Ed. note: This is the way you get to be a guest blogger on this site! Write to me in good English with a relevant topic, prove that you’re experienced, and deliver what you say you will. I’m excited to share this bit of Halloween madness from a city other than Salem . . . I had no idea about Vancouver’s Gastown. Thanks, Abby!
Vancouver isn’t known as an exceptionally scary place (except perhaps to those with moderate to severe UGG boot and mustache phobias) but did you know it’s haunted? That’s right. A series of buildings in Vancouver’s oldest neighborhood are reputed to be hotbeds of paranormal activity.
Every year in October, supernatural enthusiasts, thrill seekers in the Halloween spirit, and couples looking to mix things up on date night all descend upon Vancouver’s historic Gastown. The five block brick-paved heritage area in the city’s core is ordinarily a tourism hot spot, but for a few weeks in October it plays venue for “haunted Gastown” walking tours, which one operator describes as visceral and dramatic – not your conventional walking tour.
Yet, on any good tour (and in any suspenseful ghost story), facts about local history are shared in abundance. Guides cite historical basis for the apparent hauntings in Gastown, which in the late 1800s was a violent frontier town soaked in whiskey and greed. In “Canada’s Wild West” a well-known showgirl was spurned, her heart broken by theatre mogul Alexander Pantages. There were hangings, fires that claimed lives, and unsolved murders.
And so, disincorporated spirits linger, and haunt the buildings.
Spooooooky. And historically interesting, too—tour operators share anecdotes about Gassy Jack, “Klondike Kate” Rockwell, and other infamous Vancouver figures from the late 19th century, and teach participants some local history.
For example, Gaoler’s Mews, one of Canada’s oldest civic buildings, is currently home to cafes, offices and trendy restaurants, but was once the site of Vancouver’s first jail. Numerous hangings took place there. Today, patrons and residents in the Mews occasionally report hearing ghostly whispers and screams…
Skeptical? Well, paranormal researchers are generally united in the belief that sites on which, at a previous point in history, strong emotions such as fear were common—mental institutions, jails, areas in which murders occurred, buildings where accidents claimed lives—paranormal activity is higher than expected.
Even when logic and reason steer us towards mundane explanations for difficult-to-explain happenings, such assertions pass the “head-nod test” for a lot of us; Well yes, if there were such thing as ghosts, surely they’d be someplace like this. Probably. You’d think. Hey, what was that noise…?
And the older an area, the greater its likelihood of having at least some sordid history.
For example, Vancouver’s “Blood Alley”, believed to be so-named for the many butcher shops once located there, was a common path for shipyard workers returning to hotels from the port, and also a convenient place for muggers to hold them up at knifepoint…
Here’s one a little less macabre, and a little tastier: The Old Spaghetti Factory in Gastown is also claimed to be haunted. Seems ghosts, not only people, embrace the certainty and quality assurance that accompanies franchise dining. Or are they well-meaning ghosts, trying to haunt us into going to eat someplace more adventurous?
In any case, there is a decommissioned trolley car in The Old Spaghetti Factory’s Gastown dining room, and legend asserts that the ghost of a train conductor still roams the restaurant. Spaghetti Factory staff of today and yesterday corroborate general eerie vibes in the building.
Whether or not you’re a believer, haunted Gastown tours have proven entertaining and popular—demand has grown, and more than one operator now offers tours.
“The Ghostly Gastown tour”, which began in 2004, runs weekly until November 1, led by its founder, Mark Thompson.
“Forbidden Vancouver” employs several storyteller/guides, and runs several “Lost Souls of Gastown” tours per week, in addition to ghost-free Prohibition themed tours, “hidden history” jaunts and photo walks.
Tickets through either operator cost $22 per person. Small children are discouraged – things can get a little intense. For more information, visit ghostlygastowntours.com, or forbiddenvancouver.ca/home/the-lost-souls-of-gastown.
About the author: Abby Clark, is a an enthusiastic adventurer who loves exploring well known as well as remote little corners around the world. Abby also writes blogs and guest blogs for Best Quote Travel Insurance—a company which offers Super Visa Insurance for travel.
Buon viaggio!
Linda Dini Jenkins is a card-carrying Italophile, travel planner, freelance writer, and amateur photographer. Travel is her passion, so writing about her travels just comes naturally. She hopes all her travelers find a way to express their joys, surprises, and fears as they travel and gives every traveler a nifty journal to help smooth the way. Learn more…
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