Victoria has more haunted places and ghost stories than any other city in the province.
We all know the old courthouse and Bastion Square are haunted. We’ve all heard stories of the Bay Street Bridge catastrophe and the Empress Hotel spectres.
Now we want to know your personal ghostly experiences. Do you live in a haunted house? Has your cat been hunting spirits? Do you wake up in the night to see demons?
Here are a few local personal ghostly encounters, as told by Victorians:
Mill Bay Highway Haunt
In September, 2018 I was driving back to Victoria from Nanaimo at around 1 a.m.
I want to stress I was completely sober and very aware of my surroundings.
I was driving southbound just past the Co-op station in Mill Bay, probably doing around 90 km/h. There wasn’t a car on the road, the sky was clear, no frost, no anything.
I blinked and then standing in the middle of the road was a woman with long hair in a white dress. She was just standing there.
Immediately I slammed on my brakes and looked down at the speedometer to make sure I was slowing down and I braced for impact.
My car came to a screeching stop in the middle of the road. No impact. Not an animal running off. Not a soul around me.
I was stopped in the middle of the road with no cars around me trying to catch my breath. I don’t remember sleeping well that night.
Any time I drive past that spot now, I always look extra close to see if anything is there.
Scared the %^& out of me.
~ Kelly F.
Helmcken Hangman
Me and my boyfriend had our pictures taken in Helmcken Alley. All were in colour. Except this one.
I found out later this is where they used to hang people. Look closely. You can see the ropes.
No edits. This is 100% real and true.
~ Erin N.
Royal Jubilee Juvenile
Two years ago I was standing inside the old entrance at Royal Jubilee Hospital quite late in the evening.
There were no lab workers or door screeners around, nobody at all.
I distinctly heard directly behind me, a child’s voice say, “Excuse me, I need help.”
I turned around and there wasn’t anybody at all.
~ Jamie B.
Ghostly Gatsby
One time I worked at the Gatsby Mansion.
I was working alone cleaning a room. I had the cart in front of the door blocking it and no other way in or out.
I made the bed then went to the bathroom to clean. I came back to get something off the cart and there were two quarters sitting on the bed.
I found out later that the room used to be the maids room when it was a judge’s house.
I don’t think I ever worked alone there again.
~ Leanne H.
Hallows Hospital
I work nights at the Royal Jubilee Hospital.
There was a patient who had died, and we were waiting for the porter to come and bring the body to the morgue.
I was at the nursing station doing paperwork and the call bell for the room went off. I assumed it was the porter letting me know that they were there.
I went to the room and nobody was there; the body was still in the bed, but there was definitely no porter.
I figured it might have been a fluke, sometimes the call bells can be buggy. I went back to work.
Then, about half an hour later the call bell went off again. I figured it was the porter, went back, nobody there.
Still freaky. I unplugged the bed from the wall, which would technically disconnect it from the call bell system.
Then when I left the room, the “bed exit” alarm went off. That is a special alarm we can put on the beds to notify us when a patient is leaving the bed.
That alarm is a part of the call bell system, so it should have been disabled.
I turned off the call bell and was super creeped out. I left the room. The porter came not long after, took the body to the morgue and that was the end of that particular incident.
Super creepy. I assume it is the call bell system being glitchy, but it was so creepy at the time.
~ Carmen A.
Eerie Elevator
Then there was another time when I was on break at about 3 a.m.
I walked into the main atrium to go to the vending machines. When I was walking back to the elevators a man came from the opposite corridor and fell into step about 10 feet behind me.
When the elevator came, he got on it with me.
I asked him what floor he was going to to be polite, he didn’t reply.
When I turned to look at him there was nobody there and I was alone. It gave me goosebumps and you bet I ran out of that elevator when I got to my floor.
The man looked totally ordinary and was wearing a grey sweater and blue jeans, so street clothes.
I didn’t think it was weird when I initially saw him. But the more I think about it the more inappropriate his presence was.
Why would someone wearing street clothes (not scrubs or patient clothing) be in the locked hospital at 3 a.m.?
Weird!
~ Carmen A.
Tell us your story!
These are but a few of the many hauntings of Victoria.
If you have a story of your own you’d like to share, send it our way at tips@victoriabuzz.com.
