'We’re pretty sure the monkey is the culprit': Calgary’s most haunted houses and spooky stories

Calgary has its fair share of haunted houses and spooky stories that range from fun to frightening:

THE HOSE & HOUND

The Hose & Hound

Inglewood, Calgary’s oldest neighbourhood, is home to many of them.

Those working at the Hose & Hound say patrons aren’t the only ones playing around.

“We hear all kinds of different sounds. There’s pool cues that move at night, pool balls that move by themselves at night and there’s pictures downstairs and the eyes will follow you around,” said TJ Kastner, a bartender.

The pub was Calgary’s Fire Station No. 3 from 1906 to 1952.

As the city’s first fire chief, James “Cappy” Smart worked in the fire hall part-time.

He loved exotic pets, one of which was a monkey that had to be put down after it attacked and bit a child.

Many believe the ghost of the monkey is still hanging around.

“We’re pretty sure the monkey is the culprit responsible for all the kitchen activity,” Kastner said.

“He turns on the dishwasher back there pretty often and kind of shakes the pots and pans around when people are cooking back there.”

Kastner said his most memorable experience was when he got a helping hand while cleaning.

“I was sweeping up a little mess and every time I’d go back to get the broom, it would be in a new spot. So, I didn’t really know what was going on. I just assumed it was the monkey because we all always kind of do.”

People also claim to hear horse hooves outside and inside the station, along with neighing.

One of them is believed to be Cappy’s horse, Lightning, who died in a fire.

DEANE HOUSE

Deane House

One of the city’s most well-known haunted spots is the Deane House.

It was built in 1906 and is closely associated with Richard Burton Deane, superintendent of Fort Calgary from 1906 to 1914.

In 1971, a man murdered his wife at the house then took his own life.

Ever since, the ghost of a man with a tobacco pipe has been seen wandering.

“Also reports of phones ringing that are disconnected, fire alarms going off when there’s no fire or anyone in that space,” said Josh Traptow, CEO of Heritage Calgary.

The Deane House is now a restaurant.

SUITOR HOUSE

Suitor House

Built in 1908 in the Queen Anne Revival style, the Suitor House was once a boarding house.

During that time, a young couple lived there. The husband, a railroad worker, would jump onto moving train cars nearby, until one day he slipped off and died.

His distraught wife died shortly after of a broken heart.

“The rumour is that it’s his widow that now haunts the Suitor House. People have seen shadows, you know, just ghostly things happening here,” Traptow said.

The Suitor House has since been turned into medical offices.

ALEXANDRA SCHOOL

Alexandra School

Alexandra Centre, which operated as a school from 1902 to 1963, is reportedly haunted by a former caretaker named Joe who died in the building’s stairwell.

“People have reported hearing footsteps, basically this former caretaker doing his rounds when he worked at the school,” Traptow said.

“So, shadows, noises, things being moved around, maybe some jingling of keys.”

AIRDRIE HOUSE

Airdrie House

Heritage Park also boasts paranormal activity.

Behind its old-fashioned charm lie stories of otherworldly encounters and spine-tingling history.

The Airdrie House, built in 1906, is one place no ghost guide dares go in.

“It’s that gut feeling that you get that you’re not supposed to be in here. Hands are really common in this house like feeling as if someone’s trying to push you out of the house, push you down the stairs and out,” said Natalie Heaton, ghost guide at Heritage Park.

“This house in particular does not like women and does not like ghost guides, thus why I don’t go in.”

Heaton said many believe the house itself isn’t haunted, but the artifacts inside, taken from ghost towns in B.C., are.

“The temperature, regardless of if it’s 30 C or -30 C outside, it’s always 10 C in the home. It never changes,” she said.

PRINCE HOUSE

Prince House

The Prince House is also said to have a lot of ghost activity.

Peter Prince built the house in 1894, but his wife Margaret died in the house shortly after. He went on to have three other wives who also died. It’s said he, too, died in the house.

Technology often fails or dies in the house, especially on the second floor, and people report hearing footsteps as well as doors opening and closing.

Heaton used to be an interpreter at the house and has enough stories to fill a book.

During one of her first years working there, she was locking up after a tough day and got an unexpected message.

“I had to go upstairs and just wipe down the windows that look into each of the rooms. As I was kneeling in front of the master bedroom, I sprayed the Windex, looked down, ripped the paper towel and when I looked back up, drawn in the freshly sprayed Windex was a little smiley face,” she said.

Heaton said most of her interactions at the Prince House have been positive — something she’s always been mindful of by saying “hello and good morning” each time she enters the house and “thank you and goodnight” when she leaves.

GLEDHILL’S DRUG STORE

Gledhill’s Drug Store

There’s a long dead cat that still walks around meowing inside Gledhill’s Drug Store in Heritage Park.

“Apparently it loves its owner so much that it still walks around in the pharmacy to this day, looking for its owner,” Heaton said.

It goes to show not all cats only have nine lives.

“I always invite people to keep their eye open because you never know when it’ll appear.”