Haunted Talks

There are many people who have claimed to be able to contact the dead. Some identify as mediums or seers or psychics, saying they have a special ability to connect to the other side. For the purposes of this episode, we're not exploring or questioning the practice of séances or the identity of mediums; we're specifically looking at historical figures who have been exposed as frauds who were in the...

Last year around this time, a new horror-themed bookstore opened in Toronto.  Little Ghosts Bookstore and Café , with its fittingly eerie name, quickly became a favourite destination for bookworms, horror aficionados, and authors alike. We're thrilled to have owner, Chris Krawczyk , with us to share what it is like running this unique business. As an added bonus, Chris will also be providing us wi...

The  sinking of Titanic  continues to captivate our imaginations, but could there have been premonitions of the disaster? In this episode, retired professor Terry Keefe, author of " Premonitions of the Titanic Disaster ," shares some of the over 200 intriguing cases of premonitions and forewarnings related to the ill-fated luxury steamship. Drawing from difficult-to-obtain or out-of-print sources,...

In December 2003, the body of Joyce Carol Vincent was discovered in her London apartment. She had been dead for over two years. When the remains were found, her television set was still on and flickering away in the corner, Christmas presents were wrapped for the big day, and dishes were piled and patiently waiting to be washed in the sink. How did this happen? Who was this woman? How did no one n...

It is the 101st anniversary of one of the most perplexing and haunting true crime cases we have ever examined – the Hinterkaifeck Murders. Even though it has been 5 years since we first released this episode, we still often think about it and wonder what happened on that isolated farmstead on that fateful and dreadful night. Full of terrible twists and unsettling turns, it is one of the world's mo...

Join us as we explore the fascinating lives and careers of John Radclive and Arthur Ellis, two men who were tasked with carrying out the ultimate punishment – the death penalty. With hundreds of hangings between them, both have a claim to the title of Canada's Hangman. We delve into the complex and often controversial world of capital punishment, and the profound impact it can have on those respon...

Our guest,  Dr. Richard Gallagher , is a well-known psychiatrist, author, and professor who has spent his career studying the intersection of psychology, spirituality, and the supernatural.  One area of Dr. Gallagher's expertise that has garnered significant attention is his work with demonic possession and exorcism. He has evaluated and treated many individuals who claim to be possessed by evil e...

Join us as we delve into the world of paranormal investigation with Elliot and Cory from  Phantoms of Yore . We've been collaborating with them for 5 years on public investigations at some of the most haunted historic sites in Ontario. Due to their unique and exclusive nature, these events are extremely popular. In the episode, Elliot and Cory share with us their experiences and philosophy in cond...

The mere mention of the mysterious practice of "exorcisms" can make us feel uneasy, conjuring up images of demonic possession and a struggle between good and evil beyond human comprehension. Our guest on this episode,  Dr. Paul Blair , is a healthcare chaplain at the  Riverview Heath Centre  in Winnipeg, Manitoba, who recently wrote a doctoral dissertation about exorcisms. We'll discuss the reason...

Join us for the gripping conclusion to our three-part mini-series on Edward Bulwer-Lytton's classic gothic tale, ' The Haunted and the Haunters .' After a terrifying night, our protagonist attempts to unravel the mysteries of the haunted house. Was it real or just imagination? In the end, he makes a startling discovery that challenges his perceptions of reality and imagination. This discovery shed...

Join us for the second part of our three-part mini-series on Edward Bulwer-Lytton's paranormal masterpiece, " The Haunted and the Haunters ", published in 1859. The story is a chilling reminder of the dangers of obsession and the power of the past to shape our present and future. In this installment, our unnamed protagonist has a terrifying encounter with something dark that is lurking in the hous...

Gather in close as we share a reading of a classic Victorian ghost story! Edward Bulwer-Lytton's The Haunted and the Haunters is an exceptional example of Gothic fiction, a genre that emerged in the late 18th century and was characterized by its use of supernatural elements, melodramatic plots, and gloomy, often ruined settings. It tells the story of an unnamed protagonist, his servant and his dog...

