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 13th 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 13th! The blog is published in both English and French!

Our newest tour, Colonial Secrets of Old Montreal, has launched and now runs every Wednesday and Saturday at 2pm in English and 4pm in French. Meanwhile our full slate or outdoor walking tours and paranormal investigations is up and running for the summer season.

Our Haunted Pub Crawl continues to run every Sunday at 3pm in English, and the last Sunday of each month at 2pm in French.

More information in our Company News Section.

After a successful Mary Gallagher event, we’ve decided to stay in Griffintown and take a look at another legend from the neighbourhood’s shantytown days: The Dog-Faced Man.

Haunted Research

In the 1886, the citizens of Griffintown began to panic after numerous reports surfaced of a “Dog-Faced Man” wreaking havoc in the neighbourhood. Montreal newspapers variously described it as an “apparition”, a “strange being”, a “terror inspiring hybrid”, a “departed person”, a “creature” and the “mystery”.

After frantic citizens rushed to Police Station No. 7 to report their sightings, officers set out to try and arrest the creature – to no avail. As one of the greatest Griffintown urban legends of the 1800s, many people tried to identify who or what was behind the mysterious dog-headed man plaguing the rundown neighborhood.

Dog-faced men have appeared throughout global history since antiquity. Stories of dog-headed humans (also known as Cynocephali) are among the world’s oldest and most widespread legends. Indeed, they have appeared across Greek, Roman, medieval European, and Chinese histories.

One early account of a dog-headed man was actually a Catholic martyr. Saint Christoper, who lived sometime in the middle 3rd century to the early 4th century, has many legends attributed to him.

According to the medieval Irish Passion of St. Christopher, “This Christopher was one of the Dog-heads, a race that had the heads of dogs and ate human flesh.”

As the story goes, once he converted to Catholicism, he drew the ire of the Roman Emperor Decius. He would eventually be beheaded by imperial authorities after miraculously surviving many execution attempts.

Later, in the 13th Century, famous explorer Marco Polo claimed to have encountered dog-headed people on the Andaman Islands. He described them as cruel cannibals with heads like mastiffs who grew their own spices.

In the following century. two dog-headed men appear in the 1300 Hereford Mappa Mundi. They are labelled as “Gigantes,” the Latin word for giants.

This famous medieval world map depicts the canine creatures in the remote regions of Asia, warning travelers of their presence.

In the 16th-century, a Spanish nobleman named Petrus Gonsalvus is remembered for living with congenital hypertrichosis (also known as “werewolf syndrome”). The rare genetic condition caused excessive hair to grow over his face and body. His life has often been linked to the famous story of Beauty and the Beast.

In the late 1800s, dog-faced men were highly sought after by circuses such as P. T. Barnum and Baileys for freak shows. At the time of the Griffintown sightings in 1886, citizens were likely aware of Russian sideshow performer with congenital hypertrichosis named “Jo-Jo the Dog-Faced Boy”.

His real name was Fedor Jeftichew and P.T. Barnum brought him to the United States of America in 1884 to boost his career. Ironically, while his persona of Jo-Jo only growled at spectators, Jeftichew was well-educated and spoke English, German and Russian.

He became internationally famous under his stage name and was considered one of the best-known sideshow performers of the late nineteenth century.

In other words, at the time of the Griffintown sightings, many residents had likely heard all sorts of wild tales of dog-headed men. This could have fired up people’s imaginations

The first story in Griffintown surfaced in the Montreal Daily Post in February 1886. Titled THE DOG FACED MAN. HE LEAVES ST. GABRIEL AND VISITS GRIFFINTOWN, the article stated:

“The sensation caused in St. Gabriel village by the sudden appearance of a “mystery” in the form of a man with a dog’s head has not yet subsided, and peace and tranquility will hardly be restored for some time. It was alleged that parties had been arrested on suspicion as being guilty of playing this practical joke, but such is not the case. Having created a disturbance and excitement in St. Gabriel village for up wards of two weeks, the dog faced party now appears in Griffintown.”

The article then brought up specific sightings of the creature:

“On Saturday night, about 11.30 o’clock, two men were returning home by way of Ottawa street, when they suddenly paused with fright at seeing the subject of their conversation – the “mystery” – in front of them. As may be imagined, they did not wait to make an investigation, but took to their heels. This adventure was circulated, and soon became the general topic of conversation. Last night again, about 10:30 o’clock, the apparition was seen at the corner of Young and Ottawa streets by several persons, who were too frightened to investigate. It is said that it was chased into an old building at the corner of Ottawa and Young streets on Sunday night, to find any traces of the supposed spirit.”

Walking through the Griff at night in 1886 could be very frightening. Gas lamps or coal-oil lamps were located at intersections and spaced 100 – 150 feet apart on streets, creating a dark and flickering eerie environment. The ramshackle buildings, spooky alleyways and high crime rate only added to the sense of insecurity of being out at night.

As such, many Griffintown residents were terrified of encountering the dog-faced man and either avoided going out after sundown or travelled at night in groups through the dark streets for mutual protection.

The Montreal Daily Post article concluded:

“The superstitious element are at the highest pitch of excitement and are thoroughly satisfied that the spirit of some departed person is travelling around. The timid folks are keeping good hours and for the past day are not anxious to stroll around the streets after seven or eight o’clock at the latest.”

As the days passed, the rumours and hysteria began to build. The police and some of the braver citizens launched investigations and speculated who or what might be behind the disturbance. Efforts were made to calm the public with some officials even claiming the whole story was a fabrication.

The Montreal Daily Post soon posted a follow-up articled titled THE DOG-FACED MAN. HIS APPEARANCE AT THE BONAVENTURE DEPOT — A CARTER’S FRIGHT — MR. BAIN SEES THE MYSTERY:

“The stories narrated regarding the appearance of the dog-faced man, although by the great majority of people believed as without foundation, are becoming more interesting and widely circulated. As previously reported in The Post, he remained for some time in St. Gabriel village and then appeared in Griffintown. Remarkable incidents are told of his doings during his stay in that place, and the sensation caused among the timid element. The whole affair was regarded as a fabrication, but several men have received such a fright that they are lying sick in bed as a result.”

The newspaper gave the following example:

“In confirmation of the above it may be said that yesterday morning about a quarter to one the genial motorman of No. 7 electric station, Young street, was disturbed by the sudden entrance of Mr. Patrick Bain, who resides on Murray street, in a frightened and trembling condition. He asked for several liniments, but on being requested by Sergeant Crowe to explain the cause of his agitation, he said that he encountered the dog-faced man at the corner of Young and Ottawa streets. He gave a thorough description of the strange being, and when he became sufficiently pacified his story was listened to. He said that he met the mystery at the corner and asked him who he was, receiving in reply a growl. The affair then disappeared in the yard at the rear of a grocery store near by. Sergeant Crowe, with the reserve men, instituted a search, but found nothing.”

