It is that spooky time of year again when classrooms are outfitted with cobwebs and paper ghosts, and students dressed as superheroes unwrap candy at their desks.
To celebrate Halloween, we compiled eerie places you can visit on a student tour that just might send a chill down your spine.
Located in the Davenport Hill neighbourhood of Toronto, Casa Loma is a massive mansion commissioned in the 1900s by Sir Henry Pellatt for his wife Lady Pellatt. Now open for tours, the castle has a history of ghost sightings, voices and spine-tingling touches. The White Lady believed to be a maid who worked at Casa Loma in the early 1900s, is seen the most by guests and workers, but it is the spirit that resides in the tunnel to the stables that likes to spook guests.
Salem, Massachusetts is well known for one part of its history - the Salem Witch Trials. In 1692, a special court, presided over by Chief Justice William Stoughton, sat down to hear cases of witchcraft. Fourteen women and five men from different families were convicted and hung as witches before the court was disbanded. Nowadays, modern paeans and witches roam the streets openly practicing their craft.
Located just outside Ottawa is Saunders Farm, the city's largest fall festival with the world's largest collection of mazes and labyrinths, and it gets spooky. Haunting Season and Frightfest take place during September and October, with the regular farm activities dressed up for Halloween. The daytime Haunting Season is perfect for all ages, with haunted hayrides, 10 hedge mazes, and thrilling characters strolling around. Frightfest at night is a bit scarier with Five Haunts (Haunted Hayride, Barn of Terror, Cemetery Scare Zone, The Coven, and Shambles) and a ScareZone.
Can you hear the sound of the drums? Edinburgh Castle is thought to be one of the most haunted places in Scotland. A headless drummer, though rarely seen, is said to be heard playing from the battlements dating back to 1650, and many people have noted sudden drops in temperature throughout. There have been many deaths in and around the castle in its 900-year history with many ghosts still wandering the halls of this popular tourist attraction.
The Halifax Citadel sits at the top of a hill in the middle of the city. Built in the 1800s, the fort has seen thousands of soldiers and visitors pass through its hallways, with some never leaving. The most vivid encounter staff has had is with the Grey Lady or Cassie Allen. The Grey Lady can be seen descending the stairs in The Cavalier Building searching for her fiance who died the day before their wedding day.
When cemeteries began flooding in the 1700s in Paris, France, the bodies were moved further down into a network of tunnels under the city. This became the Catacombs, a visitable mausoleum with bones stacked intricately along the walls in the underground cavern. While some explorers are said to hear disembodied voices speak to them during night walks, the ghost of Philibert Aspairt is said to be seen every November 3rd, the date he descended into the cave and never returned.