Gizelle Lau, TripAtlas.com – Fri Oct 24, 12:28 PM
Rattling chandeliers, blood dripping down the walls, a crying bride in Room 473 — at TripAtlas.com, we’re getting ready for Halloween by taking a look at these famous haunted hotels in Canada. Some of these hotels have almost too much paranormal history that it leaves little room for skeptics and doubters — but you can be the judge of that.
Eerily, a few of these hotels have made it on TripAtlas.com’s Top 10 Spa Getaways in Canada Destinations and our Top 10 Amazing Dream Weekend Getaways in Canada. Maybe they’re not as relaxing or as dreamy as we thought. What’s even spookier — more than just a few of these are luxurious Fairmont hotels that were built along the Canadian Pacific Railway during the 1800s.
The Lady in Red is Dancing on the 14th Floor
Fairmont Hotel Vancouver in Vancouver, British Columbia
As one of the most distinguishable buildings in Vancouver and a typical Fairmont chateau establishment, today’s version was built in 1939. Amongst is grand architecture and its gargoyles, you may just find another one of its wonders: the lady in red. She has been described as an elegant lady in a red dress walking along an invisible ledge and wandering down the corridors of the 14th floor (or is it really the 13th?). Stranger still, the hotel’s elevator is known to make stops on the 14th floor at random, without being requested.

Sam the Bellman & The Blushing Bride
Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel in Banff, Alberta
The Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel opened in 1888 and has since then has been the site of two major hauntings and ghost stories.
The first is about Sam the bellman who retired in 1967. He promised that he would return, but died a few years later. Well, he did return, and continues to do so today, especially for late-night arrivals to the hotel or guests who lose their keys. Watch out for a bellman wearing a 1960s classic hotel uniform.
A second story from the 1920s is told about a bride who was descending the grand stairwell in the hotel (rumoured to be closed to visitors today) on the way to her wedding ceremony. She tripped on her veil or it caught fire, and she fell down the stairs to her death, snapping her neck. She can be seen wandering through the hotel in her wedding dress. She is sometimes seen at the top of the stairs, but then disappears quickly.
A Restless Painter
James Bay Inn in Victoria, British Columbia
Famous Group of Seven painter: Emily Carr is known to have died here on March 2, 1945 during World War II. At the time, the hotel was converted by Mother Cecilia’s religious order to St. Mary’s Priory to service the wounded. The bar in the hotel is said to be haunted by anyone who speaks or criticizes Carr’s artwork.
Party with the Ghosts
HI Ottawa Jail Hostel in Ottawa, Ontario
I’ve heard people tell me about creepy hostels that they’ve visited and cramped “jail cell” hotel rooms — but this hostel in Ottawa takes it to another level. Before being converted to a hostel, the building served as the Carleton County Gaol — the last working gallows found in Canada. When you visit, you’ll spend a few nights in jail, and you’ll get a glimpse of what early prison life was like. A few famous prisoners who died in the jail still roam through its halls at night — so much so that the hostel owners host “Party with the Ghosts” evenings.
Banging on the Stairwell at Night
La Boheme Restaurant, Bed & Breakfast in Edmonton, Alberta
This bed and breakfast in Edmonton was built in 1912 as an upscale apartment building. A woman employee of the building was murdered and dragged down three flights of stairs to the basement. There, she was dismembered and fed piece-by-piece into the furnace. The original furnace is still in use — and the sound of her head banging on the floor down three flights can be heard at night.
Stay Away From the Second Floor
Fort Garry Hotel in Winnipeg, Manitoba
Whatever you do, don’t stay in Room 202. Stories circulate all over about a cloaked figure that stands at the foot of the bed in Room 202, though sometimes this figure is described as a lady in a white ball gown. Blood is said to trickle from the walls and hotel staff members are known to report strange lights and noises throughout the second floor.
