Episode 10 👻 The Ghosts and Secret CIA experiments at the Allan Institute. Montreal, QC 🇬🇧 The Dark Lady who haunts the Custom House. Hamilton, ON ⚓️ Ghosts, Phantom Ships and Seas Serpents at the West Point Lighthouse, PEI

Episode 10 -

1. The Ghosts and Secret CIA experiments at the Allan Institute. Montreal, QC
2. The Dark Lady who haunts the Custom House. Hamilton, ON
3. Ghosts, Phantom Ships and Seas Serpents at the West Point Lighthouse, PEI

Support this Podcast

If you love the show the best way to show your support is by leaving a positive rating and review.  Please also talk the time to share this podcast and tell a friend about the  Haunted Canada Podcast.

www.HauntedCanada.com

References

https://peilighthousesociety.ca/index.php/lighthouses/open-lighthouses/89-west-point-lighthouse

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/pei-west-point-lighthouse-haunted-1.4371389

https://www.communitystories.ca/v1/pm_v2.php?id=story_line&lg=English&fl=0&ex=00000549&sl=4337&pos=1&pf=1

https://www.maritimesmaven.com/new-blog-1/10/2/2018/westpoint-lighthouse-beckons-you-inn

https://hamiltonkat.wordpress.com/2013/10/14/the-custom-house/

https://www.thespec.com/news/dark-lady-is-telling-her-story-says-paranormal-investigator/article_9bd4b4bf-4df0-5b78-9dcb-b0a22dcc1a81.html

https://hauntedmontreal.com/haunted-montreal-blog-38-ravenscrag.html

https://www.pressreader.com/canada/the-chronicle-herald-provincial/20210906/281500754362178

https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/mkultra

https://newsinteractives.cbc.ca/longform/brainwashed-mkultra/

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:25

Welcome to Haunted Canada. Hi everyone, my name is Nadine and welcome to episode 10 of Haunted Canada. If this is your first time listening to the Haunted Canada podcast, I want to thank you for joining us, and if you are a repeat listener, I want to sincerely thank you for supporting this podcast. I truly do appreciate it. If you want to continue to support us, please take the time to follow us, give us a like and a five-star written review, as that really does help. Also, you can take the time to follow us on Facebook, instagram and TikTok for all the updates.

Speaker 1: 1:18

On episode 10,. We're going to venture across Canada for three more spooky ghost stories. First, we're going to start in Montreal and delve into the very haunted Allen Memorial Institution, full of ghosts and secret experiments involving the CIA. Then we're going to head over to Hamilton, ontario, to talk about the spooky Customs House and the ghost of the Dark Lady. And then we're going to finish off in the beautiful Prince Edward Island to talk about the West Point Lighthouse, filled with ghosts of the former lighthouse keeper, phantom ships and sea serpents.

Speaker 1: 2:15

The Allen Memorial Institute, most commonly known as the Allen, on the McGill University campus, has a dark and sinister past, filled with unethical medical treatments and secret service experiments sanctioned by the CIA and secret service experiments sanctioned by the CIA. Today, the Allen is home to the McGill University Psychiatric Hospital and Research Institution on the downtown campus known as the Golden Square Mile of Montreal. The university was named after James McGill, who immigrated to Canada from Glasgow, scotland, in 1744 and made his fortune in the fur trade. The Allen was originally known as Ravenscraig, a private residence that was built between 1860 and 1863 by Sir Hugh Allen, one of the richest men in Canada at the time. When Sir Allen passed away, the house went to his second son, sir Montague Allan, who lived in the mansion until 1940, when the son then donated the massive 72-room home to the McGill University Faculty of Medicine. Sir Montague Allan was a well-respected Canadian businessman and philanthropist, but one very unique thing about Sir Alan is that he loved the sport of hockey, and in 1908, he donated the Alan Cup, a trophy that would represent the highest level of achievement for amateur hockey teams across Canada. The Cup is awarded annually to senior ice hockey champions of Canada. Like the Stanley Cup, the Allen was originally a challenge trophy, meaning teams could issue a challenge to the reigning champion, hoping to defeat them and earn the status of champion for themselves. For Sir Montague Allen's support and contribution to the sport of hockey, he was made a member of a Hockey Hall of Fame in 1945.

