As a lifelong Victoria local, I’ve grown quite familiar with the city’s haunted reputation. It seems like there’s a ghoulish story just waiting to be told around every corner. But I can’t help raising an eyebrow when I hear people talk about their haunted experiences in places like Bastion Square or Fan Tan Alley. I mean, sure, anything is possible, but you can’t convince me you heard the footsteps of the dead in a high-traffic pedestrian corridor. But, that being said, I’m not so cynical that I wouldn’t entertain the possibility of a paranormal experience or two, should they arise.
Now, if you’re going to embark on a paranormal investigation, it’s important to come prepared— and I’m not just talking about Ouija boards and candlesticks. I mean, you’d probably want to know when a ghost was near you, right? Well, for that, you’ll need an electromagnetic frequency reader, more commonly known as an EMF reader. As the name might imply, this handheld device measures electromagnetic waves as they move through the environment. Typically, you wouldn’t need one unless you were checking the current in an outlet, but many paranormal investigators claim that spirits can disrupt these fields, setting off the reader when they’re close by.
Additionally, you could set up a thermal camera to see if any human-like figures pass by it. Or you could set up a scanning radio to see if any ghosts want to communicate with you through the endless waves of white noise.
Personally, I’m a little too deep in my student loans to make those kinds of purchases right now, so I’ll be doing this the analogue way. If the ghosts of this city wish to interact with me, they’re going to have to work a little harder for it. But if you get the chance to set out on your own investigation, and you have the means to give the ghosts a little extra attention, consider this a jumping-off point.
And now, without further ado: let the ghost hunt begin!
The first stop on my list was the Chinese Cemetery at Harling Point. While this national historic site has an incredibly rich past, the legend of its haunting actually stems from a property situated beside the cemetery, rather than the cemetery itself. Well, in part, at least.
The Haunted House of Harling Point loomed over the cemetery, some three stories tall, from 1914 to 1958. Back then, locals reported seeing moving furniture and hearing phantom voices from within the house. This reputation eventually carried over to the cemetery, effectively shaping how the locals perceived it. But that’s not the only reason.
The cemetery itself actually predates the house by about 11 years, having been established in 1903 by the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association. At that time, the bodies of Chinese immigrants weren’t allowed in standard Canadian cemeteries, so they were temporarily buried in the Chinese Cemetery, then stored in bone houses to be shipped back to China.
However, when WWII came and went, and the Chinese Communist Party took power, the government moved to officially ban the import of human remains. So, years later, in 1961, the bodies of more than 800 Chinese pioneers were finally laid to rest in 13 mass graves around the cemetery. If you ask me, this tragic, isolated atmosphere is far more haunting than any folklore could possibly be.
It is, however, a beautiful spot. I used to live a short distance from there and would regularly pass by on late-night walks. I can’t say I’ve ever felt the presence of a ghost, though. So, strike one for Team Hauntings.
Just a few minutes down the road is the Victoria Golf Club, which is said to be haunted by the ghost of Doris Gravlin. In September of 1936, she and her estranged husband, Victor, had agreed to meet by the water to discuss the possibility of reconnecting. Both went missing, and days later, Doris’ body was found near the seventh green, beaten and strangled.
Witnesses have reported seeing a woman believed to be Doris wandering the course along the shoreline. Now, of course, I would never trespass on private property. But if I had, I would probably tell you that the rolling hills, while vast and creepy, are not likely to yield any paranormal activity. I would assume, anyway.
It is worth noting that a stretch of Beach Drive runs directly through the course, so if you’re curious to see the ghost of Doris Gravlin, you can safely do so from the comfort of the sidewalk. However, there are no street lamps, so a reliable flashlight is strongly encouraged. Which would help on the course, too. I would assume, anyway.
Approaching downtown, there are a great many locations purported to be hubs for paranormal activity. And while I’m not entirely convinced anyone is haunting Victoria more than the warm-blooded city-goers who live here, I did take it upon myself to stroll through Helmcken Alley, just to see if any spirits wanted to persuade me in their favour.
