Haunted Locations of Victoria, Vancouver Island

128 thoughts on “Haunted Locations of Victoria, Vancouver Island”

1. January February 1987 I was living in the Chateau Victoria while working for BCTEL (TELUS now) look up “Victoria Jane Wilson” and her parrots. It was either her or a parrot in my room. One morning I woke up to find a night table drawer upside down on the floor. There was a wet area inside the drawer. That same night I was trying to sleep when I heard a noise coming from the closet near the bed. It sounded like a plastic bag gently being massaged. I turned on the light and slid open the closet door. There was a white plastic bag provided by the hotel that was folded neatly on the shelf above the hanger bar. I left the door open and turned off the light. Trying to sleep I heard it again, then suddenly I heard what sounded like a bird trapped inside a plastic bag trying to escape from the bag while frantically flying circles above the bed and passing over my head for about 5 seconds. I went under the covers for a very long time, but finally turned on the light. To my surprise the bag that was on the closet shelf was now on the floor all wrinkled up. I got up, got dressed, didn’t sleep at all, and moved out the next day. That was one scary night.

   Reply

2. I can verify the ‘burning candle smells’ in Craigdarroch castle. I worked there in the 80’s and one morning, before we were open, the smell was so strong on the second floor I became afraid of fire and called a manager. It was fading when he arrived but he smelt it too. There is no way anyone would have lit anything in there; any kind of fire was forbidden because of the polish on the staircase which would have gone up if exposed to the smallest flame. Old Joan Dunsmuir spent more of the remaining years of her life on that floor.
   Other staff said they heard noises after they’d locked up, including loud crashes.

   Reply

   1. This is great! Thanks so much for sharing your experiences, especially in October! This definitely verifies what other people have claimed has happened to them. If you’re interested, Ian Gibbs and I are doing readings at Russell Books in Victoria on October 26th at 7 pm.

      Reply

3. I was told that the hill on the Centennial (Brighton)Trail between Transit Road and St. David in Oak Bay is called “Spook Hill”
   Is there a reason for this? There is a lovely old house (late 1800’s) on this spot.

   Reply

4. Having lived in Victoria all my life and visiting nearly every place listed, including some that don’t exist anymore, I had two strange experiences only. The scariest one was in August of 1980 at what is now called The Bent Mast. I don’t remember what it was called then, but it was quite a bit more “fancy” than it is now. I was with a male companion for lunch. I excused myself at one point, to use the restroom upstairs. It was a pretty little singular room with flowered wallpaper. I got the distinct feeling I was not alone, and even more so when I exited the powder room to the empty corridor. It felt like I was literally being chased down the stairs by something I could both feel and hear, but when I got to the bottom of the stairs and turned around, there was no one and nothing there I could see. I was rather rattled. As far as the daupleganger on the big rock off Superior Street at Beacon Hill Park, I saw her too. I was driving, and really thought nothing of it at the time. It was daylight. She had black hair with her arms outstretched, and I thought it was just some woman doing yoga on a rock. I think she was wearing a white shirt with black pants but it could have been the other way around, I don’t recall because I was too far away to see any facial expression, and at the time I didn’t really consider it weird.

   Reply

   1. Thanks for sharing Michelle. The first experience is interesting because it is the sort of thing reported in places often believed to be haunted. feelings that are strong enough to motivate a person to leave an area quickly without an explanation, or anything that would normally make someone do this. The Beacon Hill Park apparition. What convinces you that it was the apparition at some point, and not just a woman doing yoga, other than the similar description? Appreciate you sharing your experiences with us 🙂

      Reply

5. I am happy to announce that my new book The Haunting of Vancouver Island is now available for preorder. A few of the commenters here have been notified that their experiences are part of the book. A few others never got back to me, so you are either the online name you used here, or just a first name. Here’s a link if you would like to find out more about the book: https://livinglibraryblog.com/haunting-vancouver-island/

   Reply

6. I had a crazy experience on dallas road near the pond with the fountains and the ducks about 8 years ago. I was walking from the beach back to the road, it was around 11:00pm. I got to a part where the path went through a forested area that was about 30 ft long. It was very dark, while standing on the path i looked straight ahead, and at the other side of the trees there was a dark shadowy figure standing and looking at me, blocking the path. I stopped and looked and it just stood there. Seeing how it was the only way i could go, i started to walk towards it. as i started walking, it started walking towards me. at first I thought it was just a dude wearing a hoody, because it was so dark and he was still too far away for me to see in detail. As I goft closer, i noticed it was completely covered in black garb or clothing from head to toe. This really creeped me out and i started getting really scared. as it came closer it looked like a man sort of from the 1800s but very ratty clothing, it was all completely black except for a tiny pale and very old looking face from what i could see. I was so scared that i stopped in my tracks and said hello, but it just kept walking without even realizing i was there. I said hello again as it was literally right beside me, and it just kept walking and didn’t look or move. It kept going and i watched it as it walked to the end of the path, turned the corner and was out of my sight. I still don’t know if it was a spirit or a person or some other entity. If anybody has seen anything like this or has had a paranormal experience near Dallas road. Please let me know.

   Reply

7. I saw the Gravlin ghost with 4 others one night. Twice in the same night. It was simply something I experiences that I can’t explain…walking in a group, suddenly feeling a profound sense of despair, sudden cold (temp drop) and this spectre that appeared in two forms. All 5 saw this. Only three ‘felt’ the other sensations. Wow !

   Reply

8. Could I draw your attention to my book Hunting for Ghosts in Victoria BC, available at Bolen’s. I’ve been a tour guide at some of these locations.

   Reply

9. I remember one late summer night, walking along beach drive near mcneill bay and seeing an apparition of a young woman in a white dress crossing the street. She appeared to be dripping with water and I got the feeling she must have drowned in the bay. I made eye contact with her before a car drove by and she vanished. When I looked at her though, she looked sad and maybe lonely, also like she wanted to tell me something. I’ve tried to find more info on who she was and what happened but haven’t had luck in finding anything, so I’m wondering if anyone else has seen her and knows anything?

   Reply

   1. Thank you for your account Luna. Well, short answer: Yes, there is. Do you mind if I contact you by email? I would love to get a little more information from you if you don’t mind.