Speaker 1: 4:04

While the Allen family was once revered for their ostentatious wealth and altruistic endeavors, the Allen family unwittingly unleashed a curse upon their legacy. Their noble act of bestowing the Ravenscraig Mansion to the McGill University ended up changing the elegant mansion into the epicenter of mysterious CIA brainwashing experiments known as the secret MK Ultra, experiments that destroyed the minds and lives of many. The walls of the sprawling manor, now tainted with anguish and despair, became a breeding ground of shattered minds and broken lives. Became a breeding ground of shattered minds and broken lives. The tormented spirits of men, women and innocent children driven to madness and death within its grim confines, now roam the desolate hallways of the Allen Memorial Institute. Their anguished cries are still heard echoing throughout the haunted corridors, forever imprisoned in a purgatory of eternal suffering. This all began in the mid-20th century, between 1957 and 1964.

Speaker 1: 5:14

The Allen Memorial Institute in Montreal became the site of disturbing psychiatric experiments. Led by Scottish-American psychiatrist Dr Donald Ewan Cameron. Dr Cameron's main research focused on schizophrenia. Dr Cameron's main research focused on schizophrenia, and Dr Cameron had a very warped belief that he could cure it through depatterning. Basically, what depatterning meant was that Dr Cameron wanted to erase the memories of the patients and bring the patients back to a childlike state. Patients would face drug-induced comas lasting much longer than anticipated, along with massive doses of LSD, intensive electroshocks therapy and sometimes lobotomies. The patients that Dr Cameron would use the experiments on were men, women and sometimes children that were just seeking some medical help at the hospital for depression, postpartum and even menopause.

Speaker 1: 6:09

The Montreal experiments led by Dr Cameron saw many patients at the Allen Institute subjected to tortured methods, including high-voltage electric shock therapy, insulin-induced comas, sleep deprivation, lobotomies and large doses of hallucinogenic drugs. The doctor had a misguided belief that the patient's personalities and identities could be rebuilt using this technique called psychic driving. During this so-called treatment, patients were sometimes immobilized for up to 16 hours, sedated and then made to listen to recordings over and over again for between 16 and 18 hours. Sometimes a patient would receive 10 days of this treatment attacking the perceived negative problem, then to be followed by 10 days of positive reinforcement. Many patients who went to the Allen for help ended up coming out with amnesia. There are many documented stories of the negative effects that the treatments had on people. One patient was unable to remember what happened to her for up to two years after this treatment. Another forgot his children and how to run his business he had managed for years. It is believed that the hundreds of patients, including the men, women and children, were all likely treated by Dr Cameron and had many negative effects from these medical treatments.

Speaker 1: 7:35

Funding for these horrific experiments came from the CIA in the 1950s and the 1960s. Through front organizations within the CIA at the beginning of the Cold War, it was done to conduct experiments on patients who had no idea what were being done to them as part of the infamous and top-secret MK-ULTRA program, sparking public outrage. When details surfaced in the 1970s, survivors of the Allen Memorial Institute experiments sought compensations for the trauma they endured. While some received acknowledgement and monetary compensation from the United States and the Canadian government, many others were denied and faced obstacles in trying to seek justice. Decades later, the legacy of the MKUltra experiments endures as a dark chapter in medical history, marked by government secrecy, unethical violations and the enduring struggle of survivors and their families to receive proper recognition and or compensation for the injustices inflicted upon them.

Speaker 1: 8:40

Over the years there have been whispers and endless discussions about the many people, including the men, women and children, that died at the Allen Institute. Many of these deaths were never reported and were believed to have been covered up. It has been well documented over the years that many people believe that there's a secret children's cemetery, and it's still present at the back of the Institute by a stone rocky wall. This is where it is believed that the bodies of the children that died during these horrific experiments were secretly buried to cover up what happened. When people are working in the Allen in the daytime, they can often see young boys and girls in that very area by the stone rocky wall, running around and playing in white hospital gowns, while other staff report that when they're there late at night, they can often hear children crying, while others can hear children running through the institution, up and down the staircase or actually see them again playing on the front lawn. As many staff are aware of the ghosts that reside in and outside of the Allen Institute, many employees are too fearful to investigate the sightings of the ghostly children, whether they're inside or outside of the Allen Institute, while others say that they do not like to be in the Allen Institute after dark, as the lights will often go on and off. They can hear screams coming in the empty corridors, while other staff report that when they're in their offices, working especially on the first or second floor, that they often report hearing whispering coming from all around them, and in this whispering they can hear somebody saying help me, for the love of God, please help me. Other spooky things that have been documented by the people who work at the Allen is the light that often goes on and off in the front tower. People report that when they're leaving the building in the nighttime and driving away, they can often see the light in the tower flickering on and off. Even people who are out for a nightly stroll and are walking by the Allen Institute will sometimes look up at the imposing structure and see the light in the tower flickering on and off.

