From eerie landmarks to haunting attractions, here are six spots in Toronto where you might be able to see a ghost — visit, if you dare.
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Elgin and Winter Garden Theatre
Price: $20 per person for tours
Address: 189 Yonge St., Toronto, ON
Why You Need To Go: The Elgin and Winter Garden Theatre is famously haunted.
Opened in 1913, the Winter Garden part of the theatre was closed in 1928, according to the Toronto Ghosts & Hauntings Research Society. The Elgin theatre (the lower half), remained open for a while longer. In 1981, the theatre was purchased by the Ontario Heritage Association and was designated a national historic site.
The theatre is said to have more than a few ghosts, and enough "reported ghostly phenomena for a few theatres," as the TGHRS says.
Margo MacDonald, a veteran storyteller and tour guide at The Haunted Walk, says visitors have had plenty of paranormal occurrences. The Haunted Walk operates ghost tours of the theatre where guests can join in on a paranormal investigation and even try to communicate with spirits.
"We've had guests see full-on apparitions," she tells Narcity. "I was with a group the other night and we all, at the same time, thought that we saw this dark, shadowy human-shaped figure that had kind of a glowing light in it."
She says their tours regularly see paranormal activity.
"We've definitely had noises. We've had good responses in some of the communication experiments where we're getting answers to the questions that we're asking."
As for who is doing the haunting, the most famous ghost of the theatre is said to be the Lavender Lady, a spirit who is said to leave behind the smell of lavender.
While you can join The Haunted Walk on one of their paranormal adventures to the theatre, those less brave can book a tour of the theatre by daylight through the Ontario Heritage Trust.
Ontario Heritage Trust website
Gibraltar Point Lighthouse
Price: Free to visit
Address: Located in Hanlan's Point Park, 9 Queens Quay W., Toronto, ON
Why You Need To Go: On the Toronto Islands, you can visit a lighthouse that's said to have a spirit lingering around.
The Gibraltar Point Lighthouse on Hanlan's Point is said to be the site of strange and paranormal occurrences.
According to CBC, visitors to the sight have reported seeing unexplained lights in the lighthouse windows, strange bloodstains on the staircase, and a "shadowy form gliding across the sand in the moonlight."
MacDonald tells Narcity that the lighthouse has been haunted for most of its lifetime (it was built in 1803) by a former lighthouse keeper.
As the story goes, lighthouse keeper J.P. Radan Muller disappeared from his post at the lighthouse on January 2, 1815.
The exact details of what happened to him are unconfirmed ("lost to history," as CBC puts it), but he was presumed murdered.
Today, legend persists that his ghost haunts the grounds. While you can't go inside the lighthouse for yourself, you can pay it a visit the next time you're on the island.
The lighthouse's isolated location and eerie look may be enough to send a shiver down your spine — whether you visit at night or not.
"Even during broad daylight [...] you get a creepy sense from it," says MacDonald.
Hanlan's Point website
The Keg Mansion
Price: Prices vary
Address: 515 Jarvis St., Toronto, ON
Why You Need To Go: You can get your steak served with a side of ghost stories at the Keg Mansion in Toronto.
Located on Jarvis Street in a historic mansion built in 1867 by Arthur McMaster, (the nephew of William McMaster, aka the founder of McMaster University), it's said that unexplainable occurrences have been reported on the property since the 1950s.
With the gothic-style building's arched entryways, castle-like features, grand staircases and fireplaces, as well as its exterior covered in creeping vines, it's one of those places that just looks like it should be haunted.
Here, you can ask your server for tales of the mansion's resident ghosts, or even peruse a book of ghost stories that you can request to have brought to your table.
Some of the spirits said to haunt the premises include a woman reportedly seen in a washroom on the second floor of the mansion, which some believe is the spirit of Lilian Massey, the daughter of Hart Massey, who purchased the mansion in 1882.
