Halloween!
It’s rolling up fast – just 3 more weeks to pick out your costume, plan your party, bake your scary pumpkin cookies and settle in for Halloween hijinks however you like them.
If you’re into a little true history with your scare-tastic evening, Toronto has a few chilling options for the truly brave.
Since beatiful Toronto has been a growing metropolis since 1793, they have a wealth of spooky old architecture to tour yourself around, or to join a walking tour designed to give you goosebumps. I mean really, Saskatchewan and Alberta have a few old churches that might give you a cold grue, but we really can’t compete with 400 year old prisons, churches and government buildings.
Toronto Rocks Scary
When I visited Australia (the world’s most infamous penal colony) and specifically Port Arthur (the world’s most infamous prison in the world’s most infamous penal colony), the funnest tour I did was the night tour of all the prison cells.
Now, scary movies are kind of my bag, so this was like a live version of some of my favourite psychological scarefests (Session 9, anyone?). It was fantastic touring around those old stone cells and hallways! My imagination was only too happy to supply a plethora of ghosts from the shadows, noises and cold draughts.
Toronto has some very similar design architecture with some equally spine tingling back history. You just have to walk down the street to feel the vibe, but your best bet is to really get into the swing of things with one of these tours:
The Original Haunted Walk of Toronto
This classic city tour features many of Toronto’s best ghost stories, including: haunted theatres, hidden burial grounds, the mysterious disappearance of Ambrose Small, and paranormal phenomena at the Hockey Hall of Fame. Explore one of the most famous haunted sites in the city – Mackenzie House! Spooky by design!
Ghosts of the University of Toronto
The grand architecture and tree-lined paths of the University of Toronto downtown campus is filled with dark history and ghostly tales. Hear about secret chambers, restless spirits trapped among the stars, haunting love stories and more.
Ghosts and Spirits of the Distillery
With tales of gruesome accidents, the perilous world of whiskey-making and the explosive War of 1812, you’ll quickly see why this is area is known as one of Toronto’s most haunted spots.
Piqued your interest? To Toronto, then, for a spooktacular Halloween!
Ever Wonder What All this Dressing Up is About?
Our intrepid PM, Brett, is always enlightening the team with his Interesting Facts of the Day, and in the spirit of the Halloween, today he posted some history for us all:
Dressing up on Halloween comes from the Celts.
Celts believed Samhain was a time when the wall between our world and the paranormal world was porous and spirits could get through. Because of this belief, it was common for the Celts to wear costumes and masks during the festival to ward off or befuddle any evil spirits.
Thanks, Brett!
stealth