It is not every day that one of the world's great mysteries gets solved. For 70 years, the identity of the Somerton Man, whose body was found on a beach outside of Adelaide, Australia, on December 1, 1948, has been frustratingly elusive. With no identification on him and many strange circumstances about his personal effects, speculation about his identity has run rampant. A spy? A time traveller?...

One of the world's great mysteries is on the verge of being solved. For over 70 years, investigators have sought to identify the unknown man found dead on an Australian beach in 1948. There were no signs of foul play and an examination of the victim's stylish clothing strangely revealed that all of the labels had been removed. In his pocket was found a passage from a rare book that eerily translat...

Shortly after 4am, on July 6th, 2022, an explosion rocked the hilltop pasture on which " America's Stonehenge " stood for over 40 years. One of the monument's mysterious columns was destroyed and the capstone on top was badly cracked. The blast caused the remaining columns to become unstable and the entire monument was brought down by county officials later the same day. Who would want to destroy...

This October, Jim had an opportunity to do a guest spot on an engineering podcast. The show, called  Engineering Legends , is produced by  Brown and Caldwell , an engineering consulting firm that works throughout North America and Guam in the environmental sector. Each year around Halloween they do a special episode about haunted infrastructure. Jim was able to share with them the story of Toronto...

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! 🎃 We celebrate the spookiest day of the year by sharing a story recently published by one of our listeners. Caitlin Mulroney reads "Blood Harvest" from her new book  Not That Scary: A Little Collection of Creepy Stories . It touches on many of our favourite topics and themes. Sit back, relax, turn the lights down low and enjoy a chilling tale on Halloween!

Like many old Canadian hotels, the  Fort Garry  was a railroad hotel built by the Grand Trunk Railroad just before the outbreak of the First World War. While spirits have been spotted throughout the property, the second floor has the highest concentration of activity and is usually the site of the most famous encounters. In fact, there is a specific room that paranormal investigators always wish t...

The epic conclusion of our 3-part Haunted Talks special event! Brittney Bos (Historian & Series Writer) and Margo MacDonald (Haunted Walk Tour Guide and Lead Investigator), join us for a haunted roundtable discussion about the four cases we have shared. It is a fun and thought-provoking conversation that explores the nature of poltergeists, why these cases might be so similar despite decades and g...

The second episode in a 3-part Haunted Talks special event! We continue our exploration of Canada's most documented and frightening Poltergeist cases. For this episode, we travel to the Maritimes and explore two stories in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Although nearly 50 years and 200 km separate them, these stories share too many details to ignore. They have all of the hallmarks of the po...

  The first episode in a 3-part Haunted Talks special event! Over the next few episodes, we'll explore four poltergeist stories that took place in Canada in the 19 th  and early 20 th  centuries, all of which seem to share some striking and terrifying similarities.  We start off with one of the greatest Canadian mysteries of all time and what might be the most famous historic poltergeist story in...

We start the show with TWO major announcements! In a Haunted Talks first, we will have three-part mini-series on classic Canadian poltergeist cases that we will release over three consecutive days. The series kicks-off on Wednesday, October 19th, 2022.   In other big news, our Virtual Haunted Campfires will return for two big live shows at the end October. They will feature two of most popular cam...

The Beast of Gévaudan is a true story about a vicious monster that terrorized the French countryside in the 18th century. It was a creature that was so difficult to describe that most of the eyewitnesses could not agree about what had attacked them. A wolf? A man? Or was it something else entirely? Despite many theories over the last 250 years, no satisfactory explanation has ever been found. We a...

Alcatraz is a place that uniquely captures the imagination, with stories of the civil war, harden criminals, daring escape attempts and lingering legends. We will be exploring " the Rock " through the eyes of Historian, Haunted Talks contributor and former Haunted Walk tour guide,  Brittney Bos, Ph. D , as she visits the infamous island for the first time. While wandering the cellblocks and hallwa...

Sometimes even the most cheerful and happy places can be spooky. We share the stories of several locations that you never would guess are haunted, including children's playgrounds, amusement parks and sports stadiums. There is something about the unexpected nature of these encounters that makes them especially eerie. You may never look at the monkey bars the same way again.