Speaker 1: 10:55

Employees at the Allen Institute are well aware of the places that they do not like to go, including the morgue, as this area has become such a dark and foreboding place that even the cleaning staff refuse to go near it. Staff who are brave enough to go down to the morgue often report a sense of dread walking into that room. Things seem to always happen. One cleaning staff said that when he went near the morgue he got the feeling as if someone was dragging him out of the morgue back out into the hallway, while other people report that when they're in the morgue area that they'll often hear screams and bangings coming from the freezers where the dead bodies and the corpses were once kept. The area has become such a frightful spot that many staff refuse to go near it. From deranged experiments, government cover-ups, CIA involvement and secret cemeteries, the Allen Institute has become a daily reminder of the hauntings that are still present within the historical building. While the Allen was once an opulent residence for the wealthy and the elite of Montreal, it ended up turning into a sinister hospital filled with secret experiments that tortured the minds of innocent men, women and children, leaving their tortured souls to roam throughout the historic Allen Institute still to this day.

Speaker 1: 12:35

The historic and haunted Customs House located in Hamilton, ontario, constructed in an Italian style, is one of the oldest federal buildings in Canada. Built in 1858, the haunted building harbors a dark secret that has plagued its halls for over a century known as the Legend of the Dark Lady. Originally constructed to facilitate the influx of people and goods passing through Hamilton and Upper Canada. The Customs House served as a silent witness to the collection of tariffs and taxes that shaped the city's destiny. Throughout its turbulent history, the building has transitioned through various owners and purposes, from being used as a school, a YMCA, a vinegar factory, macaroni factory and a martial arts academy, and today is known as the Workers' Art and Heritage Center, each carnation adding layers of mystery and dread in its ancient walls. Within the hallowed halls resides the oldest known ghost in Hamilton, the Dark Lady. Stories of her spectral presence have circulated for generations, with her ghostly form still wandering the corridors of what is now known as the Workers' Arch and Heritage Center, where echoes of her tragic tale still linger like a curse.

Speaker 1: 13:52

The origin of the Dark Lady dates back to a haunting poem penned in 1873 by Alexander Wingfield, a former worker of the Customs Office. The poem, called Dark Lady, immortalized the tale of a young girl from the early 19th century England whose life took a harrowing turn when she was assaulted by her former employer and left pregnant and abandoned. Her parents in England felt that the only way that she could have a chance in life was for her to leave England on an immigration ship bound for Hamilton, ontario, canada, fleeing to Canada to escape her tormentors, the girl found herself aboard a ship bound for Hamilton where a sinister fate awaited her. During the treacherous journey across the Atlantic Ocean, the ship's captain became infatuated with the young woman, leading to a twisted and tragic affair that led to her murder. As the ship began to pull into the Hamilton dock, the captain strangled the young pregnant girl, hiding her body in the captain's room. Once the ship was docked and all the hands had departed the ship, the captain knew that he had to dispose of the young girl's dead body. The captain was aware of the construction that was happening at the customs house and knew of the vault in the basement which would be the ideal place to hide the dead body. The captain put the woman's dead body in a rug and carried it through the tunnels at the port in the dead of night to the Customs House and headed directly to the vault in the basement where he disposed of the young woman's body.

Speaker 1: 15:27

Today, the Custom House stands as the chilling testament to the Dark Lady's relentless spirit, as paranormal investigators and daring souls braved the eerie confines in search of the answers. Staff who work at the building in the daytime have often seen a young woman all dressed in black wandering throughout the hallways, while on other occasions staff have reported that when they see the dark lady all dressed in black, it seems as if she is beckoning the employees to follow her into the basement. No staff will ever follow the lady into the basement, fearing for their own lives. Staff who work at the historic building today report that lights will go on and off, doors will slam shut and blasts of cold air will begin to flow through the hallways. The house is full of paranormal activity and even tours are offered by a local company called Hamilton Ghost Walk, who have been offering amazing ghost tours over the years inside the Customs House. They have been operating paranormal tours within the Customs House trying to make contact with the spirit of the Dark Lady, and on many occasions they've actually bought Ouija boards into some of these events. Many occasions they've actually bought Ouija boards into some of these events.

