Most Haunted Places in Alberta, Canada
Halloween is just right around the corner! Halloween means costumes and candies, but it also means— Yes! Creepy stories. So lit up the bonfire, let’s gather ’round and find out about Canada’s most haunted spots.
Table of Contents
Banff Springs Hotel Room 873
Posted by creativecamera via Reddit
My friend, who is with me while I write this, stayed at the Banff springs hotel around two years ago. Her mom and brother and her went home early while her dad was still out and went to bed. She woke up several times in the night saying ‘dad get out!’ ‘go sleep in your own bed’ ‘why are you sleeping here?’ Her parents kept on saying go back to bed. In the morning she asked her dad why he was dressed up in a bellboy suit last night and why he slept with her. They thought she was crazy.
They told the other people they came with the next morning, and they told her about the bellboy who haunted there. She says she didn’t see his face but believed his suit was blue, although it might have been too dark to see. The bellboy suits are now green. Does anybody know what color the suits were before, like around the 1970s?
Having visited the Banff Springs numerous times (since I live in Edmonton and that’s a usual vacation spot here), I don’t know what color the bellboy suits were, but I do know several stories about the hotel.
The bellboy is one of the most famous ghosts within the hotel, also near the grand staircase, you can sometimes catch a bride sitting on the step, waiting her groom who died on his way to the hotel for their wedding. She’s generally weeping. There’s a painted-over door on one of the floors (can’t remember which right now) that NONE of the staff are allowed to speak about. It’s believed a man murdered his wife and two young children in that room, so they sealed it off. Banff Springs is a hot spot for paranormal activity.
The bride also is known to dance around the hall wanting the wedding she never had. There are numerous stories about her, but the one I heard was that she died while walking down the staircase because her dress caught on fire, and she panicked, fell and snapped her neck. I know about the closed-door as well… 823 I believe? There was also a story about how the girl who got murdered fingerprints on the mirror, and no matter how many times the housekeeping scrubbed it off, it would come back. Oh & I live in Edmonton too, so I go to Banff a lot as well. And one floor is only open for ghost tours, which is really cool.
The Bowman Arts Centre in Lethbridge
The believers said that the Bowman Arts Centre is haunted by the ghost of a young Chinese girl who was beaten to death in the women’s restroom after being mistaken as a boy for a boy in traditional Chinese attire.
Charles Camsell Hospital
Posted on Reddit
Charles Camsell Hospital
For anyone living in the Edmonton area of Alberta, Canada, they may have heard a thing or two about a couple of abandoned hospitals in the city. Unlike my post about Bucky (who I was to god was with me that day) this is probably the terrifying supernatural encounter I’ve ever had.
I was working with a friend for a freelance large cleaning company. We were doing easy things, just removing old, hanging wires, capping off wires in outlets, sealing the wall holes, removing large items, etc. and basically preparing buildings for demolition. Now, I was already iffy about going to this job because I hate hospitals with a fiery passion as is. Not because I spent a lot of time in them or anything; I just don’t like the smell, and I always get a weird feeling while in them.
This job happened to be in the Charles Camsell Hospital— a well-known one for paranormal activity. I didn’t really buy into the stories about it, but I was kind of excited to go in anyway. We were sent in to remove some items from the hospital. There’d been a break-in (that we can only assume were amateur paranormal researchers/thrill-seekers) and equipment and wiring had been left behind. Not thinking much of this, we entered.
The first thing you notice is it’s a large hospital, and it’s mostly empty.
There are a few filing cabinets, some old desks, and telephones, basically things that don’t work. Keeping in mind that the break-in could have possibly been pranksters or people thrill-seeking, we started going about the main level/lobby area. About 20 minutes into our began clean up, a phone rang. Normally, we have our cellphones on us, and we’ll rib each other when it goes off.
