Saskatoon News October 30, 2014

Saskatoon one of Canada’s spookiest cities. Read, if you dare!

 

Halloween is tomorrow and it’s difficult not to think about ghosts and goblins and getting that eerie, creepy feeling is somewhat inevitable.

In a recent national survey conducted by MissTravel.com, over 12,000 Canadians polled ranked Saskatoon as the fifth spookiest city in the country. The winner? Montreal was ranked as the spookiest.

The City is filled with folklore and tales beyond the grave but the vast majority of legends come from the University of Saskatchewan. The U of S is offering it’s annual ghost walk again this year and the University has no shortage of haunted tales. Among the over 14 tales of ghastly ghouls and unexplained mysteries at our local campus there are some tales that are a bit more spooktacular than others. Read on, if you dare!

Saskatchewan Hall
With it’s eerie top floor leading to the tower and it’s chilling basement, Saskatchewan Hall is known for its history with the supernatural. There have been sightings of a chalky human figure in the residence. The figure watches students in their dorms, but upon being noticed floats into empty corners and dissipates. Despite its curious interest in students, the figure is not known to be malevolent.
The Tunnels
Often mistaken for a cool breeze, the ghost of a deceased engineering student roams the tunnels beneath the university. Legend has it when the student dropped out due to his excessive partying, he took to living in the tunnels in shame of his failure and bankruptcy. He survived by stealing money and food from passersby. Years later, university staff are said to have found his decomposing body in the tunnels.
John Mitchell Building
A deceased student by the name of Hank supposedly haunts the drama department. He has been seen by audience members during a production of Hamlet and, to this day, he is still seen looming about the rafters and sets of the department. Before each opening performance, the cast and crew give him a peace offering of marshmallows.
Murray Library
This morbid tale originates from the mystery of why the shelves of the Murray Library’s upper floors are never full. The engineer who designed the library did not take into account the weight of books and as a result the building would supposedly collapse if the shelves were filled to capacity. The head librarian, who acted as a liaison with the engineer, was so ashamed of her lapse that she jumped from the library’s roof. Her ghost now haunts the library, removing books from the upper floors and is rumoured to be the cause of the library’s many missing books.

The spooky tales don’t stop here, the 107 year old campus is filled with history and even mystery. Take the ghost walk offered by the U of S and learn some of it’s lesser known eerie history.

 

Kari Calder

Saskatoon real estate agent

Century 21 Fusion

Kari@saskatoonrealestate.net