Helmcken Alley is a quaint little walkway lined with brick arches, connecting Bastion Square and Langley Street. Now, as I briefly alluded to earlier, Bastion Square is widely considered one of the most haunted areas in the city. This is because, throughout the 19th century, it served as a public execution site, with many hangings being ordered by Matthew Baillie Begbie, who served as the first Chief Justice of British Columbia during the gold-rush era.
Helmcken Alley was a part of the site where the prisoners would be held and transported. As one story goes, in the 1850s, an inmate was beaten to death by a prison guard in this very alleyway, his ghost still haunting it. Additionally, some of the prisoners whose bodies were left unclaimed were buried directly beneath the prison grounds of Bastion Square, and during later excavations, not all their remains were removed, meaning some of them are still there to this day.
This alley offers a fascinating step into history and a great opportunity to imagine what things would have been like back then. It was easy to convince myself this place had an eerie feel, but I’m saddened to say I didn’t run into any ghosts or ghouls on my journey. I held out hope for my next location, though: Pioneer Square.
Pioneer Square is a particularly interesting site as many historians consider it to be the most significant colonial-era cemetery in all of British Columbia. It’s not exactly isolated, nestled on the edge of the downtown core, but it is much quieter than some of the other haunted locations scattered throughout the city. And because it’s such an overlooked landmark, very few people are there at any given time, making for a peaceful, pleasant walk through history.
Several tombstones and memorial sites are situated throughout the square, from Scottish-Canadian war heroes to old chief factors of the Hudson’s Bay Company. Streetlights pierce the tree canopy, creating an ambiance all its own. It’s beautiful here, to be sure, although, if I’m honest, I’d describe it more as a serene urban getaway than a hub for paranormal activity. As far as I could tell, no ghosts are occupying this space.
Now, I think it’s important for me to point out that, despite my cynicism, I am not a non-believer. I don’t need to be convinced that ghosts exist; I just don’t think they exist where we think they do. I mean, if you died, would you choose to haunt your burial site, or the place where you met your end? Wouldn’t it make more sense to spend all eternity in a place that made you happy, where you had the fondest memories or the calmest moments? I mean, hey, that’s just my thought process.
Moving right along, we have St. Ann’s Academy, situated between downtown and Beacon Hill Park. From 1864 to 1908, this place served as a convent and even had a cemetery on the property where several nuns were buried. Now, to the best of my knowledge, none of their remains were left on the property, as they were eventually moved to Ross Bay Cemetery, which then served as their final resting place. However, legend has it you can still see the spirits of the Sisters of St. Ann roaming the grounds.
Some folks have even claimed to see the ghost of Emily Carr on this property, with the connection being that the Sisters of St. Ann cared for Carr’s sister, Lizzie, during her final days. However, this happened in an entirely separate building across the street from St. Ann’s Academy, so these claims get a little fuzzy for me.
In any case, this building now serves as a national historic site and is a pretty impressive place to explore. Growing up, I walked by this property almost every weekend, and I’m saddened to say what was true then still seems to be true now: no ghosts roam around, nor do famous Canadian painters.
The next stop on my list might actually be my favourite: the permanent married quarters (PMQs) out in Belmont Park. Now, I don’t know if you’ve ever explored this part of town, but calling it peaceful would be an understatement. This area serves as a residential community for the Department of National Defence, lined with quaint houses and apartment complexes. Something about the quiet, lived-in nature of this neighbourhood just puts me right at ease. It feels like everyone is warm and safe in the comfort of their homes, with toys strewn across the lawns and a real sense of community hanging in the air. It makes you feel like this is how things are supposed to be—safe and calm.
Plenty of reasons lead people to believe this area may be haunted, most of them tied to family tragedies. The best-known story involves the Dunsmuir family, as the PMQs were built on their estate, which, at the time, stretched more than 500 acres.
