Lachine Canal

Haunted Montreal Blog #133 – Montreal’s Haunted Steamship

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.

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

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

Haunted Montreal Blog #51 – Lachine Canal

Since the canal officially opened in 1825, hundreds of people have drowned in its dark waters. These included suicides, murder victims, people who drowned while swimming and those who died during industrial accidents. The polluted banks are also peppered with old buildings, many being repurposed into condominiums, that are reputed to be haunted. Last but not least, not only are ghost ships known to ply the canal’s waters, but there are also an unknown number of bodies buried along its length. Mostly victims of the Irish Famine of 1847, these forgotten corpses of desperate refugees result in all sorts of ghosts and paranormal activity along the canal.

Haunted Montreal Blog #7 – Hauntings at the Wellington Tunnel

Today the tunnel is used by people who know about its secret entrance. Homeless people sometimes use it for shelter and occasionally artists host clandestine vernissages (art exhibitions) and illegal rave parties. While the tunnel beneath the Lachine Canal is definitely spacious, it is also rumoured to be haunted, according to many of its users. Firstly, there are reports of a growling noise that emanates from within the darkness of the tunnel. According to one man who was contemplating sleeping rough in the tunnel, he heard what sounded like a large animal growling menacingly at him, so he decided to abandon his plan.