Ghost-Hunting in Victoria

Image: Brian Burger
 
A city with a history as colourful as Victoria, BC, has had no shortage of questionable characters. But did you know that some of them love the city so much that they tend to overstay their welcome? Here are five spooktacular spots where you can go ghost-hunting in Victoria…
 
1. Fan Tan Alley
Four to six feet wide at its widest, Fan Tan Alley was once home to the city’s brothels, opium dens and gambling joints. It’s pleasant to walk down Fan Tan Alley today, but keep an eye out for keep an eye out for the ghost of Chan the Murderer. Chan fell in love with a beautiful girl in Chinatown in the 1880s. When he proposed marriage she refused him, and he later murdered her in a jealous rage.
 
2. St Ann’s Academy
When it comes to ghost-hunting, nothing – NOTHING – is scarier than the ghosts of nuns! The academy was once a convent school and it’s said that the ghosts of the nine sisters who are buried in the grounds like to wander around the academy in the earlier hours of the morning.
 
3. Parliament Buildings
When you create the blueprint for a building as beautiful at Victoria’s Parliament Building, I suppose it’s no surprise that you don’t want to leave it when you cross over to the other side. Francis Rattenby, the acclaimed architect who designed the buildings in the 1890s is said to walk the building’s hallowed halls.
 
4. Market Square
It’s said that Market Square is linked to a Jack-the-Ripper style murder in 1899 and is haunted by the ghosts of the people who once frequented the saloons and brothels that lined the square, which housed Victoria’s once infamous red light district.
 
5. The Maritime Museum
For a real case of the jitters, what could be scarier than making your way to Victoria’s Maritime Museum in the hope of bumping into ‘The Hanging Judge’ Baillie Begbie? Don’t say we didn’t warn you!
 
If you’re heading to Victoria to search for spooks, book yourself a break at The Days Inn Victoria Uptown. Offering breathtaking views of the Gorge Waterway by day and the sparkling lights of the BC Legislature Building by night, the hotel is a fantastic base for a break in Victoria.

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