Terrified Night Watchmen

Waterfront Station

Waterfront Station is an old train depot in downtown Vancouver, B.C. Canada. Located in the western historic Gastown district, this grand building reflects the golden luxury era of train travel.

The station’s elegance was featured in the American television show The X-Files. A statue located on the southeast corner of the building known as Angel of Victory was featured in one episode.

Angel of Victory
Honors soldiers killed in
World War l.

This station recently celebrated its 100-year anniversary. It was built in 1915 by the Canadian Pacific Railroad and is still a busy transportation hub for the lower mainland.

As one Canadian journalist put it a building this old cannot survive without quirks. Waterfront Station is considered Vancouver’s most haunted.

In recent years, multiple night watchmen who work in the station during graveyard shifts have seen apparitions and experienced poltergeist activity.

This activity is so pronounced it has terrified them.

A favorite encounter happened late one night. A guard spotted a woman dressed in a 1920s flapper outfit dancing solo through one corridor on the west side of the station. He also heard 1920s music. When he approached this female the music stopped abruptly and she vanished.

Another guard experienced what he characterized as “the fright of his life” while he patrolled the northwest corner of the building. He entered one empty room with only his flashlight for light.

He spotted the ghost of a “little old lady.” A bright glowing light surrounded her. He described her as having a mournful expression. As he stood rooted to the floor, this woman reached out to him.

He bolted from the room. Later he stated he had no idea how he managed this for he had been in a state of shock.

Yet another security guard inspecting the upper floor on the east side of the building experienced poltergeist activity. As he walked through one room used to store old desks something caught his attention.

He became aware he was not alone. Seeing nothing amiss he became nervous. He decided to leave. When he turned around to exit he found the desks had all been moved together silently.

They now blocked his exit path. In a panic he jumped on top of one and ran from the room.

Many other night watchmen have reported hearing the sound of phantom footsteps strike the station’s tiled floors and soft disembodied voices when they are the only ones in the building.

One sight that is often reported by the guards involves three ghosts. They state they watched three old ladies sitting on one particular station bench in the middle of the night. It appears they are waiting for a train that never arrives.

Ghostly soldiers are sometimes spotted in Waterfront. This station was heavily used during both the first and second world wars.

One stark apparition often seen appears on the north side of the station on the tracks outside.

This was just one of a series of
stamps issued in Canada recognizing
the countries most famous
ghost stories in 2015.

In 1926, a brakeman while making repairs was killed in the rail yard. He was knocked unconscious by falling debris on the tracks. Tragically, a passenger train then ran over him, decapitating his head.

Since, many have reported seeing this headless brakeman roaming the tracks--especially in rainy weather. He carries a glowing lantern in one hand.

This apparition has also been seen in other parts of Gastown. The Old Spaghetti Factory a restaurant in the area also lays claim to this ghost.

People wonder if he is still on the job or if he is just looking for his head.

Victoria's Haunted Speakeasy

This is a 1^st person account from a long-time employee at one of the oldest hotels in Victoria B.C., Canada.

The Speakeasy

No one was in the hotel’s basement in the early morning hours. 

Every day as a part of my job in security I checked all the public rooms in a 100 plus year old hotel. I would start on the 3^rd floor and work my way downstairs to the hotel’s basement.

This room had been used as a speakeasy 80 years before. It was long abandoned and gathering dust in the years I did my rounds.

There were still remnants of this 1920s era visible. The mosaic Romanesque tiles originally placed with care, the tall stately wooden columns that lined the large ballroom floor, the dark wood that paneled the walls, and the large stone fireplace with its prominent hearth that once warmed the room all remained.

Feelings of Anger

As soon as I would hop on the old creaky elevator that took me down to the basement feelings of trepidation would surface. This was one part of my job I did not enjoy.

Few people ventured down to this room, except to retrieve supplies that were stored or random maintenance men who were called in to repair something.

I normally entered the old creaky elevator around 6:00 a.m. when the hotel was still quiet. The elevator would make its way slowly down always stopping with a thud. This is when it would happen.

In the few moments before I slid the door open I would hear the distinct sounds normally associated with a rowdy party. The first time this happened I thought the loud chatter and laughter must be guests who had stayed up all night. But when I opened the elevator door no one was in the basement.

I heard these jubilate sounds every morning moments before I exited the elevator. Once I opened the door these conversations ended in mid-sentence-- I sensed that I was an unwelcome intruder.

Typical speakeasy 1920s

I felt many eyes turn in my direction. Even though there was no physical evidence of what I heard and sensed the resentment at my presence became more pronounced as the days passed.

One unseen partygoer seemed more hostile than the rest. I felt this was a man who stood near the elevator as I entered the room. I sensed he followed me around the room. I often heard female voices before I slid the door open telling him that I meant no harm.

I became determined to catch sight of these ghosts before they disappeared. I would hold my breath as the elevator stopped then I would jerk the door open rapidly trying to take them by surprise but this never worked even though I still felt their presence.

Sometimes they even surrounded me. I picked up a wide range of emotions in the room--these included everything from anger to curiosity.

One Sighting

In the year before this hotel was torn down to make way for a modern parking structure and a new glass building I had two more unusual experiences.

One morning as I a stood in hotel’s main nightclub I looked up to see a yellow shimmering object pass in front of me about 30 feet away. I was amazed as this form took shape. It was a young woman wearing a yellow t-shirt with black corduroy pants.

Below her knees her legs were transparent, I could see the wall through them. This figure became aware of my presence and locked eyes with me. She then smiled kindly and continued to move through the room. As she approached the wall she disappeared.

Six months later, down in the old speakeasy I was describing to another worker what I had seen upstairs. He and several employees recently had sensed a strong unseen presence as they moved an old ice machine into the room.

At the exact moment I described what she looked like a fuse blew with a loud bang. I feel strongly that this was the same female ghost letting me know she heard our conversation.