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History
In 1704 Claude de Ramezay was appointed the Governor of Montreal and given land on rue Notre Dame.
In April of 1705 construction begins on the house we now known as Chateau Ramezay, It is completed in 1706 and Ramezay and his family move in.
Ramezay dies in 1724 and his widow leases the house to Intendant of the Colony in 1727.
In 1754 Ramezay’s widow passes, and the house is inherited by their children. They sell it to the Compagnie des Indes. After a fire in 1856 the Compagnie increases the size of the house by one third making it what it is today.
In 1764 – after the British conquest of the French colony; ownership passes to a businessman who runs his business out of it.
In 1773 ownership is passed to the British Crown who turn it into the official residence of the British Colonial Government in the Province of Quebec.
In 1775 – when the Americans invade Montreal; it becomes the official headquarters of the American Revolutionary Army. Historical figures like Benjamin Franklin and Benedict Arnold work out of the house. The main intention of this invasion is to drum up support from the colonists for the American Revolution.
In June of 1776 the Americans flee the house when British reinforcements arrive in Montreal.
In 1778 the British Government makes the house the official residence of the Governor-General of British North America making Montreal the capital of Canada briefly.
By 1849 Montreal loses it’s designation as the capital of the United Province of Canada and the house loses it’s designation as an official government residence.
In 1856 the house becomes the Ecole Normale (Normal School) Jacques-Cartier and teachers are trained there.
From 1879 to 1889 the house is used by both the faculties of Medicine and Law from Laval University.
In 1891 Montreal celebrates the 250th anniversary of it’s founding, and a historical group saves the house from being demolished.
On May 1, 1895, the house officially opens as a museum.
In 2000 the Governor’s gardens officially open behind the house.
Paranormal Activity
Apparitions in period clothing – many of whom are mistaken for employees – have vanished right before people’s eyes.
The unexplained sounds of moaning are reported as coming from the fireplaces.
Phantom footsteps are also commonly heard through the house.
Other reported activity: disembodied voices; flickering lights and the feelings of being watched and not being alone.
By T noakes at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link
By T noakes at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link
By Unknown author - <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beinecke_Rare_Book_and_Manuscript_Library" class="extiw" title="en:Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library">Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yale_University" class="extiw" title="en:Yale University">Yale University</a> (<a rel="nofollow" class="external autonumber" href="http://beinecke.library.yale.edu/digitallibrary/america.html">[1]</a>)., Public Domain, Link
Reader Discretion is Advised – this Article Contains Depictions of Harm Being Done to Pregnant Mothers and Their Fetuses in an Outdated Catholic Ritual.
History
Before 1854 this parcel of land was an informal green spot in the burgeoning downtown of Montreal. Most of the area was used as a Catholic cemetery for the Catholic victims of the Cholera epidemics; the cemetery existed from 1799 to 1855.
In 1854 the official story is that all the bodies were exhumed and brought to Notre-Dame-des-Neiges Cemetery (Mont Royal) for re-internment. Perhaps the people buried here were just unhappy with being dug up and moved. Either way the Square has had reports of ghosts and paranormal activity during it’s time as a cemetery and ever since the bodies were said to have been moved.
By the 1870’s the square was becoming important in the urban geography of the growing city – it was forming a dividing line between the commercial centre of the city and the suburbs. In 1878 the park took on it’s present form with the Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral on the southeast corner and the Windsor Hotel on the western side.
In 1889 the Canadian Pacific Railway constructed Windsor Station on the south end of the square cementing it as a central part of the city. By the 1960’s, as the skyscrapers were going up in one of Canada’s largest and most important cities and the square was becoming the focal meeting point in the downtown core.
In 1967 – Canada’s Centennial year – the square was divided in two with the southern section being renamed Place du Canada and the northern section retaining the name Dominion Square.
In 1987 Dominion Square was renamed Dorchester Square in honour of Guy Carleton, Baron du Dorchester who had fought for French language rights in British North America (Canada’s name pre-Confederation).
Between 2009-2012 the park underwent a $3.5 million renovation including a state-of-the-art lighting system.
Paranormal Activity
Again, the official story is that all of 6,000+ souls buried in Sainte-Antoine Cemetery were dug up and re-buried in Mont Royal Cemetery. In truth, this would have been all but impossible.
The 1851 Cholera epidemic was the 5th of 5 Cholera epidemics that tore through the city in the 18th and 19th centuries. At the worst points of the epidemics huge trenches were quickly dug and the bodies just poured in – an attempt to stop the disease from ravaging the city.
The cemetery was also a victim of countless body thefts as the doctors and medical schools desperately tried to find a cure or a way to control the disease. The Catholic parishioners pleaded with their Priests to put an end to the theft of their loved one’s remains.
