Half Way House Inn at Black Creek Pioneer Village – built 1847/48
The original location of the Half Way House Inn was on the northwest corner of Kingston Rd and Midland Ave in Scarborough, about halfway between Pickering and Toronto. The two-storey Georgian-style structure was built and operated by Alexander and Mary Thompson. It was originally a resting place for stagecoach passengers. Travellers could stop in for a drink or spend a night upstairs in one of the bedrooms if they were tired. The building was later a hotel, an apartment and then a store.
In 1966, the Half Way House Inn was moved to Black Creek Pioneer Village, and a resident ghost may have come along with the historic building.
There have been reports of a female apparition wearing a mid-1800s style blue-grey colour dress with brown shoulder-length hair. The spirit is thought to be Mary Thompson. It has been seen pacing the second-floor balcony and inside on the staircase heading towards the upper floor. Whenever someone does see her, the sweet floral-scented perfume follows.
One day, a staff member came to open the building first thing in the morning. When he opened the front door, he saw a woman going up the stairs in a blue-grey dress. Thinking it was a co-worker, he said, “Good morning!” but there was no response, nor did she turn around. Not thinking much about it, he went to the kitchen and began working. A little later, he was checking a task list and noticed that the woman he thought he had seen wasn’t even on the schedule to work that day. He quickly ran up the stairs to the second floor and looked in every room. He found no one and was completely alone in the old house.
SOURCE
- Haunted Walk: Ghosts of the Village at Black Creek Ghost Tour
Toronto Stock Exchange/now Design Exchange at 234 Bay St – built in 1937
While the heritage building was home to the Toronto Stock Exchange from 1937 to 1983, today, it’s the site of the Design Exchange. The building is also home to a few spirits.
There are reports of taps turning on themselves, hearing footsteps and the unsettling feeling of a presence. There’s also a rumour that a security camera recorded the image of an eerie being lurking about the old ticker palace.
SOURCE
- Toronto Ghosts: Former Toronto Stock Exchange
Lower Bay Subway Station at Bay St & Bloor St W – built in 1959
Itself considered a ghost station, Lower Bay Station was only used for six months in 1966. The Lady in Red, a ghostly apparition without eyes and feet, has reportedly been seen gliding through the station and its tunnels by TTC workers and film crews.
The abandoned station is sometimes used as a NYC subway movie set. It’s directly beneath Bay Station.
SOURCE
- Toronto Ghosts: TTC Lower Bay Subway Station
- City News: Haunted Toronto, Part One
- Video: CityNews Toronto YouTube Channel
Mackenzie House at 82 Bond St – built in 1857
The stately Mackenzie House is considered one of Toronto’s most haunted houses. The ghosts of its famous former resident, William Lyon Mackenzie and his wife, Isabel, are said to be lingering in the city-operated museum.
After living in the house for only a few years, Mr Mackenzie, journalist, rebel and Toronto’s first Mayor, died in the bedroom in 1861. The ghost of a short man wearing a wig and frock coat has been seen around the house, particularly near his bedroom. In 1873, Mrs Mackenzie also passed away in the home.
Over the decades, the historic property went through a few hands, one of which had the house blessed. In 1960, it was given to the City of Toronto and came with an inventory list which included “One ghost, exercised.” That same year, two sets of caretaking couples lived rent-free in an apartment on an upper floor. They both left quickly and when asked why, they said they were so frightened by the strange occurrences they could no longer live there.
The caretakers mentioned the disturbing feeling of being watched or feeling they were not alone. While upstairs, they also heard Mrs Mackenzie’s piano playing from a parlour on the first floor and footsteps on the stairs. One of the wives said she saw the spectre of a woman with long hair wearing 19th-century garb hovering over her momentarily, then vanishing only later to return to slap her on the face. The following morning, the woman’s cheek had two welts on it.
