Hello, once again.

I have no idea why I haven't e-mailed you this sooner except to say that the incidents which happened to my friend in Mount Albert kind of, well, slipped my mind. Easy to do with 2 children under 5.

I was friendly with a woman whom I had met at a meditation evening in Stouffville; she lived in Mount Albert in a building that used to be called a Hotel. I have no idea whether its present owners have ever experienced anything unusual; I only know what my friend experienced and what I as a guest experienced on many an occasion in the house.

There had been extensive renovations made to the house since its prime hotel days, that's for sure! My friend had a photograph of the original house as a hotel on the wall in her dining room and it was definitely, although similar, not exactly as it had once been, architecturally speaking.

Whenever I was there, I always felt watched, particularly in the upstairs bathroom and in the downstairs living room area.

One day, I had gone over after work for a visit, and while looking at her book collection in the downstairs hallway, saw an elderly woman wafting down the stairs dressed in a long dress and an apron. I wasn't afraid (I had seen ghosts before), but a bit startled since I hadn't seen anything before. When I mentioned this to my friend, she remarked that she hasn't seen her, but some other visitors had.

She did say, at that point, that she herself felt uneasy in the upstairs bathroom. That was a harbinger of things to come, believe me!

A few weeks later, she called me and was quite distressed. Apparently, she had gotten up to go to the bathroom and was literally thrown across the bathroom by some unseen force.

This obviously terrified her, and since I wasn't home at the time it happened, she called a psychic friend of hers who promised to come after work to try to "clear" whatever was in the bathroom.

My friend invited me over since her psychic friend needed a few people present while the process was in motion. I agreed and, at the appropriate time, we all went into the bathroom, candle in hand (my friend and my husband took her dog out for a walk; she couldn't handle the experience!).

What happened was very enlightening. The psychic friend was clairaudient and clairvoyant. She immediately began speaking to the entity which identified himself as somewhat of a sea captain type, very burly, very crotchety, who had stayed in the hotel numerous times and who had apparently died there.

The bathroom hadn't always been a bathroom; it was a bedroom during the hotel's heyday, and this man obviously was a little annoyed at my friend who seemed to "pop in" whenever she wanted to and took off her clothes or pulled down her pants!

Imagine! How rude!

The psychic explained that it was not 1875 (I cannot remember what year he thought it was), and that he was indeed dead and this was indeed a bathroom where people, indeed, pulled their pants down and took their clothes off on a regular basis.

She told him to then go to the light and that there was surely a light there.

He refused, telling her that he wished to remain with his "friends nearby in the graveyard."

Well, after about a full hour of trying to convince him to leave, he finally did; however, we were all confused about the graveyard because where the ghost indicated the graveyard to be, there is only a cenotaph park and not a cemetery. Little did we know the truth...

The next day, the psychic telephoned me and told me that she had done some sleuthing.

Indeed, there used to be a cemetery on the spot, but the gravestones were moved to make room for a cenotaph park. They did not, however, move the bodies. Sure enough, my friend and I went to the site the next day, crossed the street from the cenotaph, and found the tombstones. Obviously, the bodies are still there, somewhere underneath the cannon and the park bench!

If anyone has anything to add or if anyone knows anything else about the hotel or the old graveyard which is now a park/cenotaph, please post it on the message board or e-mail it to our researchers/investigator, Sue at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.! My interest is definitely peaked!

By far, this is one of the most interesting reports we have received. If you do have anything to add, please post it on our message board or send an e-mail to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Below is another addition to this story...

I read the stories on the ghosts at the Toronto ghost society web site. The Mount Albert one is truly a great tale. In addition to what Lynda wrote, may I add that the little old lady , who continues to live in the house was very pleasant. I used to see her regularily. She would sit in her rocking chair in the front upstairs room in the evening and knit. Sometimes, I would see her walk down the stairs and watch her leave the house. She wore a 1800 style dress , was short and slightly plump.

July 2004 - Reader's Update

"Upon reading your posting on the TGHRS website I thought you may find my experience interesting. As a child (approx. 17 years ago), my mother was good friends with the woman who owned the Mount Albert "Royal Oaks Hotel". One year during the March Break my mother, younger brother and I spent a week at her home to dog-sit while she was on vacation. By our second night in the home, all three of us were sleeping in the same bed, along with the dog! At the time we were not aware of the reported ghost sightings, but all the same we knew there was something wrong. I would spend hours on the couch reading, which was located upstairs at the front of the home (were the little old lady is reportedly sighted), and I would avoid using the upstairs bathroom every chance I got. The bathroom had a closet that I was absolutely petrified of opening (and remember I had no idea of the hauntings), and I always felt as though I was being watched. Only after we left did my mother's friend ask if we had seen anything strange. We never spent another March break in Mount Albert."

Our thanks to the witness for sharing their experience to us.

September 2006 - Reader's Update

"I just read about the ghost in the old hotel at the top of the hill in Mt. Albert. I always had my suspicions about that place...


Anyway, just at the bottom of the hill, on Main St. is the Prince Albert Pub, which used to be owned by the pharmacist in town many years ago. I know a number of people who work there and there are many stories about the ghost of the pharmacist's daughter, Emily, who seems to live in the Women's Washroom at the top, back of the house. They had reported lights turning on and off, taps being turned on from time to time and the sound of footsteps. Also, when women enter the washroom, she gets upset unless you say 'Hello, Emily' and 'Goodbye, Emily' when you leave.


What exactly getting the girl 'upset' means has never been clearly explained to me, though I've asked.


It would be worth investigating further."



Our thanks to our reader for sharing the above report.