Noisy Servant Girl
Auberge Willow Place Inn in Hudson, Quebec
It’s said that November is the month when this inn’s resident ghost, “Maude”, comes to play. First build in the 1820s, the story says that a young servant girl was murdered by a group of men at the inn in the 1830s. They buried her in the basement but her spirit remained at the inn. Maude can be heard singing in the hallways, knocking over objects, and stacking rocks outside of the door of Room 8.
A Crying Bride & A Wandering Waitress
The Fairmont Algonquin Hotel in Saint Andrews-by-the-Sea, New Brunswick
The hotel opened in 1889 and has been known as a luxurious yet magical destination because of the hotel’s saltwater baths that are thought to have healing properties. Room 473 is known as “The Bride’s Room” where a bride is know to have. She can be heard crying and seen periodically in the room or neaby. An older lady, thought to be an old staff member, is often seen in the dining room at night where she rearranges table settings.
Ghost on the Third Floor
Caribou Hotel in Carcross, Yukon Territory
Dedicated in 2008 as a Yukon Historical Site, this hotel was frequented by gold miners coming into town during the Klondike Gold Rush. It was open in 1901 as the Anderson Hotel but renamed in 1903. Caribou Hotel has a long-standing history, including the murder of owner Bob Olson in December 2004. Another story is told of the figure of a woman who often stands from the windows and bangs on the floorboards on the third floor. She is thought to be the ghost of Bessie Gideon, described as a spirit that is “neither friendly nor unfriendly.” The Gideons took over the hotel in the 1910’s after it was burned down by a great fire on Christmas Eve.
Ghosts Having a Ball
The Royal York Hotel in Toronto, Ontario
A penthouse at the Fairmont Royal York in downtown Toronto is rumoured to hold a grand Crystal Ballroom. It was permanently closed down because it failed to meet the fire code. But, it has been reported that there are times when the service elevator will go to this floor, even though it has been closed off. Guests who stay on the floor below (and who are none the wiser to its closing) have been known to complain about noise, music and talking coming from the ballroom where the chandeliers are also known to shake.
Knock Knock, Who’s There?
Hotel Douglas (now Hotel Rialto) in Victoria, British Columbia
The historical Hotel Douglas in Victoria was built in 1911 and located in downtown Victoria. It is undergoing construction under December 2009. Behind the hotel’s lobby desk where only employees are allowed, you’ll find the only door that leads in and out of the basement. Every once in a while, employees will hear knocking from inside. Upon opening the door, nobody is found on the other side. Apparently, the basement of Hotel Douglas was once a morgue.
Ghosts from the Titanic
Château Laurier in Ottawa, Ontario
As the first of the Canadian Pacific Railway’s hotels, Château Laurier was commissioned by Charles Melville Hays, a general manager at CPR. In 1912, Hays traveled to Europe to pick out the furniture that would be used in the new hotel’s dining room. Upon his return voyage on a passenger liner called the Titanic, Hays and most of his men drowned with the ship, just 12 days before the hotel’s opening. Hays is said to be seen throughout the hotel, making Château Laurier his home because he had worked so hard on it but never lived to see its opening. Guests are said to experience rattling and shaking walls, objects that move on their own, thought to be the ghosts of the other men who also died on the Titanic.
The Ghost of Unrequited Love
Château Frontenac in Quebec City, Quebec
Le Fairmont Château Frontenac is today recognized as United Nations World Heritage Site but it has also been known to have a few lurking ghosts. The ghost of a woman with long hair wearing a nightgown is often seen in guests’ rooms and in their beds. Another ghost is thought to be the late Louis de Buade, governor during the late 1600s. He is said to have died in the hotel while his fiancée was in Europe. He is often seen in his 17th century clothes, wandering the halls looking for her, sitting on windowsills, floating through the ballroom, and watching guests when they are sleeping.
From TripAtlas.com: Have a safe and spooky Halloween!


Filed under: CanPara • Daily • Haunted