Speaker 1: 16:41

It has been noted in newspaper articles that when people are doing these paranormal investigations and using Ouija boards, people have been quoted as saying that strange things started happening, something weird was going on, strong things came through. Instead of it pointing to letters as it usually does, it started circling the letters a very powerful, one of the guides said. Then, when we asked it to spell out a name on the Ouija board, it began to circle letters and it spelled out the Dark Lady. While others have said over the years that when they're on these paranormal investigations, that young girls around 16 or 17, the same age as believed to be that of the Dark Lady have been known to become possessed by her spirit, getting physically ill inside the Customs House, it is believed by many that the young lady who was murdered and her body left in the basement vault of the Customs House, now known as the Dark Lady, is still wandering through the hallways trying to seek revenge for the horrible fate that was inflicted upon her. As the haunted legend of the Customs House continues, whispers of the Dark Lady's tragic death continues, compelling the living to confront the chilling reality of her fate. Only those brave enough to walk the haunted halls of the Custom House may uncover its answers. But be careful, for the Dark Lady's ghost still roams throughout the building as a haunting reminder of her tragic death.

Speaker 1: 18:24

The West Point Lighthouse, located in Prince Edward Island, is a scenic and spooky tourist destination filled with legends and lore that looms as one of the most haunted places in all of Canada. The imposing black-and white striped lighthouse stands out against the backdrop of the Northumberland Straits, whispering dark tales of the past from ghosts from the first lighthouse keeper, phantom ships seen burning on the water, sea serpents and the legend of buried treasure. Built in 1875, the West Point Lighthouse was the first of its kind on the island and was lit on December 21st of the same year. A testament to the maritime history and a keeper of dark secrets. From its towering height it has witnessed the passage of time and the soul's loss to the unforgiving sea. Originally, the lighthouse was painted in red horizontal stripes. However, these stripes were later changed to black in 1915, as the black was more fade-resistant and provided more contrast. The historic West Point Lighthouse had many unique characteristics, including windows that swung open to the interior and exterior, almost like a door, and other vertical windows that opened upwards. It was also the only lighthouse that had a dumbwaiter, which, back in the day, would transport oil from the first floor to the fourth floor lightroom.

Speaker 1: 19:48

The first lighthouse keeper was William Anderson MacDonald, known as Lighthouse Willie, who was a tall seafaring man with a full beard who loved taking care of the lighthouse, being close to the water and smoking his pipe. William was from Glenwood, scotland, and moved to Prince Edward Island in the early 1800s. As a young man, william stayed in the West Point area to take a job working with the growing shipbuilding industry as it was close to his farm, william was described in early records as a strong, hard-working and honest man who referred to himself as a stalwart Scot. William's hard work ethic paid off, as he was actually recommended to be the lighthouse keeper at West Point by a senator, which was a great honor. William accepted the position as lighthouse keeper in trust in 1875 and kept the job for 50 years when he eventually retired in 1925.

Speaker 1: 20:47

William and his wife Mariah, along with their growing family, lived in the lighthouse and everyone took a role caring for the lighthouse and everyone who needed help. The role of the lighthouse keeper and his wife was to offer assistance to anybody and everybody who might need it, come day or night, yet sometimes this came with deadly consequences. There's one story that I came across that goes back to the early 1900s when, on a stormy night, a sailor who spoke no English sought refuge at the West Point Lighthouse as he was extremely ill. The lighthouse keeper, william, was not there that evening and the only people at home were William's wife, mariah, and his two grown daughters, bertha and Helen. Being kind and thoughtful people that they were, bertha and Helen nursed the sailor back to health, but little did they realize that the reason that the man was so ill was that he was suffering from black measles. Black measles was a severe form of measles characterized by dark eruptions caused by bleeding under the skin. While some people would recover from the black measles, others were not so lucky. The family nursed the sailor back to health and he was on his way. However, sadly, the lighthouse keeper's daughter, Helen, who was pregnant at the time, ended up catching black measles. She was so sick that it caused her to give birth early to a beautiful baby girl. However, sadly, the premature baby died within just a few days.

