Toronto 
Immerse yourself in the spooky side of history along Frenchman’s Bay in Pickering.
Delve into a spine-chilling walk through history with the Pickering Museum Village’s acclaimed paranormal tour offering chills, thrills and a unique glimpse into Pickering’s storied past.
The museum, located amid heritage buildings rich with eerie tales, has become a hotspot for tales of the supernatural. Its reputation was so compelling that, in 2021, the museum invited paranormal investigators and psychic mediums to explore the site. The results were shocking, even to museum staff, sparking the creation of the popular Pickering Ghost Walk, now in its third year.
But the haunting tales aren’t confined to the museum. The Waterfront paranormal tour is returning in 2026. The journey begins at Millennium Square in Pickering’s Nautical Village and guides visitors through an hour of chilling narratives drawn from the history of Frenchman’s Bay. These include tales of shipwrecks, displaced spirits, and bootlegging.
The region is steeped in maritime folklore, partly due to its turbulent history of shipwrecks – an estimated 300-500 of them lie beneath Lake Ontario. One particularly haunting story is that of the Ann Bellchambers, a ship that left Frenchman’s Bay in 1873 carrying cordwood for Toronto’s steam trains. Its crew encountered a horrific storm near Gibraltar Point, Toronto, and tragically, two of its crewmembers never returned to shore.
The waterfront ghost walk also delves into tales of prohibition-era bootleggers Rocco Perri and John Gogo, whose exploits saw them rum-running in Frenchman’s Bay. You’ll also learn about the enigmatic Marysburg Vortex, a Lake Ontario triangle allegedly responsible for over 270 ship disappearances!
After or before your tour, you can explore the nautical village and enjoy a dinner at a restaurant on the waterfront.
Trip Planning – Pickering Paranormal Tours
What: Join Pickering Museum Village at Pickering’s picturesque waterfront, where not everything is as it seems. Led by a PMV guide, guests will step back in time to explore the darker side of Pickering’s past. Hear tales of infamous criminals, supernatural occurrences, and even explore a historic local cemetery by lantern-light. Warning – not for the faint of heart!
When:
Thursdays, July 2 to October 22, 2026
July & Aug | 9:15 – 10:15 pm
September | 8:00-9:00
October 1& 8 | 7:15-8:15
October 15 & 22 | 7:00-8:00
How much: Tickets cost $24.78 per person.
Where: Millennium Square at the end of Liverpool Road, Pickering
