A little over a month ago I won a facebook contest that got be two tickets to The Haunted Walk Ottawa. My wife and I had the chance to go with some friends this past weekend. Other than the free tickets, I have no association the Haunted walk.
I made the mistake of assuming that my friends would want the 8pm tour and when I found out they wanted the 8:45 I’d already booked the 8. I thought it might be a hassle to fix the tickets but a quick call and they fixed my mistake. No trouble at all.
“Haunted Walks Inc. was founded in 1995, and offers a variety of unique historical walking tours in Kingston, Ottawa and Toronto, Ontario. We are best known for our evening tours of local ghost stories and darker history. These tours take place when the lights are low and the atmosphere is just right for a good ghost story. You may recognize our Tour Guides who wear cloaks and carry a lantern as they lead their groups through the quiet city streets.” The Haunted Walk Website
We got there fifteen minutes early and it was a beautiful night. Cool but not cold, the smell of fall all around us. It couldn’t have been nicer weather if we’d been in a movie. We waited until the tour guides called us. The area was crowded due to it being the weekend, the events of last Wednesday, and Poutinefest on sparks. Other than the smokers, the wait wasn’t bad.
There were two tours leaving at the same time. We took the Classic tour which went down to the locks and the Bytown museum.
The guide, Paul I believe, was a perfect combination of wry humour and informative. It shows that the tour has worked on their stories, they are good ghost stories, the kind you’d read under the covers with your flashlight. The guide was friendly, professional, and appropriate at all times. The stories weren’t gory and were mixed between sad, scary, touching, interesting, and just fun. The tour would definitely be appropriate for children who like ghost stories.
At one point a breeze (or Ghost) slammed a door while he was speaking and scared everyone. It was one of those perfect moments for a haunted tour.
Overall I loved it and would do it again. I would however caution that it is a walking tour and lasts around 90 minutes. It’s mostly standing and walking which can be problematic for anyone with injuries or chronic back problems.
I highly recommend going and I plan on checking out their Time Travel themed tours that restart after the Halloween season.
Éric
