Do you believe in ghosts?
If you like the spine-tingling stories of Calgary’s haunted hoods, you might want to check out the Inglewood Ghost Tour courtesy of Heritage Calgary.
Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek and Heritage Calgary CEO Josh Traptow did a walking tour to three of the eight locations on Monday: The Deane House, The Hose and Hound Pub and the AE Cross House (Rouge Restaurant).
It’s Heritage Calgary’s 12th self-guided walking tour.
“We thought launching it in time for Halloween was a great opportunity for Calgarians to get out to learn about heritage – and everyone loves haunted buildings,” Traptow said.
OK, but will we see ghosts?
“We might. You never know what you might see in Inglewood,” Traptow said.
The mayor said she appreciates this kind of event to help raise awareness about Calgary’s past.
“I think it’s important to remember how many components of history and heritage we have in our city,” Mayor Gondek said.
The mayor said her favourite horror movie is The Exorcist and she watches it every year. She wants to prove to herself that she can get over the fear (but never does, she said.)
“I love Halloween. I love ghosty things. So, this is a great opportunity,” the mayor said.
Fire station turned pub
Megan Maccallum has worked at the Hose and Hound Pub for 14 years. She’s heard all the haunted stories, but never experienced any of the ghastly situations for herself. Her old boss passed the legends down.
“Our old owner, boss, he had tons of stories,” Maccallum said.
“Sometimes weird things still happen in the kitchen.”
Maccallum said that visitors pop in regularly asking about the lore at old Firehall No. 3. Most of it they find in information online, she said.
Apparently, a monkey haunts this location, a pet of the former fire chief Cappy Smart. As the legend goes, the monkey bit a child and had to be put down. Now, it hangs around the kitchen and plays with the dishwasher. It’s been known to move glasses around or make its way to the billiard tables and throws the balls around.
Also, since it was built in 1906 when horses drew the water-carrying wagons, you can hear the eerie neighs of equine past. That might be a bit chilling.
Anyone can visit the Heritage Calgary website and go to the walking tour page and download the spooky sites.
“You can knock it off in a morning or an afternoon or an evening but we kind of just put together all of the hauntings of Inglewood into one a one stop shop,” Traptow said.
