Banff 
History and Halloween buffs rejoice and unite; there are reportedly haunted locations all across Alberta you can visit!
Bernadette Gallagher
Some of Alberta’s haunted spots are a classic example of what might come to mind when you think of a ‘haunted building:’ classic as in old, abandoned, or empty. However, not all haunted locations are the same, and there are some in Alberta that might even surprise you, like our own haunted ski hill in the Rockies.
You might even know some of these spooky tales thanks to local ghost tour companies, long-standing legends, the Barbara Smith classic collection of road trip ghost stories, or possibly your own unfortunate experiences.
Halloween road trip, anyone?
You do not have to go it alone, either. There are ghost tours available in a few different Alberta cities which give you a detailed insight into these ghost stories, as well as historic true crime.
McKay Avenue School/Edmonton Public Schools Archives & Museum
The large red brick building of the McKay Avenue School was built in 1904 and is quite a symbol of its time. The school opened to make way for the booming Edmonton population and was a replacement for the original schoolhouse built in 1881. Alberta’s first two legislative assemblies were held in the brick school, and it served the families of Edmonton until 1983.
You can now visit this allegedly haunted Edmonton spot, with the archives and museum open by appointment for self-guided tours.
There are some freaky stories to have come out of this building over the past 40 years, with much of it blamed on the spirit of a man who died while working on building from falling out of a third-floor window.
The Bellevue Underground Coal Mine
The impact of Alberta’s coal industry on the people and province are no more evident than on the western half of the Crowsnest Highway. Along with the devastation visible from the Frank Slide are abandoned structures and buildings from the early-1900s era. The mine was shut down in the early 1962, and modern-day Bellevue now surrounds the site. The mine is closed for the season, but is open Spring to Fall for underground mine tours! But before your tour, you should know of who else might be down there with you.
Bellevue Underground Mine
A group of paranormal investigators from APTN’s The Other Side, went in to find out for themselves and were met with a few haunting incidents. This includes an inexplicable whistle noise, but creepiest of all, the answer received on the team’s spirit box/Ovilus. The team would ask the spirits questions regarding mining and receive answers only a miner would know.
Drumheller’s East Coulee School and Museum
This southeastern haunted location opened in 1930; and the school’s population grew with the surrounding area’s population as the coal industry boomed.
The East Coulee School and Museum gives a look back into student life in the 30s and 40s but is also filled with mining artifacts and exhibits. The school even served as a temporary hospital for mining accidents and the flu epidemic. There may be some spirits attached to these artifacts, or the building itself.
The chilling reports stemming from the museum include strange sounds and voices like children’s voices singing and evidence of child spirits including shining spectres.
Calgary’s Rose & Crown Pub
If you walk past the usually busy and lively Rose & Crown Pub in Calgary, a former funeral home turned pub, you might notice a creepy view in the windows.
Look up; do you see it? The local pub is so famously haunted that the staff embrace the legends with a skull in the building’s very top window. If you didn’t know it was fake, it is enough to send you running. But besides the fake resident ghost, this pub has some stories of actual spooky encounters which harken back to the pub’s time as a funeral home.
There are reports of a young male spirit haunting the rooms in a playful way, and reports of multiple footsteps from the upstairs floor while no one is up there. The young male spirit is allegedly captured in photographs, too, which you can view in the Rose & Crown. Some have seen the spirit young boy in the pub and he has even been known to move a balloon.
Longview’s Twin Cities Hotel
There is a colourful history associated with Longview’s Twin Cities Saloon, formerly the Twin Cities Hotel.
Longview was, after all, the true wild west, and was at the time known as Little New York thanks to the settlement’s overall roughness and ruggedness. The hotel and saloon were a place where local workers like miners came to play, thus contributing to its colourful history (it was a hub for gambling, drinking, and prostitution).
One of the creepiest events to come out of the modern-day ghost stories of the saloon includes guests being locked in rooms and apparitions/shadow figures. Recent paranormal investigations ‘confirm’ (depends on what you believe) these reports on camera, and introduce us to the well-known ghost of Bruce, a man who lived and worked at Twin Cities, and who passed away in the hotel.
