Bytown Museum — Colonel By's ghost builds Ottawa from beyond the grave

The Bytown Museum in Ottawa, Ontario, is housed in the oldest stone building in the city, constructed in 1827 as a commissariat for the building of the Rideau Canal. The museum is said to be haunted by Colonel John By, the Royal Engineer who supervised the construction of the canal — a massive undertaking that connected Ottawa to Kingston through 202 kilometres of waterway. Colonel By, who was recalled to England in disgrace after cost overruns and died shortly after, is believed to have returned to the building where he oversaw his greatest work. Staff have described seeing a figure in early 19th-century military uniform in the museum's upper rooms, hearing the sound of papers shuffling and quill pens scratching in the archive room, and experiencing cold spots near the windows overlooking the canal locks. The museum's location beside the Ottawa Locks, where the Rideau Canal descends through eight locks to the Ottawa River, means that the ghost of Colonel By can survey his masterpiece from the very building where the work was planned. The canal, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, transforms in winter into the world's largest skating rink, and some observers claim to see Colonel By's figure standing at the window, watching skaters glide across his creation.