'Tis the season to be frightened, ah-ah-ah-ah-ah, ah-ah-ah-ahhhh!
If getting spooked is your kryptonite, it's likely you've been getting excited for October 31 since February. Drawing ever-nearer, Halloween is, of course, the most ghostly night of the year.
And for those living in Toronto, there are ample opportunities to up the night's scare-factor via visits to (allegedly) haunted places. From historic homes to theatre buildings to bridges in tree-lined regions, the city is serving several creepy and supposedly-cursed destinations, and we've listed our top picks for you below.
While this year's All Hallows' Eve festivities will surely look different from those previous -- public-health's recommendation to avoid trick-or-treating considered -- taking a walking tour of these spooky urban areas is a safe, outdoorsy way to embrace the holiday to the fullest.
READ: Toronto’s Fantastic Fall Foliage in Photos: The Don Valley
So as the special night approaches, take note of the places you're most eager to feel freaked out at, and anticipate a night filled with ghoulish tales and (physically-distanced) horrors.
Without further ado, here's where to get your haunt on this Halloween, Toronto!
Massey Hall
While there are no specific details on the how and why Massey Hall might be haunted, there are reports of an elderly man and woman, both dressed in "old-timey" clothing, walking through the auditorium only to vanish into thin air. Similarly, stories have been told of a man, also in old-timey clothes, who roams around backstage at the old music hall.
Address: 178 Victoria Street
Ryerson Theatre School
According to The Eyeopener, Ryerson's independent student newspaper, rumours of this theatre's haunting date back to when the structure housed the Ontario College of Pharmacy, where a morgue was also on-site. The paper says that both alumni and staff have spoken about paranormal experiences, and that the building was described as having "a life of its own." Now that the space has seen construction, however those tales may finally be laid to rest. Perhaps you should be the one to decide...
Address: 43 Gerrard Street East
Hockey Hall of Fame
The ghost stories that are reported from the Hockey Hall of Fame -- formerly the Bank of Montreal -- all revolve around the same sorts of experiences: sightings of a woman with long dark hair, "poltergeist" activity, like lights flickering, doors opening and closing, and chairs revolving on their own. The tales all come back to the death of a woman named Dorothy, who reportedly died by a gunshot that occurred in the third-floor women's washroom in the '50s.
Address: 30 Yonge Street
Grounds of Fort York
In normal times, Fort York plays host to moonlit lantern tours, which highlight the space's spooky and historic surroundings. "Learn about the haunted lighthouse, the bloody Battle of York and even more eerie history as we explore nearby military burial grounds," reads the description for the nighttime tour. There are refreshments included and the tour is not recommended for children under 8 years of age because, well, "it’s that good."
Address: 660 Fleet Street
Gibraltar Point Lighthouse
Legend has it, this lighthouse on the Toronto Islands is haunted by its first keeper -- John Paul Radelmüller -- who was reportedly murdered here, gruesomely, in 1815. Soldiers from Fort York came searching for bootlegged beer on January 2 of that year, the tale goes. After too much drink, a fight broke out, resulting in Radelmüller's murder and then dismemberment.
Address: 470 Lakeshore Ave #464, Toronto Islands - Hanlan's Point Park
Spadina House
Hauntingly beautiful, there's something spooky about this historic residence-turned-museum. Reports say that a ghostly figure, sometimes described as a "grey mass," has been spotted darting around this manor's halls. While there are no tales of human death at the house, there is a taxidermy wolf that's reportedly kept in the basement, which was hunted and killed many years ago. Allegedly, the creepy sightings that have taken place on site started to occur after the wolf was taken away for restoration, and then returned. Oooooooooo? More like Owooooooo!
Address: 285 Spadina Road
Old City Hall
This historic building continues to serve Toronto as its municipal courts, but there might be more going on within these walls than the day's current trials. Reports share stories of several types of eerie activity on-site at Old City Hall, including a stairwell poltergeist that enjoys walking up and down the stairs, moans of the previously-incarcerated being heard in the cellars, and Courtroom 33 being haunted by the last men condemned to hang in Canada.
