Winnipeg Ghost Stories: Haunted Places in Manitoba

Portage Place, the Canada Life Centre, and the Manitoba Legislative Building are among the most haunted places in Winnipeg.

 

Whether it's a haunted hotel in Winnipeg, or a cursed Manitoba theatre, every Winnipegger seems to have their favorite Winnipeg ghost stories. 

This week, Rumor’s Comedy Club — that hauntingly hilarious house of ha-ha’s — reveals Winnipeg’s historically haunted hotspots. We’ll list some of the most notoriously haunted places in Winnipeg, and we’ll tell you the best way to forget your fears after a good fright.

Haunted Winnipeg

Hotels, restaurants, arenas — nowhere is safe from ghosts in Winnipeg. Here are some of Winnipeg’s most haunted locations.

Canada Life Centre

The Canada Life Centre has played host to hundreds of concerts, sporting events, and monster truck rallies in its 19 year history, but did you know that it’s also haunted?

 

No, we’re not talking about the screams of horror that still echo throughout the building after the Jets’ 2017 Stanley Cup run came to an end. Workers and patrons have reported hearing disembodied footsteps and whispering in the old barn, and some even report sightings of a mysterious woman in black who roams the corridors. 

Portage Place

We’ve always thought that there was something a little off about the downtown mall monstrosity that is Portage Place. Now, we know what it is: G-G-G-GHOSTS!!!!

 

Portage Place has secured its spot in Winnipeg’s haunted heritage after reports of a little ghost girl that wanders to the shopping centre making items fall off the shelves or move on their own.

 

Alternate theory: This could be store managers covering up a theft problem.

 

Masonic Temple

 

One of the more famous Winnipeg ghost stories revolves around the Masonic Temple, situated downtown at the corner of Ellice Avenue and Donald Street.

 

This building was occupied by the Free Masons until the 1970s when they moved to their current home on Corydon Avenue at Confusion Corner. Since then, the location has played host to a handful of restaurants and events centres, but one thing that has remained consistent over the years is the hauntings.

 

Paranormal encounters began in the 1970s when the temple was converted into a restaurant called Mother Tuckders, when staff reported eerie events such as lights flashing on and off, objects moving on their own, and footsteps coming from the attic. Some former staff report arriving to work to find chefs aprons thrown on the floor and ketchup packets sprayed across tables, while others claim that kitchen sink taps would turn on full-blast all by themselves.

 

Zoiks!

Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre

Move over Phantom of the Opera, because theres a haunted Winnipeg theatre that’s about to steal the show.

 

Some staff at Winnipeg’s Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre claim that the playhouse is paid regular visits by a boy in a wheelchair named George. Legend has it that George is the son of the theatre’s caretaker, and he likes to play pranks, which often betray his feelings about the theatre’s current production or it’s performers.

Hamilton House

If you’re looking for a haunted house,  Winnipeg’s got one: Hamilton House.

 

Located on Henderson Highway in Winnipeg’s Elmwood neighborhood, Hamilton House is named after Dr. Thomas Hamilton, a highly respected physician who also had an interest in the supernatural.

 

By day, Dr. Hamilton would tend to patients at his medical practice in the lower floor of the house. By night, however, Hamilton would conduct seances in his home on the upper floors of the building, attempting to summon spirits and capture their photograph, a number of which have been kept safe by the University of Manitoba and the Manitoba Historical Society.

 

One of the most famous apparitions rumored to live at Hamilton House is the “Woman in the Window” who can often be found looking longingly out the second story window toward the graveyard across the street. Some say the woman is Hamilton’s wife, Lilian, while others believe her to be Hamilton’s daughter, Margaret.

 

The building has changed hands only a few times, serving as a naturopathic clinic before being purchased by Gags Unlimited and converted into a novelty and costume store. But, don’t worry, the top floors have been preserved and can be rented for a night’s stay, for those who don’t intend to get much sleep.

The Roslyn

Forget haunted houses, in Winnipeg you also get haunted apartments. One of the most iconic buildings in the Osborne Village — the Roslyn Court Apartments — may have some tenants who have no lease.

 

The red brick building, known for it’s bizarre layout, has been the site of supernatural happenings for years. Some say the apartment block is haunted by its architect who stomps around the hallways at night.

 

One thing’s for sure: that stomping is in no way related to any of the students who live in the block who may have had too much fun at a party. Nope.

St. Vital Hotel

There are a few haunted hotels in Winnipeg, including the St. Vital Hotel. Hotel guests and staff have shared stories of a ghostly figure who haunts the premises, presumed to be the spirit of a man murdered in a fight in the 1970s. There have been separate sightings of an anonymous phantom woman in the building, too.

 

Hope they arranged for a late check-out.

The Manitoba Legislative Building

Winnipeggers know the Manitoba Legislative Building — aka, The Leg — as the home of the Golden Boy. But, did you also know that the provincial capital building is also home to a few ghostly characters?

 

According to lore, security guards on site have seen ghost children playing in the building’s basement. Another legend claims that a murdered woman wanders the halls of the the Leg holding a tube of blood, while still others claim to have seen a man in a black tophat haunting the grand staircase.

Ghost Tours in Winnipeg

If you’d like to hear more real-life ghost stories in Winnipeg, you can take one of the several ghost tours available, including one developed by Matthew Komus, author of Haunted Winnipeg and Haunted Manitoba. You can also find self-guided smartphone ghost tours that you can do at your on pace whenever you like.

 

More: Even more comedians coming to Winnipeg in 2023

Scary good comedy

There’s nothing better after a scare than having a good laugh to take your mind off of all the things that go bump in the night. What better place to forget about the underworld than Rumor’s Comedy Club.

 

Every week we bring in the best comedians from Winnipeg and around the world to deliver a world-class live comedy experience. We have a full dinner menu, and a drink list a mile long, including a wide selection of non-alcoholic beers.

 

So, if you’re celebrating a birthday, or if you just want a night of good laughs, come down to the best comedy club in Winnipeg, Rumor’s!

 

“Jon Dore and the host were exceptional. The food and service exceeded expectations. We missed going to Rumor's.” - Darrell D.