Over the last several weeks, I’ve been hearing strange noises in my apartment.
During a less creepy time of year, and at any other place, the sounds of creaking, running water and the scraping of chairs wouldn’t be unusual in an apartment building. But the fact that it’s Halloween and that I live on the top floor of my building makes me wonder if I’m not alone.
According to Haunted Walks director and founder Glen Shackleton, ghosts can be anywhere. And Ottawans don’t have to go far for a scare.
“You hear stories of things that happened in the Ottawa Jail Hostel and the Museum of Nature,” said the author of the recently penned Ghosts of Ottawa, a collection of supernatural tales featuring local buildings.
Many don’t think of Ottawa — a buttoned-up government town — as having a haunted past, said Shackleton. “But really, it has just as many ghost stories and haunted places as anywhere else.
“A place like the Bytown Museum, built in the 1920s, had a lot of people living and dying in the building. There were a lot of tragedies here.”
But buildings don’t necessarily have to be old to be haunted, said Shackleton. “There was a house in Barrhaven where the radios would turn on even if they were unplugged, glasses in the cupboard were split in half and the burglar alarms would still be set,” he said. “You can have a convincing experience even in a modern townhouse.”
He’s had his share of those. One Halloween, Shackleton was working as a doorman at the Ottawa Jail during the tours when he heard three heavy knocks on the door.
“I opened the door a crack and the group on the other side of the door said they didn’t do it,” he said. “They looked at me with eyes as big as dinner plates.”
Jail staffer Michelle Dennis has reported hearing “strange scratching and shuffling noises” coming from the cells. She’s also seen cell doors swing open for no reason.
Although some of the obvious stories are at the jail, the Bytown Museum is one of the most underrated places to go if you’re looking for a brush with the afterlife. Many people have separately reported hearing the sound of footsteps behind them as they walk up the stairs inside the museum.
“They turn around and there’s no one there, but the footsteps will continue for a few more seconds,” said Shackleton.
“Even if they haven’t made their minds up about whether they believe, everyone has a side that’s curious about this kind of thing. And people enjoy getting a little bit scared this time of year.”
After all these years, Shackleton admitted he’s not immune.
“The ghosts aren’t necessarily unfriendly ghosts, but it doesn’t make a difference,” he said.
“If something happens that you can’t explain, it’s always scary.”
