Fort Garry Hotel - Haunted Hotel in Winnipeg, Manitoba

Built between 1911 and 1913 by the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway at the junction of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers, the Fort Garry Hotel opened as a luxury accommodation originally planned to be called The Selkirk. Named after Upper Fort Garry and designated a National Historic Landmark, this grand hotel has hosted royalty including Queen Elizabeth and King George VI, along with celebrities like Laurence Olivier, Louis Armstrong, and Liberace. Yet it's the hotel's reputation as one of Canada's most haunted locations that draws visitors from around the world, particularly those seeking an encounter in the infamous Room 202. Room 202 stands as the hotel's most haunted location, scene of a tragedy in the 1920s that continues to manifest today. A young couple of newlyweds checked into the room, but the bride developed a severe headache and sent her husband out to purchase headache pills. While he was gone, tragedy struck—the husband was accidentally killed by a horse-drawn cart in the street. When news reached the bride that her husband would never return, she was overcome with grief. The devastated woman committed suicide by hanging herself in the room's closet, unable to bear life without her beloved. Some accounts place this tragedy in the 1920s, while others suggest it may have occurred later, but the horror of that day has permanently stained Room 202. The paranormal phenomena in Room 202 are among the most intense documented in Canadian hotels. Staff have entered the room to discover blood dripping down the walls, though no source can be found and it vanishes shortly after. The bride's apparition appears as a woman in a cloak or white gown, hovering at the foot of guests' beds at night, still waiting for her husband's return. Most disturbingly, guests report the physical sensation of someone getting into bed with them. In 2004, former Ontario Liberal MP Brenda Chamberlain, a self-described skeptic, stayed in Room 202 and was awoken twice in one night by the sensation of someone climbing into bed with her—an experience that challenged her skepticism. Another touching account involves a young boy on a Make-a-Wish trip who was fascinated with hauntings and specifically requested to stay in Room 202. He took numerous pictures with his film camera throughout the trip, but when the photos were developed, every single image turned out perfectly except those taken in or around Room 202—the boy believed the spirits were "camera shy." The same woman from Room 202 also haunts the hotel lounge, where staff and guests witness her crying in a corner, eternally mourning her lost love. Throughout the hotel, apparitions appear at the foot of beds in various rooms—sometimes a male figure, sometimes a female in a ball gown. In 1989, a kitchen employee working around 4 AM heard strange sounds coming from the locked dining room. After retrieving the key and opening the door, the employee witnessed a figure of a man sitting at a table. He ran to get another staff member, but when they returned, the figure had vanished. Perhaps most eerie is a 1989 incident when an overnight security guard found ten candles arranged in the shape of a star on the floor of the locked ballroom during a night when no events were scheduled and no one should have had access. Former Liberal MP Brenda Chamberlain's 2004 experience brought national attention to Room 202, and ghost enthusiasts now specifically request this room, hoping to encounter the eternally waiting bride. The Fort Garry Hotel stands as undoubtedly one of Canada's most haunted spots, where tragedy transformed into persistent supernatural phenomena.