As the sickness spread the Priests actually set up shacks in the cemetery where they worked with the doctors on a rather gruesome ritual – called an infant baptism. In order to be accepted into a Heaven – according to the Catholic religion – one must be baptized. As pregnant women began to succumb to the disease they feared for the souls of their unborn fetuses.
The solution was for the doctors to preform a Caesarean section and the Priests poured holy water over the fetus thus baptising them. This, of course, resulted in the death of both the fetus and the mother. About 30 of these rituals were performed.
To this day the disembodied screams of agony and moans of pain heard in the Place du Canada section of the square are thought to be the ghosts of these tortured mothers seeking only to save their babies.
Near the Statue of Sir John A McDonald – Canada’s first Prime Minister – there is an inordinate number of cases where people need emergency medical services to deal with severe panic and anxiety attacks, shortness of breath, strokes and heart attacks. The number of calls is virtually impossible to define statistically and many people believe the statue is haunted and is attacking passerbys on an etheric level.
Rue de la Cathédrale is an especially active part of this haunting. It was path used to carry the corpses to the cemetery and used to be called Cemetery Street.
Reported Paranormal Activity: apparitions both in the square and on the surrounding streets; shadow figures; disembodied voices usually softly speaking prayers; time slips where witnesses see the funerals of the past take place before their eyes; electrical disturbances; unexplained mists; unexplained air movement; cold and hot spots; light anomalies – most commonly seen floating in the trees above the square; phantom footsteps and feelings of not being alone, things not quite seeming right and physical illness.
By <span lang="en">Anonymous</span> - This image is available from the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McCord_Museum" class="extiw" title="en:McCord Museum">McCord Museum</a> under the access number <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.mccord-museum.qc.ca/en/collection/artifacts/MP-0000.869.6&section=196">MP-0000.869.6</a> Public Domain, Link
By <a href="//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Anna_Frodesiak" title="User:Anna Frodesiak">Anna Frodesiak</a> - <span class="int-own-work" lang="en">Own work</span>, CC0, Link
History
Completed in 1871 this building was originally the Motherhouse for the Grey Nuns of Montreal – also know as the Sisters of Charity of Montreal – an order of the Roman Catholic Church that was founded by Saint Marguerite d’Youville.
The building once housed over 1,000 nuns as well as serving as an orphanage and a hospital.
Saint Marguerite is the only Canadian elevated to a Saint.
In the 1980’s the Grey Nuns stopped taking in new recruits and the building was left empty as sisters passed away or moved to long term health facilities.
In 2007 the building was bought by Concordia University for $18 million originally to be converted into the Faculty of Fine Arts. In the end it was decided to convert it into an undergraduate residence – this was done for a cost of $15 million.
The residence is co-ed and has almost 600 beds in double and single rooms. It also includes a huge reading room – which was converted from the chapel – a daycare and a cafeteria.
The University owns the entire building except the crypt in the basement. The crypt still contains 276 remains – the majority of which were sisters – as the Province would not allow the bodies to be excavated and transferred as many of the nuns died of highly infectious diseases.
The crypt is locked and inaccessible but it can be viewed through a window in a door.
Paranormal Activity
In February of 1918 – Valentine’s Day - a fire consumed a portion of the 4th floor above the hospital which was being used as an orphanage. More than 50 children were trapped and consumed in the flames. A number of babies were also enveloped in the flames
Running footsteps and the crying of children and babies are reported by students living there. Phantom screams are also heard and thought to be nuns who were unable to rescue the children. The phantom smell of smoke has also been reported.
There is also a story of a female student who had to move out of the building due to terrible nightmares of burned and disfigured children. The dreams stopped once she moved.
Children being cared for in the daycare facilities have repeatedly reported the apparition of a young boy.
A man who murdered a couple for their money in the 18th century was executed and buried on the property as well. His final resting place is still marked by a brown cross.
People have reported being stared at by a man whose face cannot be seen. He is very hazy and fades from view quickly.
Despite the crypt underneath the building no one has ever reported the apparition of a nun here.
Other Activity: Shadow figures in the halls have been infrequently seen; light anomalies; cold spots and the most frequently reported paranormal activity is a feeling of strangeness in the building like something just isn’t quite right.
By <a href="//commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Benoit_Rochon&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="User:Benoit Rochon (page does not exist)">Benoit Rochon</a> - <span class="int-own-work" lang="en">Own work</span>, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link
History
Before either of these cemeteries existed the indigenous population also buried their dead on the slopes of the mountain.
These two historical cemeteries sit side by side on the slopes of Mount Royal above the city of Montreal. Notre Dame des Neiges, on its own, is the largest cemetery in Canada – third largest in North America.
