Halloween – October 31 – marked the end of the year for the ancient Celts. The veil that separates the land of the living from the realm of the dead was thought to be thinnest then and spirits were free to come and go. As the hours of darkness increase through September and October, many begin to ponder ghosts and goblins and things that go bump in the night. Victoria is B.C.’s most haunted place and a “spirited” visit is possible any time of the year. As Halloween approaches, the Ghosts of Victoria Festival provides even more ghostly activities.
Ross Bay Cemetery, open daily during the day, is a beautiful oceanside Victorian cemetery where phantoms roam. Isabella Ross, once owner of the land, sits forlornly looking out to sea; David Fee, murdered one Christmas Eve, appears as white mist. History tours by the Old Cemeteries Society take place Sundays at 2pm; their annual Ghost Tour is Sunday, October 26 from 1 to 3pm. Call 250-598-8870.
The Maritime Museum is the favourite haunt of Sir Matthew Baillie Begbie, the “hanging judge.” The museum dominates Bastion Square, considered by many to be Victoria’s most haunted place as it was there that public hangings took place in colonial days. The museum is open daily from 9:30am to 4:30pm. Ghost Tours are offered on selected evenings during the last two weeks of October. Call 250-385-4222, ext. 106.
St. Ann’s Academy is a former convent school whose grounds are always open, featuring a walled orchard, woodland walk and beautiful Novitiate Garden. The restored chapel is open Thursday through Sunday 1 to 4pm and on October 18, 19, 25 and 26 at 6 and 8pm, a Voices from the Past program deals with life, death and unexplained phenomena at this 148-year-old historic site. Call 250-953-8828 for reservations and information.
Ghostly Walks explore the haunted alleys and courtyards of downtown Victoria. These popular 90-minute walks take place at 7:30pm nightly, with additional 9:30pm tours nightly from September 1 to 16 and Fridays and Saturdays September 17 to October 23. Tours start at the Visitor Centre, at the Inner Harbour. A special Halloween schedule runs October 24 to November 1, with tours nightly at 6:30, 7:30, 8:30 and 9:30pm starting from the lobby of the Bedford Regency Hotel (1140 Government St). No reservations needed. Call 250-384-6698 or check www.discoverthepast.com for times and details.
Craigdarroch Castle, open daily for visitors to see the splendour of its restored rooms, at Halloween hosts a spooky adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray on selected evenings between October 16 and 31. The castle interior is the stage for this remarkable drama. There is no seating and 87 steps to climb, but tickets go quickly. Call 250-592-5323 ext. 31 or visit on-line at www.thecastle.ca
Haunted Horse-drawn Trolley Tours venture down dark streets to hear about the scary events in the most haunted neighbourhoods on the West Coast and you just might see a ghost or two! The 45-minute tour is fully narrated by a ghostly guide and – even better – every story told is true! At the end of October the haunted trolley tours run hourly from 6 to 9pm daily from the under the green umbrella, corner of Menzies and Belleville streets. Reserve at 250-383-2207.
“Ghost Bus-tours” are an annual Halloween favourite, two-hour-long haunted coach tours that pass by the city’s most haunted places, including a golf course to search for the ghost of Doris Gravlin, one of Victoria’s most frequently seen spectres. Tours take place on selected nights October 17 to 30. Reserve through www.tourismvictoria.com or call 250-414-6999.
Nightmares Entertainment is a year-round spooky attraction at 1215 Government St, downstairs at Trounce Alley. Opening in time for Halloween will be “The Terror Zone,” a thrilling new, not-to-be-missed experience. Call 250-388-4024 for more details.
The Royal London Wax Museum is open daily. Sure to create terror at any time is the infamous Chamber of Horrors with its macabre scenes of death masks, the Algerian hook, famous villains and scenes from Edgar Allan Poe’s The Pit and the Pendulum. Call 250-388-4461. Self-Guided Ghost Tours If you want to explore for ghosts on your own at any time, several shops in Old Town along Government Street are good places to start, including Rogers’ Chocolates and Old Morris Tobacconists. Tourism Victoria can also provide names of many haunted restaurants, bars, hotels and bed and breakfasts. Hatley Castle is haunted by ghosts of the Dunsmuir family who once owned it and the formal gardens, estate and castle are open daily during September and October, from 10am to 4pm. While not ghost tours, while you’re there, you just might catch a glimpse of James Dunsmuir Jr. in his soldier’s uniform as he rises out of the lake in the Japanese garden. Call 250-391-2666. At the Old Burying Ground (Pioneer Square), at Quadra at Meares streets, the spectres of Adelaide Griffin who died in 1861 and “Soap and Water” Johnson who committed suicide in 1871 often glide among the graves. The Victoria Golf Course, beside the ocean in Oak Bay, is haunted by Doris Gravlin, strangled there by her husband in 1936. She appears often as a white figure or light on the fairways.
For Ghosts of Victoria Festival details, call Tourism Victoria at 250-953-2033 or stop by the Inner Harbour’s Visitor Centre.