Speaker 1: 22:18

While the MacDonald family did have a lot of heartbreak while living at the lighthouse, they continued on and spent their time working at West Point keeping the light lit to ensure that all the ships were safe, and in the 50 years that Willie MacDonald was a lighthouse keeper at West Point, he never missed a single night's duty, which is why it is believed that the spirit of Lighthouse Willie still remains behind at the West Point to this day, still caring for the lighthouse that he loves so much in life. The ghostly apparition of Lighthouse Willie has been seen walking on the balcony at the top of the lighthouse, sitting in his rocking chair, in the keeper's quarters and walking on the white sandy beach, while on other occasions people have reported their own personal encounters while staying at the lighthouse. Many people have reported seeing the ghostly apparition of a man in a grey beard standing by the window in the keeper's quarters or sitting in the haunted chair which once belonged to Lighthouse Willie. Even Kara Livingston, the great-granddaughter of Lighthouse Willie, has been quoted many times in articles saying that she believes that his spirit is there also and that when she's in the Keeper's quarters and when she sits in the haunted chair, she often gets a sense as if he's standing there right next to her, while other people report witnessing the haunted chair rocking back and forth all by itself, with doors opening and slamming all around them. People who work at the lighthouse today believe that lighthouse keeper Willie made himself known to everybody in 1987 when the lighthouse was converted to an inn. Yet it seems that some of the most ghostly experiences come from the great-granddaughter of lighthouse Willie herself, carol.

Speaker 1: 24:03

There have been many articles written about the strange and spooky experiences that Carol has had in her great-grandfather's lighthouse. In one particular interview with the CBC, carol spoke about one evening she was at the lighthouse for a meeting and when she was getting ready to leave she was going throughout the lighthouse making sure all the lights were off and the doors were closed. When she came to the second floor keeper's quarters she turned off the lights and closed the door. When she made her way out of the lighthouse and locked everything up, she looked up and then saw that the second floor light was now back on in the keeper's quarters. Of course she knew that she had just turned it off, but of course she went back upstairs, opened the door to the keeper's quarters and turned the light off yet again when she exited the lighthouse and got into her vehicle. When she looked up at the lighthouse again, the light was on in the keeper's quarters. Carol said that once again she found it odd, as she knew she had turned the light off in the room.

Speaker 1: 25:04

Carol believes that it is the spirit of lighthouse keeper Willie, her great-grandfather, whose spirit has remained behind at the West Point Lighthouse still to this day. Yet it is just not the ghost of the lighthouse keeper, willie, that haunts these hallowed grounds. Stories abound of phantom ships sailing in the dark waters, its white sails cutting through the mist. Fully engulfed in flames, the Lighthouse that it is a pirate ship that was cursed and is now doomed to sail the seas for eternity. Today, the lighthouse is run by a non-profit community group dedicated to preserving the history and the heritage of the lighthouse, a place where tourists and locals flock to walk the sandy beaches and take in the beauty of the historic lighthouse.

Speaker 1: 26:01

Along with the West Point Lighthouse being known as one of Canada's most haunted places, it is also filled with stories of folklore, ranging from buried treasure, fairies and sea serpents. Folktales speak of buried treasure somewhere around the lighthouse, but legend has it that for anybody who dares to try to dig it up, they will be forever cursed and die shortly thereafter. The history of the West Point Lighthouse often speaks of phantom serpents described as being 60 to 80 feet long, with the body of a snake and the head of a horse, seen swimming in the waters near West Point. Stories of the sea serpent were first told by the Mi'kmaq to European settlers. Stories of the sea serpent were first told by the Mi'kmaq to European settlers. Yet it was even documented in the summer of 1992 that there were nine documented reports of people witnessing a sea serpent while visiting the lighthouse, with many of them describing that it had a snake-like body with the head of a horse, with many sailors over the years, including Carroll's great-grandfather, william Anderson MacDonald, witnessing it as well, swearing that while he was over the years, including Carroll's great-grandfather, william Anderson MacDonald, witnessing it as well, swearing that while he was on the water he caught a glimpse of the sea serpent. The West Point Lighthouse has been operating as a tourist destination for many years and while people head to the lighthouse for the ocean views and the peaceful sandy beaches, many people still venture to West Point on Prince Edward Island to try and catch a glimpse of the ghost of lighthouse keeper Willie, who is still seen wandering throughout the historic and haunted lighthouse to this day.

Speaker 1: 27:34

Well, everyone, that is the end of episode 10 of Haunted Canada, and I would like to truly thank every single person who has taken the time to listen to this podcast or told a friend about it. I truly do appreciate it. If you are enjoying this podcast, please take the time to like, follow and leave a five-star review, as that always does help. You can also follow us on Facebook, instagram and TikTok for all the updates. If you have any stories that you would like for us to cover on this podcast, please email us through our website at hauntedcanadacom. Again, I would like to sincerely thank every single person who has taken the time to listen to this podcast. I truly do appreciate it. I am loving putting out an episode every week and discovering more spooky stories to share with you. Have a good night, everybody, and stay safe.