Top 5 Most Haunted Places in Montreal

Posted by Riley Wignall in FringeBlog on October 31, 2013

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Since it’s Halloween, there’s no doubt that Montrealers are prepping their costumes, stocking up on candy and getting ready to party en masse. So with all the neon-coloured candy corn, questionable choices for costumes (here’s looking at you, Sexy Chucky) and scary movie marathons, it’s easy to forget that Montreal has a haunted history all its own, from the stones up.

After all, you don’t get to be over 300 years old without a little supernatural baggage.

5. Mount Royal Cemetery

Green grass punctuated by marble white grave markers every few feet, in an area so big you’re sure to get lost: this one is a no brainer.

Obviously, in a place where hundreds have been put to rest, some of them are going to get bored with, you know, being dead forever, and come back to get some ghost poutine, like a true Montrealer spirit.
Apparently most ghost activity happens after sunset, when the cemetery is host to shadowy figures lingering on the bluffs, as well as the infamous “Algonquin Indian”—a Native American warrior of legend who is said to lurk on the cliffs nearby.

4. The Queen Elizabeth Hotel

Most famous for the time John Lennon and Yoko Ono stayed there in 1969 while protesting the Vietnam War, this hotel has been host to many famous historical figures, but only one lives on in eternal infamy.

Through the halls of this regal old dame there is said to be a wandering woman in white, who occasionally visits the rooms of guests.

Other inexplicable phenomena such as disembodied voices, mysterious sounds like bangs and knocks, footsteps, cold spots, and people being touched or pushed by unseen forces have also been reported. Spooky!

3. The Royal Victoria Hospital

It’s a common theory among paranormal experts that ghosts or unseen forces are bound to a specific location as a result of suffering or trauma in life, so anyone who has ever spent time in a hospital waiting room should not be surprised to see this entry on the list.

The story goes that the “Royal Vic” is haunted by many of its former patients; testimonials have reported mysterious figures lurking in the wards, there one moment, gone the next.

One report even attests to talking to the spectre of an old woman, and waking up in an unexplained pool of blood. True or not, it’s just one more reason to dread going to the hospital.

2. La Prisons-des-Patriotes

Built to hold roughly 300 prisoners, this penitentiary was reportedly home to more than 1500 after the Upper Canada Rebellion in 1837.

Additionally, several executions took place there, most notably those of a few “Patriotes” who had fought in the Lower Canada Rebellion, also known as The Patriots’ War.

One Google search of this prison’s name combined with the word “haunted” reveals slews of YouTube videos featuring local ghost hunting groups vying for EVP (electronic voice phenomena), trying to capture the elusive sounds of those voices from beyond.

1. 242 William Street

Forgive the phrase here, guys and ghouls, but this one is the cherry on top of our morbid mound.

Seemingly a simple address, 242 William Street is the setting for one of the most gory, heinous local legends to date. Once every seven years since 1879, through the streets of Griffintown, the decapitated apparition of the prostitute

Mary Gallagher is said to wander, looking for her missing head.

This twisted tale begins with Gallagher, her friend and fellow prostitute Susan Kennedy, and two bottles of whiskey, and ends in hot-blooded murder.

On a hot night in June 1879, Susan and Mary had finished their whiskey, when Mary picked up a man by the name of Michael Flanagan as a trick. The trio headed back to Mary’s place in high spirits.

After doing dastardly deeds of unmentionable debauchery, Flanagan passed out.

At this time in our tale, Susan, in a fit of jealousy over Mary’s picking up of a customer, turned into a whiskey powered murder machine(™),and used an axe to take off Mary’s head, tossing it into the water pail beside Gallagher’s stove.

At the trial of Susan Kennedy, a downstairs neighbour testified to the noise of something heavy falling to the floor, so hard that plaster fell from the ceiling—followed by chopping for the next ten minutes.

Kennedy was sentenced to be hanged on Dec. 5, 1879, but was released after 15 years in jail.

Strangely enough, Flanagan, who had been cleared of all murder charges, drowned at the Wellington Basin, the very same day Susan Kennedy was set to be hanged.

The building on William Street was long ago torn down, and is now only an understated, vacant lot, an empty testament to horror over a century old.

However, hold off on the ghost hunt if you’re going to go searching for poor Mary’s headless ghost; you’ll have to wait until June 27, 2019, the next reported date for her sighting.