Haunted: The Ghost Bride of Banff Springs Hotel

Even though this image is black and white and taken around nineteen o two, you can still see what makes it photo worthy. It's an enormous building, like a house with a ton of windows. There's pine trees on the bottom right of the photograph. Behind the building is a mountain, adding to the already amazing scenery. Of course, I had to take another look at it, so I googled around and found so many other images of visitors and tourists from all over the world. They were all walking around the area and enjoying their time in the outdoors. But perhaps one of the best one of these was a nighttime image with easily more than a thousand windows lighting up the surrounding wilderness with its orange glow against the greenery of the hills and trees just after sunset. The area is in Alberta, Canada, right and Bound National Park, and the famous hill bills and mountains in the image are from Mount Arundel. However, the dark history of the place has created a sense of dread to spread throughout the property. Ghosts famous ones at that are set to roam its halls and torment the visitors, stories of cover ups by hotel staff to keep customers coming through its front doors, as well as tragedies that surround this majestic hotel in the mountains. In this episode, we'll explore the rooms and the theories behind the strange occurrences that attract lovers of the paranormal to visit the areas, both to enjoy the scenery and the many ghost stories that are told, as well as to catch a few sightings. Today we'll walk through one of the most haunted places in Canada, the place once known as a Banff Springs Hotel. My name is Edwin, and here it's a dark man. Guests had been arriving the night before, and it was a busy night for the hotel. Already, flower arrangements, musicians, and catering had all been set up perfectly for the wedding day. The bride was in her room as her sister and the makeup artists were adding the finishing touches. Everything was perfect. Her white gown fit just right as well, her hair came out just the way she wanted it, and as she was looking at herself in the mirror, she got called to make her grand entrance to the main hall of the hotel. In secret, the family had surprised her with candles, a hundred of them lined up around the staircase. When she stepped closer to the staircase and saw everything, she was blown away by how beautiful everything looked. Her friends and family were at the base of the stairs over the glow of the candles. She put her hand over her heart and smiled. She took the first step and held her breath. These steps were shorter on one end than the other. She made a mental reminder to walk slowly and to feel for the step before taking it completely. She took a second one, and then a third, but on the fourth she heard a gasp from below. The smell of burning fabric started to surround her. The woman from below was putting her hand over her mouth, while another man pointed toward her and started running up to meet her. The bride turned around to see her gown catching on fire from behind. Startled, she turned around, tripped over the front of her twisted dress, and stumbled on the fifth steps. Her head hit the edge of one of them to a loud crack, and everything went black. The gown of fire rolled down the staircase, wrapping up the now unconscious bride, and flames by the time the fire was put out, her skin was merged with a darkened gown. Strange how a face with no skin looks like it's still smiling. In twenty fourteen, it was announced that this tale of the ghost Bride, which dates back all the way to the nineteen thirties, would be featured in a coin by the Royal Canadian Mint became a limited edition twenty five cent coin with the image of the ghost Bride, whose eyes open and close when it is tilted. And not only that, but a stamp from the Canada Post was also released. Though the story itself may only be folklore of the area, attracting those of us who are into this sort of thing, and with each story adding a new idea or a quote unquote fact to the story, it's still strange that there are people who have reported, without prior knowledge of the Ghostbride's story, that they've seen a woman in a wedding gown dancing in the ballroom, her dress swaying to the eerie silence of a dark past. Even the staff have reported seeing flames coming from her dress as she dances. Can you imagine walking into something like that as you explore the Hotel. The story goes even deeper with strange noises coming from the bridal suite even when there's nobody in there. But who else? Could it be the Ghost Bride or the Burning Bride as some have come to name her. Lots of things have happened during the time between the Fairmont. Bamf Springs, which is the name of the hotel today, was built in the fifty years or so after that. It all started when the general manager of the Canadian Pacific Railway got an idea. His name was William Cornelius van Horne, and he heard some of his employees talking about mineral springs that his railroad passed by all the way back in eighteen eighty three. He thought it was the opportunity of a lifetime, so he got to work. The hotel started construction that same beer and ended about two years later. It opened up as the Bam Springs Hotel, and it became a top destination hotel in North America. Like all buildings, it required a lot of maintenance. I mean, this hotel was huge and it was made of wood. But when they were about done with some of the adjustments and renovations, it was a fire and What came along with this was another mystery. Once the fire broke out in nineteen twenty six, when they were doing the repair and the initial analysis of the accident, they discovered a room, a room that was built with no windows or doors. Now, this is already creepy enough, but there is an explanation for it. Apparently it had been an error from the contractor. But with large projects like these, even a huge mistake can be hidden, and it was. The owner didn't find out about it. The construction had kept going as usual. That's how the story goes. Anyway, the secret room might be the reason why apparitions have been reported roaming right outside that area. Had this room become the place of choice for the ghosts that roam the already busy hotel during the winter months, Like other hotels