Historically Speaking

Historically Speaking Join Alex and Leanne on their adventures to historic locations all over Ontario!
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Grounds and Office Building. Mimico Asylum, Toronto, CanadaDate1910
06/23/2026

Grounds and Office Building. Mimico Asylum, Toronto, Canada
Date
1910

Rockwood Asylum, KingstonRockwood Asylum for the criminally insaneRockwood Asylum, 8 Gable Ln, Kingston, ONConstruction ...
06/22/2026

Rockwood Asylum, Kingston

Rockwood Asylum for the criminally insane

Rockwood Asylum, 8 Gable Ln, Kingston, ON
Construction of Rockwood Asylum in Kingston Ontario began in 1859 to house Kingston Penitentiary’s criminally insane and it was actually the criminals who built it. It was completed in 1870 but patients lived in the certain completed portions starting in 1862 and women lived in horse stables until the women’s wing was complete.

The first superintendent of Rockwood was also the only physician there at the time and his treatment plan was to calm, not to cure. He was said to rely heavily on alcohol and sedatives to calm the patients and provided treatment plans involving restraints, blistering, leeching, enemas, and blood-letting. He also practiced lobotomies on patients to reduce agitation.

Eventually it was discovered he was a con-man who didn’t have the proper credentials and new superintendents were brought in. They changed the way patients were treated, bringing in proper care and medicine, and they stopped treating the criminally insane.

Rockwood closed in 2000 and remains vacant. It’s rumored to be haunted by ghosts of its former patients and doctors. While Rockwood Asylum soon became the face of modern and healthy treatments, its beginnings were mostly barbaric with patients suffering and dying at the hands of doctors who didn’t care or know how to properly treat them.

Lingering footsteps and sounds echoing through the halls are often heard in this 4-story monument of time. Sealed off and watched by patrols now, we can only guess at the secrets held within.

Haunted rooms.com

Fort Henry, Kingston1 Fort Henry Dr, Kingston, ONNow a museum, Fort Henry in Kingston Ontario has been the site of accid...
06/21/2026

Fort Henry, Kingston

1 Fort Henry Dr, Kingston, ON

Now a museum, Fort Henry in Kingston Ontario has been the site of accidents, hangings, and was even a Prisoner of War camp.

The beginning of this fort dates back to The War of 1812 when a smaller fort was built on this land to defend the naval dockyard nearby but the fort was replaced with a stronger, larger one in 1836.

Then during World War I, Fort Henry was used as an internment camp for political prisoners, and during World War II, the fort became a Prisoner of War camp.

The fort harbors its fair share of otherworldly happenings. One infamous ghost is that of Nils von Schoultz who led the Battle of the Windmill during the Upper Canada Rebellion in 1838. He and his men surrendered and were held at Fort Henry until their trial.

During the trial, von Schoultz won over many people in the community, who tried to get him pardoned but to no avail, and he was hanged at the fort in 1838. Today, many people say his ghost still roams the fort, often spotted sitting outside Commanders Room 3.

Another common sighting is John Smith who was killed when his gun misfired. He fell into the ditch encircling the fort and visitors today see him lying in the ditch, screaming for help.

And yet another accident leading to another permanent resident of the fort, the story of the artillery brigadier who’s life came to an abrupt end when he reloaded a still-hot battery with gunpowder and blew himself up.

People see a full bodied apparition walking the grounds of the fort and wonder if it could be him, in a permanent wartime, still patrolling the fort.

Fort Henry offers tours to adults and children, with adult tickets priced at $20 and children tickets priced at $13, with kids under 4 getting in for free. The tours run daily from May through October.

Haunted rooms.com

Keg Mansion, Toronto515 Jarvis St, Toronto, ONThe Keg Mansion, as it’s now known, is a prominent downtown Toronto herita...
06/20/2026

Keg Mansion, Toronto

515 Jarvis St, Toronto, ON
The Keg Mansion, as it’s now known, is a prominent downtown Toronto heritage building and former residence that is presently being used as a restaurant known as the The Keg Steakhouse + Bar. This building has a long and varied history, becoming home to many things in the community before it was a restaurant.