Edmonton’s Princess Theatre
Unfortunately, we can no longer attend movies at Edmonton’s arthouse Princess Theatre, which officially opened its doors to movie-goers in 1915. It stands on Whyte Avenue as one of Edmonton’s oldest buildings, and one of the oldest standing theatres in western Canada. So, you might expect a couple of spirits to hang around this beautiful building.
There is a legend surrounding the theatre of a bride who haunts the projector room above the auditorium.
The theatre’s future is unknown now, but no matter who buys the building, the ghost bride is likely to stay!
The Atlas Coal Mine National Historic Site
You won’t be able to visit the Atlas Coal Mine around Halloween, as this haunted location is open seasonally from May to September each year. The Coal Mine has a few different ghost stories surrounding it, and you can take your own chances on a spooky encounter during open season with the mine’s various different tours. Spooky stories include streaks of orbs of light and spooky presence of ghostly apparitions.
And if you’re in the area while the mine is closed, you can still drive there and walk up close enough for photo opportunities.
Wayne’s Rosedeer Hotel
The town of Wayne in southern Alberta, near Drumheller, is not quite a ghost town.
The drive out to Wayne is unique in that there are 11 bridges you’ll need to cross as the road follows the winding Rosebud River valley. And when you arrive, it will appear like a ghost town thanks to the well-maintained Rosedeer Hotel, which is still open as a pub: The Last Chance Saloon, and the bar which was originally called Bucket of Blood.
You can camp here, too, or visit for their annual Waynestock Music Festival.
You may also visit the Saloon to hear stories of the hotel’s closed-off third floor, and the male spirit who inhabits the vacant rooms.
Banff Springs Hotel
This may be one of the most famously haunted locations in Alberta.
The Banff Springs hotel has many ghosts who roam its halls, including a bride, a bartender, a bagpiper, and a porter.
And while some have worked to debunk the historical accuracy of the hotels’ urban myths and legends, one can’t deny the eerie feeling that comes from a walk through the old and large building, or an overnight stay in the smaller rooms.
And, if you get on Google or Tiktok and search Banff room 873, you can find some modern-day ghost sighting reports! The legends stem from the fact that the room number inexplicably skip 873.
Calgary Heritage Park Hauntings
The Canmore Opera House, the Prince House, and the Livingston House at Heritage Park all offer their own frightful tales of ghostly encounters.
Heritage Park, as we know it today, is a place where you can learn about Calgary and Alberta’s history from any era, with several more restored and preserved buildings, besides these haunted handful.
The park is wrapping up their ghost tours for the season, but there are other ghostly activities planned like Ghost Teas & Tours, Ghosts and Gourmet, and Ghouls’ Night Out.
Marmot Basin
Places like Banff Springs, or a century-old school, are all assumingly haunted locations. They all even look haunted by pop culture’s standards. But, then there are the more unassuming locations around Alberta which are open to the public, but which don’t have that spooky appearance.
Marmot Basin is one of the most popular ski resorts in Canada, and attracts thousands of visitors each year. But past employees, who were in the resort’s buildings while all the visitors were gone, report playful yet ghostly activity, said to be from the spirit of a lone skier who lost his life in a 1964 avalanche.
Lethbridge’s Galt Museum & Archives
The Galt Museum as it appears today is much larger than the original building, which is still open. The original brick building was a hospital until closing and converted into a museum in 1985. Many who visit agree the hospital area gives off a creepy vibe or chill, and there is even some agreeance upon who is haunting the Galt Museum in Lethbridge.
The Museum is said to be occupied by the spirit of George Bailey, a man who tragically lost his life in a freak accident in an elevator at the hospital. People have also heard children’s laughter and seen native children waving out of a window.
The Lac La Biche Mission & Historical Society
When you visit the Lac LA Biche Mission and historical area, you aren’t seeing the original church building, but a recreation.
The original mission, which was said to have various paranormal presences, burned down in 2009, but many believe that the ghost of a certain reverend is still walking around the chapel. The church has a bit of a spooky air about it, set on a scene of vast surrounding farmland with an empty look to the whole property.
The stark white chapel can be toured during open hours, as can other buildings around the historical village. You may even chance up on the Father yourselves.
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