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I'll start us off with two of the most famous in Toronto.
The first is The Keg Mansion. One of the best known haunted houses in Toronto is the old McMaster mansion (home of Lord William McMaster, founder of McMaster University in Hamilton), subsequently the old Massey mansion (home to manufacturing magnate and arts patron Hart Massey -- of Massey-Harris, Massey-Ferguson, Hart House, Massey College and Massey Hall, and whose family included Governor General Vincent Massey and actor Raymond Massey), now the Keg Mansion, a mid-scale grill and steakhouse (mine and my gf's fave restaurant as we only live round the corner). Hart Massey amassed a great deal of wealth as an industrialist and then, as his ambitious overworked sons died one right after the other, he was stricken with remorse at the folly of his pursuit of wealth, and the effects of industrialization on the city's less fortunate. At his death, he donated millions -- “for the poor, the sick and those who tend them," as his will stated, "for the young who are willing... to develop their minds.”
The transformation of their home into a steak-and-cake restaurant has apparently done little to quiet the spirits of the former residents. Numerous waiters, hostesses and patrons have encountered the ghosts of young children and domestic staff from bygone times, and more than one person has felt the presence of someone -- possibly Hart Massey's lonely daughter Lillian -- (who's death from illness inspired a grief stricken maid to hang herself off the main foyer bannister form the floor above...one of the ghosts) in the women's washroom on the second floor. One interesting fact: The mansion "has a secret tunnel that connects it to Wellesley Hospital, when the Massey family used it to transport their son for treatment." Which son? Possibly 'sensitive and frail' Fred Victor, for whom the Fred Victor Mission is named. It's a spooky place even to eat in, but that's what makes it so popular. BEyond that, there is the ghost of a man in the parlour room who appears only in your peripheral vision and when you turn to look at him properly he's not there. We sometimes go to other Kegs and one time we asked if our server ate there, and what he thought about the whole thing. Apparently there is a newsletter that emails out amongst the staff and locations where the Keg Mansion always has new stories from staff or patrons about weird goings on. Like weekly he said. I love going there as it feels like you're eating on an old spooky movie set.
The second place is The Crystal Ballroom of the King Edward Hotel: Built in the 1800's and added to in 1921 the hotel is Toronto's oldest luxury hotel and was frequented by famous film stars in that era. In 1921 they built on the 17th floor (the top) The Crystal Ballroom for the rich and famous patrons to sit in the lap of luxury. It was only used until 1950's before being shut due to not meeting changing fire codes. While the hotel itself is purported to be haunted as a whole, it all seems to stem from the long abandoned ballroom. The floor is not meant to service the 17th floor where the doors used to open right onto the ballroom, but the button is still in the elevators and there's been tell of people getting on the elevators at night and hitting the button for their floor and having the elevator go to 17 and open onto a darkened, abandoned crystal ballroom. There is also a story of guests getting on the elevator only to have their exact floor button already illuminated and pushed. Strange. I keep asking my totally chickenshit gf if we can stay in a room on the 16th floor, right beneath the ballroom floor for a night....but she flat out refuses....the curious person in me totally loves that sort of scary thing so I want to do it.
There's a lot more in Ontario, like the screaming tunnel out by Niagara Falls, or the Hermitage in Hamilton...but I'll let a few others throw some stories up.
Whatchoo folks got?
This post has been edited by QuickTidal: 07 June 2011 - 06:17 PM
