Are You Attending One of Canada’s Five Haunted Universities?

Things really might be going bump in the night if you attend one of Canada’s five haunted universities.

Does Halloween have you feeling more spooked than usual? The good news is that your imagination may not be running away with you. The bad news is you may be attending one of Canada’s five allegedly haunted universities.

Seminary House at Acadia University

Wolfville, Nova Scotia

According to Seminary House lore, a young female student in the late 1800s attended what was then known as the Acadia Ladies’ Seminary, a finishing school for young Baptist women. The still-nameless young woman discovered she was with child and hanged herself to spare herself and her family the embarrassment of an out-of-wedlock pregnancy, taking her life in an area on the building’s second floor that’s known as “The Well.” Over the years, many paranormal activities have been reported at the Seminary House, now a student residence. Lights turn on and off, footsteps are heard going up and down the back stairwell, doors open and close on their own, objects move by themselves, and disembodied voices can be heard throughout the residence. Some guests claim to have seen a young blond female wandering about the rooms and hallways, closing doors behind her, and all believe this to be the ghost of the unfortunate unwed mother-to-be. She’s been described as a polite and demure, not surprising for a young Baptist woman.

Darke Hall at the University of Regina

(Regina, Saskatchewan)

If you attend the University of Regina, you’re in luck: you have a very distinguished ghost on the grounds. Students and faculty claim to have seen the ghost of Francis Nicholson Darke, a successful businessman and former mayor of the city who, in the early 20th century, donated the funds needed to establish what was then called Regina College. He also paid for the construction of the aptly-named Darke Hall for Music and Arts, which is where students and visitors claim to see a distinguished gentleman dressed in turn-of-the-century clothing wandering about the halls, quietly keeping an eye on things. Darke Hall was home to the Regina Symphony Orchestra for four decades. Not surprisingly, Francis Darke has been reported attending some of the performances as well.

Health Sciences Centre, University of Manitoba 

(Winnipeg, Manitoba)

The University of Manitoba’s faculties of medicine, pharmacy and dentistry are all housed at Winnipeg’s Health Sciences Centre, and chances are the staff doesn’t need any help running their departments from the ghostly presences who allegedly haunt the facilities. The spectres of former staff and patients roam the hospital, and footsteps can be heard coming from empty rooms and hallways, along with spontaneous, mysterious loud crashes and bangs. Electronic and light disturbances have also been reported and an old dust-covered phone rings, though there’s no one on the other end of the line.

Dalton Hall at the University of Prince Edward Island

(Charlottetown, P.E.I.)

The ghost who allegedly haunts Dalton Hall at the University of P.E.I. is believed to be that of a young student who froze to death during a storm in the 1960s, after he was accidentally locked out of the building. He died just outside Dalton Hall’s door. Since then, there have been reports of cool breezes or gusts of cold wind washing across the hall and a trail of water appearing on the floor where the student’s room once was. A knock on the door has been heard and when answered, some have claimed to see the ghost of the student standing silent and covered in snow before just as mysteriously fading away.

Mount St. Bernard College at St. Francis Xavier University

Antigosh, Nova Scotia

Mount Saint Bernard College was opened by the Sisters of Notre Dame in the late 19th century as a Catholic girls school before it became affiliated with St. Francis Xavier University a decade later. The College now functions primarily as a residence, including the allegedly haunted Gilmora Hall. According to legend, a nun who was a member of the Sisters of Notre Dame fell in love with a priest and, overcome with guilt, committed suicide by leaping to her death from the top of the hall. Students have since reported a number of mischievous goings on: books being knocked over, footsteps echoing in empty hallways, toilets flushing on their own, elevators going from floor to floor, apparitions startling students in the hallways and on staircases. Residents have reported hearing disembodied voices; others claim they’ve heard screams coming from the empty games room. Some who live in the residence say the ghost of the unfortunate nun watches over them while they sleep. Sweet dreams!