In Ottawa

[meg]

So are there very many hauntings in Ottawa ?? I heard the ghost of the guy who shot Thomas D'Arcy McGee still haunts in Ottawa. I didn't know the site where McGee was shot was still standing.
What was the name of the shooter

[scharett1]

Hi Meg,

Actually, Joseph Whelan shot Mcgee after he was returning from a late session of parliament. I still have to brush up on my Mcgee folklore, but the jail where Whelan was hung is still standing today (and is very haunted). The jail is now a youth hostel just off the market and is home to a few spirits.

[antiyank]

scharett1 said:

Hi Meg,

Actually, Joseph Whelan shot Mcgee after he was returning from a late session of parliament. I still have to brush up on my Mcgee folklore, but the jail where Whelan was hung is still standing today (and is very haunted). The jail is now a youth hostel just off the market and is home to a few spirits.

I have heard of the old jail house in Ottawa but have never been. have you stayed the night at this hostel or has anyone from your group ?

[meg]

scharett1 said:

Hi Meg,

Actually, Joseph Whelan shot Mcgee after he was returning from a late session of parliament. I still have to brush up on my Mcgee folklore, but the jail where Whelan was hung is still standing today (and is very haunted). The jail is now a youth hostel just off the market and is home to a few spirits.

That is soooooooooo cool. I'll have to visit the jail house next time I hit Ottawa. Any other sites in Ottawa ??

[scharett1]

There are a few sites in ottawa that are accessible to the general public. You can visit these sites on the various Haunted walk tours around downtown Ottawa. Some places you can go inside like the old Jail, others they can only let you stand outside and they will tell the haunting stories and history of the location that they know from their research.

Be prepared to do a lot of walking though, so bring some good shoes.

The bytown museum is another haunted place in Downtown ottawa. Sitting next to the locks of the Rideau near the Ottawa river it the oldest standing structure in Ottawa. It was built as a warehouse for the construction of the Rideau Canal. Two spirits are reported to haunt this place. Colonel John By, the man who lead the construction of the Rideau Canal and the man who ran the treasury and commissary in the building Duncan Mcnab. Duncan was a prankster in life and apparently he is just as much so in death.

Scharett1

[scharett1]

the group I am with performed an investigation of Jail three or four years ago. It was quite active, but because of the constant state of human activity in the building it was difficult to get accurate readings. No one form the group has stayed the night there, only because the activity and constant presence of people in the hostel makes it next to impossible to get the atmosphere to calm down enough for something to be detected.

The group I am with doesn't give tours though. That is the expertise of the Haunted Walks of Ottawa group. They can tell you the stories and give background, but we actually contact the property owners for permission to conduct an investigation of a location. We always do it at night, because the ambient noise and light levels (which could affect our equipment and results) are at their lowest point at this time of day. Investigations are very involved with a whole process that needs to be followed, even before we go in the door of a location.

The end result is our post-investigation report which details our investigation and our results and lets the reader decide for themselves if the location we investigated is haunted or not.

Scharett1

[scharett1]

Actually, if you really want the chance to walk around a haunted building, and you find yourself in Cornwall, i would suggest going to Historic Cornwall Jail. The group I am in has done a few investigations, and assisted in hosting a public investigation last November.

It is a very paranormally active place. People encounter things even in the day when it is only open for. But voices and foot steps have been heard. It is very reasonably priced and you can either go on guided tours, or self-directed tours.

Just Google "historic cornwall jail" and see what there is. It is about the only we have investigated that doesn't mind billing itself as "haunted"

Scharett1