SOURCE
- The Globe and Mail Newspaper Archives: Mar 8, 1962, pg 7
- Toronto Star Newspaper Archives: Apr 27, 1980, pg C12
- Toronto Ghosts: Mackenzie House
- Haunted Walk: Original Haunted Walk of Toronto Ghost Tour
Colborne Lodge at 11 Colborne Lodge Dr in High Park – built in 1837
John Howard, Toronto’s first Surveyor, and his wife Jemima built Colborne Lodge five years after emigrating from England. They named their residence after Sir John Colborne, the Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada. In 1873, the couple deeded the 165 acres of property to the City of Toronto under the agreement it remains free to use and be called “High Park.” Mr Howard retained the Lodge and 45 acres until he passed away.
It’s rumoured that the ghost of a woman, perhaps Mrs Howard, has been seen looking out from a second-floor window towards the Howards’ Burial Monument.
Today, the picturesque heritage site is the city-operated Colborne Lodge museum.
SOURCE
- City of Toronto: Colborne Lodge
- Haunted Toronto by John Robert Colombo (1996), The Ghost of Colborne Lodge
C.P.R. North Toronto Station/now LCBO at 10 Scrivener Sq – built in 1916
The magnificent building was Toronto’s central railway station for a little more than a decade. Competition from Union Station, along with the Great Depression, meant the end of the line for the station, and it closed in 1930. Over the years, much of the station’s grand interior was covered over. However, in the early 2000s, extensive restoration began on the landmark property, and its inner beauty was rediscovered.
Today, the former C.P.R. North Toronto Station is the Summerhill LCBO. The flagship store is rumoured to be home to two kinds of spirits – the liquor kind and the ghostly kind. There’s a stairway that once led passengers to the Track 2 train platform. The ground floor door to that now hidden and capped stairway locks and unlocks by itself. Staff have also mentioned seeing apparitions in the building.
SOURCE
- TRHA: North Toronto Station
- Global News: What you might not know about the Summerhill LCBO
St Michael’s Hospital at 30 Bond St – established in 1892
St Michael’s Hospital began on the site in a former Baptist Church. The church building was purchased in 1876 by the Archbishop and was initially used for Sunday school, a men’s reading room and then a boarding school for young women under the supervision of the Sisters of St Joseph. At an urgent request from medical authorities, the building was converted into a hospital, St Michael’s.
From its inception in 1892, the steady stream of patients called for many additions to St Mike’s throughout the years. From a small 26-bed hospital, the “Urban Angel” has grown to occupy a City block.
In Ward 7B, there have been reports of a nun named Sister Vincenza making her rounds and turning lights on and off. However… Sister Vinnie, as the staff knows her, passed away in the 1950s.
SOURCE
- A Centenary History of St Michael’s Hospital by Irene McDonald
- The Globe Newspaper Archives: Jul 10, 1926, pg 14
- Toronto Ghosts: St Michaels Hospital
Ernescliffe Apartments at 477 Sherbourne St – built in 1914/15/16
This historic apartment complex is over 100 years old, and these three architecturally significant buildings are on the City’s registry of heritage properties. For some time, there was a dark presence in the hallways; however, in recent years, the sightings have decreased. While it’s not known who the spirit is, in 1948, two engineers died when the building’s 1500-pound boiler they were working on exploded.
SOURCE
- The Globe and Mail Newspaper Archives: Sep 4, 2015, pg G4
Massey Hall at 178 Victoria St – built in 1894
Toronto’s great concert hall, also known as The Grand Old Lady of Shuter Street, was donated to the City by industrialist Hart Massey. There have been reports of a male spirit wearing old-fashioned clothing haunting the backstage area of the historic venue. It’s thought to be the former custodian who once lived in an apartment behind the stage.
There are also rumours of a female opera singer making her presence known from a seat in the audience. “The Diva” makes loud noises when a soprano takes the stage at Massey Hall.
If the Massey name sounds familiar with hauntings, the family once lived in the stately home we know today as Keg Mansion.
SOURCE
- Haunted Toronto by John Robert Colombo (1996), The Haunting of Massey Hall
- PSICAN: Toronto’s Musical Ghosts
- Photos: Denise Marie for TorontoJourney416
- Vintage Photos: City of Toronto Archives & Toronto Public Library