Together with 2 smaller cemeteries – Shaar Hasomayim (Ashkenazi Jewish) and Temple Emanu-El (Reform Judaism) – there are 1.5 million people interned here.
Mount Royal was founded first – in 1851 – as a Protestant burial ground. Notre Dame was founded in 1854 in direct response to original Roman Catholic cemetery – Sainte-Antoine where present day Dorchester Square sits (see above)– was becoming overcrowded just as Montreal’s population was expanding.
When first founded these two cemeteries were the main Protestant and Roman Catholic cemeteries for the city’s rapidly growing population; hence the fence between them. Both cemeteries are non-denominational now.
There is only one place where this is no fence dividing the cemeteries and that’s in the war graves section of both burial grounds.
Both cemeteries pledge that no grave will ever be reused or abandoned. Both cemeteries were also laid out in the Old European style meaning they were meant to be used as gardens and a park as well as where the dead are laid to rest.
This location is often referred to as the City of the Dead overlooking the City of the Living.
Paranormal Activity
Neither Cemetery is open after dark and the grounds are patrolled by security in cars.
The apparition of an Algonquin warrior is seen standing a bluff overlooking the city. It is thought that his grave was accidentally disturbed by a modern burial site.
It is said as soon as the sun sets shadow figures begin to seep around the grounds of both cemeteries.
Simon McTavish was a rather eccentric Scottish fur baron who decided to built a castle on Mount Royal – in the early 19th century - but he suddenly passed away before its completion. He is not buried with the cemetery grounds but nearby.
His ghost has been seen using his own coffin to toboggan down the slopes of Mount Royal. This became such as an issue in the 19th century the government demolished his castle and buried his mausoleum in the rubble left over.
There are rumors of black masses and other evil ceremonies taking place inside the grounds. The primary reason why the grounds are patrolled by security. Echoes of evil acts that have taken places have been felt by sensitives on the property.
A word of warning; there are numerous stories of entities and ghosts following people home from this location. More than one person has found their home haunted after investigating these cemeteries. Any investigations need to have a sensitive with them to ensure a proper break from the location’s energy and that no one follows them home.
Other Activity: countless apparitions have been reported both in daylight and after dark; shadow figures (as mentioned above); all manner of unexplained noises including loud bangs, phantom footsteps and laughter plus disembodied voices and crying; touches, pulls and pushes from unseen entities; extreme temperature fluctuations; possession; objects moving on their own; electrical disturbances including flashing lights and objects being drained of battery power in minutes or seconds; sudden breezes and winds as well as sudden stillness where no air moves; light anomalies; unexplained mists and fogs including ones that move against the wind; feelings of unease, anxiety, fear, being followed, being watched; not being wanted and not being alone.
History
Opened in 2013 this wax museum concentrated on Canadian – especially Quebecois – celebrities and history including Celine Dion and Justin Bieber. Opened by the same parent company this museum was similar to the flagship Musee Grevin Paris.
In September of 2021 – after 11 months of closure – this location was forced, due to lack of visitors, mainly due to the Covid-19 pandemic to close permanently. The closure was sudden and ended an iconic tourist destination in Montreal forever.
The wax statues were sold although a few were donated.
Paranormal Activity
It is interesting that Harry Houdini received the legendary punches that led to his death in the former Princess Theatre and yet he chooses this spot a few blocks west to haunt.
In October of 1926 Houdini came to Montreal to rest after breaking his ankle but was persuaded to do a show at the Princess Theatre. During an interview backstage a McGill University student – who tagged along with the interviewer - was curious about Houdini’s ability to take a punch and not be hurt. He punched Houdini repeatedly before Houdini could tighten his stomach muscles and did considerable damage.
Houdini would die in a few days on Halloween from a burst appendix.
While the wax museum was open staff would hear disembodied voices and phantom music coming from what was the main ballroom.
By <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/41813589@N00">Payton Chung from Chicago, USA</a> - <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/41813589@N00/26071359">Flickr</a>, CC BY 2.0, Link
By <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/41813589@N00">Payton Chung from Chicago, USA</a> - <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/41813589@N00/26071379">Flickr</a>, CC BY 2.0, Link
History
This is the first and oldest street in Montreal. It was originally a path the traveled alongside the wall of the fort build here previous to the first settlement.
For many years as Montreal grew this street was it’s main throughfare. It was originally paved with cobblestones – as most of it still is – in 1675.
Many of Old Montreal’s historical landmarks line this street including Bonsecours Market the city’s first public market.
In 2008 Montreal made plans to pedestrianize the street but the merchants quickly put an end to that plan.
Paranormal Activity
The 2 famous ghosts of Rue St Paul are that of Vallier and Marie-Joseph Angelique. Both were tortured mercilessly by the same man and both may have been innocent.