Another tale tells of a ghost boy seen playing on the stairs of the restaurant. Sadly, the boy is said to have fallen down the stairs and died at some point after the Massey family lived in the mansion.
Other ghostly occurrences here include flickering lights and bottles tipping off shelves all on their own.
If you dare go for dinner, be sure to try the Billy Miner Pie. And maybe visit the upstairs bathroom with a buddy.
Keg Mansion website
Hockey Hall of Fame
Price: $25 for general admission
Address: 30 Yonge St., Toronto, ON
Why You Need To Go: Toronto's Hockey Hall of Fame is where you can see the world’s largest hockey collection and larger-than-life sculptures of hockey legends, but apparently, it's also where you might spot a spectre or two.
The building, located on the corner of Yonge and Front Street, was formerly a branch of the Bank of Montreal. Built in 1888 for BMO, the building remained a branch of the bank until 1993, when it became the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Today, the building is thought to be haunted by the ghost of a bank employee named "Dorothy," who was confirmed by The Toronto Star to be Dorothea Mae Elliott, 19.
As the Star reported, Dorothea sadly shot herself on March 11, 1953, in the women's washroom on the second floor of the bank, later dying at St. Michael's Hospital, located just down the street.
Since then, MacDonald says, bank employees would feel a presence watching them in the upstairs bathroom. Visitors to the now-Hockey Hall of Fame have also reported seeing Dorothea.
"People hear the sound of screaming from up there, including on one of our own tours," MacDonald says.
The Haunted Walk offers ghost tours that stop outside the Hockey Hall of Fame. However, you can also book a ticket to the venue and check it out for yourself by the light of day.
Hockey Hall of Fame website
Fairmont Royal York
Price: Prices vary
Address: 100 Front St W, Toronto, ON
Why You Need To Go: Like other Fairmont hotels, the Fairmont Royal York in Toronto is said to be haunted.
The luxury hotel, which is nearly a century old, is filled with expansive suites and grand spaces, and over the years has attracted celebrities, dignitaries and even royalty to the city of Toronto.
Some who visited the hotel apparently liked it so much that they never left.
According to the Fairmont, the ghost of a former steward at the Royal York is said to wander around in the hotel's basement, with several staff members having reported seeing the steward one moment, only to have him vanish in the next.
Other reports tell of a wealthy man who visited the hotel with his new bride, both of whom are said to lurk around the hotel at night.
If you're brave enough, you can book a stay at the hotel, with rooms starting at $359 per night. Or, for those less willing to sleep among spirits, you can pay a visit to the hotel's champagne and cocktail bar.
Fairmont Royal York website
Royal Ontario Museum
Price: $26 for general admission
Address: 100 Queens Park, Toronto, ON
Why You Need To Go: The Royal Ontario Museum is a classic attraction in Toronto, but like many other century-old buildings in the city, it's also said to be haunted.
According to the TGHRS, the ROM is haunted by a few different ghosts, who occupy different parts of the museum.
One is said to be the museum's first director, Charles T. Currelly.
According to the museum, Currelly, had his office built on the left of the balcony over the museum's Weston Entrance doors, so that he could be close to the galleries, and visitors.
He died in 1946. However, the museum says his ghost can sometimes be spotted standing on the balcony over the doors before disappearing.
The other ghost, according to TGHRS, is that of a young girl named Celeste, who would be seen in the former McLaughlin Planetarium.
According to the ROM, in the 70s, Celeste was "one of the most likely Toronto spirits to be experienced."
It's said that after the Planetarium shut down, she continued to haunt the children's museum that took over the space, reportedly playing with the toys overnight.
A third ghost in the ROM is known as the European Spector, aka the "Lady in the Dress," a lesser-known and more recent spirit.
You can visit the ROM by daylight or after nightfall at one of their aptly named After Dark events, and see if you can spot any of the spectres for yourself.
ROM website
The Thirsty Elf at the Fairmont Royal York in Toronto.
Three Christmas cocktails from The Thirsty Elf.
