If you're a Canadian explorer who loves to frequent the trails, hamlets, and hotels of the Rocky Mountains, you’re not alone. From the Fairmont Ghosts in Banff, to the phantoms of Dead Man’s Flats, the Canadian Rockies offer everything from spooky hotels to cursed hamlets. And with Halloween right around the corner, there’s no better time to discover the most frightening folklore in Canada - hidden behind the summits...
Ghost Stories from the Canadian Rockies
These ghost stories from the Canadian Rockies may make you squeamish, especially on Halloween when spirits are particularly active. However, if the thought of haunted, beaten paths, mountain passes, and ghost stories excites you, then read on - if you dare!
The Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel in Banff, Alberta, whose history dates back to the late 19th century, is not just one of the most famous hotels in the world; it’s also one of the spookiest. If you’re thinking of staying at the Castle of the Rockies this Halloween season, you may want to think twice if you’re scared of apparitions.
Having hosted its fair share of celebrities - from Marilyn Monroe to Queen Elizabeth - the hotel has also entertained guests who checked in… but never left. If that's what you're in to, you can take a ghost tour right on site to learn more about the hotel's spooky residents.
1. The Banff Bride
As legends go, in the 1920s, the Banff Bride was walking down one of the hotel’s iconic marble staircases when, on her way to get married, she slipped and fell to her death. While it’s unclear exactly what caused her to trip, reports indicate that she was startled by something she saw on her way down the stairs. Staff and residents have described seeing a swathed Spector moving up and down the marble staircases throughout the hotel. They’ve also communicated sightings of her in the ballroom.
Describing the bride’s ghost as a dancing, translucent body in a wedding gown, residents assume she is still longing for that first dance with her husband-to-be that she never got to experience.
2. Sam The Bellman
If you’re looking for top-notch assistance from the hotel staff at whatever lodgings you choose to stay in, the Fairmont Banff Springs is a prime choice, in no small part because of Sam’s ghost.
Sam McCauley worked as an attendant at the hotel throughout the 1960s and early 70s, before his passing in 1975. A cheerful Scot, he’s known for serving guests before and after his death. Visitors have described seeing his ghost in a benevolent fashion when they need support from the staff - one event recalls a pair of elderly women repeatedly calling the bell desk for help after they found their key wouldn’t work. While the regular bellman was away from his desk and didn’t come back for 15 minutes, Sam’s ghost had supposedly done the job for him. By the time the former had arrived to help the two women, their door was already open. The ladies described an elderly bellman in a plaid jacket, precisely matching Sam’s description, who had assisted them.
Similar stories include guests seeing Sam haunting his former office - which is now a guest room - on the mezzanine floor. There have also been sightings of his ghost and the feeling of cold spots on the sixth, seventh, and ninth floors of the Fairmont.
3. Fairmont Cursed Hotel Rooms
On a more general note, if you get a kick out of haunted lodge rooms, the Banff Springs Fairmont is the place to be. Despite hotel stakeholders and staff refusing to reveal specific room numbers, it’s a known fact that numerous quarters throughout the hotel are possessed. Over the years, visitors have reported experiencing everything from having the pillows yanked out from under their heads by an invisible force to flat out being pushed off the bed by some unseen entity.
For those of you familiar with The Overlook Hotel in Steven King’s The Shining, a similar story is reported to have taken place at the Fairmont. Legendary accounts claim that the family was murdered in one of the rooms. If you wake up to the sounds of screaming, it might not be your neighbouring guests having a blast - it might actually be the spirits of this deceased family. The room is now covered and inaccessible, so you shouldn’t have a problem staying out of it.
Many hotel patrons have reported seeing bloody handprints on mirrors when they've turned on the lights. Varying accounts have stated that the handprints either disappeared prior to hotel staff having a chance to clean them, or wouldn’t come off at all.
Bottom line is this: if you’re in need of a helpful apparition - one who’s attentive even when the staff aren’t -you might actually benefit a lot from staying at the Fairmont. If, however, ghosts absolutely terrify you… you’ve been warned!
4. The Legend of Dead Man’s Flats
Thinking about hiking through Bow Valley? You’re not alone. People have not just been visiting, but immigrating to this beautiful pass along the Bow River in Alberta for centuries. That’s how hamlets like Dead Man’s Flats came to be.
But why is it called Dead Man’s Flats? Well… at the turn of the 20th century, brothers Louis, Jean, and François Marret had just as much of an interest in exploring the dale between the Canadian Rockies as you do. Having emigrated from France to Canada - Canmore - in 1898, the brothers began journeying westward in order to participate in the gold rush. They arrived in Bow Valley with scant resources and lots of ambition. They even established a dairy farm on the flats where Pigeon Creek enters the Bow River. Yet despite Louis eventually hitting the jackpot in Yukon’s 1906 Klondike gold rush, it took some bloodshed dodging for him to get there.
That’s right: In the early morning hours of May 11, 1904, François savagely slaughtered Jean in his bed at the dairy farm with an ax. He then disposed of his brother’s body into the Bow River - hence the name Dead Man’s Flats.
Another interpretation of the inspiration behind the name comes from the - Îyârhe - Stoney Nakoda First Nation, who claim that the hamlet’s moniker is rooted in a story of local trappers faking death to avoid trouble with a national park warden - who had authority over the region as part of Banff National Park until 1930.
