Kingston might be the best place to get haunted this Halloween.
As one of the oldest settlements in Ontario, Kingston’s history is full of ghost stories. Established in 1995 by Queen’s alum Glen Shackleton, ArtSci ’96, the Haunted Walk is a ghost walking tour company that now has several locations across Ontario. After founding the tours in his third-year, Shackleton went on to author “Ghosts in Kingston,” a short book on the ghouls from the city’s past. The tours take attendees on a guided tour of the city while telling ghost stories.
In Limestone City, these stories focus on historical Kingston, with the oldest stories dating back to the 1800s. Even before European contact, this area was inhabited by multiple Indigenous communities, who have their own paranormal tales to tell.
Jax Harripersaud, Kingston’s Haunted Walk manager, told The Journal that the city’s rich backstory is what makes the haunted walks as special as they are.
“So many people have lived on this land and created a lasting impact of them being here,” she said.
The paranormal may also be imbedded in Kingston’s architecture.
According to Harripersaud, the limestone itself makes the city more susceptible to paranormal activity. This may be because limestone is a porous rock made from the fossils of sea creatures. A popular ghost hunter theory claims that limestone absorbs ghost stories like it does with liquids.
“[People] haven’t really realized exactly what links limestone and hauntings,” Harripersaud said. “But it seems to be that areas that have a lot of limestone, all those seem to be very paranormal heavy places.”
Besides simply sightseeing to be more immersed in the tales, Haunted Walk highlights the large community building aspect that goes into in-person storytelling.
While many go on these tours to hear the stories, Harripersaud notes they create space for people to share their own paranormal experiences with open minded people who think the same way.
“It’s more about as community environment, about like-minded people just wanted to gather and listen to stories that might spook them out a little bit,” Harripersaud said.
Even Kingston locals who are familiar with the history of sites like Skeleton Park or stories like Queen’s Medical School’s grave robbing, often find that there’s a lot to learn while on these tours.
Harripersaud noted that people often find the city’s many hidden burial sites to be a shocking addition.
“It’s a creepier and darker history that you don’t necessarily always read in the history books,” Harripersaud said. “We started talking about the grave robbings and the hangings […] so you get to learn things that you would never learn in history class.”
The tour guides really make the experience, with Harripersaud emphasizing their desire to create a campfire atmosphere. Haunted Walk looks for outgoing and friendly people who are connected to the ghost stories and passionate about telling them.
But sometimes, the ghost tours catch even the most experienced guides off guard.
Harripersaud recalls a night on the S.S. Keewatin, Kingston’s Edwardian-era steamship that’s older than the titanic. Although guests reported hearing music playing, the guides explained the music was playing from speakers — until they recalled they weren’t working that day due to a power outage.
Not every walk is the same, but it seems every walk is sure to leave an eerie memory.
Tags
Ghosts, Haunted, Kingston, Limestone City, Supernatural
All final editorial decisions are made by the Editor(s) in Chief and/or the Managing Editor. Authors should not be contacted, targeted, or harassed under any circumstances. If you have any grievances with this article, please direct your comments to eic@queensjournal.ca.