At last count there were no fewer than eight ghosts reported at six of the company's Canadian properties. The multitude of apparitions may have to do with the fact many of these Canadian hotels are historic. Some were originally Canadian Pacific Railway hotels built in the 1800s, and where there's history, there are always ghost stories. Or, as the Fairmont posits: "Ghosts haunt where they were happiest." And most people would be quite happy staying or working at these luxurious hotels.
Images: World's most haunted hotels
Images: More haunted places in Canada
Fairmont Chateau Laurier
If you can't believe a trusted journalist, who can you believe? While staying at this grand Ottawa hotel some years ago, the CBC's Patrick Watson reported two unusual experiences that seem to defy explanation.
One night Watson was awakened by a "sound as sharp as a pistol shot" and discovered a heavy glass ashtray on a nearby table had cracked neatly in half.
"It was not a particularly cold night. There was no conceivable explanation for this phenomenon," Watson told author Joan Rankin in the book Meet Me At The Chateau.
The next night he was awakened again by another loud sound, this time coming from the bathroom.
When Watson got up to investigate he found his shaving kit -- which he had placed behind the taps against the wall -- now at the far end of the room!
"Both these events, trivial though they sound, were inexplicable and left me quite shaken," he said.
Could it have been the spirit of Charles Melville Hays, the general manager of the Grand Trunk Railway and visionary behind the Chateau Laurier? Hays never got to see the official opening of the hotel he created. He perished on the Titanic, and some believe his spirit has been inhabiting the Chateau Laurier and overseeing its operation ever since.
The Fairmont Banff Springs
One could say that dedicated bellman Sam McCauley is as helpful in death as he was in life. McCauley, who worked at the iconic Banff Springs Hotel until his retirement in 1967, always promised he would return one day. But he passed away before returning to his beloved hotel. It seems that hasn't stopped him from fulfilling his promise, though. Some guests -- especially those who arrive late at night -- report being assisted by a bellman wearing an old fashioned hotel uniform, who helps them with directions and retrieves their luggage. The kindly bellman has also been known to help guests who lose their keys.
A National Historic Site of Canada, the Banff Springs may have not one but two ghosts. A so-called "Dancing Bride" is said to do the wedding waltz late at night. According to one account, the apparition my be the ghost of an unfortunate bride who, in the 1920s, met a tragic end when she stepped on her wedding veil and fell down a grand staircase to her death.
The Fairmont Hotel Vancouver
A "Lady in Red" steps out of elevators and has occupied at least one room at the Hotel Vancouver. She has been "seen" so often that her sudden appearances are no longer a complete surprise to employees and guests. The origin of the mysterious lady dates to 1939, when eight elevator shafts were built to accommodate guests. Due to budget restrictions at the time, only six elevators were actually installed and legend has it the hotel's friendly spirit inhabits one of the empty shafts.
Many "sightings" have occurred on the mezzanine level when the elevator opens, and in the corridors of the 14th floor. Once she was even mistaken for a guest by a Japanese family who returned to the reception desk to report their room was already occupied by a Lady in Red.
Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac
At the Chateau Frontenac -- one of the world's most photographed hotels and a National Historic Site -- the resident ghost is not a former employee or guest but the hotel's namesake -- Louis de Buade, Comte de Frontenac, a two-time governor general of New France.
According to one account, Frontenac left instructions that after his death his heart sent to his fiance in Europe. But the poor woman was apparently so distraught she returned the relic to New France. Frontenac's restless spirit reportedly wandered for a century before finding a home at the Chateau Frontenac, which was built near the historic Citadelle that the governor had begun at the end of the 17th century.
Attired in 17th-century clothing, the nobleman has been sighted wandering around the hotel looking for his soul mate ever since. He has also been known to float through the ballroom or watch guests while they are sleeping.
MORE INFORMATION
For details on Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, see fairmont.com.
writer@interlog.com
Hotels along the Hana Highway
