Friday, June 28, 2019
How About a Weird Canadian Vacation This Year?
Tired of the same old, same old places to drag the kids this summer for the family vacation? How about something a bit different?
How about a Weird Canadian Vacation?
Canada is home to all kinds of strange and remarkable places with offbeat histories and traditions. There are many hotels, halls, and other buildings that are said to be haunted, many lakes that some residents and tourists swear are home to Canuck versions of the Loch Ness Monster, rugged areas and forests where hikers have claimed to have seen Sasquatch, and locations where UFOs were observed to land.
Why not travel to visit places and monuments that are out of the ordinary this year?
The following list is by no means complete or exhaustive, but only highlights a few unusual places from coast to coast that you might consider taking in.
How about a Weird Canadian Vacation?
Canada is home to all kinds of strange and remarkable places with offbeat histories and traditions. There are many hotels, halls, and other buildings that are said to be haunted, many lakes that some residents and tourists swear are home to Canuck versions of the Loch Ness Monster, rugged areas and forests where hikers have claimed to have seen Sasquatch, and locations where UFOs were observed to land.
Why not travel to visit places and monuments that are out of the ordinary this year?
The following list is by no means complete or exhaustive, but only highlights a few unusual places from coast to coast that you might consider taking in.
Shag Harbour UFO Crash
Shag Harbour, Nova Scotia
In October 1967, many witnesses, including RCMP, saw a
bright object fall into the ocean off the coast of Nova Scotia. The case, often
called “Canada’s Roswell,” is supported by actual government and military
documents from the National Archives that detail the official investigation and
efforts to recover whatever it might have been. Local residents even
commemorate the incident with an annual UFO Festival, and there’s a sign at a
park along the highway near where it happened.
Haunted Gibraltar Point Lighthouse
Toronto Islands, Ontario
During the War of 1812, lighthouse keeper John Paul
Radelmuller was murdered by soldiers from nearby Fort York and his body
dismembered, the parts buried around the lighthouse. His ghost is said to haunt
the area. A coffin was found in 1893, with only a jawbone inside it.
Ogopogo
Kelowna, BC
Lake Okanagan in the BC Interior is said to be home to
Ogopogo, Canada’s version of the Loch Ness Monster. For many decades, tourists
and residents have claimed to have seen an eel- or serpent-like creature
swimming across the lake. There’s even a statue of Ogopogo along the Kelowna
waterfront.
Haunted Craigdarroch Castle
Victoria, BC
Built in the 1890s for coal baron Robert Dunsmuir who
died before it was completed, this Victorian mansion has a reputation for being
haunted. Visitors have said they have seen and heard a piano playing by itself,
while others have seen a spectral woman in white standing in the ballroom.
Falcon Lake UFO
Falcon Lake, Manitoba
In May 1967, Stefan Michalak was doing some amateur
prospecting north of Falcon Lake in Whiteshell Provincial Park. He encountered
a flying saucer that seemed to land on a rock outcropping near him. He walked
up to it and was burned by its exhaust when it took off. The case was
investigated by the RCMP, Canadian Forces and even the United States Air Force,
which considered it “Unexplained.” Today, you can get a t-shirt commemorating
the event in Falcon Lake, and the local riding stable offers guided “UFO Rides”
to the site where it occurred.
Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel Ghost
Banff, Alberta
Built in 1888, the Banff Springs Hotel is a majestic
building that is host to many classic ghost stories. These include the story of
an entire family murdered in room 873 (which has been bricked up and never
entered again), a bride who fell down the hotel’s stairs and is haunting it
ever since, and the ghost of a retired bellman Sam McAuley who has been helping
guests with their luggage long after his death.
St. Paul UFO Landing Pad
St. Paul, Alberta
“The World’s First UFO Landing Pad” was built in 1967 as
a Canadian Centennial Project. In the 1990s, the saucer-shaped platform had
fallen into disrepair (from apparent lack of use) and was restored. Later, a
UFO museum added as well and a UFO conference was held there a few times. Queen
Elizabeth visited the pad in 1978, and Mother Theresa herself visited it in
1982.
Haunted West Point Lighthouse
O’Leary, P.E.I.
Mysterious lights have been reported in windows of rooms
in the West Point Lighthouse in O’Leary. The story is that its first keeper, Lighthouse
Willie, haunts both the lighthouse and the West Point Lighthouse Inn next door.
The Old Spaghetti Factory Ghost
Vancouver, BC
The ghost of a tram conductor is said to haunt this
restaurant built over an underground railway. As well, patrons and employeess
have reported feeling cold drafts, seeing spectral figures, and hearing their
names called out by disembodied voices.
Sasquatch Museum
Harrison Hot Springs, BC
The Sasquatch Museum is located at the Harrison Visitor
Information Center at the corner of Hot Springs Road and Walnut. Hours vary by season
and the Sasquatch Museum will be open during Visitor Center Hours.
Haunted Cathedral of The Holy Trinity
Quebec City, Quebec
According to some stories, in the early 1800s, the
cathedral was built over top of the body of a woman buried alive during a
cholera epidemic. Another story is that a nun had a baby and buried it under
the church, but now her ghost and that of the child are restless spirits. Some
people report hearing the organ play by itself.
Screaming Tunnel
Niagara Falls, Ontario
According to legend, the tunnel is haunted by the ghost
of a young girl who escaped a nearby burning building with her clothing on fire
and succumbed inside the tunnel. Another version of the tale is that the girl
was set on fire by her angry father after he lost custody of her following a
messy divorce. Yet another tale has her being raped inside the tunnel and her
body burned to destroy evidence. The screams people claim to hear are, of
course, the girl calling for help and crying in pain while ablaze.
Labels: ghosts haunting UFO Sasquatch lake monster Ogopogo Canada
# posted by rutkows @ 1:01 PM 