The journalist then explained:

“They, however, met several men armed with sticks who narrated another tale, in the effect that an hour previous to the incident just mentioned the “mystery” created a sensation at the Bonaventure depot, and they were in pursuit of it. A carter named Bowes, who was on St. James street West, near the depot, received such a shock that he fell from his seat in the sleigh, and, it is alleged, sustained a fracture to the arm. No matter how doubtful the reports concerning this strange affair may be, there remains something to solve before the prevalent sensation subsides.”

On Saturday, March 6, The Montreal Daily Post published another article on the topic, this one titled THAT DOG-FACED MAN. A CARTER’S PRANKS—CORRESPONDENCE REGARDING THE MYSTERY. In this publication, there was speculation that a copycat was at work:

“As regards the dog-faced man, whose mischievous deeds are becoming widely circulated throughout the city, and all the topic of general conversation, it may be said that parties are now imitating the original party’s deeds, as may be seen by the following which is received on good authority:— A few nights ago a carter at the Bonaventure depot arranged a piece of cloth into a mask and placing it over his face, commenced pulling the sleigh robes off the sleighs of his confreres. The latter could not account for the mysterious doings and decided to watch. They finally succeeded in catching what they supposed to be the dog faced man, but who turned out to be one of their fellow carters.”

The same edition also featured a letter to the Editor by a man named Angus C. MacDonell, M.D., who tried to put the story to bed.

“To the Editor of The Post:

DEAR SIR,—As one of the many attempts to solve the “mystery” of the dog-headed man, I may relate the following facts:—A facetious neighbor of mine (a farrier), when I was living in St. Joseph street some years ago, made himself a cap out of a wolf’s head which he used to wear on his jollification sleigh drives, and with his shaggy grey fur coat looked like a veritable gigantic wolf, bearing the reins in his paws. It is not unlikely that a similar cap, worn by some mischievous scamp, is the cause of the trouble, and no doubt he enjoys the joke immensely. The sudden disappearance of the apparition is easily accounted for by the simple fact that no scared person, credulous enough to believe in the existence of ghosts and fairies, would care to look a second time at the object of his fright.”

Over a month later, on Thursday, April 15, The Daily Witness reported that the mystery had finally been resolved. The article was titled THE DOG-FACED MAN FOUND. SERGEANT HILTON SOLVES THE MYSTERY – HE SEES THE APPARITION AND MORALIZES:

“Sergeant Hilton, of No. 2 Station, thinks that he has solved the wonderful mystery that has enveloped several localities in this city, and caused a reign of terror” among the timid living there, namely, the identity of the notorious dog faced man. Since the Sergeant started on his fruitless search for the terror inspiring hybrid he has been on the look out for it, but lately the creature has apparently avoided being seen for some reason, presumably best known to itself. A few nights ago, as the sergeant was passing the corner of Delormier avenue and Notre Dame street, he saw lying on the sidewalk what he took to be the body of a man, but which, on closer inspection, proved to be an enormous Newfoundland dog, the property of a saloon keeper who lives on that corner. It was on this identical corner where the three men were so badly frightened by the alleged hybrid in question. Besides having the appearance of a man in the position it lies, the dog has habit of standing on its hind legs against fences and looking around at people as they pass, and in the dark would much resemble a dog-faced man. This mistake, the Sergeant says, is particularly liable to happen when the persons who see the dog come out of the above saloon with more whiskey than they can conveniently carry in their head, and the brain in a condition to transform any object into anything else.”

The following day, The Montreal Daily Star, published an article confirming the story. Simply titled The Dog-Faced Man, the text read as follows:

“Sergeant Hilton believes he has solved the mystery of the dog-faced man. It appears that it is nothing more than a large Newfoundland dog which has the habit of standing on its hind legs against fences. It looks around at people as they pass, and in the dark one might easily mistake it for a dog-faced man.”

However, the explanation did not bury the story. Skeptical residents noted that the corner of Delormier Avenue and Notre Dame Streets, where the Newfoundland dog was spotted, is far of the east of Griffintown.

Given that most sightings occurred near the corner of Young and Ottawa streets, many questioned if Sergeant Hilton was simply trying to put the story to rest to quell the fear.

The story of Griffintown’s dog-faced man did not truly die until June 27, 1879. That was the day Montreal experienced the most sensational murder of the century in Griffintown itself.

When sex worker Mary Gallagher was hacked apart and beheaded with an axe in a tenement house on the corner of William and Murray streets, all conversation turned to the murder scandal.

Indeed, it is still being talked about to this very day, with reports that her ghost returns to the site every seven years in search of her missing head.

The paranormal event recently happened on June 27, 2026 and Haunted Montreal was threre to welcome her back.

The activities started at 8 p.m. with a candlelight vigil where guests could light a candle an say a prayer for Mary Gallagher.

At 8:30 p.m., talented Mohawk artist MC Show unveiled a maquette of a proposed statue on the corner of William and Murray Streets to commemorate the Irish legend. It features four children leaving candies for Headless Mary’s ghost in an attempt to protect themselves from her wrath.

Plans are now underway to create a full sized statue in bronze as a permanent commemoration to mark the site, as mentioned in The Eastern Door newspaper.

Following the unveilling, Haunted Montreal offered free storytelling sessions and then a paranormal investigation leading up to midnight. While nobody saw Headless Mary, unlike in 2019 when there were four witnesses, some strange things did happen.

Firstly, an image was taken of the entrance of Pavillion F, the new building on the site of the house where Mary Gallagher was murdered in 1879. The photographer later noticed something unusual and zoomed in, revealing what could be a headless ghost in a long dress trying to enter the building.

Given that according to the legend she returns to look for her missing head, it is entirely possible she was trying to access the building on the site where she was decapitated.

Later, at midnight, when Headless Mary traditionally returns, clients noted flickering lights in Pavillion F, cameras malfunctioning and the sound of explosions, which may have been fireworks. One guest claimed:

“When me and other people were in a circle watching the paranormal equipment and asking questions I felt a light tap on my back thinking someone wanted me to move so they could see better and when I turned around no one was there. Maybe my imagination maybe not. Who knows?”

After a thorough investigating, Haunted Montreal believes that the ghost of Mary Gallagher’s return was inconclusive. Her next scheduled appearance is in 2033.

Returning to the main story, whether the dog-faced man of Griffintown was a real creature, a person with werewolf syndrome, a deranged prankster or just the result of wild imaginations will likely never be known.

What is known is that for several terrifying months in 1886 the citizens of Griffintown were subjected to sightings of the monster, wild rumours, rampant speculation and various police investigations.

