5 haunted places in Hamilton
Published October 19, 2019 at 1:58 am
Who doesn’t love a good ghost story? Or urban legend, even? It can be a rush when you hear some of these terrifying tales.
In Hamilton, a city with a long, sometimes dark, history, we have plenty to go around. We even have tour groups dedicated to exploring these dark spaces and tales.
For those looking to get your scare on, here’s a list of 5 haunted places in Hamilton that are sure to send chills up and down your spine.
5. Glendale Golf and Country Club
Photo courtesy Glendale Golf and Country Club Facebook page.
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This is a story straight out of a Stephen King classic. According to the Hamilton Public Library archives, a bartender named Colin is still trying to serve clientele at the club’s bar. Colin was apparently a bartender for 25 years at the club. There have been reports of staff and patrons hearing footsteps when no one is there and glasses at the bar moving around. Guess old (work) habits die hard, eh?
4. Woodend Mansion in Ancaster
Archives from the Hamilton Public Library say that in 1891 Ancaster treasurer John Heslop was shot dead in his home by burglars. No one was ever convicted of the crime. Heslop’s spirit is said to still roam the house, which is now the headquarters of the Hamilton Region Conservation Authority. People have reported a dragging noise in the attic and footsteps moving throughout the house. It is rumoured that John Heslop’s blood still stains the stair landing and will remain until his murder is avenged.
3. Century Manor
Photo courtesy Century Manor Facebook page.
We’ve all heard stories about this place and some of us have probably even tried to access the grounds here. I’ve personally heard reports of people hearing screams and seeing apparitions walking the grounds. There’s a story about a security guard hearing and seeing nurses during one of his security checks of the long-abandoned property. But I think what captures most people’s imaginations and sense of terror is the building’s history of being an insane asylum during a time in history where primitive treatments were employed. Century manor is said to have housed the ‘worst of the worst’ of the criminally insane.
2. Dundurn Castle
The land on which Dundurn Castle sits has a long and bloody history. It’s where soldiers camped out before heading into the Battle of Stoney Creek in the War of 1812. More than a dozen people were hung for treason there in the early 1800s and during a cholera epidemic, bodies were stored in plague sheds nearby. The mansion’s most famous inhabitant, Sir Allan MacNab, had a history of shady dealings and his alleged death-bed conversion to Catholicism was shrouded in mystery and sparked decades of controversy. Staff and visitors to the mansion have reported mysterious drafts and a cold chill outside the room where MacNab’s second wife, Mary, wasted away from consumption. There have also been reports of objects moving around and the occasional sound of mysterious music and singing.
1. Custom House
Photo courtesy Ghost Walk Facebook page.
This stunning stone property on Stuart street which overlooks the West Harbour is home to perhaps Hamilton’s most popular ghost: the Woman in Black. There have been reports of a woman who gazes down from one of the second-floor windows. People report feeling like the transparent shadow is angry. Library archives say she is rumoured to be a woman who arrived on one of the immigrant ships and died in port, subsequently being buried on the grounds of the building. She has also been spotted in an area of the basement near the vault, and her appearance is usually accompanied by a bone-numbing coldness and anxiety. One legend says that she is waiting for her sailor lover to come for her.
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