Vallier was accused of a crime – the nature of which has been lost to history – in 1732 that he most likely did not commit. He was tortured in order to gain a confession but escaped by wrapping the chains holding him around his neck and hanging himself.
The apparition of Vallier walks the cobblestones of Rue St Paul for eternity and is still frequently seen even today.
Marie-Joseph was an African slave accused of setting fire to her master’s estate when she found out she was to be sold. Unfortunately for her, the fire spread and burned down a number of other estates. Although she did confess to the crime under torture, she could have just as easily been innocent as guilty.
Once she confessed, she was forced to walk Rue St Paul with a sign around her neck reading “pyromane” – arsonist in French. She was then hung to death and burned; her ashes her scattered on Rue St Paul.
Marie-Joseph is seen in ragged white dress with the sign still hanging around her neck. She is said to be eternally seeking revenge for what was done to her.
The apparition of a full horse drawn carriage is also seen on the street; legend says it brings lost spirits to hereafter.
History
In 1800 Saint Madelaine Sophie Barat founded the Society of the Sacred Heart. In 1861 the first Sacred Heart School was opened in Montreal
In 1928 the school moved to it’s current location.
Unlike most views of 19th century education for young ladies – training them to become a good wife and mother or a nun – Sophie taught girls to become drivers of their own destiny, empowered and agents of social transformation. The school still follows these directives to this day and prides itself on graduating young ladies ready to take on our ever-changing world.
In 2021 the school celebrated it’s 160th anniversary.
Paranormal Activity
The school is built on top of the site of an old cemetery. It is unclear if any remains are still below the building or if the ghosts are either lost and/or upset due to their gravesites were moved. It is said that the walls around the school were made with the tombstones that once stood in the cemetery.
This school is very exclusive and entrance onto even the grounds is controlled. The reports of paranormal activity come from students and former students especially those who board(ed) in the building.
The legend of “Alice” has been passed down through the decades by the student body. She is said to be a young girl who was buried in the old cemetery; her ghost has haunted the grounds since the school’s current location was opened.
“Alice” is rarely seen – although her apparition has been sighted both on the grounds and (rarely) in the school. Rather whenever anything strange happens its blamed on the little girl.
Reports of “Alice” include: doors opening and closing on their own; sudden cold spots; phantom footsteps; electrical disturbances; unexplained mists; shadows where no shadow should be; light anomalies and feelings of being watched and not being alone.
This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
The Secret Pool
History
The original Royal Victoria Hospital – or Royal Vic – was designed by Scotsman Henry Saxon Snell in the Scottish Baronial Style. He was already famous for building hospitals in both England and Scotland.
The original part of the building opened in 1893.
The hospital was built on the slope of Mount Royal earning it the name of the hospital on the hill.
In 1905 the H Pavillion was opened as a nurse’s residence. It was later changed into a psychiatric hospital which it remains as today. It is now known as the Allan Memorial Institute.
On April 26, 2015 McGill University – who owns the hospital and site – moved all primary operations to the McGill University Health Centre on Decarie Boulevard expect the Reproductive Centre and the Dialysis Clinic.
As of 2021 McGill is in the process of converting the old site into modern classrooms and laboratories. They are also demolishing the two taller buildings behind the main building to construct state of the art laboratories and turning the parking lot into a green space.
Paranormal Activity
Behind and slightly south of the main building is what was once a swimming pool. It has been closed since 2014 and there are no signs of it ever being opened again and it is now falling apart and covered in graffiti.
It was opened in 1961 to allow patients and nurses to have a therapeutic swim. This location is clearly marked on Google Maps as Secret Pool.
That being said, there are many who think the real reason was to cover up a number of bodies of Indigenous children who died – some say murdered - while under the care of the psychiatric hospital.
With the recent discoveries of numerous hidden unmarked burial sites at Canada’s residential schools these rumours cannot be so easily dismissed as they once were.
People have reported the apparitions of Indigenous children as well as unexplained mists; phantom sounds of crying; light anomalies and cold spots in this area.
In the hospital building itself people have reported apparitions of patients in outdated hospital gowns wandering the halls. People also report seeing shadowy apparitions seeming to hide in dark corners and disappearing when attention is focused on them.
The ghost most frequently seen was that of an elderly woman.
Buzzers frequently went off in unoccupied rooms calling nurses to unseen patients.
Disembodied voices, phantom screams and echoing phantom footsteps are also reported.
There is also a story of a patient waking up in a spectral pool of blood that disappeared as they screamed for help.
As while there are numerous reports of large balls of light moving through the building – some with faces in them – and the lights suddenly flickering for no apparent reason.