering the historic district.

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Our Haunted Pub Crawl is also offered every Sunday at 3 pm in English. For tours in French, these happen on the last Sunday of every month at 4 pm.

Our Paranormal Investigation in the Old Sainte Antoine Cemetery happens on the first Friday and Saturday of every month.

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Coming up on July 13: Hôtel Place d’Armes

In 2009, the concierge at the luxurious Hôtel Place d’Armes in Old Montreal revealed that the building is haunted. Suite 1703 is said to host a mysterious woman who sometimes asks Room Service for a glass of water. However, when they bring it to her, she vanishes into thin air. Described as “a thin, beautiful woman with long dark hair and wearing a long, black dress,” the ghost has an American accent and is known to disturb staff members with her paranormal antics.

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