Whether or not the dog-faced man will ever return to the newly gentrified Griffintown remains to be seen.

Company News

Haunted Montreal has now fully launched Colonial Secrets of Old Montreal. This indigenous-led daytime tour hosted by Sophie-Claude Miller sets its sights on smashing the tourist gaze.

It runs every Wednesday and Saturday at 2pm in English and at 4pm in French throughout July and August. Get your tickets now!

We are running Haunted Old Montreal in English Wednesdays through Sundays in July, and Tuesdays through Sundays in August. Haunted Griffintown, Haunted Mountain, and Haunted Downtown will alternate in English on Fridays in July and Saturdays in August.

In French, we are running Vieux-Montréal hanté every Friday and Mont-Royal hanté every Saturday during July and August.

Paranormal Investigations in Sainte-Antoine Cemetery and Colonial Old Montreal have returned, and are joined this year by a new Old Montreal investigation focused on spirits from the New France Era.

Meanwhile, our Haunted Pub Crawl runs every Sunday at 3pm in English (except for June 19th due to the World Cup Final) and the last Sunday of each month in French at 2pm. Come have some spirits with some spirits!

Private tours for any 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 are based on the availability of our actors and start at $250 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.

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

Holly and Dr. Mab are back! Now part of Stygian Media, they will continue releasing Haunted Montreal videos based on our blogs in English and French among other horror-themed content.

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 August 13: Update on Maison Pierre du Calvet

In July 2017, Haunted Montreal reported on Maison Pierre du Calvet, a well-known haunted house in Old Montreal. Constructed in 1725, the ancient home most recently served as a spooky bed and breakfast frequented by celebrities and ghost hunters. Today, the building is being transformed into the latest pavilion of the PHI Centre, an organization and museum that promotes contemporary artists. With a postmodern design that combines historic structures with glassy walls, many are wondering how the ghosts of the original home will react to the new museum.

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.

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 13th 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 13th! The blog is published in both English and French!

Our full slate of haunted walking tours is up and running, as our our Paranormal Investigations. Our Haunted Pub Crawl continues every Sunday at 3pm in English, and at 2pm in French the last Sunday of each month. More on this in our Company News Section.

And speaking of company news, let’s get right into it. This month, we revisit the story of Headless Mary, the city’s most famous ghost story…as Mary’s ghost is set to revisit us!

Haunted Research

Every seven years on the anniversary of her murder, the headless ghost of Mary Gallagher returns to on the corner of William and Murray Streets in Griffintown. Her last appearance was on June 27, 2019, which means she is returning again this year.

Haunted Montreal is planning a host of activities to welcome her back!

Mary Gallagher’s last visit was on June 27, 2019. At the time, Haunted Montreal organized a series of activities, starting with the blessing by a priest in collaboration with the AOH (Ancient Order of Hibernians).

There was also a clandestine bar set up on a concrete block in the yard. Here, a mysterious barman served up the infamous “Headless Mary Cocktail” to guests attending the experience (recipe below).

Haunted Montreal then offered numerous Griffintown ghost walks, back to back.

We also arranged live storytelling of the Headless Mary ghost story on the corner of William and Murray Streets every half hour from 7 – 10 pm in English and French.

At the time, the corner of William and Murray Streets was derelict and the house where Mary was murdered was nothing more than a vacant yard. The atmosphere was dark, creepy and perfect for ghost-sightings.

Over the course of the evening, hundreds of people showed up for the various activities. As the hours passed and the sky got darker, soon our offerings concluded into a final activity: a séance.

Situated in the vacant lot where Mary Gallager was murdered in 1879, the séance began at 10 pm. Conducted by psychics and mediums, it wasn’t long before a large crowd had assembled.

As the clock ticked down to midnight, the crowd got more and more excited – and fearful.

At 11:58 pm, as the crowd was waiting to see if Mary’s ghost would return, security guards from the École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS) burst onto the scene. Explaining that the school owned the land, they demanded that everyone leave.

The crowd began to panic when the guards moved in, just as the clock was about to strike midnight.

In the chaos that ensued, people began running away, but the psychics and mediums refused to leave. As the bell struck midnight, Headless Mary’s ghost returned according to multiple witnesses, including those hosting the séance. Some people screamed and others bolted. Even one of the ETS security guards allegedly ran away!

It was a chaotic climax for the Mary Gallagher commemoration event!

Now, on June 27^th, 2026, she may return again.

However, this time will be different. The vacant lot, the site of her murder, no longer exists. It has been replaced with an ETS building called Pavilion F. With its glassy, postmodern architecture, the building has transformed the site from borderline terrifying to somewhat banal.

At six-stories tall, Pavilion F features nearly 30 classrooms, open learning areas, study rooms, offices for research centers and other amenities.

It was designed with a total surface area of over 13,000 m² and space to accommodate 2,375 students, professors and other staff members.

During the planning stages for Pavilion F in 2019, Haunted Montreal sent representatives to plead with the ETS to preserve and commemorate the infamous corner. We explained that for well over a century, Irish storytellers have been using the spot to recount the deranged tale of Mary Gallagher’s headless ghost.

Happily, the ETS complied with Haunted Montreal’s request and ensured that Pavilion F preserved the corner intact.

However, despite this win for the local Irish community, the atmosphere certainly isn’t what it used to be. Regardless, Haunted Montreal is again planning a host of activities on June 27^th, 2026, to welcome Headless Mary in collaboration with the ETS.

In addition to the blessing, we are planning a candlelight vigil, ghost tours, free storytelling and a very special project!

Alan Hustak concluded his 2005 book The ghost of Griffintown: the true story of the murder of Mary Gallagher with the following words: “So long as Griffintown’s spirit remains alive, so too will the spirit of Mary Gallagher.”

To preserve some of history and spirit of the Griff, Haunted Montreal has commissioned talented Mohawk artist MC Snow to help realize our vision of a permanent commemoration on the corner.

MC Snow has created a prototype, a scaled down version of the proposed artwork and we will be unveiling it on June 27^th!

Here is the full schedule for June 27, also known as “Mary Gallagher Day”:

Haunted Griffintown Ghost Tours

Our Haunted Griffintown Ghost Tour runs from Rockaberry Griffintown to William and Murray in English starting at 5:30pm, 7:30pm, and 9:30pm (and in French starting at 5pm, 7pm and 9pm) with possibly more tours added.

A professional actor and storyteller will guide guests through the Griff and the tour lasts approximately 90 minutes.

Sample the Headless Mary Cocktail

Participating bars and pubs will be serving their own versions of the Headless Mary Cocktail. Stay tuned for participating locations!