      Reply

10. I worked at the Elephant and Castle, Now Earls. I have heard so many crazy things from other staff and my brother. I never personally had an experience there but, I have heard about 3 or 4 things that have happened.

    Reply

    1. Anything you feel like sharing? Would love to hear about the incidents as they were explained to you.

       Reply

11. So you know how thet give tours at the castle….. well once my grandma and i went for a tour and on the top floor really old music started playing and were i asked were it was coming from it immedietly stop and did not play for the rest of the tour!

    When me and my grandma finally went to the third floor we were look in a room with a fully body sized mirror and out of the corner of my grandmas and my eyes we saw a young woman and man walking, so we went out of the room to see if there was more visitors to tour the castle but strangely there was no one out there or in any of the rooms on our to the top fkoor after that we felt a strange present as if he or and she was mad or angry!

    Reply

12. I have a great story about the Craigflower Manor and Schoolhouse. Well, the schoolhouse…… So I used to volunteer for The Land Conservancy at Craigflower Manor. I was commissioned to do some cataloging of costumes/ period dress donated. I was working in the schoolhouse to photograph and document the clothing. Now this schoolhouse is wonky as it is. The floors are crooked and on the second floor you almost get the sense of vertigo. Well there I am up on the second floor by myself working away when I hear a phone ring. Now this is not a cell phone, no it sounds like a antique phone. I am startled immediately because I am not aware that there is any phone anywhere in this building. It rings and rings and I finally get up and cautiously walk downstairs to see where its coming from. The second I get down stairs it stops. Now I am creeped out. I got back to work and the phone starts ringing again. I get up this time and hurry downstairs to find the source of the ringing. I find it is ringing behind a locked closet door. I happen to have keys so I open the door and sure enough in a closet there is a antique phone which appears to be not connected to anything ringing away……. So I naturally pick the phone up. Static.
    Scary as hell.

    Now I don’t know if someone was pulling my chain but I have heard claims that there was a fire in a tree next to the schoolhouse that may or may not have children perished. Also, there was a well dug next to the schoolhouse which they found the remains of a Native. These remains were kept in the schoolhouse and all sorts of paranormal activity began. It was quickly removed.

    When construction began on the new bridge, an old Indian burying ground was accidentally dug up. Who knows what that stirred up.

    Also remember there was a violent murder and rape that happened just underneath this bridge. The spirit of Reena Virk may have seek shelter in the schoolhouse just above it.

    Reply

    1. The ringing phone….that is awesome!

       Reply

13. I grew up in Victoria and remember loads of ghost stories inc the ghost on the Oak Bay golf course, a ghost house on Fairfield road, Fan Tan alley, the Chinese cemetery. My favourite place in Ross Bay cemetery was the Tomb of the Blue Angel. I used quite a few of these places in my dystopian, alternative-world Canada novel, Quest for the Rose.
    http://www.amazon.com/THE-QUEST-FOR-ROSE-Dystopian-ebook/dp/B0197BHZ7I

    Reply

    1. Where is the tomb of the blue angel? Would love to see it. Heading to Victoria this weekend

       Reply

       1. The Pooley Angel is right at one of the entrances directly off of Fairfield Rd, the entrance is the one nearest the grocery and pharmacy in the plaza across the street, you can’t miss her once you walk in. She’s also known as The Blue Angel cause she was the target of a blue spray paint bomb and she also lost one hand and rose due to vandals which is really a shame. Legend has it she cries on the full moon.

          Reply

          1. That’s great! Thank you for sharing this Lotus 🙂

             Reply

14. One time I stayed at ye olde English inn during a power outage and during the night I heard clicking sounds like high heels on hard wood but in the morning when I woke up I noticed that the in tire place was carpeted.

    Reply

15. Hi there in 2012 in wilkinson road jail I had spent 21 days there and had a very strange occurnce of a ghost trying to get in my blankets on the top bunk I thought it was my cell mate only to jump down and find him facing the wall sleeping sent chills down my back because he was solid and cold I changed locations after speaking to a guard who places you in cells which told me about a lot of unexplained events not only by inmates but gAurds too I did some research to find out wilkinson road jail used to be colquitz mental hospital with a lot of deaths

    Reply

16. I stayed in Victoria and went on the ghost tour two days ago. They took us in a room that used to be a brothel, and i felt an energy in the front right corner, kind of like a man. I asked the guide afterwords if something had happened in that corner, and she said she thinks so. That man that I sensed was, she says, probably a bouncer who had murdered the women who haunt there. Honestly, i think he was very violent, and just all around not a good energy.

    Reply

17. As a Spiritualist and a medium, I have encountered numerous spirits in Pioneer Square. I have encountered the spirit of John Helmcken and of Adelaide Griffin. They come in visitation and still keep the ties they once had to Victoria and the surrounding area. Adelaide Griffin has been upset with the recent changes that the City has made to Pioneer Square.

    Reply

18. Does anybody know much about apparitions down and around the songhees on the boardwalk. I use to walk this a few evenings a week in the summer when I was a young adult. On one particular evening I had walked past a lady dressed in a very old nurses uniform. She almost had a glow to her. I also remember her having her hands in what would be considered muffs to keep your hands warm. An older style of dress. There was no eye contact or any sort of body language. I turned around and she just seemed to continue walking into the night. To this day I think of this often and it just seems unexplainable to me. I feel that this was a apparition of some sort. Just curious after all these years if maybe somebody had a similar experience.

    Reply

19. Every morning for about two months I had to walk to work at about 3 am . The walk would take me over the bay st bridge . On more then one ocasion I saw a red light down by the water . Sometimes over the water sometimes over the shore . I thought maybe it was a persons cell phone they had dropped or somthing. Then I read this .

    Reply

20. The helmcken house is true to me I was working outside of one early morning at about 4am still dark when I got the feeling I was being watched, I stopped doing what I was doing and turned to where it felt like I was being watch from it came from the house upper floor window and I was sure I saw someone back away from the window as I looked up was creepy but I checked the house to see if anyone was there and I didn’t see no one or shadows moving
    But I could tell someone was watching me
    This isn’t the first the old school house located across from the helmcken house as well but next morning I was there same time felt like I was being watched from the window this was about 2 1/2 yrs ago

    I do believe in ghosts and have never felt threatened by them when I’ve come across them

    Reply

    1. You’re not the first person to have reported that sort of experience at the Helmcken House. What sort of work were you doing there? and do you still work in the area? The Creepy Canada episodes have become a lot more available on Youtube and online if you are inclined to check out the episode with the Helmcken House. My research has often left me suspect of the show’s accuracy and accounts but it’s still good fun and people have reported experiences there.

