The former vaudeville and movie theatre is rumoured to be haunted by a young female spirit. She died on the Runnymede Theatre stage many years ago when a sandbag fell on her.
Along with the theatre, the building has also been home to Chapters, and today is Shoppers Drug Mart. There had been reports from former theatre and bookstore employees and customers about hearing a child crying, books randomly dropping off the shelves and having feelings of uneasiness.
Source: TorontoGhosts.org
These beautiful old buildings are home to a few spirits. The first is a group that can be heard talking in one of the chambers. The chamber doors are usually open; however, when the speaking starts, they close on their own. The other presence at Osgoode Hall is that of a female gliding through the halls.
Source: Haunted Toronto by John Robert Colombo & TorontoGhosts.org
The magnificent building was Toronto’s central railway station for a little more than a decade. Competition from Union Station, along with the Great Depression, meant the end of the line for the station, and it closed in 1930. Over the years, much of the station’s grand interior was covered over. However, in the early 2000s, extensive restoration began on the landmark property, and its inner beauty was rediscovered.
Today, the former C.P.R. North Toronto Station is the Summerhill L.C.B.O. The flagship store is rumoured to be home to two kinds of spirits – liquor and ghostly. There’s a stairway that once led passengers to the Track 2 train platform. The ground floor door to that now hidden and capped stairway locks and unlocks by itself. Staff have also mentioned seeing apparitions in the building.
Source: TRHA.ca & globalnews.ca/news/1510531/what-you-might-not-know-about-the-summerhill-lcbo/
The majestic Fairmont Royal York Hotel is rumoured to have a ghost on the 8th floor. Guests have mentioned seeing the apparition of a grey-haired man wearing a maroon smoking jacket walking the hallway.
Others have heard children laughing and playing in its historic halls, only to look out and find no one there.
Source: TorontoGhosts.org & nationalpost.com/posted-toronto/the-royal-york-is-haunted-and-author-christopher-heard-should-know-he-lives-there
On the south side of the Royal Ontario Museum is the former McLaughlin Planetarium. In operation from 1968 to 1995 and once part of the museum, staff used to report seeing the spectre of a sad little girl there on numerous occasions. Named “Celeste,” she was said to be about eight years old, have blonde hair in ringlets, and wear a long white dress. Witnesses claimed to have seen her seated in the planetarium’s theatre, yet she vanished whenever attempts were made to approach her.
Today, the former planetarium is owned by the University of Toronto.
Source: The Toronto Star Newspaper Archives (Apr 27, 1980, pg C12) & Haunted Toronto by John Robert Columbo
Toronto’s beautiful theatre has had over 4,000 shows performed on its stage over the century. Besides being Canada’s first air-conditioned playhouse, the Royal Alex was one of North America’s first “fireproof” theatres. In the early 1960s, visionary Ed Mirvish saved the historic venue from demolition. In doing so, he started rejuvenating what we know today as the Entertainment District.
The theatre is rumoured to be home to a few ghosts. In a 1997 Jolson: The Musical production, the cast mentioned seeing an apparition of Al Jolson seated in the audience. When Mr Jolson was alive, he performed ten times at the Royal Alex.
In Dressing Room 14, some have heard odd sounds and screaming behind its door, along with messages scribed across its mirror.
One of Royal Alex’s most legendary ghosts is a beautiful lady wearing a long white gown. Several actors have reportedly seen her in the house left upper box while they trod the boards at the theatre.
Source: Mirvish Productions YouTube Channel – The Royal Alexandra Theatre Ghost Tour
John Howard, Toronto’s first Surveyor and Engineer, along with his wife Jemima, built Colborne Lodge five years after emigrating from England. They named their residence after Sir John Colborne, the Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada. In 1873, the couple deeded the 165 acres of property to the City of Toronto under the agreement, which states that it remains free to use and is called “High Park.” Mr Howard retained the Lodge and 45 acres until he passed away.
It’s rumoured that the ghost of a woman, perhaps Mrs Howard, has been seen looking out from a second-floor window towards the Howards’ Burial Monument.
Today, the picturesque heritage site is a city-operated museum.
Source: TorontoGhosts.org & Haunted Toronto by John Robert Columbo
Considered a ghost station since it’s not in use, Lower Bay Station was operational only six months in 1966. A ghostly apparition known as the Lady in Red has been reportedly seen gliding through the station and its tunnels by TTC personnel and film crews.
This abandoned station is sometimes used as a filming location for productions featuring New York City subway scenes. It’s located directly beneath Bay Station.