You can also try the original recipe at home:

Headless Mary Cocktail:

Glass rimmed with V8 and then dipped into kosher salt

Ice

2oz Jamieson 

Salt, pepper, tobacco Worcestershire and one decapitated minnow fish

Filled with tomato juice

Garnished with a leek sliced like a lemon 

Free Events on the corner of William and Murray Streets:

We will be unveiling a sculpture from renowned Mohawk artist MC Snow commemorating the legend of Mary Gallagher. This will be part of a ceremony kicking off with a blessing and a candlelit vigil.

We will also offer free live storytelling and tarot readings by Stygian Media, all at the corner of William and Murray.

Here is the schedule:

8pm: Blessing and Start of Candlelight Vigil

8:30pm: MC Snow’s Statue Unveiling

9-10:30pm: Live Storytelling and Tarot Readings

11:00-12:00: Paranormal Investigation

Dominique Desormeaux will lead a free paranormal investigation, starting at 11pm, awaiting Mary’s return.

Please bring your own ghost hunting apps and equipment.

Midnight

The hour Mary Gallagher’s Headless Ghost Traditionally Returns.

Headless Mary Weekend

On Sunday, June 28th, our Haunted Pub Crawl will be Headless Mary-themed, and you can also sample the Headless Mary Cocktail at participating establishments.

We may be adding additional Haunted Griffintown tours this weekend.

Other Information

This event is being presented by Haunted Montreal in collaboration with community partners, including the École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS), Rockaberry Griffintown, and Alfred Café Buvette Griffintown.

Stygian Media will be filming and livestreaming at the event and Haunted Griffintown tours.

Haunted Montreal is excited to commemorate the return of Headless Mary, and invites everyone to join in the activities on June 27!

Company News

No longer in the test phase, we are launching Colonial Secrets of Old Montreal on June 20th. This daytime tour hosted by Sophie-Claude Miller smashes through the “tourist gaze” to reveal the area’s hidden histories, glossed-over facts and dark truths. It will run Tuesday-Saturday at 2pm in English an 4pm in French.

Haunted Old Montreal Haunted Griffintown, Haunted Downtown, and Haunted Mountain are all up and running, and we are testing our latest Paranormal Investigation tonight at 7:30pm.

Our Haunted Pub Crawl continues to run every Sunday at 3pm in English, and the last Sunday of each month at 2pm in French.

Private tours for any 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 are based on the availability of our actors and start at $250 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.

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

Holly and Dr. Mab are back! Now part of Stygian Media, they will continue releasing Haunted Montreal videos based on our blogs in English and French among other horror-themed content.

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 July 13: The Dog-Faced Man of Griffintown

In the 1886, the citizens of Griffintown began to panic after numerous reports of a “Dog-Faced Man” wreaking havoc in the neighbourhood. After frantic citizens went to Police Station No. 7 to report their sightings, officers set out to try and arrest the creature, to no avail. As one of the greatest conspiracy theories of the 1800s, many people tried to identify who or what was behind the mysterious dog-headed man.

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.

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 13th 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 13th! The blog is published in both English and French!

With the Halloween Season upon us, Haunted Montreal is running a roster of ghost tours and haunted experiences! Our ghost tours include Haunted Old Montreal, Griffintown, Downtown and the mountain!

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

We also offer paranormal investigations! In addition to our investigation of the old Sainte-Antoine Cholera Cemetery, Haunted Montreal is proud to announce our latest experience – Paranormal Investigation – Colonial Old Montreal.

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 $215 for small groups of up to 7 people.

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 provide an update on Montreal’s most haunted street corner – William and Murray Streets in Griffintown! With a radical revamp of the neighborhood unfolding, Haunted Montreal demanded that the haunted corner be preserved and commemorated.

Haunted Research

The École de technologie supérieure (ETS) has been busy buying up real estate in Griffintown to expand its campus. One controversial purchase was the land on the south-east corner of William and Murray Streets – also known as the “Mary Gallagher Corner”. Indeed, her headless ghost returns to this spot every seven years on the anniversary of her death.

ETS planned a new school building called Pavilion F for the site, including nearly 30 classrooms, open learning areas, study rooms, offices for research centers and other amenities. At six-stories tall, the postmodern building was designed with a total surface area of over 13,000 m² and space to accommodate 2,375 students, professors and other staff members.

During the planning stages for Pavilion F in 2019, Haunted Montreal sent representatives to plead with the ETS to preserve and commemorate the infamous corner.

For well over a century, Irish storytellers have been using the spot to recount the deranged tale of Mary Gallagher’s headless ghost.

Happily, the ETS complied with Haunted Montreal’s request and ensured that Pavilion F preserves the corner intact. This is great news for the Irish-Montreal community and those hoping to spot Headless Mary when she returns next on June 27, 2026.

However, there is still no word about a fitting commemoration on the corner. Haunted Montreal had proposed a statue of Mary Gallagher’s ghost to mark the site. While ETS is mum on the subject, the local Irish community is encouraged by a mural on another school building called Pavilion A.

Entitled Lignes du temps, this mural traces the history of Griffintown, evoking stories of the First Nations, the historical presence of the Irish community and other heritage in the neighborhood.

One of the images is the home where Mary Gallagher was murdered on the corner of William and Murray Streets, an encouraging sign that a fitting commemoration might actually be installed at the Pavilion F site.

Company News

Haunted Montreal is proud to announce our latest haunted experience – Paranormal Investigation – Colonial Old Montreal.

Hosted by professional Ghost-hunter Dominique Desormeaux of Investigations 13, Haunted Montreal’s “Paranormal Investigation – Colonial Old Montreal” takes guests on a dark adventure into the mysterious world of ghost hunting!

With the Halloween Season upon us, Haunted Montreal is running a roster of ghost tours and haunted experiences! Our ghost tours include Haunted Old Montreal, Griffintown, Downtown and the mountain!

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

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. 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

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).

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, 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 October 13^th: McGill Arts Building

Constructed in 1843, McGill University’s Arts Building is the oldest structure standing on campus. It is also reputed to be haunted. This may be due to its deranged history as the first edifice where medical students performed experimental autopsies on unfortunate corpses, many of them stolen from local cemeteries. Today, phantom footsteps echo throughout the old building and some students have reported spotting what could be the ghost of an old Anatomy professor.

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.

With over 250 documented ghost stories, Montreal is easily the most haunted city in Canada, if not all of North America. Haunted Montreal is dedicated to researching these paranormal tales, and the Haunted Montreal Blog unveils a newly-researched Montreal ghost story on the 13th of every month! This service is free and you can sign up to our mailing list (top, right-hand corner) if you wish to receive it!

