london
&
sT tHOMAS
haunted Places in London & St Thomas Map
LONDON
CPRI
(Queen Alexandra Tuberculosis Sanatorium)(Beck Memorial Tuberculosis Sanitorium)
600 Sanatorium Road
Status: Former Tuberculosis Sanatorium, Some Buildings Demolished, Some Buildings Repurposed to Government Agency; Open 830am - 530 pm Monday to Friday
History
This sanatorium was opened April 5, 1910 for the treatment of patients suffering from tuberculosis. It was renamed the Beck Memorial Sanatorium in 1949.
As well as providing treatment for tuberculosis patients it was also heavily expanded in 1917-18 for the care of soldiers returning from the horror of the battlefields of World War I.
The tuberculosis sanatoriums in Canada downplayed the truly astounding death tolls from this disease unlike many of the like hospitals in the USA. Also, no attempt has been made to allow paranormal investigations in these former hospitals like Waverly Hills in Kentucky. I am providing this knowledge so you (the website user) are aware of both the history and potential for paranormal activity.
The sanatorium was closed on September 6, 1972 as tuberculosis had been cured by that time with the use of antibiotics. Most of the site has since been converted into the CPRI (Child and Parent Resource Institute).
CPRI is still running on site
There were uncountable reports of physical, mental and sexual abuse of developmentally, physically or mentally disabled children from the staff and other residents. While the Province denies any wrong doing they have settled out of court on a class action suit.
Paranormal Activity
Hot Spots: The area where the building that formerly occupied the southeast corner of property – basically just east of the swimming pool. The remains of the staircase down into the woods – follow the old sidewalk from where the building mentioned above used to be. The former surgery building is also very active.
The apparitions of former patients have been reported both within the buildings and on the former grounds. There are reports of doors and windows opening and closing on their own as well objects both disappearing and moving on their own.
Shadow figures have been spotted moving around the grounds. Also reported are feelings of unease, fear and being watched. Disembodied voices, cries and screams are heard as well as phantom footsteps.
Other activity: touches by unseen presences, empathic feelings of sadness, anger and loneliness, cold spots and winds, hot spots, light anomalies, electrical disturbances and mysterious mists.
LONDON PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITAL
(London Asylum for the Insane)(Ontario Hospital London)(Regional Mental Health London)
850 Highbury Avenue North
Status: Former Psychiatric Hospital (Asylum); Abandoned; Private Property (although you can enter the grounds); Being Prepared for Demolition
Photos Courtesy of Craig M
Despite Google Maps this Hospital is Closed Permanently not Temporarily
History
This institution was first opened in 1870 as the London Asylum for the Insane.
As many other similar asylums at the time this institution was opened in a rural environment and functioned as a working farm. It was thought the fresh air and farm work would help heal the patients.
Treatment also focused on social interaction which was seen as more moral than treatments in other institutions like lobotomies, cold water therapy etc.
In 1932 the name of the hospital was changed to Ontario Hospital London.
As the hospital population grew new more modern buildings were constructed and the original asylum was demolished – the original infirmary, chapel and horse barn still remain on site.
In 1968 the name was changed again into the London Psychiatric Hospital which is it’s most recognized name. Shortly before closing the name was changed to Regional Mental Health Care London.
In 2014 the facility was completed closed down with all remaining patients being transferred to other hospitals.
In 2019 a developer bought the entire property and will be converting it into a residential neighbourhood. Demolition of the modern buildings is set to begin in 2023.
The remaining buildings from the original asylum are behind the more modern hospital.
Paranormal Activity
There are reports of 25,000 people buried on site in unmarked graves on the site. We were unable to verify this number and it seems excessive but not impossible. It is certain there is some number of remains buried on the site.
Reports of paranormal activity include: ghostly faces looking out of the windows before they were boarded up; disembodied voices; unexplained noises including loud bangs; cold spots; objects moving on their own; electrical disturbances; light anomalies; phantom footsteps; unexplained mists; empathic feelings of anxiety and feelings of being watched, not being alone and not being wanted.
VICTORIA DAY DISASTER SITE
Terry Fox Pathway
Greenway Park
Status: Disaster and Mass Casualty Site
The Site Today
By <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.flickr.com/people/126364681@N08">Congregation of Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada</a> - <a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/csj_canada_archives/14795808098/">https://www.flickr.com/photos/csj_canada_archives/14795808098/</a>, No restrictions, Link
ST THOMAS
ST THOMAS PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITAL
(Ontario Hospital)(Regional Mental Health)
467 Sunset Drive
Status: Former Psychiatric Hospital; Some Parts of Building Repurposed; Majority of Building has been Abandoned; No Access to Grounds or Building
This location is patrolled by the OPP. Do not enter the grounds and especially the buildings without permission. Our Paranormal World does not condone Trespassing.
History
Construction was begun on what was then known as the Ontario Hospital in 1937. It was built on land that had previously occupied 6 family farms. In April 1939 the first 32 patients were admitted and by August of that same year the facility's population had swollen to 1,100.
Soon after the hospital opened World War II broke out in September of 1939 and the patients were moved to other facilities while the province turned the facility over to the Department of National Defense to use as a training facility. When the war ended, the site was returned to the province and became a psychiatric hospital again.
The hospital opened again in November of 1945 and was called "the most advanced in the Dominion" by its Superintendent in 1958 when its population peaked at 2,238 patients. During this time the facility operated its own farm which provided food for the entire hospital.