Source: TorontoGhosts.org & toronto.citynews.ca/2009/10/29/haunted-toronto-part-one/
The massive sandstone building was constructed over an 11-year period, but Old City Hall and York County Court House finally opened in 1899. It was designed by architect EJ Lennox in Richardsonian Romanesque style and cost $2.5 million to build. The current Toronto City Hall replaced it in 1965.
Courtroom 33 is rumoured to be haunted. There’s a theory that it’s the spirits of the last two men sentenced to capital punishment in Canada in 1962.
In a rear stairwell, there are reports of footsteps being heard, plus judges have felt tugging on their robes. Moans have been heard in the cellars of the majestic old building, which was once the holding area for prisoners.
Source: TorontoGhosts.org & Haunted Toronto by John Robert Columbo
Built in 1841, Stanley Barracks was one of seven main buildings in what was originally known as the New Fort, a British military post established to supplement Fort York. The limestone building was originally the Officers’ Quarters. It was renamed Stanley Barracks in 1893 in honour of Governor General Lord Frederick Stanley. Since 1946, the building has had other uses, including emergency public housing, the Sports/Hockey Hall of Fame, a museum and a restaurant.
There’s rumoured to be a lot of ghostly activity in Stanley Barracks, such as Jenny, a little girl looking for her cat, and Jenny’s father, who is looking for her. When the building’s basement was home to a restaurant, workers mentioned cutlery and platters being moved around, perhaps by a more mischievous ghost.
Stanley Barracks is the oldest surviving building constructed on Exhibition Place grounds, and today, it’s part of Hotel X Toronto.
Source: Ghosts of the Canadian National Exhibition by Richard Palmisano & Ghost Walk at Exhibition Place led by Steve Collie of After Dark Tours.
The building with Father Time over its tall front doors is said to be haunted by many ghosts. One such spirit is that of an angry female inmate who took her life in her cell in the late 1800s when the west wing of the jail was for women prisoners. It’s rumoured that her apparition has been seen in the building’s central rotunda.
Source: Haunted Toronto by John Robert Columbo
Toronto’s great concert hall, also known as The Grand Old Lady of Shuter Street, was donated to the city by industrialist Hart Massey. There have been reports of a male spirit wearing old-fashioned clothing haunting the backstage area of the historic venue. It’s thought to be the former custodian who once lived in an apartment behind the stage.
There are also rumours of a female opera singer making her presence known from a seat in the audience. “The Diva” is said to make loud noises when a soprano takes the stage at Massey Hall.
If the Massey name sounds familiar with hauntings, the family once lived in the stately home we know today as The Keg Mansion.
Source: Haunted Toronto by John Robert Colombo & PSICAN.org
The stately home is considered one of Toronto’s most haunted houses. The ghosts of its famous former resident, William Lyon Mackenzie and his wife, Isabel, are said to be lingering in the city-operated museum.
After living in the house for only a few years, Mr Mackenzie, a journalist, rebel and Toronto’s first Mayor, died in the bedroom in 1861. The ghost of a man wearing a wig and frock coat has been seen around the house, particularly near his bedroom. In 1873, Mrs Mackenzie also passed away in the home.
Over the decades, the historic property went through a few hands and, in 1960, was given to the City of Toronto. That same year, two different sets of caretaking couples lived rent-free in an apartment on an upper floor. They both left quickly and when asked why, they said they were so frightened by the strange occurrences that they could no longer live there.
According to a newspaper article, the caretakers mentioned the disturbing feeling of being watched or not alone. While upstairs, they also heard Mrs Mackenzie’s piano playing from a parlour on the first floor and footsteps on the stairs. One of the wives said she saw the spectre of a woman wearing 19th-century garb hovering over her momentarily, then vanishing only later to return to slap her on the face.
Source: TorontoGhosts.org, The Globe and Mail Newspaper Archives (Mar 8, 1962, pg 7) & The Toronto Star Archives (Apr 27, 1980, pg C12)
Today, the historic Stewart Building is part of the University of Toronto. It was originally the Toronto Athletic Club, and later the Toronto Technical School, Toronto Police Headquarters/Station and the Ontario College of Art & Design.
There are numerous reports of the building being haunted. Once the pool and bowling alleys for the athletic club, the cellar area gives off eerie vibes, and odd noises have been heard. On the third floor, students mentioned hearing knocks on doors, as well as the feeling that someone was watching them or being touched on the arm by a phantom hand.
