In July 2019, Haunted Montreal published a story about the Haunted Statue of Jacques Cartier in Saint-Henri Park. Towering above the greenspace, the statue features the French explorer along with colonial words and racist depictions of decapitated Indigenous heads spitting out water. It also has a paranormal history that has disturbed numerous people, triggered at least one divorce and caused many other problems.

Built in Montreal in 1865, Relief was a 65-ton steamer. Its mission was to transport raw lumber from Ottawa to Burlington, Vermont by towing the logs on barges or scows. The journey took about a week to 10 days and involved a precipitous journey, involving rivers, canals, locks, rapids, American customs, and finally Lake Champlain. The voyage also involved a passage through the Lachine Canal in Montreal, with a stop at St. Gabriel’s lock in the notorious neighborhood of Griffintown.

We asked a security guard about the ghosts in the building, and he assured us they were all gone. When asked if anyone had done an exorcism, he said no. In fact, the guard was adamant that Maison Pierre du Calvet was no longer haunted. He seemed annoyed at our line of questioning, so we departed. The following day another guard was present who seemed more accommodating...