Haunted Places in Vancouver
Feel like getting spooky this October? Take a trip to one of these 5 haunted locations in Vancouver to say hello to a local ghost!
The Old Spaghetti Factory
With no fewer than four resident ghosts, the Old Spaghetti Factory in Gastown is a hotbed of paranormal activity. The restaurant’s various apparitions include a street car conductor, a talkative girl holding a balloon, a young boy (who is apparently called Edward) and a mischievous red-headed fellow known as “little red man.”
16th Ave in Pacific Spirit Park
One of Vancouver’s most popular ghost stories is that of the mysterious female hitchhiker who haunts West 16th Avenue, out towards UBC. The long stretch of road through Pacific Spirit Regional Park can seem remote – it gets very dark at night and is surrounded by forest. Coming across a lonely young woman hitchhiking on the side of the road might seem odd.
It will seem even more odd when she climbs into the back of your car without saying a word, gives you a piece of paper with the UBC library address on it, and then promptly disappears into thin air.
Legend has it many years ago the woman was left there on the side of the road by her boyfriend, after they had a fight. Attempting to hitchhike, she was hit by a passing car and killed.
Hotel Vancouver
The Hotel Vancouver’s Lady in Red is perhaps Vancouver’s most famous ghost – said to be the spirit of a long-dead socialite who haunts the hotel’s corridors and elevators. The Lady in Red is just as popular today as she was when she was alive – she even has a cocktail named after her!
Hycroft Mansion
Hycroft Mansion was a stately home built for politician and war hero Gen. Alexander Duncan McRae. Since his demise, it’s been the haunt, literally, of many honourable ghostly guests, including McRae himself (dressed in his First World War uniform) and his wife. The home was used as a veteran’s hospital during the Second World War, which makes the ghostly sounds of a crying man seem quite appropriate. Images of the head nurse have been seen, and apparitions of at least three war vets, in full uniform, would have made any visitor stand at attention.
Waterfront Station
Vancouver’s busiest transit station is seemingly a favourite haunt of ghosts and apparitions: the three little old ladies who sit on a bench waiting for a train that never comes, the 1920s flapper who sometimes dances in the corridors, and the decapitated brakeman who wanders the tracks late at night. To seasoned transit-goers, this may sound like a regular Saturday night at Waterfront station – but perhaps there are paranormal explanations for these unusual occurrences.
***Photos and information courtesy of the DailyHive
