Constructed in 1876 out of limestone blocks, the Great Western Railway was built in order to allow trains to travel underneath the 3rd Western Canal.
This railway, located at GM Glendale- Gate 12, was active until 1915, when the tunnel was abandoned due to frequent use of the 4th Welland Canal. At this point, the GWR Tunnel’s greatest use was providing a shortcut for local farmers.
Acting as reservoir to their respective canals, locals began building man-made ponds near every canal in 1903. However, building the pond for the 3rd Welland Canal became troublesome as the builders were forced to relocate the St. Peters Church Cemetery. It is believed that only 250 graves were removed, leaving behind over 500 dead bodies to rest beneath the brand new reservoir.
Though there are no records of any deaths from within, the tunnel known as the Blue Ghost Tunnel has seen its fair share of violence. Two trainmen lost their lives after their trains had collided just yards beyond the tunnel in 1903. An accident in 1912, at the tunnel’s 22nd lock, forced portions of the tunnel to break, drowning two boys caught gallivanting in the tunnel.
It has been reported that while listening to the tunnel, the sobbing cries of a young boy can be heard along with whistling. Though some reports speak of confusing drops of water from the melting ice with whistling, other reports have mentioned that the whistling hummed a very specific tune. Conversations have been heard coming from the tunnel’s east end, and music, early 20th century music described as coming from an old music box has been heard as well.
One patron who dared to enter took a photograph of the mouth of the tunnel, captioning a strange blue mist surrounded by a cloud of white mist. It is unknown whether or not the photograph had anything to do with the tunnel’s nickname of the Blue Ghost Tunnel.
Reported apparitions and encounters such as these have allowed many to believe that Niagara is just as much dead, as it is alive.
Beneath the railway tracks that connect Niagara Falls with New York City and Toronto, on a dirt road just off of Warner Road lies the infamous Screaming Tunnel, nearly 2000 square feet of beautiful stonework and eerie vibes.
Most who know of this tunnel remember it as Christopher Walken’s temporary place of refuge in the 1983 feature film Dead Zone, but to some, this tunnel represents a varying story of fire and death.
According to the legend, a young girl set ablaze in the early1900s lived her dying moments inside this very tunnel, yet how she arrived there is mysteriously debatable.
One story of her arrival speaks of a nearby farmhouse, which had caught fire and forced the young girl and her family to use the tunnel during their escape. Screaming with her hair and clothes caught in flames, the young girl was unable to make it through the tunnel with the rest of her family.
Another version describes a custody battle with a violent conclusion as the young girl was dragged to the tunnel and set on fire by her father. Some have heard that the young girl was kidnapped by a crazed butcher, who dawned a pig’s mask and burned her alive after she had tried to escape through the tunnel.
Perhaps the most gruesome story, the young girl was raped while inside the tunnel, with the perpetrator burning the body in order to hide the evidence.
The burning farmhouse version of the young girl’s arrival is believed to be the most accurate, yet despite which story is true, they say that you can often hear the young girl’s screams echoing through the tunnel. And those who have dared to step near the tunnel have spoken of extremely cold temperatures, even during the hottest of days.
Tales of brutal murder have built a creepy aura around the apartment building at 4223 Buttery St.
Converted into apartments during the 1950s, this building once stood as a 27-room Victorian style mansion built in 1865. Originally knows as the Pink Palace, this illustrious mansion was part of an 85-acre estate that featured stables, vineyards, orchards and tennis courts.
Being well known for hosting sumptuous parties, a Dr. John Ferguson owned the property until his untimely death in 1893. According to reports, Dr. Ferguson’s property played host to much more than lavish festivities.
It has been told that a transaction resulted in murder when a thief attempted to connive an immigrant into purchasing this property, which the thief did not own. Lets just say that this immigrant was not as gullible as the thief believed. Ten years later, while awaiting their carriage following one of Dr. Ferguson’s luxurious parties, a couple is said to have been brutally murdered on the driveway of the mansion.
