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Bytown Museum
1 Canal Lane
Built: 1827
Haunted: unknown
History
Originally built in 1827, the Commissariat Building was used as a storehouse and treasury during the construction of the Rideau Canal. Located at the Entrance Locks of the Rideau Canal, with walls two feet thick, it is the oldest surviving stone building in Ottawa.
Colonel John By (a builder of the Rideau Canal) and assistant commissary general Dunan McNab (who ran the storehouse/treasury) are said to haunt the building, in competition with one another.
The Bytown Museum moved in and assumed responsibility for the structure in 1951.
Hauntings
Staff have reported seeing the television turn on and off, lights stay on when turned off, and strange messages appearing on the computer, with nobody there to type them. Staff have heard the voices of two men, possibly By and McNab, arguing in an empty room, as well as an angry voice yelling “GET OUT!"
Both employees and visitors have reported strange footsteps when nobody's there. One one staircase, the footsteps continue for a few steps after you stop, as if to catch up before stopping behind you.
A tiny stone vault, deep at the back corner of the building, sits protected by a rusty metal gate. Visitors have reported the presence of an angry ghost who pushes people, generally women, from behind. Staff have reported seeing and hearing the heavy, sliding wooden door between the entrance and the vault shake as if someone were pushing on it to get out.
Visitors have also reported seeing a dog who running around the second floor and a strange man see reading in the library. A child's crying has been heard amidst the dolls exhibited on the top floor, dolls that have been seen to move and wink.
Further Reading
Bytown Museum
Canadian Museum of Nature
240 McLeod Rd.
Built: 1905
Haunted: unknown
History
The museum is comprised of two buildings - the older Victoria Memorial Museum Building, and the much newer Natural Heritage Building.
Construction of the Victoria building began in 1905, under the supervision of chief architect and designer David Ewart. The museum officially opened to
the public in 1912.
Three years later, the top 3 stories of the Victoria building's tower had to be removed as it was sinking into the soft clay base.
Contrary to many stories surrounding the haunting of the museum, the demise of his tower did not drive David Ewart to suicide.
Instead, he died of natural causes, in hospital, in 1921.
In 1916, after the famous fire at the Parliament buildings, the Victoria building became the emergency headquarters for Canada's government for nearly four years.
Hauntings
Strange occurences within the museum include lights turning on and off by themselves, doors opening and closing on their own,
the feeling of being touched on the shoulder by an unseen hand, and an oppressive feeling of being followed down the halls.
On the 4th floor, fire alarms sound for no reason. A mysterious shadow has been spotted, which may be the slim,
tall man in a dark suit seen on the 4th floor balcony.
On the West side, vacuum cleaners have been mysteriously unplugged, while
the elevator sometimes travels from floor to floor, on its own, and will even ignore buttons pressed.
Extreme cold spots and odours of burning rubber have been noted, along with the
apparition of a young, long-haired Native.
Alarms are also known to sound in the Mineral Gallery, where the exit doors often shake as if someone were pushing on them.
Finally, in Dinosaur Hall, the apparition of a mysterious dark shadow has been seen travelling across the floor in a wave-like motion.
During rennovations, a tall plant in the hall bent over, then flipped back into an upright position, for no apparent reason.
Further Reading
Canadian Museum of Nature
HI-Ottawa Jail Hostel (Ottawa International Hostel)
75 Nicholas St.
Built: 1862
Haunted: unknown
History
The Ottawa International Hostel was originally known as the Carleton County Gaol.
From 1862 to 1972, when it was closed for unsanitary conditons, the gaol was one of the most disheartening buildings in Canadian history.
During the early history of the gaol, conditions were absolutely horrid. Prisoners were seldom allowed showers;
they were given 1 meal a day; and some were never allowed to see daylight, kept in filthy, unlit quarantine areas of the basement.
Bodies were burned in the courtyard, including victims that were illegally hanged inside the building.
During the construction of the Mackenzie King Bridge, workers discovered 140 unmarked graves in the courtyard. It is generally assumed that there are hundreds more near the building and beneath the parking lot.
After just a year of rennovations, the gaol reopened as a hostel in 1973. Curiously, during the rennovations, an unexplained
inscription was discovered on the main stairwell:
"I am a non-verdical Vampire who will vanquish you all. One by one I will ornate your odorous flesh with famished fangs. But Who? Are there 94 or 95 steps to the 9th floor? A book on the top shelf will lead you on the right path."
Hauntings
Given that it was a prison, it's not surprising that many stories emanate from Death Row. Apparitions include a man, sitting at a desk, writing something; and a figure sitting on a bed, his head in his hands.
Guests have reported the feeling of a heavy presence and flickering lights, as well as the feeling of someone sitting down on your bed.
The sound of knocking has been heard from inside the 3rd cell (the door of which has been jammed shut for years).
Cell doors lock on their own, despite the fact the locks were removed years ago. The sound of cell doors closing can be heard, along with banging on pipes and disembodied voices reciting the Lord's Prayer. For guests, it is not uncommon to come out of showers and find your clothes strewn down the hall.
In the Office, hot water has been known to come out of cold water taps, the door locks itself, computers turn themselves on
and print out pages of incoherent text, and the phone just keeps ringing.
On the 6th floor stairwell, guests have reported the feeling of being watched, along with
a feeling of extreme cold inside a nearly-bricked up arched alcove.
Station 6, the former residence of the governor, is known for a strange 'vampire' spirit that even prisoners claimed "tries to push your soul out of your body."
The apparition of a shadow was once seen dissppearing into a corner, precisley where a secret passage was later discovered behind the lockers.
On the 9th floor (the former hospital/women's cells), the sound of children's voices and women screaming can be heard.
In the debtor's portion of the prison, the sounds of moaning have been heard from a partially-filled tunnel.
Further Reading
HI-Ottawa Jail Hostel
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Haunted Ontario was first launched July 27th, 2000.
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