Is the city of Montreal haunted?
If we always think of old haunted European castles—in Transylvania among the vampires, in France where aristocrats were beheaded, in England where queens fought over the crown—Canada isn’t very scary. But, with the colonial horrors perpetrated on the soil of a plundered territory, it is a country rich in strange, violent, and tragic history.
And Montreal, an industrial city built on the blood of immigrants and the site where one of the peace treaties between European settlers and Indigenous nations was signed, has more than enough history, manifestations of a traumatic past, and legends to be haunted.
Fall is the perfect season to learn about the ghosts that roam the city’s streets.
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HAUNTED MONTREAL
The city of Montreal is perfect for scary stories and strange legends, because it was created by a melting pot of immigration and breakneck industrialization. Montreal’s “underground city,” desperately sought after by tourists from all over the world, began with a hole blasted open in the middle of the business district—a hole so deep you couldn’t see the bottom—which is now Place Ville-Marie.
For those who want to explore Montreal’s spooky side, there’s aone-stop-shop foreverything haunted, scary, and historically tragic in the city—and it’s called Haunted Montreal.
In addition to a blog where you can search for your neighborhood or street to learn about its ghost stories, Montréal Hanté offers walking tours and activities to enjoy year-round.
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HAUNTED TOURS AND INVESTIGATIONS
You can take tours, go on guided walks led by professionals, and participate in paranormal investigations—in groups, privately, or for aspooooooky party. We’ve selected our favorites.
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THE “HAUNTED OLD MONTREAL” TOUR
The website describes it as “the city’s most haunted historic district,” and we believe it because even in summer, when Montreal is baking under the sun, we felt a breeze that was a little too cool in the streets of Old Montreal, among the tall, hewn-stone buildings casting long shadows.
You can take a group tour or a private tour with a professional storyteller.
There are also haunted walks on Mount Royal, in Downtown Montreal, and in Griffintown.
Tickets are $29 per person.
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THE HAUNTED BAR TOUR
For those who love a good scare but need a little liquid courage to talk about ghosts, or for those who want to experience Montreal in a slightly different way…
The haunted bar tour takes place every Sunday, starting at 4 p.m.
Tickets are $30 per person.
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“HAUNTED GRIFFINTOWN” WALK
Griffintown is an interesting neighborhood—new yet very old, residential yet steeped in a more or less violent industrial history.
In the 19th century, Griffintown was a neighborhood inhabited mainly by Irish immigrants, who worked on the Victoria Bridge, the Lachine Canal, the railroads, and at the Port of Montreal.
In the 1940s, the neighborhood’s residents were diverse; in addition to the Irish, the area was home to Jewish, Italian, and Ukrainian communities, as well as French-speaking communities.
The neighborhood is overcrowded, increasingly disjointed, and, after a while, rather unsanitary. Griffintown became a semi-industrial zone in the 1960s. After World War II, the neighborhood was depopulated, and it was only about fifteen years ago that the City of Montreal transformed it into a residential neighborhood.
The tour promises an encounter with its most famous ghost, Marie-sans-tête…
Tickets are $29 per person.
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A PARANORMAL INVESTIGATION IN COLONIAL OLD MONTREAL
You can return to Old Montreal, but with a professional ghost hunter to help you communicate (maybe?) and see the local ghosts—the ones you wouldn’t have seen if you’d been visiting with your nose buried in yourGoogle Maps app.
You can take a group tour or a private tour, and there are also paranormal investigations at the Old Saint-Antoine Cemetery and the Old Port to explore “THE DARK PAST OF NEW FRANCE.”
Tickets are $30 per person.
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