Local author shares haunting Guelph stories with new book

Guelph has its share of good ghost stories.

From the mystery behind the woman who haunts the Albion, to spine-chilling tales from the old correctional centre, local author and historian, Bonnie Durtnall, uncovers all that spooks with her latest book, Haunted Guelph.

Durtnall shares plenty of the whispered stories locally of ghostly visitors who share well-known historic places from years past and present.

“Not everyone believes in ghosts. This is for anyone who has an interest in Guelph or in the supernatural. And people do. This is something that a lot of people are curious about,” Durtnall said.

“If you want to know stories that go beyond the basic haunted stories associated with the Albion, for example, or Guelph’s burial grounds, then this book offers a different perspective, as well as some of Guelph’s history.”

Durnall calls Haunted Guelph 'creative non-fiction'.

“It is non-fiction, but it’s also creative because various elements evolve. Some people might call it fiction because they don’t believe in it at all,” Durtnall said.

“I cover stories beyond the usual. Of course, there are those stories about the Albion, the Armoury, Baker Street, and the courthouse. Those are 'the big four' in Guelph. But I go beyond that.”

Durtnall said people were keen to share their scary stories.

“Haunted Guelph covers a lot of areas in Guelph including houses from stories that I had passed on to me or heard or read somewhere, where there has been a haunting of some sort,” Durtnall said.  

There are few people who are as passionate about researching Guelph’s unwritten past, as Durtnall.

“This isn’t not just ghost story after ghost story. There is history included as well,” Durtnall said.

“I do quite a bit of research. It is a book on Guelph but not everyone is familiar with Guelph so I give a little bit of history about the Guelph Correctional Centre for example, when it was built, and how the mentally unstable were mixed in with the population at one time."

The idea to write about Guelph’s haunted stories was suggested to Durtnall two years ago. At that time, she was writing her third book, Labouring All Our Lives, which focuses on the role working class people played in forming many of the city’s continued traditions and characteristics.

Durtnall began working on Haunted Guelph last year.

She received stories from Guelph Ghost Walk guide, Greg Taylor, as well as from ‘J’ from Guelph Urbex, who offers guided walking tours and paranormal investigations in Guelph.

Durtnall heard many haunting accounts, including one in particular, from a former Guelph Correctional Centre employee.

“I could probably write a small book on the centre alone. I was very lucky with the correctional centre because it covers the time when guards worked there. One of the former guards told me stories about an elevator near the hospital wing that went up and down, of its own accord,” Durtnall said.

Power had been shut to the building. As the guard wandered around with a flashlight, he witnessed the elevator go up and down, with no one inside.

"A friend of mine also shared her own story about the elevator. He said that you had to use a special key to open it. Only guards had this key. That’s how it was engaged. And then you push the floor button. So, it was a three-step process in order to get it to operate. No one could just go in to turn it on,” Durtnall said.

For years, Durtnall has researched the history of Guelph.

“I love to explore the working class here, what they did, and what the factories were like. People lived and worked here, many of them wanting a new start coming from countries like Italy or Ireland," Durtnall said.

"In Haunted Guelph, unless it’s a public building such as the armoury or the courthouse, I don’t give the name of the street or the name of the people who told me the story. Sometimes, I will give just the initials in place of full name. The only house number I used was that of the 'Harvey' murder house because it has been torn down, so people can’t go there."

Haunted Guelph was released two weeks ago, just in time for Halloween. It is available at the Bookshelf or email at [email protected]

On October 26, at 7 p.m., Durtnall will share stories from Haunted Guelph for adults at the Guelph Public Library. People are invited to register here.

Durtnall has written much about the 'darker or weirder' side of Guelph.

“This seems to have become my own little niche,” Durtnall said.

“In this book, you can find out more about one of Guelph's most well known ghost stories. I do go about finding out who I think was the real woman who haunts the Albion. But I will not tell..."