Haunted spots in Edmonton horror hunters should explore this summer

Edmonton adores its ghost stories, but only the most dedicated know the legends surrounding the city’s most haunted places.

Halloween is still months away, but summer is a great time for horror lovers to explore some seriously spooky locations in the city.

We’ve rounded up a few haunted Edmonton spots that you should check out, if you dare.

The Fairmont Hotel MacDonald

Over 100 years ago, during the construction of this castle, a horse dropped dead while the foundation for the hotel was being poured. To this day, guests on the eighth floor have reported hearing galloping, the sound of a horse-drawn carriage, and other unusual sounds. Enjoy your stay.

The Princess Theatre

Built in the early 1900s, a devastated bride hung herself in the rooming house above the theatre after being abandoned by her lover. It is said her ghostly figure has been seen in the projection room, the stairs, and the lobby.

Pembina Hall, University of Alberta campus

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Following the First World War, the Spanish Flu pandemic struck the Edmonton area, and in response, Pembina Hall on the University of Alberta campus was converted into a makeshift hospital. Reports say 72 people died at Pembina Hall during this time, and today, people say they see ghosts of men dressed in soldiers’ garb and nurses wearing old-fashioned uniforms.

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Charles Camsell Hospital

Opened in the early 1900s as a Jesuit college, it was converted into a military hospital for tuberculosis and other respiratory illnesses in 1945. Many patients sent to the hospital never returned home. Empty since 1996, this haunted Edmonton hospital has reported sightings of screams, flickering lights, and even elevators moving without any apparent power source. The building is now guarded by security to keep the public out. Beware.

Gibbard Block (formerly La Boheme Restaurant Bed & Breakfast)

Bed and breakfasts are usually the perfect couple’s retreat — this one, not so much. As the story goes, the couple who originally owned the building were anything but perfect. The owner is said to have murdered his wife in jealousy, only to drag her body to the basement and burn her remains. He was eventually convicted of murder after employees found bone fragments. Unexplained noises, flickering lights, and the appearance of a ghostly woman have been reported ever since.

McKay Avenue School

Once a school as well as home to Alberta’s first two legislative sessions, this downtown building, which opened in 1905, is now a museum rumoured to be haunted. Objects are said to move around mysteriously, and lights often turn on and off by themselves. It’s claimed that an employee used an Ouija board to communicate with a spirit, who claimed to be a worker who fell off the roof during construction and died.

Firkins House, Fort Edmonton Park

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Known as Fort Edmonton Park’s most haunted house, the Firkins home was once owned by the esteemed dentist and adventurer Dr. Ashley M. Firkins. Many myths and legends have been told about strange occurrences inside the house, from the spirit of a woman floating by a bookcase, a ventriloquist doll appearing in cupboards, or a resident ghost that sometimes takes the shape of a sickly young boy.

Are there any haunted Edmonton locations you have stories about? Share with the class! Send them to us at edmonton@dailyhive.com.

With files from Laine Mitchell

This article was originally published on September 4, 2024. It has since been updated.