The crew leader made an offhand comment about, “Guess someone needs to see their doctor!” We chuckled at first; but as he finished his sentence, the phone cut out mid-ring. It didn’t finish ringing, it just stopped. We didn’t think much of it until the phone rang again. One of the crew members was near the area a reception desk would have been and, with a look of absolute terror, turned to us and whispered, “I can hear it ringing right beside me.” The lobby area is COMPLETELY empty. No phones, no desks, nothing. Needless to say we were slightly spooked but decided that, being told possible pranksters broke in, someone might be screwing with us, so we kept working.
Two other workers and I went up to the 4th floor.
There were several filing cabinets and a couple offices among the patient rooms. One of the patient’s rooms had a chair by the window. There wasn’t much to clean or move out, so we decided just to explore the rooms. I entered this room with the chair and instantly felt a chill down my spine. I walked closer to the chair to see it covered in dust, except for the seat. The seat had an imprint that looked as if a small child had been sitting in it no more than 2 minutes before we got there.
I called the other two workers over to see this chair when the phone in the office next to us rang. We jumped, obviously because we weren’t expecting it. One of the workers went into the office as me and the other stood by the door. We watched her apprehensively pick up the phone. She immediately said “Whoever this is, this isn’t funny!” Her face drained of all color as she looked at us and said very quietly “…it’s not plugged in.” Turning the base of the phone to us, sure enough, no connecting cable. That alone made the 3 of us run, and I mean run, out of the floor down to the main level. As we reached the main level, the crew leader and his team met us. All of them stark white. They had gone to the morgue.
Now, I refused to go down to the morgue because I didn’t want to be anywhere near where old dead bodies were.
The crew leader and his team all confirmed several things to us. When they entered the morgue, everything was oddly still. Even the air didn’t seem to be moving. One of the crew members became instantly light-headed. Perfectly healthy (we’d just eaten before going in) and hydrated but felt faint and left the room.
Another one of the female members of the team held her hand up to us. She said she rested herself on a perfectly clean, sturdy table. No equipment or anything, but within 5 seconds of her doing so, she felt a sharp pain. A perfectly, almost surgically straight cut was on the palm of her hand. When she told the crew leader about this, the light turned off, and they heard the wheels of a gurney squeaking outside the door. They ran out as fast as they could. We called the contractor, told him we refused to finish the job and left.
As we loaded into the van, the crew leader’s cell phone began to ring. We all assumed it was the angry contractor. He looked at the caller id, slammed on the brakes and held the phone to us. We all sat in stunned silence as he began to drive again. It constantly rang for about three blocks until the hospital was out of sight, and then it stopped, mid-ring yet again.
I haven’t been back since, and we all decided to find new lines of work. It wasn’t what happened in the hospital that got us; it was the phone call. To this day, he hasn’t deleted the missed call out of fear. If you ask him to show you, you’ll see this message:
“Missed Call 8/9/11 12:49 pm Charles Camsell Hospital.”
EDIT: the link to the Bucky I referred to at the start: http://www.reddit.com/r/nosleep/comments/ylxkx/buckymy_other_pet/
Deane House
It was built in 1906 and served as the official residence of Richard Burton Deane, the Superintendent of the Royal Northwest Mounted Police.
Originally located on the corner of 9 Ave., and 6 Street S.E. In 1929, the Deane house was moved to its present location and became a boarding house for several decades up until 1973. The Deane House has in recent years; the house has a growing reputation as being the most haunted house in Canada.
During its time as a boarding lodge, there were several unusual deaths; a man fell down the stairs and got fatal wounds, a young woman jumping to her death from the second-story window, and a man was gunned down on the porch. In 1933, a father and son were residents at the Deane House; the boy had epilepsy, and because of his illness was rejected by his peers and bullied. The son suffering from depression committed suicide in the attic.
In 1952, there were two well-documented deaths recorded. First was the murder/suicide deaths of Irma and Roderick Umperville. Mrs. Umperville was repeatedly stabbed and strangled by her husband, who then committed suicide. All of these were done in front of there two young children. This tragedy took place in the apartment that used to be Superintendent Deane’s main floor office. This apartment is also where a previous owner, Alex Brotherton, lived and died of natural causes.