       Reply
21. Pingback: The White Lady of Thetis Cove (With Video) - Living LibraryLiving Library

22. Does anyone know anything about 3814 Carey Road history – Mt View School used to be there. I have heard from a resident at the now Mt View Heights that they felt it was haunted. Any history here?

    Reply

    1. Hi Jan, thanks for your comment and question! I haven’t found anything myself but maybe someone else has something to add? We’ll just have to wait and see.

       Reply

23. I worked at Roger’s chocolates briefly. A handprint was found years ago but we used to love to play it as a prank on each other… I think!

    One night I was in the back refilling chocolate trays and I heard stomping upstairs (where the Rogers’ had lived). I assumed it was the managers having a meeting so I brought out the chocolates to the front room and asked my manager on shift why they were there so late (about 8PM on a Friday in October) and I remember the look on her face when she told me they left hours ago. There was nobody upstairs. Except a fussy old man waiting for the staff to go home so his dearly departed wife could come redecorate the store.

    I didn’t go upstairs very much after that.

    Reply

    1. Thanks for sharing Jessy. Hearing people upstairs or downstairs (basically the floor the witness isn’t on) is an often reported experience in many haunted locations. It’s interesting that the hand print used to be a prank. That is a solid explanation for that particular account. Do you remember how long ago this was, as far as the year goes?

       Reply

       1. Oh fairly recently! It was only about four years ago. The original handprint had happened years before that, closing staff just liked to prank the opening staff by leaving a handprint on the mirror above the door to the storeroom (inaccesible without a ladder). We were all familiar with the ghost stories and knew the ghosts were there. The original hand print was definitely not done by any staff. Well, not by any living staff.

          Reply

          1. Wow that is really recent! Thank you for sharing your story Jessy. It’s always nice to hear from someone who has had an experience themselves. And thanks for clearing up the hand print story as well!

             Reply

24. This was a great site to happen upon, especially once I read that a lot of these stories are in a book I own, ‘A Gathering of Ghosts’ Jean Kozakari & Rob Skelton.
    I just visited Victoria this summer past to lay my Mom to rest, as this is where she grew up and I spent my childhood.
    we did go to Fan Tan Alley, though I did not see the ghost of Fan Tan, there is a heaviness and the lights dim when you walk by. My friend and I took pictures and there were also lights where there shouldn’t have been within those shots.
    In the book, ‘A Gathering of Ghosts’ Jena refers to a house that she or a friend lives in, where the woman bakes bread and she wears a flowy cotton dress….that house was my great grandparents, and on the day of bread baking every week she would wear an old cotton flowy dress.

    Reply

    1. I’m sorry to hear about your mother passing. My sympathies to you and your family 🙁
       Thank you for sharing your experiences and for adding to the story about your great grandmother! A Gathering of Ghosts’ really is one of the more interesting books on ghosts I’ve come across. It’s fortunate they wrote about Victoria specifically. Modern exorcist witches! What’s not to like? There’s a lesser known book (pamphlet really) by Skelton and Lilard called ‘the April Ghost of the Victoria Golf Links’. This focuses on the Doris Gravlin haunting at the Victoria Golf Course. The book is the source for most of the writers who have wrote about this haunting. If you come across it, you would probably enjoy it as well.

       Reply

    2. Hi , interesting to read about your experience in Fan Tan alley! I live in Victoria and when we walk there, I find that I want to speed up, it isn’t an area in which I like to loiter…lol. Oh and Fan Tan alley is named for the Chinese gambling game called Fan Tan, …there is no person named Fan Tan… 😀 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fan-Tan

       Reply

       1. Thanks for clearing that up Mary. I didn’t know where the name came from either. Makes perfect sense!

          Reply

25. We were surprised to read that Bedford is one of the most haunted places in the UK, at least regarding its pubs. We have more detail here: http://www.ghostpubs.com/haunted_pub/east/bedfordshire/bedford/detail.html

    Reply

26. I have personaly had experiences on 2 different occasions at Craigflower School House. In the upstairs living quarters, what was once the nursury. That particular room is always colder than the rest of the building. Both times I was there it was during summer when even Victoria can be extremely hot. There use to be a childs crib in that room many years ago when I toured the school house. The room itself was cold but around the crib was even colder. I remember hearing a story about a school master and his young family that had lost a child in infancy while living there. Do not know if it is true or not but I do know what I felt when there. (I heard the story a couple of years after I had been there). Glad they are re-opening the building again.

    Reply

    1. Thanks Robert! Not sure if you saw Mary’s comment below yours but she was mentioning the chill in an upstairs room as well. Wonder if it’s the same room?
       I’m also glad that they’re finally reopening the school. Will keep my ears open for any story about a school master’s infant passing away there. If I do find it, will post it to this comment here for you.

       Reply

27. I just came across your website, as a result of looking for information on the Craigflower Schoolhouse on the Gorge here in Victoria.
    It is going to be open to the public this weekend, and I am eager to go and soak up the atmosphere, as I know it has a strong paranormal presence…

    I wonder if you have ever heard any stories about the Jubilee Hospital; it has quite a few stories of hauntings , as one can imagine!
    I worked there for years,and remember one day, I was coming to work by way of the,”South Block”(no longer there, pulled down a few years ago) side which faced Fort Street. I felt like I was being watched and looked up as I approached the building to see a face looking out of an upper window of the 2nd floor. This floor was closed for many years and no one ever went there; a bit creepy .

    Reply

    1. Hi Mary! I’d never heard that the hospital was haunted, so thank you! When I did a search online I found this News report covering a construction worker’s unexplained incident: CTV News Video. You might be interested to know that someone even gave the hospital pictures that appear to show a person in an upper floor window. The video shows these images too. Was that the same window you were talking about?
       Glad to hear that they’re finally opening the Craigflower School to visitors. The road was closed so long I don’t even think to drive that way anymore. You’ll have to let us know about your experience there this weekend.