Firstly, Haunted Montreal is extremely proud to announce that we have won the prestigious Travel & Hospitality Award in the category of “Unique Experience of the Year 2019 in Quebec”!

To have won in Quebec, a nation that prides itself on its uniqueness, this is a very high honour indeed!

Quebec has a lot of interesting tourist experiences to offer, although many organizations are falling behind the international expectations of next-generation tourists. Recently, some of the older tourism structures have been identified as outdated and colonial and unable to cope with change in the 21st Century age of Truth and Reconciliation. One example that comes to mind is Montreal’s tour guiding cartel/monopoly, which has recently been identified as systemically racist and mis-representative of both the city’s population demographic and of Indigenous history and perspectives as well.

Haunted Montreal aims to stay ahead of the curve to offer our clients unadulterated history, authentic experiences, unforgettable excursions and opportunities to help shape Montreal’s Tourism Industry to be more inclusive, authentic and diverse. We are very proud that our work is being recognized at the highest levels of authority.

Travel and Hospitality Awards are “a recognition of the hard work and accomplishments across the travel industry. Recognizing hotels, tour companies, travel buyers and influencers across six continents, it is a stamp of recognition for long-standing customer satisfaction.”

Haunted Montreal is also pleased to announce that all of our ghost tours are in full operation and tickets are on sale! These include Haunted Mountain, Haunted Griffintown, Haunted Downtown and the new Haunted Pub Crawl!

This month, Haunted Montreal is extremely excited to report a very special event. Canada’s most haunted city, Montreal, is nervously awaiting its most infamous ghost. Prostitute Mary Gallagher was brutally murdered and beheaded in a filthy Griffintown tenement on June 27, 1879 on the corner of William and Murray streets. The case shocked Montrealers, especially when Mary’s best friend, Suzy Kennedy, was sentenced to hang for the gruesome crime. Since then, Mary’s headless ghost is said to return every 7 years on the anniversary of her death, still searching for her head.

Mary Gallagher’s next scheduled appearance is on June 27, 2019, the 140th  anniversary of her murder. Professional actors and storytellers from the Haunted Griffintown Ghost Walk will tell the infamous ghost story, every half hour from 7- 10 pm free of charge, on the corner of William and Murray Streets. The story will be told in both French and English every 30 minutes on the hour. Tips for the actors are appreciated.

Haunted Research

The spooky corner of William and Murray Streets in Griffintown is without a doubt Montreal’s most haunted crossroads. Today the area is undergoing rapid gentrification and the site of Mary Gallagher’s brutal murder in 1879, once a ramshackle tenement house on the south-east corner, is now a vacant lot.

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.

In 2005, author and journalist Alan Hustak released The ghost of Griffintown: the true story of the murder of Mary Gallagher, the most detailed account of the murder and tormented spirit to date. Sadly, this book is out-of-print and publishers Véhicule Press were unable to re-publish it for the 140^th anniversary of Mary Gallagher’s gruesome death, either in print or as an e-book.

Griffintown has seen a lot of tragic history and is the ideal location for Montreal’s most infamous ghost story. The area where the Griff exists has always suffered hardship.

Montreal exists today on the un-ceded Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) territory of Tio’tia:ke in northern Kanien’keh, also known as the Land of the Flint. Originally this was the location of a back-breaking portage trail used by various First Nations around the ancient island of Tiotà:ke’s rapids.

Geographically, today’s Montreal Island is the end of the line for any vessels coming down the St. Lawrence River because of the dangerous waters. For thousands of years, those wishing to continue had to unpack their canoes and carry everything for 13 kilometers over difficult terrain.

When the French colonized the island in 1642, they built the settlement of Ville-Marie in what is now Old Montreal. This triggered an all out and brutal war between the French colonists and the Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) First Nation, who tried to reclaim their ancestral territory.

In 1654, Jeanne Mance, foundress of the Hôtel-Dieu Hospital, was granted 112 arpents of land by the leader, the Sieur de Maisonneuve. This area was named the Nazareth Fief, but due to the intermittent warfare, the colonists often huddled inside their fortifications for fear of being attacked.

Once a treaty called the Great Peace of Montreal was signed in 1701, the French began cutting down and uprooting the ancient and old-growth oak forest, which was converted into farmland.

The nuns called it Le Grange des Pauvres, or the “Barn of the Poor”, because the proceeds were used to feed the sick and the destitute at the Hôtel-Dieu hospital.  

In 1760, this area saw action again. 2,000 British redcoats, under the command of General Amherst, marched from Lachine through the Nazareth Fief to capture Ville-Marie. The city surrendered without so much as a fight because authorities knew that the “New France” colonial project was effectively over.

Under the British administration, things changed very quickly. The nuns leased the land to businessman Thomas McCord in 1791. With talk of building the Lachine Canal, the land increased in value. In 1796, McCord went away on business in the United Kingdom. In his absence, an unscrupulous business associate named Patrick Langan sold his land in 1803 to Mrs. Mary Griffin. As the wife of Robert Griffin, a soap factory owner, Mary Griffin, a shrewd business-woman, saw the opportunity to build homes in the area.

She immediately hired a draughtsman and surveyor named Louis Charland to create an urban plan to subdivide the area into streets, squares and building lots where houses could be constructed. Mary Griffin named a major thoroughfare “Griffin Street” and also named the neighborhood after her family.

When Thomas McCord returned, he found that his land now hosted a small community. He was furious and took immediate legal action. After winning his land back in court in 1810, McCord tried to erase everything named after the Griffin family. For example, he renamed Griffin Street to “Wellington Street”. However, much to the chagrin of Thomas McCord, the name Griffintown stuck in the public parlance.

The area changed again in 1847, when tens of thousands of dying Irish refugees, fleeing An Gorta Mór (The Great Hunger), poured into the city after dangerous Atlantic crossings in Coffin Ships.

Approximately 50% of the survivors were totally impoverished and could not afford to continue westward. Thousands of Irish Famine refugees moved into the Griff and before long this area was transformed into Canada’s most notorious shantytown.

For over a century, the run-down, ramshackle neighborhood was characterized by grinding poverty, severe overcrowding, filth, alcohol, tragedy and violence.

With no running water and people using privies, the Griff was a breeding ground for deadly epidemics – cholera, typhus, typhoid, diphtheria, small pox and Spanish Flu – which killed off thousands of residents. The area has also witnessed countless floods, fires, industrial accidents, murder – and far, far worse!

However, despite these many adversities, it was a  tight-knit Irish neighborhood that that stood the test of time and supported its own.

