Victoria’s rich history comes with its fair share of ghost stories.
With cooler weather and Halloween around the corner, now is the perfect time to embrace Victoria’s eerie and supernatural side. If you’re feeling adventurous, you can take a walking tour to explore some of the most haunted spots in the city here.
Many of these haunted locations are easily accessible, and some even invite you in for a drink or meal. Here are six of the most haunted places in Victoria for you to explore this Halloween season.
The Bent Mast
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The Bent Mast has quite a history. It’s been a rooming house, a brothel, four different restaurants, and even an erotic art gallery. Allegedly, several ghosts still haunt the place. There’s a playful child, a cranky old man who likes to hide things in the kitchen (which might explain the delay in the wine), and an older woman. Female staff have reported encounters with a man in a red fedora who disappears before they can take his order.
Garrick’s Head Pub
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The Garrick’s Head Pub, originally opened as the Garrick’s Head Saloon in 1867, is said to be haunted by the spirit of its former owner, Mike Powers. Powers purchased the saloon in 1899 but was brutally attacked outside his home later that year, struck with a sandbag and left for dead. He died four days later from his injuries, and his attackers were never found. It was suspected that a former wife and her lover orchestrated the attack out of hatred. Today, staff and patrons report eerie occurrences in the pub, believed to be signs of Powers’ restless ghost.
The Empress Hotel
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The Fairmont Empress is said to house the spirit of Francis Rattenbury, the hotel architect, after a scandalous love affair went wrong. Rattenbury had a torrid affair with a younger woman that led him to leave his wife and flee to England. He later married his mistress. However, things soon took a turn for the worse. His new wife had an affair with their young chauffeur, who later bludgeoned Rattenbury to death. According to this Condé Nast’s article, the architect’s spirit is said to have returned to the hotel and now haunts guests in the lobby.
James Bay Inn
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The hotel, designed by architect Charles Elwood Watkins in 1911, is the third oldest in Victoria. During the Second World War, it was sold to Mother Cecilia’s religious order. Its claim to fame is that renowned artist Emily Carr passed away here in 1945, just a block from where she was born.
Craigdarroch Castle
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This beautiful castle’s claim to haunted fame is that Joan Dunsmuir, one of its original occupants, never truly left. Guests have reported capturing her ghostly figure in photos and experiencing eerie phenomena, such as disembodied whispers echoing through the halls and the scent of burning candles emanating from Joan’s former bedroom.
The Bedford Regency Hotel
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Near Bastion Square, and once known as the infamous Churchill Hotel in the 1960s, the Bedford Regency Hotel was nothing like the boutique hotel it is now. With a notorious beer hall in the basement, legend has it that a woman who lived there haunts the hotel after taking her own life following the brutal beating of her lover on the beer hall steps. Guests have reported terrifying encounters in Room 49 of the hotel, including seeing her ghost rush toward them when they enter her room and glimpsing her face in mirrors.