Hatley Castle — the haunted estate of Royal Roads University, Colwood, BC

Hatley Castle in Colwood, British Columbia, is a grand Edwardian estate built in 1908 by James Dunsmuir, the former Premier and Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia. The castle, now part of Royal Roads University, sits on a 650-acre waterfront property with formal gardens and is best known internationally as a filming location for the X-Men films. Hatley Castle's haunted reputation predates its Hollywood fame. The ghost most frequently reported is that of Laura Dunsmuir, James's wife, who is said to appear in the upper floors of the castle and in the gardens, wearing a white gown. Staff and students at Royal Roads have described hearing footsteps in the castle's corridors at night, seeing lights in the tower rooms when no one is present, and feeling a strong, watchful presence in the grand entrance hall. The castle's formal garden, with its rose beds and Italian garden terraces, has also been the site of sightings — Laura Dunsmuir was passionate about her gardens and apparently continues to tend them in death. The property's coastal setting, overlooking the Strait of Juan de Fuca with the Olympic Mountains visible across the water, gives Hatley Castle a dramatic beauty that complements its supernatural reputation.