Originally, the Keg Mansion was a home built in 1867 for Arthur McMaster, who lived there until his death. The mansion was then sold to the Massey family. After Hart Massey’s death, his daughter Lillian Massey took over the residence and she named the home Euclid Hall.

When Lillian passed away, the mansion was entrusted to the University of Toronto. The University repurposed the mansion which then served as a veteran’s hospital, an art gallery, and even a radio station.

In its over 150 year history, Keg Mansion has had its hand in tragedy. When Lillian Massey passed away in the residence in 1915, it’s said one of her maids took the death extremely hard, so hard that she hanged herself in the house.

It is also reported that a young boy who was visiting the home fell down the stairs and died outside the home. The ghosts of these 3 people have been spotted throughout the mansion’s tenure as a community building.

Many guests feel a female presence in the women’s bathroom and complain of stall doors unlocking and toilets flushing by themselves. Guests also report seeing a young boy playing on the staircase and hearing children’s laughter.

And Lillian Massey herself has been seen roaming the halls, protecting her family home.

The Keg Mansion is open daily from 4pm-12am if you wanted a little spooky dinner. They offer reservations and takeout. They have an online menu available and have a range of items to satisfy any guest.

Haunted rooms.com

Friday night Easterbrooks 😋
06/19/2026

Friday night Easterbrooks 😋

Century Manor Asylum HamiltonJuravinski Dr, Hamilton, ONThe Hamilton Asylum for the Insane, known as Ontario Hospital an...
06/19/2026

Century Manor Asylum Hamilton

Juravinski Dr, Hamilton, ON

The Hamilton Asylum for the Insane, known as Ontario Hospital and later the Hamilton Psychiatric Hospital, was built in 1876 and was initially intended to be an asylum for alcoholics.

The only part of the original asylum network still standing is Century Manor, built in 1884, originally called East House. Century Manor was originally opened as a reception hospital but soon the need arose for a place to house the criminally insane, so the asylum and Century Manor became home to some of the worst and most violent criminals in the province.

In the early days, community members came to the asylum grounds to watch patients as a form of entertainment; they would throw things and taunt the patients to “perform” tricks for them.

Not only did patients endure this embarrassment, but treatment facilities at this point in history experimented on patients who unfortunately paid the ultimate price for advances in mental health treatment.

Most “treatments” consisted of abuse and torture, and Century Manor Asylum was no differemt. Methods of treatments consisted of morphine injections, salt rub simulation (this meant rubbing patient’s extremities vigorously with a rag spread with salt), pub therapy (large doses of alcohol to calm patients), electro-shock, lobotomies, and the use of the Utica Crib, a coffin-like “restraint” to confine patients to calm them.

No doubt countless deaths and even suicides occurred at this facility, leaving pained spirits to roam the land and building. Apparitions and orbs are often seen and people are said to hear voices and cries.

Century Manor Asylum is accessible via the public road, but limited to outdoor viewing only. No inside access exists and security patrols the area.

haunted rooms.com

St. Patrick's Asylum, Ottawa, Ontario
06/18/2026

St. Patrick's Asylum, Ottawa, Ontario

St. Patrick's Asylum - Private Attic room
06/17/2026

St. Patrick's Asylum - Private Attic room

Dr. Bucke, of the London Asylum, on the steps of the Superintendent's HouseDr. Richard Maurice Bucke was the first Medic...
06/16/2026

Dr. Bucke, of the London Asylum, on the steps of the Superintendent's House

Dr. Richard Maurice Bucke was the first Medical Superintendent of the Hamilton Asylum for the Insane in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. He lasted only one year in that capacity (1876-1877) before moving on to the London Asylum. Richard Buckle led a truly remarkable life and was considered “one of the foremost men in medical circles in Canada.”

Students in the Classroom at the Montreal Protestant Orphan Asylum1900
06/15/2026

Students in the Classroom at the Montreal Protestant Orphan Asylum

1900

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Hamilton, ON

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