Duncan McNabb is said to haunt the Bytown Museum (Photo illustration: Josh Martin)

It was right off a Sherlock Holmes book cover. A man wore a long black cape, the only light emanating from a small tea light in an old lantern. But instead of dashing mysteriously down a shady cobblestone alleyway, the figure was surrounded by a cluster of pubescent tweens. Jim Dean, who works for the Haunted Walk of Ottawa was guiding a class of middle schoolers through the Carleton County Gaol, at 75 Nichols St.


Ghost and the gallows
 

As they approached an empty cell on death row, Dean began his tale, explaining that this cell once belonged to James Patrick Whelan – who was hanged for the assassination of Thomas D’Arcy McGee, a politician. From the hallway, only blackness was visible beyond the bars.

Dean said sometimes when he enters the eerie jail cell during his tours, the tea light’s flame dies down to a faint blue flicker or extinguishes completely. It doesn’t happen every time, he said, but enough that he began noticing the trend.

The teacher accompanying the class tour was cynical and Dean decided to play on her scoff. He challenged her to walk into the cell alone, holding the lantern. This of course pleased the young horde to no end and they were rowdy with tension and excitement. The teacher confidently took the lantern and began to walk toward the cell entrance. As Dean tells it, as soon as the teacher crossed the helm, the candle went dead.

The teacher’s previous pomp melted into a piercing shriek and the group degraded into a mess of confusion and screams as Dean tried to reassemble his tour. Was it Whelan’s unhappy ghost who snuffed out the tiny fire? Who’s to say?

While Dean said there might be perfectly acceptable scientific explanations for all the spooky tales he tells on his walks, the Haunted Walk stories are thoroughly researched and based on historic archives.

As for Whelan, his ghost is supposedly the most prominent of those said to haunt the Carleton County Gaol. When D’Arcy McGee was shot in the head on Sparks Street, Whelan was arrested within 24 hours and found to have a recently fired revolver in his pocket.

Whelan was suspected of being a member of the Fenians, an Irish brotherhood dedicated to making Ireland independent and also a group that McGee openly criticized. Whelan maintained his innocence throughout the trial and during his 10-month lockup, until he was sentenced to head to the gallows. His public hanging – the last in Canadian history – drew an audience of 5,000 people.

Dean said that one of Whelan’s dying wishes was to be buried in his family cemetery, but this was never carried out because there was too high a risk of grave vandalizing if it was marked. It is very possible that Whelan’s body lies beneath the parking lot of the jail, which has now been converted into a hostel.

While Whelan’s room is no longer available for guests to stay in (supposedly due to fire regulations) “visitations” are not unheard of. Guests sleeping there have reported waking up during the night to a man sitting on the edge of the bed.

Even if the guest has never heard the story, their description eerily matches Whelan. The apparition would then stand up, walk out of the room and turn right, headed in the direction of the gallows.

McNabb, a regular trickster

The Bytown Museum, another famously haunted Ottawa building, is said to house the trickster spirit of Duncan McNab, who has been dead for more than 150 years.

Dean said his staff hates when someone on the tour forgets something upstairs. He said while walking upstairs, you just get a chill, or you hear footsteps coming up behind you.

With good reason — McNab is said to be one of six ghosts that haunt the museum.

During the time that the canal was in construction, McNab was a commissary officer working at what is now the museum. In those days, it was a commiserate filled with building supplies. He was supposedly known for playing tricks on people and considerable quantities of rum would go missing while under his care.

Today, people claim that old McNabb is still up to his old pranks, since odd occurrences are common, such as computers turning off suddenly or strange sounds.

For students interested in the Halloween Walk with Haunted Walks, the student rate of $13 saves you a toonie.


Residence Commons lore: Mailbox 1941

If Halloween night is coming around and students are looking for something scary to do close to campus, then listen to this. According to Internet folklore, mailbox number 1941 on the bottom floor of Residence Commons is sealed by a broken key and can’t be opened.

The number 1941 could be homage to the year Pearl Harbor was attacked, or refer to the Canadian Security Intelligence Service Ottawa address on Ogilvie Road. The question is tantalizing, what’s inside?

Even if that creepy creak in walls is actually because of the heating and cooling effect of the weather, or the door swinging shut on its own is just a gust of rogue wind, what would be the fun in Halloween if there weren’t a few nightmares?