Address: 60 Queen Street West
Don Jail
Known not only for overcrowding and inhumane conditions, the Don Jail was also a location where public hangings took place. Built in the mid-1800s, the facility operated until 1977. It's now rumoured that the ghosts of the last two men to be hanged before capital punishment was abolished in Canada -- Ronald Turpin and Arthur Lucas -- haunt the property's grounds. The two men were executed side-by-side in 1962; Turpin reportedly died quickly and "cleanly," but "Lucas' head was torn right off," their chaplain described. "It was hanging just by the sinews of the neck. There was blood all over the floor."
Address: 550 Gerrard Street East
The Grange
Now tucked into OCAD University's campus, this downtown property spook-level 100. Reportedly, apparitions have been seen in the library, around the staircase, and women wearing black and white have been spotted in the second-floor bedrooms and the kitchen. The novel Haunted Toronto by John Colombo also tells of a man in a yellow velvet coat, roaming the Conservatory halls from east to west.
Address: 317 Dundas Street West
Colborne Lodge
Many sources say that High Park's Colborne Lodge is still inhabited by Jemima Howard, wife of John Howard; the pair were the original owners of the park. After years of illness that confined her to her bedroom, Jemima reportedly died in 1877 and was buried on-site. It's said that still today, her apparition can be seen staring out the bedroom window, looking down at the massive monument at her grave and the iron fence surrounding it.
Address: 11 Colborne Lodge Drive - High Park
Queen's Park
Not always merely a location for legislature, 100 Wellesley West housed an asylum in the mid-nineteenth century. And, some of that asylum was reportedly used to construct the foundation of what's now known as Queen's Park. There's no surprise, then, that many have reported hauntings of female entities, presumed to be past patients of the institution. There have also been tales of a scowling soldier being spotted in the main stairwell.
Address: 110 Wellesley Street West
Christie Mansion
So the story goes, successful businessman William Mellis Christie left all he had -- including his estate -- to his son, Robert, when he died of cancer in June of 1900. Robert reportedly lived in the mansion with his wife, but also kept a mistress hidden away in a chamber behind the library, dubbed Room 29. As time passed, loneliness allegedly drove the mistress to hang herself, after which her body was buried on the grounds of Queen's Park. It's said that now, if you dare enter Room 29 at night, the door will swing shut and lock behind you... should you be alone, you'll find yourself stuck in the chamber all night long.
Address: 25 Queen's Park Crescent West
Mackenzie House
Toronto's first mayor, William Lyon Mackenzie, lived at this address for just two years before he died in his second-floor bedroom. Rumoured to be the most haunted house in Canada, 82 Bond Street boasts spooky reports of a man being spotted through the property, particularly in a bedroom, as well as sightings of a woman with long hair, and poltergeist-like activity such as taps turning on and toilets flushing at random.
Address: 82 Bond Street
Keg Mansion (Euclid Hall)
Come for the steak, stay for the rare ghostly encounters. "The sound of phantom children running and playing are heard in the upper floors and kitchen," says torontoghosts.org. This may be because a small child reportedly fell down the stairs and died in this home, many years ago. Lillian Massey, one of the mansion's inhabitants, reportedly fell sick and died here, which led to a maid hang herself. The latter's apparition can be seen dangling over the main foyer, according to the stories.
Address: 515 Jarvis Street
Humber College Lakeshore Campus
Formerly the site of a psychiatric hospital, this campus is rumoured to house many a ghostly spirit. One story describes a nurse who reportedly had an affair with a patient. The woman -- who wore lavender perfume -- reportedly hanged herself in the apple orchard. Now, folks claim to have encountered the spirit, by seeing it or by smelling it. There's also a cemetery on-site, within which 1,517 bodies are said to be buried.
Address: 3199 Lakeshore Boulevard West, Etobicoke
The Old Finch Bridge
The story of this bridge at Old Finch Road revolves around a girl being murdered here on her date of birth. Legend has it, if you attend the bridge and sing "Happy Birthday," you'll hear her scream, or you'll hear crying. What's more, reports have stated that moans and groans are often heard at the cemetery by the church on Old Finch Road. But, according to torontoghosts.org, it's unlikely this site is haunted. "Ghosts tend to haunt where they lived or where they died, not where they are buried" the site says. It's also noted that due to the church and cemetery's proximity to the Toronto Zoo, it's likely that the "screams" being reported are actually the sounds of agitated peacocks... but if you decide to check it out, you may decide there's a phantom presence, after all.
Address: Old Finch Avenue at Rouge River
