Empress Hotel — Victoria's haunted grand dame on the Inner Harbour

The Fairmont Empress Hotel in downtown Victoria, British Columbia, is one of Canada's most iconic hotels and one of its most haunted. Opened in 1908, the château-style hotel sits prominently on Victoria's Inner Harbour and has hosted royalty, heads of state, and celebrities for over a century. The hotel's most frequently reported ghost is that of Francis Rattenbury, the architect who designed the Empress, the British Columbia Parliament Buildings, and numerous other landmarks. Rattenbury was murdered by his wife's lover in 1935 in England, and his ghost is said to have returned to his masterpiece. Staff have described seeing a man in Edwardian-era clothing in the lobby and corridors, who appears to be inspecting the building with a critical eye. Room 669 is considered the most haunted room, with guests reporting the apparition of an elderly woman knitting in a rocking chair. Other phenomena include the sound of a chamber orchestra playing in the Crystal Ballroom when it is empty, cold spots in the hallways of the older wings, and the persistent smell of pipe tobacco in areas where smoking has been banned for decades. The Empress's ivy-covered walls, its position overlooking the harbour with the Olympic Mountains in the distance, and Victoria's reputation as the most British city in Canada all contribute to its thoroughly atmospheric haunted character.