Whatever the true story behind the macabre naming of this iconic hamlet is, it’s clear that this place is bloody haunted.
5. Hoodoos, Alberta
While located beyond the Canadian Rockies, you may want to check out the beautiful steeples of rock called Hoodoos in Drumheller, Alberta - that look like something out of the Jurassic age. Rising as high as 45 meters, Canadian legends tend to refute the geological explanation behind these formations - that mega years of abrasion eroded a bottom layer of soft rock and left the tottering, bulky hard rock layers stabilizing on a narrow trunk - instead favouring a more symbolic reason for their unique appearance. The folklore in Canada claims that these standing stones, which are coined “fairy chimneys”, were once people until witches cast a spell on them. Similar myths tell of wayfarers hiking up the Drumheller Hoodoos trail and witnessing the rocks unveil their true identity: that of wizards, who guided them in the right direction.
According to Blackfoot and Cree traditions, these hoodoo formations are petrified giants who awaken at night to defend their land, hurling stones at trespassers. Meanwhile, a Paiute legend tells of ancient people transformed into stone as punishment for their wrongdoings, giving rise to the colourful hoodoos that stand as sentinels of the past.
Regardless of their true nature, these monoliths are well-established in Canadian folklore, even having Hoodoos Viewpoint, a hiking range in Banff, Alberta, named after them.
6. Bankhead Ghost Town, Banff
Are you missing some terror in your adventures across the Canadian Rockies? Well you’re in luck because Bankhead, Alberta - a Canadian ghost town - is located a mere 10 km from Banff.
What’s the story behind the Bankhead ghost town? Just over a century ago, a population of 1500 people crowded this former coal-mining settlement. However, the mines were shut down in the 1920s, causing the town's inhabitants to leave. Thus was created one of Canada’s most eerie abandoned villages.
Though not quite as gruesome as the story behind the Headless Valley - an alternate name for Nahanni National Park Reserve in the Northwest Territories, where a handful of people were found murdered and decapitated along the banks of the river from 1908-1945 by an unknown slayer - Bankhead’s ghost town is still a spooky retreat for those of you looking for a morbid kick to your hikes this Halloween season.
7. Kicking Horse Pass, BC
For those of you seeking some excitement in the province next door, you may have heard of Golden, BC, home to one of our favourite RCR ski resorts - Kicking Horse Mountain Resort.
But did you know that its famous valley and river called Kicking Horse Pass come from a weird and unfortunate occurrence? That’s right. In 1858, geologist James Hector was travelling with geographer and explorer John Palliser on a voyage through the Rocky Mountains to lengthen the railway. Yet one of their pack horses got loose and ran into the nearby river. Thinking fast, Hector quickly pursued the stallion on his own horse. Though he caught up to the loose horse and successfully tied him to his own mount, the two horses started exchanging blows. Within seconds Hector was kicked in the head by his horse, causing him to go comatose. He was so deadened that the Indigenous guides traveling with him and Palliser thought that Hector was… well… dead. So they dug a grave for him. But on their way to bury Hector, the guides discovered that he was, in fact, alive. Needless to say, they named the remainder of the expedition as well as the railroad later built through the valley after this uncanny event - who said ghost stories can’t have a happy ending, right?!
8. Sasquatch
Looks like bears aren’t the only grisly entities in the Canadian Rockies. According to Indigenous legends, the Sasquatch, AKA Bigfoot, has been roaming the mountaintops for several hundred years.
Though the term “Sasquatch” is an adapted version of the term sásq’ets, used by the Halkomelem First Nations to describe a mysterious, mythical “wild man”, it was officially conceived in English in the 1920s by a Canadian government agent named J. W. Burns. Burns made up the term when publishing a series of newspaper articles based on Indigenous stories he collected during his Western expeditions.
While scientists claim that Bigfoot sightings are mistaken encounters with grizzlies or black bears, Sasquatch Mountain Resort is named after him, and Rocky Mountaineer’s official “Field Guide to Local Wildlife ” argues otherwise - demonstrating how entrenched the legend is in Canadian mythology.
If you’re seriously on the lookout for Bigfoot, then keep an eye out for a three-meter tall beast with ape-like facial features, or a 60 cm long footprint.
Fun fact: the Alberta Sasquatch Organization is a small group of Bigfoot enthusiasts that organizes public research expeditions in the Canadian Rockies.
9. Ogopogo
And if the Sasquatch isn’t enough, then head to the Okanagan Lake in BC to witness the Ogopogo, a 15-25 meter long water-snake purported to have survived the ice age.
The Secwepemc and Syilx peoples of the Okanagan Valley still refer to it as the N’ha-a-a-itk, protector of the lake, despite its moniker having been changed to make it sound friendlier - seeing as how sightings of the serpent have become commonplace since the 1870s. The most recent sighting of the Ogopogo was in 2020, and was even reported by Global News.
So there you have it: the beauty and the beastliness of the Canadian Rockies. Which haunted parts of the Rocky Mountains Canada are you going to check out this Halloween? Let us know on our Instagram - which you can also follow to receive consistent updates about hiking, mountain biking, snowboarding, and environmentally conscious initiatives in the Canadian Rockies.
Have a blast - or a fright if that’s what you’re into - on your hikes this fall, and Happy Halloween!
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