Sadly, in 1963, with the stroke of a pen, the neighborhood suffered a final death-knell when it was rezoned by Mayor Jean Drapeau as a “light industrial zone”. Whole blocks of houses were torn down and residents were displaced. The neighborhood’s population dropped from a height of 70,000 people to less than 1,000 in just a few short years. The Griff was practically transformed into a ghost town! In 1970, St. Ann’s Church, the hub of the community since 1854, was unceremoniously demolished, despite pleas from the Irish community to at least spare the Presbytery.

Today, the ruins of the church can be seen in St. Ann’s Park.

Today, gentrification is transforming the old neighborhood as luxury condos go up in what was once one of the city’s most derelict areas. New residents, who usually drop a few hundred thousand dollars for a condo in Griffintown, are quickly learning that they may have bought more than they bargained for. While Mayor Drapeau may have displaced the residents of an entire neighborhood, the ghosts of the shantytown still remain.

Many of the new residents report feelings of general unease, as though they are not welcome in the Griff. Some report feelings of being watched by unseen beings, whereas other report the sounds of phantom footsteps following them down the streets, not to mention the appearance of mysterious shadow creatures. Phantom church bells toll and rumours abound about the Ghost of Mary Gallagher. The sale of curtains is up, as many new residents feel as though someone or something is peeping through their windows at night.

The origins of the Mary Gallagher ghost story all started on the 24th of June, 1879. The city was bursting at the seams because it was St. Jean Baptiste Day, a huge religious celebration in Montreal.

That day, two ladies, best of friends, were out bar-hopping near today’s Place Jacques Cartier in what is now Old Montreal. The square bustled with economic activity because it was located beside the Montreal Harbour. Here you would find sailors, dockworkers, merchants, stevedores, citizens and immigrants, along with all of the riff-raff of the society – beggars, pickpockets, prostitutes, street urchins – you name it!

The ladies were Mary Gallagher, aged 38, and Susie Kennedy, aged 26. They were Griffintown-based prostitutes and they were trolling for clients, which is why they were bar-hopping. At first they visited Joe Beef’s Tavern, a real dive of a bar, but it was slim pickings. All of the men were either too poor or too ugly.

They continued on their way and while crossing today’s Place Jacques Cartier, they bumped into a strapping young lad! Michael Flanagan, aged 32 years old, was a handsome and muscular dockworker from the Lachine Canal.

He was looking for company.

The ladies led him into a tavern and before long the three of them were drinking the afternoon away, with both ladies flirting with Michael Flanagan, each of them trying to secure him as a client for the night.

It appeared as though Michael Flanagan was becoming more and more interested in Mary Gallagher, despite the fact that she was a dozen years older than Suzy and had graying hair.

Mary was successful in seducing Michael Flanagan and brought him to a dingy flophouse, leaving Suzy to go home all alone, empty-handed to her 2nd floor tenement on the south-east corner of William and Murray Streets. According to the legend, Suzy was both angry and jealous at the fact that Flanagan chose Mary Gallagher over her.

After two days of debauchery, Mary brought Michael Flanagan to Suzy’s flat at 242 William Street, around 6 a.m. on June 27^th.

Suzy lived above a widow named Mrs. Troy and her 10-year old son. Mary brought Michael Flanagan up the back stairway with several bottles of whiskey in their possession. Suzy wasn’t exactly thrilled to see them, but nevertheless joined them in downing three bottles of whisky before the 12 bells of noon.

At around noon, the woman living downstairs, Mrs. Troy, heard a loud bang that shook the whole house and cracked the plaster in the ceiling in two different places. Then she heard what sounded like a sort of a chopping noise. Whack! Whack! Whack! It lasted a full 15 minutes.

As Mrs. Troy pondered what was going on upstairs, she began to feel something dripping in to her hair. Thinking that it was not raining, Mrs. Troy reached into her hair and felt something warm and sticky. She quickly realized that this was blood dripping through her ceiling!

Mrs. Troy decided to send her 10-year old boy upstairs to see what the problem was. He came back down after about 30 seconds, as white as a sheet. Shaking, he blurted out: “Mummy, there’s a lady up there with her head off!”

That’s when Mrs. Troy decided to go for the police. However, the officer in charge that day explained that the police force didn’t have enough resources to investigate every disturbance in the Griff. This may be why it took the police a full 10 hours to arrive on the crime scene.

When they arrived, the first thing they noticed, lying next to the stove, was the mutilated corpse of Mary Gallagher. She had been hacked apart – 14 brutal blows to the body. Her right hand was severed at the wrist. Mary had also suffered a decapitation: her head was located in the ash bucket next to the stove, its eyes still open, staring up at the ceiling.

As for Suzy, she was found lying in her bed, covered in blood – it was all over her hands, clothing and the bed sheets. A bloody axe was found in a box next to the bed.

The police immediately arrested her.

Michael Flanagan was picked up by the police at a tavern on Nazareth Street later that evening. He claimed to have no recollection of the day on account of all the alcohol.

Needless to say, when it came time to try them in a court of law, Suzy was found guilty of murder and sentenced to be hanged by the neck until dead on December 5th of the same year. This cruel sentence was proclaimed despite the fact that the jury had recommended mercy.

Michael Flanagan, on the other hand, walked scot free because there wasn’t enough evidence to convict him. Many of the citizens were shocked that a woman could commit such a violent crime, especially against a member of her own gender. Women in the Victorian era were often seen as delicate and defenseless creatures.

It is also important to remember that during the Victorian era it was considered very unpopular to execute women. One had been executed a few years earlier, and it did not gone down very well in the public opinion. Also, Suzy was clearly more than just a little bit mentally unstable, which is why the Prime Minister of the era, Sir John A. MacDonald, decided to commute her sentence from capital punishment to a lifetime of incarceration in the Kingston Penitentiary, in Ontario.

One ironic fact about the story is that on December 5th, 1879, the day Suzy Kennedy was originally to hang, Michael Flanagan perished after falling through the ice while working on the Wellington Basin. At the time, many Griffintowners speculated that Mary Gallagher’s vengeful spirit had pushed him off the dock and his drowning was the result of her ghost’s intervention.

Whatever the case, when Suzy arrived at the Kingston Penitentiary, the first thing the warden did was replace her name with a number, as they did with all the prisoners. Her number was 9677. The guards deployed 9677 to the dungeons, where they found a cell for her measuring two feet wide by five feet long.

She spent the next 11 years in solitary confinement in that jail cell, knitting and sewing things on behalf of the prison, like uniforms for the North West Mounted Police. Living in such dank conditions, Suzy contracted pulmonary tuberculosis, or consumption, and died in July, 1890. These things can happen when you live under the ground.

Suzy Kennedy’s body was almost certainly donated to the Queen’s University Medical Faculty, where the young students would have learned a thing or two during the autopsy and dissection.

As for Mary Gallagher, and this really is the most interesting part of the story, it is said that she returns, every 7 years, to the corner of William and Murray Streets. It is said that she returns for one reason and one reason only – because she is still searching for her head!