       Reply

       1. Yes indeed, that wing was famous, and it was on the same floor that I saw the face looking from a window that morning…..
          There were other stories that some of the nurses told of call bells ringing P… 🙂
          Yes me too…I hear that the Hallmark society are thinking of making the school a museum again, ao that would be interesting!
          Yes, I certainly will! 🙂

          Reply

       2. I visited the property the weekend it was opened and was saddened to see that the schoolhouse is now totally empty,. It simply is not what it could be with no furnishings of the period..and the hallmark society which has been ,” looking after it”, seems to think it will be made into offices or some administrative venture. They said that the furnishings were in someone’s basement. How very sad!
          If this was the UK , the govt would have funded it from day one and it would have been advertised properly plus been made accessible so that tourists would flock there..
          I did take some atmospheric photos and did note how very cold it was in the upstairs rooms..( was a blazing hot summer day outside) ..

          Reply

          1. Wow. Sorry to hear there isn’t furniture or other items in the school! Hopefully this only reflects a project that’s in transition. Offices would be strange, but not entirely out of the question. Nanaimo’s Beban House is an office space right now. It was Nanaimo Tourism at one time, but those days are over. Now it’s a hockey office and another business. Apparently it still has a lot of activity though.
             Do you see yourself as a sensitive Mary? Would you normally notice cold spots, for example, or was this a new feeling?
             Thanks for sharing your experience. If the comment option allows you to post a picture would be cool to see!

             Reply

             1. It could very well be the same room! I had chatted with the two fellows in the main downstairs room who were from the Hallmark society. They then said, “look around ” ..etc…
                I then went up stairs.. I had noticed one of the smaller rooms on the right just after the stairs had a weird “vibe” …didn’t see any thing but for some reason, I didn’t venture in…
                What I particularly noted though, was that it was SO quiet…really really odd as you could plainly hear the two talking in the downstairs, almost all the way UP the stairs, and normally one would, but I heard NOTHING once there…which was almost more disquieting than seeing anything.. .lol

             2. Thanks Mary! That’s also interesting. I agree with you that silence can be eerie at times as well. Looking forward to checking it out over the next couple of months. Will have to pay attention to those rooms upstairs for sure! Hope you’re having a great weekend.

             3. Yes it is pretty bare. I don’t think it will go back to being a museum at all; really think it is a shame.Oh sorry, yes I would say that I am pretty sensitive to atmospheric temps and changes…

          2. also not sure if you saw the recent comment from Robert but he mentions upstairs being cold as well. Same room?

             Reply

28. I have had paranormal experiences at The Bent Mast, The Prairie Inn and The Mint.

    Reply

    1. Thanks Nicole! Anything specific you want to share?

       Reply

29. Check out by blog: gordhenry.tumblr.com. Pictures from the James Bay Inn, and video footage. Also have many more still pictures and four more videos of the Inn. Have ghostly images and pictures from Nelson, BC, Silver Star Mountain, BC and Jasper, AB. Will have more on my blog in the days and weeks to come.

    Reply

    1. Thanks for sharing Gord. Some great images and the video’s really cool as well!

       Reply

30. Burning Ghost Ship, South of Vancouver Island

    My house is up high overlooking the strait off Victoria. One day at dusk I saw what appeared to be a burning ship. I had read of people seeing such a ship back in the nineteenth century, but took no stock in it. A few moments later the light disappeared, leaving a small fishing boat with its large lures flaring intermittently in the waning sunlight. This occurred at just the right moment when sun and lure connected. I have not seen this phenomenon since, and am convinced this is what spawned the ghost ship story.

    Reply

    1. Thanks for the comment David! Sorry for the delayed response, for some reason I thought I already did but it isn’t published here for some reason (?).
       This is a great hypothesis. I’m definitely a fan of trying to explain something away before accepting it as fact. That’s why the list here comes from a place of exploring the story itself and not necessarily believing wether anything is real or not. Your experience might actually be an explanation for the burning ghost ships seen in other places of the world as well. Very likely some of them at the very least!

       Reply

    2. Oh jeez. I’m wondering if I saw it? I was sitting in my car with a friend about two years ago in James Bay facing the water, drinking coffee, talking. We saw this huge tanker ship wayyy out in the water – blazing on fire! It seemed to go out and start again in a new place, and the boat was nearly all in flames. This happened for an hour and we were stunned. We reasoned that the ship crews must be burning something (garbage? There was a lot of fire) but now I’m not so sure – cool! Thanks for sharing!

       Reply

31. I was just spending some time reading over your post about diff reports over the island re; spirits, sasquatch, ufo’s and was rereading this post too — my sister and I spent some time at many of these places in Vic and a couple other we researched hoping for something to happen or to see something but never any luck. Though have not tried the stretch of Shelbourne, would love to experience it suddenly becoming a diff time but I think it would also freak me out….like entering an eposode of the Twillight Zone.

    Have gone on the ghost tours with John Adams, really fun!

    I have had a spirit follow me home from Ross Bay Cemetary….I know cemetaries are not actually a likely place to be haunted but well, after a walk there which we did often, I left with a very uneasy feeling….had in fact felt very ill in the top left side of the cemetary….after we were back home, from that day onwards my kids who were very small were too afraid to go upstairs alone. And I felt someone was behind me, very often, following me….very creepy. After a time I got rather frustrated and asked the being to show him/herself….then in my peripheral vision I saw a tall hunched over man, trenchcoat and hat (like a shadow shape, but seemingly solid)…not at all threatening, seemed lonely or lost.

    Growing up living off of the Sooke Hwy on the flats we had numerous occurences, things which we had lost climbing the mountain would be awaiting on your bed when you arrived home. Furniture knocked over a way it could not have fallen itself. And the spookiest was both my mother and my brother at diff times reported seeing a devilish looking creature entering the house from the patio doors. Very weird.

    Had another spirit experience but such a benign one, just a little old lady who had passed away in the house but had not known to move on….no one could sleep in the room cause they would say they felt watched….and afterwards though i did not tell anyone what i did, everyone noticed the difference.

