It wasn't any easier coming up with a second shortlist of our fave haunted locations. They all have their charm.
Billy Bishop Legion
Located in Kitsilano, this 1930's house was purchased by the Air Force Association in the 40's. Downstairs is the cozy bar, and upstairs is the Hall. It appears that at least 3, if not more, legion members have decided to stick around permanently.
Ghostly activity has been seen and heard on both floors, with some spirits actually talking with the living. One female spirit is rather fond of the piano and is an attentive listener to its playing. Legion staff are very happy to know that a few of their former members have decided to take eternal comfort in their beloved legion.
The Landing
Just across the parking lot from Waterfront Station, this 8-storey commercial building on Water Street has been around since 1906. The lobby has not only a spectacular view of Burrard Inlet, but also a legendary ghost. In the middle of the night, a Lady in White has been known to weep in front of that window and disappear into a puddle of water. We can conclude that her story is a sad one, perhaps weeping for a lost love?
Ghosts also wander through Steamworks pub, sometimes frightening the servers who work there. Guests from our Ghostly Gastown Tour have experienced strange activity in the small bathroom in the Uber Room upstairs. But the most intense activity seems to occur on the lower level, particularly in the Wine Room and near the bathrooms. Why not hang out in a lively pub after death? Better than an office cubicle or dark road.
Vogue Theatre
Old Theatres just gotta be haunted! And the Vogue might just be one of the most haunted in town. When it opened in 1941, it was primarily a movie theatre with occasional live performances. After renovation in the early 90's, it reopened as a live music venue. Plenty of disturbing, ghostly activity has been reported in the "haunted highway" downstairs. A resident ghost of a young man has been seen throughout the theatre, startling not only the staff but the performers, even while onstage. Some spirits cannot help but play instruments left on stage when no one is looking, but can still hear. It's not surprising that a theatre would be home to ghostly drama, is it?
Gabriola House
The last of the Grand Mansions of the West End rests on Davie Street. Completed in 1901 for the wealthy Mr. Benjamin Rogers, founder of B.C. Sugar, it became an apartment building in the 1920's until the 1970's. Hy's Restaurant and the Macaroni Grill followed. A developer purchased the empty property in 2015. Over the years, restaurant staff have witnessed apparitions of former residents, levitating cutlery, and other strange, noisy phenomenon. Passersby also have seen ghostly figures looking down from the windows when the building was totally empty. Now that it's being renovated, what will the new residents experience? There's no such thing as a renoviction in the ghostly realm.
One of our Ghostly West End Tour guests captured this unusual photo during a particularly active EMF reading in the alley behind mansion. It was taken with their iPhone, and none of their other pics showed such odd anomalies.
If you look closely, you can see shadowy figures in the foreground to the left and the right, as well as a dark figure floating in the middle. Or is it just pareidolia - seeing images where there are none?