The Calgary Association of Paranormal Investigations deems the Deane House as definitively haunted due to a series of random and unexplainable events, sounds, and occurrences. Many of the serving staff claim to have experienced some form of paranormal activity during their time at the Deane House. Some recall hearing laughter in the front foyer, however, upon investigation no one is there.
Edmonton General Hospital
The Edmonton General Hospital is a now closed and abandoned hospital that, according to believers, is a site of multiple hauntings.
Although the “B” wing of the Edmonton General has been closed for more than a decade, some claim it still smells of sick people. You can still hear crying children and the spirit of a mother wanders looking for her dead child, quickly disappearing when approached. These tales are just a few among many that whisper from the abandoned halls of wing “B”.
Fairmont Hotel Macdonald
The Fairmont Hotel Macdonald in Edmonton is reported by believers to be haunted, including a spectral horse that was dropped dead during the 1914 pouring of the building’s foundation.
One would hope that the Fairmont MacDonald Hotel, the most Gothic looking place in Edmonton, would have at least one ghost. Well, of course, it does. Workers and guests have reported the sound of a horse-drawn carriage clip-clopping along. The extra eerie part? It’s only been heard in the hallway on the top floor!
Frank Slide
Frank Slide in Crowsnest Pass was the site of a massive rockslide in 1903 that claimed 76 lives. They never recovered most of their bodies.
Well over a century later, spirits are said to be wandering the debris field, searching for their lost friends and loved ones. Some visitors have reported feeling uncomfortable in the area, followed by cries in the wind and unexplained lantern lights at night. Spooky. The site of one of the most notable events in the history of The Pass, Frank Slide, left a deep scar on the landscape. On a chilly spring night in 1903, the town of Frank felt the ground tremble as the side of Turtle Mountain came crashing down on the sleeping town. The landslide buried about 70 to 90 people, and they never recovered their remains.
The Old Grace Hospital
The old Grace Hospital in Calgary is reportedly haunted by the ghost of a certain Maudine Riley, who died in childbirth and whose family was believed to own the land when the hospital was being constructed. The hospital is still in operation.
Currently known as “Riley Park Health Centre,” Old Grace Hospital located on 8th Ave NW has a few paranormal occurrences of its own. Apparently, the ghost of a woman who is said to be a family member of the owner of the land Old Grace was built on is haunting the halls of the maternity ward. Legend has it, the woman died giving birth to her baby (who also didn’t survive childbirth) in the hospital and has been haunting the maternity ward since. She is said to be seen weeping and holding her baby. If that doesn’t send utter chills down your spine, I don’t know what will.
La Bohème Restaurant Bed and Breakfast in Edmonton
According to believing employees, the spirit of the wife of the former owner is haunting the place.
The tale of a woman who was chopped to bits and burned in the furnace at a northeast Edmonton building doesn’t scare people away.
In fact, it attracts them.
On Halloween, the 1912-era former luxury apartment building turned bed and breakfast was fully booked with guests curious to see the slain woman’s ghost.
“People just love it,” said Mike Comeau, co-owner and caretaker of La Boheme, 6427 112 Ave.
According to legend, Comeau says, the building’s original caretaker murdered his wife and dragged her down three flights of stairs.
“The word is he cut her up in pieces and burned her body in the furnace.”
The original coal-fired boiler where the gruesome crime is said to have taken place is still in use, though it’s been converted to gas.
Although the truth of the horrific murder is uncertain and there are no records of it at the city archives, many overnight guests say there’s a spirit haunting the creaky floored antique-style rooms.
Last winter, a regular customer was sleeping in suite 7, said to be the most haunted room when he says his bed lifted right off the ground.
“I was screaming, ‘Stop!’ and I was slapping myself to make sure I was awake,” said Larry Finnson, an advertising businessman from Winnipeg.