    Reply

    1. Thank you for sharing all of this Lotus. You know it’s not spoken of often, but strange-looking creatures are often seen at poltergeist hauntings. A lot of people ignore these details in accounts because they’re so weird, but there’s a common thread which could – in theory – suggest that a certain type of spirit or manifestation has the ability to manifest in strange ways. I discuss this a bit in my post on poltergeist hauntings.
       That would be a pretty helpful spirit that returned lost items. I’ve only ever had the whole missing item from obvious place disappear and then unexplainably return to the same spot later thing happen. I’ve read about this sort of thing happening to haunted objects people were trying to get rid of as well. Something gets thrown in the trash and is found back inside on a bed, etc. Yeah, I like John Adam’s tours as well! If you hadn’t guessed already 😉

       Reply

       1. 🙂

          Reply

32. Skirt Mountain (Bear Mountain) I believe is or has a “spiritual” presence. There was a cave we used to go to when we were teenagers and young adults. It was in an area that was off any main trail, and could only be found by going to the summit. That’s where one could see a large fir tree that was dead on the top, and had two old branches that looked like horns, and @ the base of the tree, was this cave.

    A few of us camped @ the summit one night, and we were drinking, but all of us heard what sounded like dogs barking, but in an almost frantic panicked manner. The barking was coming from the same direction as the cave, and would oscillate in volume through out the night. We were so freaked out, we stayed up all night around the fire.

    Another time a group of friends and I went up the mountain to the see the cave. Only a few people and I knew how to get to the cave, and I led the way. We got to the cave and went in. I goes almost straight down, and then L turns. You go so far in, and it fills with water and can only wade in so far before the water got to high.The weird thing is we were all chatty going up, but on the way down the mountain, no one said a word, and there was a weird vibe in the air.

    Another time two of us went up when it was snowing. We came across some foot prints and followed them to the side of a small cliff where the foot prints stopped. There were no skid like marks like one would find if one were to slip.

    My last story still gives me the creeps. I was on the summit during harvest moon by my self. As I was watching the moon come up, I heard what I thought were foot steps behind me. I was chewing on sunflower seeds and thought I was just hearing something from that, but even after I stopped chewing I heard steps. Deliberate movement in the bush. I’d focus to listen and it would stop. I went to make my way down the mountain, and I could still hear the steps, so I’d stop, and hear one more step before silence again. I had the feeling I was being watched and tracked. I was really freaked out and grabbed a big stick, and started to bang it against trees and ground to let know what ever was there that I was big and willing to put up a fight. The “presence” and foot steps stopped about half way down the moon lit mountain.

    Years later, after development, I went up the mountain again, to see if I could find the cave. The area had been cleared of trees and brush, but the before mentioned tree was still there right on the fringe of a golf course hole. The are was over grown with broom bush 4-5 tall. I didn’t want to wander around to much out of fear I’d fall in the cave.

    Later it was reported that the cave had old tires put in it and covered with rock. They tried to hide it because they were afraid the first nations would claim it as an archeological site and interfere with the development.

    With all the struggles and controversy with the mountain, I believe it’s the bad karma from desecrating the cave.

    Reply

    1. Wicked cool stories! I had not heard anything about Bear Mountain before, thanks for sharing. Too bad there is so much develpment there now. And what a shame about the cave!

       Reply

       1. http://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/story.html%3Fid%3D80cd36bf-4bc7-435f-bc53-925c62355551%26k%3D38878&sa=U&ei=bjgDU8TWK5XkoASEqoHgCA&ved=0CBYQFjAC&sig2=VmZb9OGB2D4gV740shs5qw&usg=AFQjCNHC_Vtf6cDSk4TwYwEiQ0VBkuIjag

          I believe the reason we felt so “weird” after the group of us visited the cave, was we some how may have desecrated or offended the spiritual nature of the cave.

          Like I said before, not many people knew how to get to the cave save me, and two other people. Perhaps that’s why something or whatever followed me down the mountain. Some of my friends @ the time said it was probably just someone messing with me. Could have been, who knows?. I remember the weird vibe I had though, and the sense it was neither an animal, but something “intelligent ”

          The thing about a harvest moon, is the moon comes up as the sun is setting, so it’s the “brightest” 24 hrs of the year. That’s why I went up to begin with. I’ve heard of legends of shamans going up into the hills to meditate, fast, or do whatever, and a harvest moon would have been a good time to travel.

          Reply

    2. I agree with Lotus! Great stories and thanks for sharing! Just reading about the unidentified sludge on Wikipedia – in the last paragraph. That’s pretty odd I’d think? It really bothers me how many politicians on the island pull this kind of Rob Ford crap. You’d think if the town doesn’t want it the mayor would support them, instead of saying it was too late because everything was pushed through quickly and secretly. Brutal. At least there’s a good quote worth repeating: the casino will complete Bear Mountain’s “perfect storm of millionaire hillbilly opulence.” Haha. Wow. Take that Stew Young!

       Reply

       1. http://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/story.html%3Fid%3D80cd36bf-4bc7-435f-bc53-925c62355551%26k%3D38878&sa=U&ei=bjgDU8TWK5XkoASEqoHgCA&ved=0CBYQFjAC&sig2=VmZb9OGB2D4gV740shs5qw&usg=AFQjCNHC_Vtf6cDSk4TwYwEiQ0VBkuIjag

          See reply to lotus

          Reply

          1. Thanks for sharing this article Steven. What they did to the cave is entirely unacceptable and it bothers me on multiple levels. To me it doesn’t sound like you were offensive in any way, especially with the circumstances of your last visit when you were alone. If you think about it, you’re now another witness to the claims of the cave being sacred because of your experiences which make your sharing important. You may be interested to know (if you don’t already) that Mount Tzouhalem has a sacred cave on it that is supposed to be an epicentre of activity as well. I mention this in my Vancouver Island post. People there have also reported similar feelings of being followed there, watched, etc. Anyways, I hope that this area will be reclaimed some day. I don’t think our future generations will look kindly on the way our First Nation people are treated today.

             Reply

             1. The other story about Tzualum is what got me thinking about Skirt Mountain. Back in the day, I never really thought of the cave of being connected to anything first nations. Just knew it was odd and spooky up skirt. The church mentioned on the other article is “spooky” too. It’s right beside providence farm, an old residential school.

