Eight Scary Things

Almost three years ago I blogged about the 10 Things You Might Not Have Known About Canada. Providing snippets of completely useless information. To put it quite simply, it's what yours truly does best. So in keeping with "what I do best", I present to you...

8 Scary Things You Didn't Know About Canada

Forget Canada’s reputation as a safe and tranquil country. The Great White North has its fair share of unnerving skeletons lurking in its closet. Unexplainable, hair-raising events routinely scare the living daylights out of unassuming Canucks. Lock all your doors and give one last glance over your shoulder – here are 10 goosebump worthy secrets about Canada.

1. Canadian Lake Monsters Abound - You’ve heard the tales of curious travellers flocking to Scotland in the hopes of catching a glimpse of the famous Loch Ness Monster. But did you know that Nessie isn’t the only sea monster mystery worthy of attention? Turns out, Scotland’s elusive serpent has plenty of Canadian competition. Native Canadian legends and current day believers speak of lake monsters playing hide and seek in British Columbia (Lake Okanagan’s Ogopogo), Manitoba (Lake Manitoba’s Manipogo), Ontario (Lake Champlain’s Champie) and Québec (Lake Memphremagog’s Memphre).
2. Stay the Night in a Haunted Jail Cell - Night terrors or sweet dreams? Take your pick at HI-Ottawa Jail Hostel. This imposing building in the heart of Canada’s capital served as the Carleton County Gaol from 1862 to 1972. Hidden behind its dank walls lie many secrets and apparently, several ghosts. Many prisoners spent their last days here locked behind bars, and a select few even gasped their final breaths from the hangman’s noose. Today, the former jail’s gallows still shock and terrify visitors, but don’t let a little spookiness get in the way of a good night’s sleep. Travellers can catch forty winks in a private or shared jail cell. We did a tour a couple of October's ago and there is no way in holly, I'd spend the night!
3. Hair-raising Destinations Everywhere - Canada has some creepy communities lurking within its geography. Travellers may feel their hair stand on end when passing through Bloodvein River, Poison Creek, Burnt Arm, Destruction Bay, Goblin, Skull Creek, Hatchet Cove, Bone Town, Gore Bay and Coffin Cove.
4. Phantoms of Old Montreal - Old Montréal is beloved around the world for its beautiful architecture and quaint cobbled streets. It’s also notorious for its plethora of supernatural residents. Tortured souls who met their untimely demise through misadventure, criminal events, or public executions are said to wander the streets and sights of Old Montréal including Saint Gabriel’s...the city’s oldest inn, home to the ghost of a little girl who perished in a fire, and Place Jacques Cartier where the decapitated ghost of murdered prostitute Mary Gallagher searches for her lost head. I went there with my sister many moons ago and thankfully we didn't see any ghosts!
5. Werewolves Stalk La Belle Province - A 19th century Québec legend warns residents about the frightful loup-garou – a vicious, snarling werewolf prowling through the province’s dense forests. According to French-Canadian folklore, loup-garou creeps through the darkness searching for a hearty meal of unsuspecting hunters and trappers.
6. The Burning Ship of Northumberland Strait - Many countries have tales of unearthly ghost ships sailing along their shores. Canada’s spine-tingling watercraft goes one better – it’s fully engulfed in flames from bow to stern. Blazing its path along the Northumberland Strait between Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, the multiple-masted schooner seems to appear when a storm is on the approach.
7. Niagara Falls' Screaming Tunnel - No, the screaming tunnel isn’t a new amusement park ride to entice Niagara tourists. The 125-foot long passageway was originally constructed in the early 1900s as a path for railroad cars. Today, it stretches beneath train lines that connect Niagara Falls to Toronto and New York City. According to local legend, if you enter the tunnel after midnight and light a match, the flame will mysteriously extinguish while screams of a young female ring in your ears. This unsettling paranormal activity is reportedly connected to the grisly death of a young girl who was set ablaze inside the tunnel.
8. Beware! Spooky Skeletons Underfoot - A stroll through this Kingston, Ontario green space isn’t your typical walk in the park. Underneath the grassy surface of McBurney Park lie thousands of buried bodies. In 1819, this land was the Upper Burial Ground, and served as a resting place for Kingston’s dead until 1864. By the 1880s, city officials had constructed a park on top of the burial plots to make the area more appealing to the area’s growing residential population. Unfortunately, the dead had other ideas. Over the years, gravestones and bones have popped out of the ground at McBurney Park, spooking unsuspecting visitors and earning the area a fitting, yet freaky, nickname - Skeleton Park.

via Hostel Ottawa