by Michelle Trottier
Every year, when Halloween rolls around we look for new ways to scare ourselves silly. In Montreal, there’s no shortage of options to put some fright in the night. Here is a list of spooky and perhaps even “haunted” places to visit in Montreal to increase your heart rate and make your hands sweaty.
Hiking in some cemeteries during the day may look like a walk in a beautiful park. But at night, by the light of a flashlight, these journeys can activate the imagination of even the most rational person.
Montreal has a multitude of cemeteries of all faiths where one can undoubtedly get a good scare, but two of them stand out as being particularly spooky: The cemeteries Mont Royal and Notre-Dame-des-Neiges, which are neighbours, and located on Mount Royal. It is said that several witnesses have seen, over time, among other wandering entities, an Algonquin warrior. A story also circulates about the origin of the closing time of the Notre-Dame-des-Neiges cemetery – 5:00 pm – connected to the holding at this place, at night, of satanic masses involving animal sacrifices.
Moreover, Mont Royal hosts another somewhat famous soul, that of Baron Simon McTavish, who died in 1805 before the completion of the construction of the sumptuous home he wanted to offer his new wife, at the top of the mountain. Rumours of ghostly sightings in the area include those of the apparition of McTavish, tumbling down the snowy slopes of the mountain, sitting in his coffin.
And if you have a very fertile imagination, you can take a walk downtown, to Place du Canada and Dorchester Square, and think of the thousands of bodies that were once buried under these parks, in the old Saint-Antoine cemetery, which welcomed corpses from 1799 to 1855. It is estimated that there are still the bones of more than 40,000 bodies there. The skeletons were discovered during the renovation of René-Lévesque Boulevard in the fall of 2016, and it is rumoured that some of the dead, upset by the work, now haunt the darker corners of the Guy-Favreau complex .
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While cemeteries are classic places for imagining strange events, several buildings and places around Montreal are also home to a host of unexplained phenomena.
The Mount Stephen Club, today the Bar George of the Mount Stephen Hotel, is associated with the story of the original owner of the place, Annie Charlotte Kane, wife of Lord George Stephen, whose ghost was seen, among others, on the iconic grand staircase of the place by members of the service staff, several years after the couple left the house.
Built in 1688, the Auberge Saint-Gabriel is one of the oldest hotel establishments in North America, and at least the first to obtain its liquor license, in March 1754. Still a gourmet restaurant today, it’s not just good food that makes its reputation. In some circles, it is whispered that the spirit of a little girl, who died in a fire at the inn in the 19th century, has manifested itself there.
The Théâtre du Nouveau Monde, another building steeped in history, has also been home to strange phenomena. A former owner is said to have seen the ghost of an old woman who had kept seat F-106 (which disappeared during the renovation of the theatre in 1997). A tendency for stage lighting to turn on and off by itself adds to the spooky atmosphere here.
Is it any wonder that there are rumours of ghostly presences at the Pied-du-Courant prison, site of the execution by hanging of at least 17 patriots? Noises of uncertain sources, voices and whispers, doors that close ... soldiers in “old uniforms” have even been seen in the building, which today houses the headquarters of the SAQ (Quebec Alcohol Corporation).
Dating back to 1705, and considered one of the oldest buildings in Old Montreal, the Ramezay Castle, now a museum, also gives rise to a goosebump-inducing legend: two specters have been glimpsed, that of a guardian named O'Leary who worked there towards the end of the 19th century, or that of Miss O’Dowd, a caretaker and museum curator who worked there for nearly 50 years.
If the mere idea of browsing these places alone is enough to make some people shudder, some companies also offer guided group tours to satisfy one’s macabre curiosity by sharing through a tour. Haunted Montreal offers three tours, in Griffintown, Mount Royal and downtown. Fantômes Montréal (Montreal Ghosts), in Old Montreal, offers two tours in this neighbourhood, including Traditional Ghost Walks and Ghost Walk & Dark Encounters. Finally, Secret Montréal revives the city's Red Light District through two tours, one of which is dedicated to the ghosts of the Red Light.
Stories of ghosts and urban legends abound in Montreal, and these places are just a glimpse of where we can go to experience some thrills, while putting one's rationality to the test. Add Halloween, when the connection with the world of the dead is in the air, is probably the best time to do it.
Author's Note: This article is intended as a playful incursion into the world of stories and legends and paranormal beliefs. It is not a question of affirming the real existence of ghosts, but rather of providing a guide for people who want to explore these stories and see for themselves – or just enjoy a good fright!