33. My children and I felt a strong presence upstairs in St Ann’s and were very uncomfortable. We went downstairs to leave and found ourselves locked in the chapel. Serves us right for trespassing! St Ann’s academy is said to be haunted by Emily Carr. She has been seen up stairs walking in a white dress with a dark monkey on her shoulder .

    Reply

    1. Thank you Jocelyn! I don’t know if I ever knew that her monkey was seen as well. I just looked it up and its name was Woo! 🙂 I have visited almost all of these places and the only strange picture I ever captured at a Victoria site was at St Ann’s. There is a statue of the Virgin Mary near the entry (not the one behind glass but the one across from the main gift shop). I felt strange in that room and took a picture of the statue on my phone (along with many pictures in the room). When I looked at it after it looked like there was smoke circling it or fog. It was really strange. My iPhone had never done this before or after. My girlfriend saw it too and thought it was weird as well. The picture literally disappeared shortly after from my iPhoto library and I didn’t have a backup (something I do religiously since). I know people always say that ghostly images can disappear but I never believed that really happened. That room felt so strange to me at the time. The picture didn’t prove anything, except it sort of validated what I had been feeling. I believe that St. Ann’s is haunted as well.

       Reply

34. Katherine Maltwood has been seen many times haunting her house which she left to UVIC with the express wish it never be used as a restaurant. I have a copy of her will. UVIC sold it and it has been a restaurant ever since. It used to be the Maltwood Museum.

    Reply

    1. Thank you Kathy! I came across this article about the haunting: http://www.vicnews.com/news/175814711.html
       It’s cool that you have a copy of the will as well. Would you recommend the food? I think I’ll have to give it a try.

       Reply

35. The Spirit of Christmas Store (which is now the Bard and Banker) is on the local ghost tours.
    ttp://www.bardandbanker.com/history.php

    Reply

    1. Thank you for sharing this! Do you know what type of claims there have been? Have people seen an apparition?

       Reply

       1. i went on this ghost tour and heard this story two days ago!!!! Ok, so there was a teacher living across the street from the top of the Bard&Banker building, and the first day she moved there, she had the feeling of being watched. Upon feeling this, she checked everywhere, and nothing. So, she looks out her window, and sees this guy staring at her from the then bank. She promptly closes her curtains, and goes about her night. This goes on, and some of her students notice this guy too, and are slightly concerned. Just to put her and everybody else’s mind at ease, she sits at her window and waits for this guy to walk out and catch him in his creepy act and ask him what the hell his problem was. She never got the chance too, because instead of walking out the door like a normal person, he just appeared. Like any sensible person, she got out of there as fast as she could.

          When they researched this man, he turned out to be a poet that is in the Canadian grade 7 curriculum. He used to be the person who lived in the rooms above the bank to prevent break-ins. Now, the bank was next to a coffin shop, which said poet studiously avoided. But one fateful night, he thought he saw two men breaking in to the coffin shop, so he went to investigate. Before he can get very far though, he trips over a corpse. This was the last straw, and he got the bank to move him farther north, where he got his start as a poet. The fall onto a corpse was the most traumatic thing to happen to him in life, and that’s why he haunts the room in Bard & Banker now.

          Reply

          1. I think the ghost tour people greatly embellished the story about the old Bank of British Columbia. This story appears in Favourite Ghost Stories by the Old Cemeteries Society of Victoria – `The man who wasn’t there’. The teacher was a weaver and she reported the incidents to the police – she wasn’t able to access the building. The police investigated and found no evidence of any person accessing the room that the man was seen in. There was a Chinese undertakers in the cellars, and tales of a bank security guard murdered during a botched robbery, but the watcher does not fit descriptions of any of the people connected with the undertakers. The poet Robert Service (Cremation of Sam McGhee) lived in rooms close to the entrance to the room. That’s the only connection.

             Reply

36. The Stonehouse Pub in Sidney. I worked there in ’89, and part time until ’92 when I was at University. Things would move on their own, doors and windows would unlock, noises were heard, and when it was very quiet there would be a shadowy figure appear. Anyone who worked there for any length of time had seen/heard it. I was in there a few months ago, and spoke to the server, who confirmed that the ghost was still most certainly active.

    Reply

    1. Thanks for sharing Susan, that’s really interesting! I hadn’t heard about that particular haunting before either. Do you remember if there was any lore as to who they thought the apparition may have been? Next time I’m in the area I’ll have to go there for a bite!

       Reply

       1. The strangest haunting, though, takes place at the Stonehouse Restaurant at Canoe Cove.

          According to Ron Wolfe, the general manager, the building was constructed around 1935 as a personal residence. Sometime around 1940, though, it was the scene of a horrible accident (at least it was assumed to be an accident). A young boy, the eight-year-old son of the owners of the home was found hanged in his upstairs bedroom.

          Apparently, the unfortunate lad never left.

          “There was one story I was told by a friend of mine; a friend who lives just up the hill here,” said Wolfe. “He had a little girl who started reporting that she was playing with what my friend thought was an imaginary friend. It was a little boy with bright red hair who liked to play tricks like playing with the hoses in his yard…”

          When his friend started paying attention to the claims and the hoses draped around the yard, he learned that the little boy who had hanged himself was a lad with bright red hair.

          His daughter had never heard the story.

          Other people have also reported seeing the ghostly apparition on the property. “It can get pretty weird up here at night,” said Wolfe. “No one wants to be the last person here, closing up for the night. It makes the hair stand up on the back of your neck.”

          Ed Sum, of the Paranormal Victoria Investigations and Research Society has heard a lot about the Stonehouse. “It’s one of those places we’d love to investigate,” said Sum. He said that the current owners have not yet allowed his group into the location.

          Sum said that he never assumes that reports of haunting are true. “But we’ve seen and heard some very strange things over the years,” said Sum. “It might be best to keep an open mind.”