It is believed that a phantom horse-drawn carriage has been seen rolling its way up the driveway. On the anniversary of the couple’s murder, blood trails are said to have been seen streaming down the driveway.
Contrary to popular belief, it was the French, and not the British, who built the original Fort Erie back in the 1600s. The British hadn’t officially claimed the site until 1763, building their own fort following the conclusion of the seven years war.
Located at 350 Lakeshore Road, the original Fort Erie sat on the edge of the Canadian side of the Niagara River. The severity of the winter storms began to be troublesome for the British, which lead to the construction of a new fort on higher ground, further away from the riverbanks in 1803.
However, the new fort had yet to be completed when the war of 1812 had begun. Less than a year into the war, US forces had temporarily taken control of the fort only to have the British regain control shortly after. The US forces managed to seize the fort yet again in 1814, destroying the fort and fleeing to Buffalo in December of that year. As the US fled, the carnage and bloodshed left behind was astounding, allowing Fort Erie to easily be recognized as the deadliest battlefield in Canadian history.
The British occupied what was left of the fort until 1823. Stones left from the fort’s ruin were used three kilometers north in the building of the St. Paul’s Anglican Church. Being left somewhat abandoned, the fort remained empty until a brigade of Irish Republicans claimed the fort as their base during their raid into Ontario in 1866. The Irish fled shortly after, and the fort remained abandoned until reconstruction began in 1937.
With such a history of such violence and bloodshed, it is believed by many that the ghosts of deceased soldiers continue to call this fort home. Supported with evidence from an archeological excavation in the late 1900s, the journal of a former drummer boy tells many tales of apparitions and ghost like activity.
The drummer boy spoke of certain visions, including that of a headless soldier as well as a soldier missing his hands. While the US Forces were occupying the fort for the second and final time, it is documented that a young corporal was shaving the beard of Sergeant Benjamin White before a British cannonball came blasting through the fort, severing the corporal’s hands and decapitating the sergeant.
Not only does Niagara’s Fort George hold historic prominence, it is also the location of some of the creepiest reported hauntings in the province of Ontario.
Located on Queen Street, on the opposing shore of the Niagara River, Fort George was completed in 1802 and was used to house the British Army as well as local militia. After 11 years the fort was partially destroyed and seized during the war of 1812 by the Americans, who used the fort as a base while invading Upper Canada. Shortly after, the battles of Beaver Dams and Stoney Creek forced the Americans to flee as the British won back their fort and began rebuilding.
Upon the war’s conclusion, British troops fled Fort George and took shelter in Butler’s Barracks and Fort Missassauga. In the 1930s, the Niagara Parks Commission rebuilt and restored Fort George into the beautiful fort that stands today. Parks Canada is responsible for maintaining the fort, especially the stone powder magazine, the only remaining section of the original fort and the oldest military structure in the province of Ontario.
Yet with such historical prowess come some of the eeriest hauntings and apparitions in the history of Ontario, many of which made famous by Kyle Upton, author of the book Niagara’s Ghosts at Fort George. The often seen apparitions from within the blockhouses include a grey-haired man behind the bunks looking outwards; a young girl with long blonde hair wearing a white night gown; a man clothed completely in white; a small hand appearing translucent, resting on the stair railing; a dark Caucasian man standing before a ground-floor window and a man pacing the upstairs floor.
If you are to look into an original gilt framed mirror, dated back to the 1790s which rests in the officer’s quarters of the fort, chances are that you might notice a beautiful young lady with long, curly hair standing behind you. Footsteps have been heard from within the halls of the officer’s quarters, doors seem to open and shut by themselves. Even the display gates have unhooked and opened up all on their own. Apparently the upper torso of a soldier’s body, patrolling the gates with his musket ready to fire can be seen on the fort’s property.
All of which contributes to the historic prominence and the eerie vibe that is Fort George.