Source: TorontoGhosts.org
Considered one of Canada’s finest 19th-century financial buildings, it operated as Bank of Montreal’s head office until 1949 and later a branch until 1982. Now the Hockey Hall of Fame, there are rumours of lights turning on and off as well as doors opening, closing and locking on their own.
There have also been reports of two female ghosts. One spirit, wearing an old-fashioned dress, makes her appearance by the vault and offices. The second could be that of a teller, Dorothy, who took her own life at the bank after a bad romance.
Source: TorontoGhosts.org & Toronto Star Newspaper Archives: Aug 1, 1982, pg H3
The historic venue is home to two theatres and a few spirits. Its most famous ghost is The Lavender Lady. While no one knows who she is, there’s speculation that she could be a rival actress of a jealous castmate or a jilted wife whose husband fell in love with a Vaudeville showgirl. When she appears, it is in the grand staircase and elevator areas—those who have felt her presence notice a drop in temperature and the scent of lavender.
Another ghost at the architectural treasure is Sam. In 1989, after the building restoration was complete, theatre volunteers and staff heard a trombone or trumpet playing. The strange thing was no rehearsals were going on. Another odd occurrence was the seats in the theatre flipping down and then back up. The volunteers used a Ouija board to conduct a seance at midnight on the stage of the Winter Garden Theatre. The group communicated with a musician named “Sam.” He said he was a trombone player in a 1918 Vaudeville production at the Winter Garden.
Source: Ontario Heritage Trust
According to the heritage plaque on the lighthouse, the grounds are said to be haunted by the lighthouse’s first keeper – JP Rademuller. He was known to keep a keg of beer on hand at his cottage to share with friends.
Just north of the lighthouse was a blockhouse guarded by soldiers from Fort York. The soldiers often rowed or walked down from Blockhouse Bay to visit him. Legend has it that back in 1815, when three soldiers were visiting, Mr Rademuller cut them off since he thought they already had enough to drink. A deadly brawl broke out, and Mr Rademuller mysteriously vanished. No one knew what happened to him, and the story of his disappearance was passed down.
Several decades later, the fourth lighthouse keeper, George Durnan, found human remains buried beneath the ground near the Gibraltar Point Lighthouse on Toronto Island.
Source: Ontario Heritage Trust, The Toronto Star Archives (Jul 20, 2018, pg GT6)
Source: Haunted Toronto by John Robert Colombo (The Gibraltar Point Lighthouse Ghost)
The stately home has quite a history when it comes to ghosts. Once home to the Massey family, after Lillian Treble Massey died, a maid was so distraught that she took her own life. It’s said that her apparition has been seen in the main entranceway.
There have also been sightings at the Keg Mansion of a young boy playing on the staircase and the sound of children playing upstairs. There’s a female presence in the women’s washroom, too. Customers have said stall doors unlock all by themselves; plus, they’ve had the eerie feeling that someone was watching them.
Source: GhostWalks.com, TorontoGhosts.org & Vice.com
With his fortunes from Christie, Brown & Company, Mr William Christie built the late Victorian-style home near Queen’s Park. When Mr Christie passed away at home in 1900, his only son Robert inherited the business and mansion.
In 1910, Robert had the home reconstructed. There’s a rumour that Robert Christie had a mistress. She lived in a separate area of the Christie Mansion. The same mansion where he lived with his wife and children. The mistress had everything she would need, including a butler, so she would never have to leave the mansion. When Robert grew tired of her, she was heartbroken and took her own life. Some claim that her ghost is haunting the mansion.
Today, the mansion is owned by the University of Toronto. It is the Regis College for the Jesuit School of Theology.
Source: TorontoGhosts.org, Haunted Toronto by John Robert Columbo
Toronto’s great concert hall, also known as The Grand Old Lady of Shuter Street, was donated to the city by industrialist Hart Massey. There have been reports of a male spirit wearing old-fashioned clothing haunting the backstage area of the historic venue. It’s thought to be the former custodian who once lived in an apartment behind the stage.
There are also rumours of a female opera singer making her presence known from a seat in the audience. “The Diva” is said to make loud noises when a soprano takes the stage at Massey Hall.
If the Massey name sounds familiar with hauntings, the family once lived in the stately home we know today as The Keg Mansion.
Source: Haunted Toronto by John Robert Colombo & PSICAN.org
SOURCE
- City of Toronto Heritage Register
- Heritage Toronto
- Ontario Heritage Trust
- Photos: Denise Marie for TorontoJourney416
- Vintage Photos: City of Toronto Archives, Toronto Public Library, Archives of Ontario & CNE Heritage
- Toronto City Directory courtesy of Toronto Public Library