Her next scheduled appearance will be the 27 of June, 2019, and Haunted Montreal is busy preparing for her reception! Haunted Montreal is very proud to engage with the tradition of commemorating the anniversary of Mary Gallagher’s murder and ghost sightings every seven years.

The first known sighting of Mary Gallagher’s ghost occurred just seven years after her murder. A local Griffintown hunchback, known only as Johnson, spotted her ghost on the corner of William and Murray Streets and proceeded to bolt to the Young Street Police Station. The officers on duty suspected the old hunchback was drunk and did not pursue an investigation.

According to journalist Alan Hustak, another sighting occurred in 1900, but the details are very slim.

On October 27, 1928 the now-defunct Montreal Star launched a sensational story with its the following headline: “Griffintown Claims Ghost of Murdered Woman Has Returned to Look for Head.”

The journalist reported that “a bona-fide headless ghost, in the form of a woman, is said to have been seen by half a dozen different people on as many nights.” The Montreal Star continued: “Although reports of the first appearance of the phantom are conflicting, it seems that one night last week a woman rushed screaming into the police station on Young Street. She was pale and distraught and evidently bordering on collapse. ‘A ghost,’ she cried, ‘Up on William Street, Oh!’ Police searched the neighborhood with no results. That was the first time they had searched. It wasn’t the last. Hardly a night goes by without a wild and wearisome chase for the elusive phantom. The police are inclined to be incredulous. Not so the inhabitants of the place.”

According to The Montreal Star, “seven years after the crime, and every seven years since, the headless ghost is said to have returned to the spot of the murder and with low and awesome moans paced the streets at midnight supposedly searching for its head. This is one of the ‘seventh’ years.”

The reporter continued: “Partick Murphy, grocer, told The Star last night of the stories he had heard about the ghost. The grocery store is sort of a meeting place for the neighbourhood and all the tales are brought to the proprietor. Mr. Murphy explained that had the tales come from young fellows he might not have believed them, but that those who had seen the spectre were middle-aged and reliable men. ‘One of these,’ he said, ‘saw the ghost last Monday,’ and according to the grocer, has been in bed ever since.”

Denis Delaney claimed to have seen the ghost of Mary Gallagher on three separate occasions. He spotted her first in 1937 when he was just a boy of four years old. She allegedly took a blanket off his bed. In 1956, he saw her spirit again on Gallery Square.  Delaney told journalist Alan Hustak that he “was walking down the street and this apparition appeared and it pointed to a tree.” He went to the tree and he pulled out an amber necklace and when he turned around, the apparition had vanished. Delaney knew right away that it was Mary Gallagher’s necklace.

On the anniversary in 1991, Father Tom McEntee, a Roman Catholic priest who had spent his youth in Griffintown, began the tradition on the evening prior to her death, June 26th, by holding a mass for the deceased prostitute at the Benedict Labre House. The mass was held in 1991, 1998, and for the last time in 2005. Father McEntee passed away in 2008. Today, Concordia University’s Irish Studies Program has a Reading Room named in his honour.

According to lore, 1998 was an exceptional anniversary for sightings. On that occasion, Delaney claimed that, by the light of a full moon, he had “looked up one night and saw a house appear” at the corner of William and Murray Streets. Today a vacant lot, this is where the murder occurred in 1879, when there were ramshackle tenement homes on the site.

He explained: “In the yellow light through the window upstairs, like a lamp…I saw a figure standing there, and it asked me, ‘Will you help me look for my head? I said ‘Yes’, and then she asked me to close my eyes, and I could feel something, like a rising up around me, and when I opened my eyes, the house had vanished and she was gone.”  

According to Barbara Smith, author of Great Canadian Ghost Stories: Legendary Tales of Haunting from Coast to Coast, another sighting occurred that night in 1998.

Smith explains that following Father McEntee’s mass:

“A woman lingered on the spot on William Street where the murder had taken place. The woman called out Mary’s name and asked if the murdered soul was present. Moments later, the air grew cold and began to shimmer. The woman called out again. As she did, an image of the old red-brick tenement appeared and a voice shouted at the witness to “get away from here now!”

In 2003, Richard Burman released a film called Ghosts of Griffintown: Stories of an Irish neighborhood, which includes actual footage of the 1998 anniversary.

His movie drew parallels with Mary Gallagher’s ghost and the ghost of the displaced neighborhood.

June, 2011, saw an interesting event called Ghosts in the Machine: The Inquest of Mary Gallagher. This site-specific installation was exhibited where the original inquest took place – the old Griffintown police station, which was then a Centaur Theatre workshop and rehearsal space.

According to creator, Alison R. Loader: “Gallagher symbolizes the abject and the forgotten, and contemporaneous accounts of her murder exemplify late nineteenth-century discourses on gender, class, race, and criminal insanity.”

The 2012 anniversary saw hundreds of people on the street corner, as students and performance artists used the opportunity to put on abstract dance performances on vacant lots, as well as other projects.

Denis Delaney, who had been working on a book about Mary Gallagher’s ghost, passed away in 2014. It is unknown if his manuscript was ever completed or published. Prior to his passing he had told a journalist:

“The memory of Griffintown is a nurturing thing for me. It’s a place to go, physically and mentally, when I am trying to work something out. I am one of the future ghosts. I have told my wife that I want to be cremated and to have my ashes sprinkled all over Griffintown.”

Given that both Haunted Montreal and Montreal Ghosts have been reminding clients of the anniversary during ghost tours for several years, many guests are expected on June 27, 2019, to the corner of William and Murray Streets.

Haunted Montreal is pleased to announce that we are taking charge of several events surrounding the return of Mary Gallagher’s ghost.

Firstly, for those who want to experience a comprehensive history of the spirits haunting the Griff, we have added several tours of the Griffintown Ghost Walk as we lead up the anniversary of Mary Gallagher’s murder on June 27th. Tickets are on sale!

Secondly, in collaboration with the AOH (Ancient Order of Hibernians), a Catholic blessing has been arranged on the corner on June 27th at 6 pm to resurrect the tradition started by Father McEntee of praying for Mary Gallagher’s departed soul.

Lastly, on June 27, Haunted Montreal will provide free storytelling on the corner of William and Murray Streets, in both English and French. Every 30 minutes, from 7 – 10 pm, the story will be told in both languages by Haunted Montreal’s professional actors, storytellers and tour guides. While the event is free, tips for the performers are always appreciated.

Alan Hustak concludes his remarkable book with the following words: “So long as Griffintown’s spirit remains alive, so too will the spirit of Mary Gallagher.” Unfortunately, the survival of Griffintown’s spirit today is very questionable.