Another time a female employee was doing laundry in the dimly lit basement near the furnace room when she felt someone touch her.
She was so startled she ran up the stairs screaming and never came back, said Comeau.
Author Barbara Smith wrote about bed and breakfast in her 1996 book More Ghost Stories of Alberta.
She doesn’t know the murder tale but witnessed the unexplained while having coffee at La Boheme in the spring of 1995.
As she asked the former owner of the building if it was haunted, Smith said the lid of the sugar bowl lifted off the dish and onto the table.
“There’s a ghost there,” said Finnson, who described himself as a skeptic turned believer.
“The ghost ain’t gonna hurt you, but it will freak you out if (it) wants to.”
McKay Avenue School in downtown Edmonton
It is a museum that previously served as a school. It was the scene of the first two legislative sessions of the province. One particular entity, according to believers is the spirit of a worker who perished in a fall during the construction of the building.
McKay Avenue School, now the Edmonton Public School Archives and Museum, is believed to be haunted by a construction worker named Peter, who fell off the roof in 1912. The ghost has been known to move carefully placed chairs around the room and open drawers and scatter their contents. Ghost investigators asked if the ghost could make a noise if he was there, and the sound of a hammer immediately followed.
The old Princess Theatre in Edmonton
It is claimed by believers to be haunted by a spectral bride who committed suicide by hanging in the 1920s after being cast off her loved one.
Built in 1913, the Princess is one of the oldest surviving theatres in western Canada. Back in the 1920s, though, it was a rooming house where – rumor has it – a jilted bride hanged herself in her wedding dress.
“At times,” Bailey said, “a ghostly apparition of a woman dressed in white has been seen hovering above their projection room, walking around the central lobby, and up and down the grand staircase.”
Strathcona Museum and Archives
Strathcona County Museum and Archives, the items in displays move. An open bible’s pages are turning, and lights come on at night. Folks have reported phantom licorice, matches, and cigar smells near the jail. A heavy jail door once slammed shut in front of a museum volunteer.
An RCMP guard and a prisoner wander around this former detachment, but both are friendly, says Starr Hanson, manager and curator.
Erected in 1959 as the original Strathcona County Firehall, it became home to the RCMP eight years later. Firefighters and Mounties shared the building until 1975 when it was turned over for the county’s artifact collection.
The museum opened in 1997, and Hanson says she first saw the guard four years later. He’s apparently a prankster: Artifacts move, lights and electronics flick on overnight, and an open Bible switches passages.
Strong smells of licorice, pipe tobacco and sulfurous matchsticks emanate near the jail cell. Also a 275-kilogram door was slammed shut in the face of a volunteer, even though it hadn’t been moved in six years.
The building may be haunted, but Hanson isn’t.
“People ask if I’d like a ceremony to have them removed,” she said. “I say they’re not hurting anything, so I’m not afraid to have them here.”
Taber Hospital
Paranormal activity at the Taber hospital became noticeable once the facility closed down. Mysterious lights were seen. Strange noises were heard coming from the nurse’s residence next door. Despite these, there is no one in the abandoned building. People began to call the suspected ghost “Maynard”. Many believe Maynard made the move when they opened the new Taber hospital. He now haunts a different building.
Walterdale Playhouse
The Walterdale Playhouse – built in 1905, was originally Strathcona’s first Firehall. Actors have said that they can often hear the sounds of an emergency bell. They said they can hear the sounds of horses hoofs. They were clip-clopping along the cement floor like the horses taking their places getting ready to work.
A fireman by the name of Walter, died in this building in 1909 in the second story bunkhouse. Today, it is the makeup room and dressing room for all the actors. He enjoys watching shows and also hides and moves actors costumes, props, and belongings.
Underneath the pavement below ground beside the playhouse, was a jail where people were thrown in for various crimes. Over the years, some died in a cell overnight from beatings, choking on vomit, etc.
Which of these places do you dare to visit? Do you have a horror story with these places you want to share? Comment down below.
