Haunted History
Real Hauntings. Real History. Legends come to life as you embark on an intriguing journey through hundreds of years of Windsor’s haunted past. Join us as we uncover how progress concealed the long-buried secrets of hidden cemeteries, inhuman practices and the shocking private lives of long-dead famous citizens. Professional guides escort you on a three-hour adventure to search for the lost souls of early residents and the eternally restless. Come with an open mind and leave with an enhanced understanding of things that go bump in the night.
The Spirits of Windsor Tour beyond the realm of previous ghost tours by introducing Windsor to a newer genre of tourism called “Dark” tourism, a term coined in 1996 and defined as tourism involving travel to places historically associated with death and tragedy. Dark Tourism is one of the very first forms of tourism as people visited sites such as catacombs and ancient ruins of gladiator stadiums and religious sites. On The Spirits of Windsor Tour, we will expose events previously hidden in the shadows of our past. No one talks about these events and you won’t find much trace of them. Our approach to the subject is both sensitive and serious and we hope our passengers will keep an open mind that involves engaging with local history and culture.
The Detroit River
From the burial grounds of native inhabitants to the wars of European settlers and ambitions of modern industrialists, the Detroit River has been instrumental to Windsor’s history. The strait that connects Lake Erie and Lake St. Clair has silently witnessed human suffering for centuries and our tour gathers on its banks to tell the stories of people who perished along the shore and in the fast-moving waters.
THE GREAT WESTERN RAILROAD
From the Great Pyramids to the Panama Canal, human suffering is always found in places where the force of progress wrestles the power of the natural world. The expansion of the southwestern railroad was crucial to the commercial and residential growth of Ontario and Michigan, but a great toll of human life was paid. Our tour visits the location of a particularly tragic and cruel episode in Windsor’s industrial history.
HIRAM WALKER EXECUTIVE OFFICE BUILDING
The former global headquarters of a famous whisky empire is one of Windsor’s most haunted locations. Those who walked the Renaissance marble halls weren’t encouraged to share their ghostly encounters yet archival evidence matched with first-person experiences reveal how the dead often linger in the places of their untimely demise.
WILLISTEAD MANOR
Willistead Manor is an architectural marvel constructed by whisky empire heir Edward Chandler Walker and his wife Mary. Despite the glamour of the mansion, the high society couple didn’t live within its luxurious walls for very long. Our tour meets the ghost of Mary Walker between the shadows of her former home and final resting place to hear her sad story.