Vancouver spectres don't need Halloween to haunt the living

Greg Mansfield has never seen a ghost, but he knows all the stories of the ones who haunt Vancouver's streets and buildings.

Take Edward, for example, the mischievous little boy who haunts the Old Spaghetti Factory in Gastown.

"He sometimes runs through the restaurant from the front to the back, he's been seen by several servers at night."

There are more than two dozen haunted locations scattered throughout Vancouver, many in the city's oldest neighbourhood, says Mansfield, a local historian and author who blogs about spirits in the city.

And he says, contrary to popular belief, the ghosts don't wait for Halloween to do their spooking.

Take a tour with us as we explore some of Vancouver's spookiest spots.

None of theimages has been digitally altered, but CBC News has taken creative license with shutter speed.

Old Spaghetti Factory, Gastown

Edward is just one of four resident ghosts at the Old Spaghetti Factory, said Mansfield, which is a popular spot because of the "vortex"in the back.

"Psychics say there's a vortex at the the back of the restaurant and what a vortex is, is a supposed portal between the other realm and our physical world in which ghosts can use to come in," he said.

Gaoler'sMews

Gaoler's Mews was once Vancouver's first jail, but it burneddown in the 1886 fire. Now a courtyard, according to Mansfieldit held Vancouver's gallows and more than 40 people were hanged there.

The ghost of a woman in black has been seen gliding past the former site of the hangman's scaffold, through the iron gates leading to Blood Alley.

Mansfield says those who have seen hermuse that she is the widow of someone hanged at the site.

Hotel Europe

The Hotel Europe is one of the most distinctive buildings in Vancouver. Shaped like a triangle, it sitswhere Powell Street and Alexander Street meet.

"It's a very haunted spot. All of Maple Square where the Gassy Jack statue is ... this is ghost central for Gastown," says Mansfield.

The Hotel Europe has two reported spirits, one seen by a contractorin the cellar, and the other seen in the a store security mirror. The store's owner has seen the ghost on two separateoccasions.

Lamplighter Pub

Vancouver's oldest pub dates back to 1899.

Mansfield says there is a chef ghostwho hangs around the bar as if he's still at work.

"He likes to hang around there as if he's helping people out doing their jobs," he said.

The most haunted place in Vancouver

Waterfront Station, built in 1915, was the terminus for the Canadian Pacific Railway.

It used to host the fashionable ina hotel, restaurants and even a dance hall.

People have reported seeing a woman in a flapper dress dancing to music of the time.

"It is the most haunted place in Vancouver," said Mansfield.

"People hear disembodied footsteps that [security guards]can't account for when they go look. One security guard was terrifiedone night by an old woman with a phosphorescent glow who reached out to him," he said.

He says another woman heardbanging with no explanation and saw a door knob rattling. When she opened the door, nobody was there.

"It was obviously something paranormal."

Haunts outside of Gastown

The famous Hotel Vancouver opened its doors in 1939.

Its resident spook is known as the Lady in Red, and she is said to occupy the 14thfloor of the hotel and the lobby.

Some thinkthis is the ghost of a well-known socialite who frequented the hotel's ballroom in the1940s. She died in a car accident.

HycroftHouse was built in 1911for General Alexander Duncan McRaeand his wife.

The couple was known for hosting many high-society parties, in particular New Year's Evemasquerade balls.

In 1942, the house was donated to the Canadian government, and it became a hospital for veterans.

Seven ghosts are said to roam this house, including General McRae and his wife, a hospital nurseand three veterans.

HMCSDiscovery is a Canadian Navel Base located on Deadman'sIsland just off the shore of Stanley Park.

The islandis off-limits to the public, which perhaps adds to its mystique.

According to Mansfield, the island was the site of a massacre:200 First Nations warriorsdied during a dispute.

Said to be the site of a Coast Salishburial ground before Europeans arrived, it was also used as a burial site for settlers between 1870 and 1887.

It was then used as a quarantinearea during a smallpox outbreak, and was home to squatters in the early 1900s.

Naval personnel staying on the islandreported hearing furniturebeing moved late at night.

When asked what makes a ghost, Mansfield said, "A lot of people think when we die nothing happens. And if you believe something does happen, the story goes we pass on to another realm. But some people when they pass on, choose to stick around for some reason ... maybe some obsession with the place."