The good news is that City of Montreal recently announced 3 new parks to be created in the Griff, including one to be named Mary Griffin Park.

While Haunted Montreal is thrilled to see the addition of greenspace in the now condo-choked neighbourhood, and the commemoration of Mary Griffin, we are disappointed that the infamous south-east corner of William  and Murray Streets was not included as a site of consideration for a park.

Griffintown was redeveloped so quickly, that it is seriously lacking in anything interesting for tourists to visit. Haunted Montreal has been lobbying municipal politicians for years to create “Mary Gallagher Park” on the site of her murder and ghost sightings, not only because it is the right thing to do, but also because we need a permanent space to tell the story on our ghost tours.

So far, these calls have not been responded to by Montreal City Councilor Craig Sauvé or South-West Borough Mayor Benois Dorais.

As such, Haunted Montreal is asking a favour from our clients and fans.

Please email Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante and ask her to ensure that the south-east corner of William and Murray Streets becomes a commemorative park, and not the site of yet another condominium complex or pavilion.

Mayor Valérie Plante can be emailed at the City of Montreal’s website. You need to fill in a brief form.

Here is a sample text you can cut and paste:

***

Subject: Mary Gallagher Park Proposal

Message: Dear Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante,

[Introduce yourself]

Congratulations on doing such an amazing job greening the City of Montreal with so many initiatives such as tree-planting and the enlargement and creation of new parks.

As you may know, the south-east corner of William and Murray Streets in Griffintown is sacred to Montreal’s Irish community because of its connection to Montreal’s most famous ghost story: the ghost of Mary Gallagher. As you may know, her ghost returns every 7 years to the corner, allegedly because she is still searching for her head. Her next appearance is anticipated on June 27 of this year, the 140th anniversary of her murder.

Given that there are almost no tourist attractions in Griffintown, it makes very good sense to preserve the haunted street corner as a commemorative and touristic park for future generations to enjoy.

Furthermore, tour companies Haunted Montreal, Griffin Tours and Irish Montreal Excursions frequently lead tourists to this site, and fear if condominiums or pavilions are built there, it could affect the authenticity and logistics of the haunted and historic walks.

As such, I am petitioning you today to take immediate action to secure the South-East corner of William and Murray Streets in Griffintown for a future “Mary Gallagher Park” to commemorate Montreal’s most infamous legend and ghost story.

[Add any more details you feel are important]

Sincerely,

[your name]

***

The remarkable Irish history on Montreal’s most haunted street corner should not be erased, but rather be commemorated properly.

Not only would it add a vital tourist site to the culturally desolate Griffintown of today, but would also help preserve one of Montreal’s most infamous legends – the ghost story of Mary Gallagher.

Here’s hoping to see you on the corner of William and Murray Streets on June 27th!

Company News

Haunted Montreal is pleased to announce that our public season of ghost tours is in full operation! These include Haunted Mountain, Haunted Griffintown, Haunted Downtown and the new Haunted Pub Crawl! Tickets are on sale!

Our new Haunted Pub Crawl is led by a professional ghost storyteller and visits three haunted bars. Starting at McKibbin’s Irish Pub in Downtown Montreal on Bishop Street, guests not only learn about many of the haunted drinking establishments in the city, but also hear Montreal’s most infamous ghost stories.

While sipping suds, guests enjoy haunted pubs, spine-tingling Montreal ghost stories and learn about the historical forces that transformed the ancient Indigenous island of Tiotà:ke into Ville-Marie, an austere French colony founded by Catholic evangelists.

After the British invaded, the city became a booming financial center and crime hub, a site of violent rebellion and subversive revolution and finally into Canada’s most haunted city.

Clients hear the paranormal tales behind mysterious McKibbin’s Irish Pub, the famous Sir Winston Churchill, funeral-home-cum-discotheque Club Le Cinq and, of course, Hurley’s Irish Pub, where a ghost known only as the Burning Lady haunts the establishment.

The ghost storyteller regales guests with Montreal’s most deranged and infamous ghost stories, including Simon McTavish, a Scottish fur baron known to toboggan down the slopes of Mount Royal in his own coffin, the ghost of John Easton Mills, Montreal’s Martyr Mayor who perished while tending to typhus-stricken Irish refugees during the Famine of 1847, and Headless Mary, the ghost of a Griffintown prostitute who was decapitated by her best friend in the shantytown in 1879. She returns every 7 years to the corner of William and Murray Streets, still looking for her head!

Join Haunted Montreal on this unforgettable pub crawl, where you can drink some spirits with a spirit, all the while learning about the city’s deranged history and hearing spine-tingling local ghost stories!

For full details, including a description, the starting location and schedule, please visit our web page! Join us at 3 pm any Sunday of the year for a haunted pub crawl in English or at 4 pm in French! Tickets are now on sale!

Haunted Montreal also offers private tours and pub crawls for company outings, school groups, bachelorette parties and all types of gatherings. Please contact info@hauntedmontreal.com to organize a private tour.

We are also pleased to promote a book called Macabre Montreal.

Written by Mark Leslie and Shayna Krishnasamy, it is a “collection of ghost stories, eerie encounters, and gruesome and ghastly true stories from the second most populous city in Canada.

The authors write:

“Montreal is a city steeped in history and culture, but just beneath the pristine surface of this world-class city lie unsettling stories. Tales shared mostly in whispered tones about eerie phenomena, dark deeds, and disturbing legends that take place in haunted buildings, forgotten graveyards, and haunted pubs. The dark of night reveals a very different city behind its beautiful European-style architecture and cobblestone streets. A city with buried secrets, alleyways that echo with the footsteps of ghostly spectres, memories of ghastly events, and unspeakable criminal acts.”

With the introduction written by Haunted Montreal, Macabre Montreal is a must-read for anyone interested in Montreal’s dark side.

Haunted Montreal would also like to thank all of our clients who attended a ghost walk or haunted pub crawl recently!

If you enjoyed the experience, we encourage you to write a review on our Tripadvisor page, something that helps Haunted Montreal to market its tours. If you have any feedback, please email us at info@hauntedmontreal.com so we can improve our visitor experience.

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

Coming up on July 13: The Haunted Statue of Jacques Cartier

Towering over Saint-Henri Park is a statue of Jacques Cartier that is rumoured to be haunted. Striking a victorious pose over a fountain adorned with four decapitated Indigenous heads, the monument has been described by community activists as colonial and racist. While some local citizens want the statue removed because it celebrates genocide, others want it gone because it is allegedly haunted. Reports exists of the statue’s eyes following people. Others have heard it cackling maniacally at night and a group of tourists was shocked when one of the beheaded Indigenous decorations began spewing out what appeared to be blood.

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).