Haunted Canada VisitList

This Queen Anne Revival mansion was once home to former Manitoba premier, Police Magistrate and lawyer Sir Hugh John Macdonald and his family. Similar to other people in the Victorian era, the Macdonald family was fascinated by the paranormal. Ouija boards and methods of communicating with spirits were a popular post dinner parlour game. Surprisingly, Winnipeg was known as a hub of paranormal activity at the time the Macdonald’s were at Dalnavert. To this day Dalnavert hosts spiritualist and paranormal investigations the weeks leading up to Halloween and around Christmas. Are there ghosts in the mansion still trying the connect with the living? There have been reports throughout the years of mysterious footsteps on the floors above and the smell of flowers when there are none in the building.  

Image from https://www.todocanada.ca/city/winnipeg/event/dalnavert-museum-ghost-investigation/. 

Built in the 1860, Watson’s Mill is a working flour mill and museum which celebrates Manotick and its history. Besides the ingenuity and history, the mill preserves, it also holds a tragic story. Ann Crosby Currier was the young bride to Joseph Currier, part owner of Watson’s Mill. The couple were touring the mill when Ann’s skirt caught in a revolving drive shaft, causing a fatal accident. Since then, it has been rumoured that her ghost haunts the mill. Her ghost is claimed to stare out of windows and be seen coming down the attic stairs. There are also rumours of hearing footsteps and being touched when alone on the stairs.  

The famous theatre now known as the Elgin and Winter Theatre Centre, opened nearly 110 years ago. Thanks to conservation efforts over the last forty years, stepping inside the theatre is like stepping into a different era. While experiencing the breathtaking grand staircase and hand-painted walls, one might also have a spooky encounter with a ghost. The theatres most famous ghost is the “Lavender Lady”, and she is so famous she was featured in Canada Posts’ haunted Canada stamp collection. The “Lavender Lady” is a bit a mystery, rumoured to be a rival actress or a wife of a Vaudeville girls’ admirer. You will know if you experience the “Lavender Lady” as she has three characteristics: being spotted on the grand staircase or the original historic elevators, causing a temperature drop or cold breeze, and leaving behind the smell of lavender. The theatre holds other spooky spirits like Sam, the trombone player, a voice in the dark, and the rehearsal interlopers. Learn more about the Elgin and Winter Theatre Centre’s ghosts through virtual tours available on their website. Click here. 

Image from https://postagestampguide.com/canada/series/1672/haunted-canada.