          Reply

    2. Stone House Pub Hauntings I never worked there but live nearby. There has been several owners of the Stone House Pub but not a lot of haunted records. I do lots of research on family history and after seeing a story about the Stone House Hauntings of a small red headed boy who hanged himself I started digging. It was said he would play with garden hoses left outside? And it was said a child living near by who had an imaginary friend had red hair????
       I found out that Mr Hugh L Rodd built the Stone House as a family home in 1935. He was a ship builder with several brothers in Esquimalt and Canoe Cove Marina from 1927 to 1941
       The house was referred to as the “The Landing” .
       I did not find a record of a small red headed boy but did find a death certificate of a daughter Barbara that died at the age if six.
       Not sure of the correct time period but apparently the Rodd’s moved to Bold Bluffs ie Saltspring …. After that I loose my trail but I did come across a blog that said Mrs Rodd hated the isolation and went back to England….with her daughter Joan. I’m still digging……
       So Susan if you have more information please send my way!

       Reply

       1. Hey Alison,
          Hopefully you get this. I worked at the Stonehouse Pub between 1994-96 and had an experience with the resident ghost. Finishing a shift in the kitchen, the kitchen manager and I were having an after work pint. The servers had gone home, so other than us, the place was empty. The owner, who lived in the upstairs residence, was out for the night. We heard the heavy wooden front door open and the string of bells on it jingle. It was around a corner from us and we couldn’t see it, so we called out “We’re closed”, and were answered back by what we both later agreed was an old man laughing. The kitchen manager got up to have a look, and when she came back a few seconds later she said no one was there and the door was locked solid.

          What I was told at the time about the ghost origins, was that 2 life long bachelor brothers lived there, one of whom died in a car crash on the highway nearby. Apparently it is his ghost that haunts the place. Never heard it being a young child. Interesting information you found though. I wonder who lived in the house after HL Rodd. Perhaps a couple of his brothers? I know it wasn’t converted to a pub until 1985.

          Reply

          1. Thanks Andrew for the information. I will keep digging and post what I find.

             Reply

       2. That’s great Alison thanks for finding this and for sharing. Sounds like there’s a lot of unexplainable things going on there!

          Reply

    3. Susan! I can support all that. I’m one of the triplets (:

       Reply
37. Pingback: Pictures of Ghosts? Ross Bay Cemetery and Hatley Cemetery images | Living LibraryLiving Library

38. I used to love to sit in Pioneer Square to read, but some days I would get there and just feel like I needed to leave. Never saw much (a man in odd clothing, wandering around and touching the remaining gravestones in the back) that couldn’t be explained (a fanatic/weirdo/history buff or any of a million other logical explanations).

    Reply

    1. It really is a peaceful space isn’t it? Thanks for sharing!

       Reply

    2. Hi, I too always got that feeling in Pioneer square. It has a VERY strong presence…and to me, not peaceful at all…. 😛

       Reply

       1. Not peaceful at all? That’s too bad. Anything you want to share? We all have different experiences I guess. Might be time of day, Season, or something else.

          Reply

          1. It just never seemed a place to linger…..I know others have said the same…

             Reply

             1. Interesting. I’ve always felt it was peaceful there, but it wouldn’t be the first time my experience was different than others.

          2. It was a place that used to creep me out. I would walk across the road to avoid it. I’ve never like the vibes there.

             Reply

39. I have taken pictures of Ross Bay Cemetery and Hatley Cemetery and have figures of people. The one interesting thing that came out of my Hatley picture is a house that does not exist on the property because all the houses are behind a fence. If you are interested in these pics please contact me.

    Reply

    1. Thx Stephen! That is pretty cool! I would love to see them sometime. Have you ever posted them or would you want them posted? Pretty rare evidence, so good for you!

       Reply

    2. Luv to see the pics

       Reply

    3. I would also love to see the pics. 🙂

       Reply

    4. Yes please would love to see the photos!

       Reply

       1. I’ve just posted the pictures that Stephen shared here: https://livinglibraryblog.com/?p=1919 He was wondering what other people see in the images!

          Reply

40. My partner use to rent a room on the top floor of a building across from Vic High School on Fernwood Street. Well, he was moved out within 2 weeks after he witnessed SCREAMING late at night and slamming doors in the hallways, with noone out in the foyer and while he was in the shared bathroom with the door LOCKED, it would unlock and open. Talk about goose bumps, then the Police were called and there was nothing, but they informed the renters that this has happened many times and they have been called frequently and apparently, there was a murder in that house many years ago. Partner moved out as quick as he moved in, thanks but no thanks.

    Reply

    1. Thank you for sharing your experiences Sonja! The sheer volume of people having experiences in Victoria truly is mind boggling! Your Vancouver experience is really interesting as well. It’s always nice when there’s a second person to share the sighting with too. Very cool!

       Reply

    2. that is neat, wonder if they still have problems there…

       Reply

41. Last year my partner and I went to Vancouver and my brother had given us instructions on where to meet him after we got off an underground train in mid Vancouver City. We got off one stop too soon and climbed up the stairs and were totally lost just standing on the sidewalk. An older man with an old hat on stopped us immediately and said: You want to go that way down the hill and around the corner to the Station while he was pointing. I said: Thankyou very much, wondering how he knew where we needed to go. In one split second I turned around and he was absolutely nowwhere to be seen, seriously. Was I dreaming or was this for real, my partner said, where did he go to, as he was just about to thank him right after his instructions, and it was not a crowded sidewalk either. Strangest episode, but we made it to our destination. My father use to live in Vancouver before he died 7 yrs ago, I have my thoughts that he must have been our Guardian Angel!!

    Reply

    1. great story 🙂

       Reply

       1. I agree 🙂

          Reply

42. Dont know what to think? Im soooooo not the type to see ghosts…always can be explained. But…I have seen in the last 30 days a woman I think…long grey hair under a brown leather older type hat…could be a man hard to tell. Stands about 6 ft…so probably a man. He also has the same colour long seems like leather brown coat…like something you would wear if you were some cowboy a long time ago. Walking very very slow across Bay St just before the Esquimalt Rd intersection. Each time I seen this person Im thinking he/she better walk faster to make it to the other side before a car runs him/her over. Seems like there is no way he/she is going to make it when a car(s) would go by…then the person is out of sight…but he/she couldnt be out of sight…I can see everything in that area…where is he/she???? Its freaking me out…I seem him/her walking towards me to cross the street twice in 30 days…not moving the head…or arms…just walking very very slow…head is down a bit…almost looks like there is a slouch too…never raises the head…I dont know what to think…am I hallucinating???? My God…Im totally confused by what I have seen…makes no sense!!! Cant figure it out…Im not religious…quite the opposite…its freaky trying to write this down without sounding crazy lol…cant take my eyes off the area I seen this…thinking that it may happen again. First time I thought I just lost track of him/her…but I seen the exact same thing again later in the month…wow…cant believe this lol.