As the 1970's began, as with most other psychiatric institutions of the time, emphasis began to change from institutionalization to moving patients back into society to lead productive lives with the help of pharmaceuticals and ongoing care. The forensic mental health department also opened at this time and can still be seen today - evident by the bars and wire on the windows.
In 2001 St Joesph's Health Care took over the facility and changed its name to Regional Mental Health and the hospital became part of a family of healthcare institutions all over Southwestern Ontario.
In 2013 a new much smaller building was opened on the site and the original hospital was closed down. It is rumoured that a developer will be tearing down the old site and replacing it a commercial government property.
Paranormal Activity
Apparitions of former patients and staff. Lights going on and off on their own as well as unexplained lights seen inside buildings. Empathetic feelings of sadness, anger, hopelessness and loneliness as well as feelings of being watched, unease, not being wanted and not being alone. Curtains moving on their own; often times with a misty apparition seen. Unexplained bangs, cries and other noises. Disembodied voices and whispers. Light anomalies and unexplained mists.
Many urban legends have been spawned from this site but it does seem to be genuinely haunted.
FORMER ALMA COLLEGE GROUNDS
96 Moore Street
Status: Former Private Girl’s School, Abandoned, Fire Site, Demolished, Residential High Rise
By <a href="//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Ottawa4ever" title="User:Ottawa4ever">Ottawa4ever</a> (<a href="//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Ottawa4ever" title="User talk:Ottawa4ever">talk</a>) (<a href="//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:ListFiles/Ottawa4ever" title="Special:ListFiles/Ottawa4ever">Uploads</a>) - Own work, Public Domain, Link
History and Paranormal Activity
Alma College for Young Ladies is, or rather was, in St Thomas, Ontario. The school was opened in 1881 as a private school for girls and was closed 1988 due in part to a teacher’s strike.
It has been featured in movies including Silent Hill and Orphan.
Sadly, it was burned to the ground in 2008, ironically right after a demonstration to save the building. The fire was ruled as arson but it was set by 2 boys aged 14 and 15 and their names cannot be identified. Stories indicate they were playing with matches in the basement.
In the years 2007 – 08 one of our investigators was able to do an investigation of the site with members of the team and others.
Alma College, much like Whitby Psychiatric Hospital, was rumored on websites to be impossible to access with 24 hour security and high fences. In the summer of 2007, we decided to check it out for ourselves due to its close proximity to London.
As with many other locations, the difficulty in getting onto the grounds and into the building had been much exaggerated. We simply had to slip around the fence and we were in.
All that was left of the site was a music building, a church (which proved impossible to get into without causing damage), the main building and the ruins of the amphitheater. The grounds proved to be highly active, as they still are, leaving everyone present with an uncomfortable feeling of being watched and studied on a constant basis.
Upon entering the building, we found that the inside had nearly been gutted. Only the wall frames and the floors were intact as well as the three staircases. Individual rooms could be identified though such as dorm rooms, classroom and a library. In the library my hand was actually grabbed by a small child.
The basement was found to extremely active with a very strong feeling of not being wanted. Many orbs were both seen and photographed by the team as well a feeling of being watched and objects moving on there own. The most impressive EVP captured in this location was a man’s voice saying, “leave now”.
The main floor included classrooms and administration. Many voices were heard on the digital voice recorder, sometimes so many they would overlap so much specific words became impossible to hear. Despite the school being set up by a religious institution there is a surprising amount of foul language heard on all EVP tapes.
The upper floors were used as dorm rooms and by far the most active parts of the building with the exception of the staircases.
The east tower was a hotbed for dark entities, even more surprisingly these entities were easily identifiable as not only dark but also most probably former students as they were teenage girls – mean girls indeed. Great care had to be taken in this part of the building as the girls would attempt to trip us up especially at the top of the stairs. Abusive language, threats and general disgust was picked up repeatedly on the digital recorder in the east tower.
The west tower at the rear is also called Angela’s Tower due to a legend of either a student or a teacher being tormented by other students and locked herself in a closet to escape this torment. Unable to escape she eventually suffocated to death. The very top of Angela’s Tower is said to be Angela’s room. In this area we found the residents to be very friendly – knocks were responded to and questions answered including is this Angela? The response being a very low whisper of “yes”. The apparition of a teenage girl with dark black wavy hair, a very pale complexion and a white night gown was frequently seen in this area.
Finally, we come to the main staircase which was used as a location in the film Silent Hill. The staircase formed a square of open space from the basement to the top floor. Numerous EVP activity was picked here including “Who are you?” and “Why are you here?” indicating at least some sort of awareness of the team by an entity possessing intelligence. The apparition of a woman in blue was captured as a picture here and seen many times.
It was a very sad day for us when Alma College was burned and it haunts me (forgive the metaphor) to this day. To look at the grounds now where a grand building once stood is very depressing. Paranormal activity aside, the province of Ontario lost one of its greatest heritage buildings that day.
Currently the grounds are still very much a hot spot, possibly even more active than the building itself was. I would still highly recommend doing further investigations at the site.
Paranormal activity after the fire includes: apparitions of young women, powerful of dark energy coming from the former church as well as on the ravine side of the rubble, general feeling of unease as well as of being watched and not being wanted, light anomalies, slight feelings of nausea, unexplained noises including bangs and cries coming from both the rubble and the surrounding forest and empathic feelings of loneliness, sadness and loss.