The story goes that in 1915, Laura and James Dunsmuir lost their youngest son when the RMS Lusitania, a British luxury ocean liner, was torpedoed by a German submarine and sunk just off the south coast of Ireland on the way to France; his body was never recovered. James died shortly thereafter, with many believing that the cause of death was a broken heart.
Those who frequent Hatley Castle—the home in which Laura and James lived—have reported hearing footsteps and music coming from his study. Laura, on the other hand, who died believing her son was still alive and would one day return home, stalked the cadets’ dormitories, searching the boys’ faces in the hopes that one of them might be her son.
Hatley Castle only served as a dorm and mess hall for naval cadets from 1941 to 1943, so whether the presence of Laura and James Dunsmuir still remains is up for debate. As far as I can tell, they’ve gone on their way, but in the off chance that they are still hanging around, I don’t think they’d seem malicious or violent. All they’d seem is heartbroken, and it’s sad to think that those feelings might not go away after you die. I wonder what else stays with you.
On the way back into town, my partner and I stopped at Fleming Beach near Saxe Point. I’ve heard rumblings that this place is haunted, but I’ve never known the reasons why. So, curious, I figured it was worth a quick stop to see if I could experience anything paranormal.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, my experience was the same as the rest: wholly uneventful. Still, the atmosphere was the creepiest by far. Pitch-black water shoaling under a pitch-black sky, with dim lights reflecting off the shoreline, surrounded by mist. It was altogether eerie. We didn’t stay for long as it was getting late, and cold, but what time we did spend was certainly spooky, indeed. However, as with most of these places, I think it was more atmosphere-dependent than ghost-dependent.
Now, of course, I can’t talk about haunted Victoria without also looking in our own backyard. As many Camosun students and staff will tell you, the Young Building is widely considered to be crawling with ghosts. In fact, the gymnasium is now where the WWII-era morgue once was.
I’ve spent countless late nights studying in this building (well, not so much since the school shrunk its hours down to nothing, but that’s a topic for a different day). Point being, I’m no stranger to hanging around these parts after hours, when it’s just me, the ghosts, and the janitorial staff. And while I can see how someone could convince themselves this place is haunted, my own experiences have led me to believe that it’s probably not (or perhaps just a very light haunting).
And the same can be said for Richmond House, which is located right on the outskirts of campus. Like Fleming Beach, there isn’t much context for why this place is believed to be haunted, but I’ve still heard rumblings. Now, I don’t have to try very hard to get to this place because the Nexus office is on the second floor; safe to say I’m here pretty often. However, despite all the time I’ve spent here and the vague rumours I’ve caught wind of, I can’t say I’ve ever felt a ghostly presence looking over my shoulder, trying to edit my next story (except for our student editor Nik). Honestly, I’ve never even heard the building creak. But at some point, a very long time ago, this was a real house with a real family in it, and I’m sure their memories still haunt this place, even if I haven’t experienced anything.
I think that’s the difference-maker when it comes to haunted places or experiences. Because what makes a place haunted? And is it haunted to everyone, or only to some? Why?
For me, having lived in this city my whole life, I feel haunted by 20-plus years of experiences, friendships, heartaches, and memories. The ghosts I see are people who I used to know, all of whom are still very much alive, but who don’t really exist in my life anymore. And it’s strange to think I’ll never know them beyond the last age I knew them. Some people will always be 14-year-old ghosts, even if they’re now 24-year-old people.
To me, what makes a place haunted isn’t the ghosts of people I never knew, or vast histories I can read about but never really experienced. No, what makes a place haunted is the experience that I have with it, the memories I find around every corner.
I mean, logistically, I know that it’s different, and I don’t know what makes a place truly haunted. Honestly, I don’t know if I’d even feel it if a ghost stood beside me, or if they’d feel the way most people do when they go unnoticed.
Honestly, I don’t know if they’d feel at all.