    Reply

    1. Thanks for the comment Derrick! I did some checking on the area but couldn’t find anything. This isn’t to say that there isn’t anything there, as I’m sure you know, Victoria has an almost epidemic number of reported ghost sightings. To see something more than once in the same area is somewhat validating too. Most people who have experiences see something then second-guess it over and over. Something you can do, if you feel like it, is to try to figure out if there are any similarities between the two sightings such as the time of day, weather, moon phase, etc, as there may be more to this than just two random sightings. I don’t think you are crazy for seeing something you can’t explain, as I’ve had my own experiences as well. I think people are “crazy” who claim they have all the answers – either no one is seeing anything or that these are the dead, etc. People have been having these experiences in every culture and religion from modern times back to the beginning of recorded history. The only question is what is it that is being seen? Hopefully we will have the answer in my lifetime. Either way, now you too can join the ranks of the “wtf was that?”.

       Reply

43. Hello! Looking for a residence where there is continuous paranormal activity. We have a seer who sees the entities and removes them. We need to capture this on film for a possible TV series. Anyone with info please contact me:
    info@mariamannamusic.com

    Reply

44. Re: Empress Hotel. A friend is a long time employee of the Empress. He claims he’s seen the same ghost twice on the 5th floor near the staircase/fire exit, while doing housekeeping/ cleaning rooms. Male, wearing a suit and fedora hat.

    Reply

    1. That’s really interesting, the comments below from Paul are also about the Empress. I would love to hear more about his experience if he was ever willing to share personally as well. Several people have claimed experiences for sure. Thank you for sharing!

       Reply

       1. He says that guests quite regularly have experiences that are reported to staff. I’ve tried to find other reports, but I guess the Empress might be ambivalent about this type of publicity.

          Reply

          1. I found a few more reports online, and added the links above. I think you’re probably right about the Empress’ official stance, but I don’t think they’re necessarily opposed to the reports either. The hotel itself is regularly included on Victoria haunted location sites, yet I’ve never heard them come forward and deny the claims openly… I guess they wouldn’t want to say publicly that so many of their guests and staff are lying! 🙂

             Reply

             1. I used to live near the Empress and drink regularly at the Beaver (pub). The only spirits I saw were the alcoholic kind! 😉 But I did live in a house in Vic West and had quite a frightening experience one afternoon. The house has since been restored to it’s Edwardian glory, but I always wonder if the new owners had any unnerving experiences. If you can contact me directly I’ll tell you all about it and give you the address.

45. Hi
    I did not see a face however the figure was wearing brown with an orange frilly cloth on there chest area. What made me realize that there was something odd was the speed it was moving towards the upper level pillar I first assumed there where stairs when I investigated later there where none it is impossible for someone to move that quickly from the foyer to the second floor

    Thx
    Paul

    Reply

    1. Thank you for sharing Paul. Investigated possible explanations is always a good thing to do when possible. Thank you for the description, as well. It will be interesting to see if anyone else reports anything similar!

       Reply

46. The reason I ask I believe I saw on 2 months ago I work as a taxi driver I was at
    The empress waiting for a fare when I saw a figure run across twice once in the foyer then immediately following the second floor

    Thx
    Paul

    Reply

    1. That’s really interesting! The Empress is one of the more famous haunted sites in Victoria. If you saw something there that defies logic, then you’re definitely not alone! Did the figure look male or female? A child? Do you remember any clothing colours?

       Reply

47. Have you heard anything about a ghost at the empress foyer ( check in)

    Reply

    1. Hi Paul, I haven’t been able to find anything on the foyer specifically. Are you aware of a specific incident or have any info that you would like to pass along? Would be interested to hear about it!

       Reply

48. Trying to learn the past of the learning center at 716 Courtney street victoia bc. Have heard there are at least 2 maybe 3 ghosts.

    Reply

    1. Hi Colin, it wouldn’t surprise me. I did some online checking on the Windermere building but couldn’t find anything specific. If you have a source I can follow up, or if you would be willing to share what you have heard? 🙂

       Reply

49. China Flats story….part is missing…it was actually in approx 1950 1952, my mom knows it as she was a child there then. The man that jumped into traffic was trying to get a Dr for his sick wiffe and was STRUCK by a car, didn’t jump. She was then found dead once someone tried to alert her as to what happened to him…thus perhaps why he is still about, looking to help his wife. This is not proven fact, but the way the locals account it. 🙂 Hope this helps.

    Reply

    1. That is great! Thank you Chrissie! That does make the story make a lot more sense!

       Reply

       1. I’m from the area, but have never heard the term China Flats… Where on hwy 14 is it?

          Reply

          1. “On the highway between Victoria and Sooke on Vancouver Island there is a spot known locally as China Flats.” – Belyk

             “Sooke Highway.” – Belyk

             “Roughly halfway between Sooke and Victoria.” – B. Smith

             I’m not sure exactly where the site is other than this. I’ve never been sure of the exact spot, either. Hope this helps!

             Reply

             1. I grew up on that stretch of road, we always called it Doodney(sp?) Flats…I never heard the story about it til adulthood though we did have many unexplained and possibly paranormal experiences there.

50. I have read alot of books on the subject of ghtoss and ghost hunting and I think this may just be the best of them all. At first I wasn’t sure when the author got in to the brain stuff but it really makes you think, and it was very interesting. I like how he goes over so many different paranormal subjects, and he makes you think about all the possible reasons for activity. He’s not trying to make you believe one way or the other,(which I find a refreshing change) but rather gives you all the options to consider so you’ll take more time to review things. I think this book is a must for beginners. It’s well written in simple language so you don’t get lost in all the technical talk. Experienced investigators can benefit from this book too. There are good books on the subject out there but if you’re looking for one you can refer to time and time again this is the one.

    Reply

    1. Are you talking about Robert Belyk’s books? Sounds like it! Great stuff!

       Reply