in areas like these, it was shut down, I mean temporarily. No caretaker would be hired to look after the place, to make sure that the cleaning and maintenance was still getting done, and they would eagerly wait for the travel season to arrive once more and bring the hotel back to life. This change in the nineteen seventies, when they started providing winter activities for the guests. Now, it could be open year round, but put yourself in the place of a caretaker of such a large building, the empty halls, restaurants, the rooms, especially the one that they say is haunted. Room eight seventy three was the supposed sight of a gruesome murder, well several of them. The father of the family had woken up in the middle of the night and murdered his wife, and then he called his daughter. After realizing what he had done, he took his own life too. They said that for a time after that, people who would stay in the room would hear loud screams, as if someone was beingverely heard. According to some of the Internet legends, even bloody handprints appeared all over the mirror. Now this might sound like some typical haunted room story. Someone died there and suddenly it's haunted. But what I haven't told you is that if you today go to that hotel and walk around, you will not find a room eight seventy three right before room eight seventy five where eight seventy three should be. It's just a continuation of the hallway. Now, if you ask the hotel staff, just like an account from Bernie Roseek, who was a man who stayed there a while back. He actually did some digging around by trying to talk to people about it. The staff will deny it. The concierge will tell you that the story is a hoax, that the room doesn't exist, it's never existed. However, if you search around for theory surrounding the place, you bump into accounts of people reporting that items would move, strange sounds and scream would wake them up in the middle of the night, and then they'd see sat apparition staring at them while they were sleeping. All of this builds up the idea that the hotel was no longer going to keep up with the bad reviews of the place and simply decided to board up the room and forget about it. Some say that it was merged with Room eight seventy five to make an even bigger room, so perhaps there is a way to stay in the haunted room after all. Another room that gets mentioned frequently is the one on the sixth floor. Or Guests have reported being woken up as their pillows get violently yanked from under their heads. Staff have reported unhappy guests demanding to be switched to another room after being pushed out of bed. Despite all my searches, though, I couldn't find any records of anything ever happening there, so I might just need to go to this place to check it out for myself. Despite the staff denying the existence of haunted rooms, there are several ghost stories that they are more than willing to talk about, and I'll tell you about them, but that two older women were trying to go up to the room one afternoon but struggled to get the key to work. It happened sometimes, as you may already know. One of them decided to wait with their bags in front of the room, while the other was going to take the elevator back down to try and find somebody to help them out. One of them requested the help and then went back up and kept waiting outside of the door. And it was then when another bellman came up and then switched the key for them, smiled and walked away. But just as they were about to go into their room, a different bellman approached them and asked how he could help them. All three of them, confused by now, looked at each other until one of the women said that they had already been helped by another person. Being the only one assigned to that specific area, the confused bellman asked, what did this other person look like? The description matched exactly what some of the other staff members had described to have seen the ghost of Sam McCauley. In the sixties and seventies. Sam McCauley was in charge of the rest of the Bellman. He was an old Scottish man, always happy to help with everything and spreading cheer to everyone he bumped into. But in nineteen seventy five Sam died. His ghost, though, has been working ever since. If you want to find Sam during your visit to the hotel, some say that he can be found on the ninth floor, although guests repeatedly report being held by him, whether it's to adjust a lighting issue, carrying bags, or opening locked rooms. However, when they try to tip him or thank him, he simply disappears in front of their eyes. Others, including the staff, have seen him where his old office used to be, which has now been turned into a guest room. It's a late night and mister Jones has had a couple of drinks at the bar. He turns around for the hundredth time that night, watching as a bar becomes anthea the closer it gets to midnight. He looks down at his watch and sees as the minute hand creeps closer and closer to the number twelve. Suddenly he's interrupted in front of him, a different bartender, smiling at him, leaning in to tell him that it might be a good idea to go back to bed. He smiles again and keeps polishing a glass with his other hand. Mister Jones looks at him, confused. Something is not right about this man, but agrees with him it is time for him to go. He takes a deep breath and looks down to step off his stool. He then thanks the bartender under his breath and takes out a ten dollar bill, but when he looks up at the bar, the man is gone. He looks around once again, leans in over the bar to have a closer look, but it's empty. He's all by himself. He looks at the glass, now holding only eyes in front of him, shakes his head it walks away, trying hard not to think about what he had just experienced. But he's not the only one. Guests and staff have reported seeing that apparition. Although his identity is a complete mystery. One of the most sinister apparitions, though, and one that really intrigued me, was the one about the musician that has been seen playing the bagpipes. He is said to be wandering around the area searching for something his head. The hotel has witnessed some incredible and tragic moments throughout its history, from fires and reconstruction to shutdowns due to the World War, but it has also housed luminaries and celebrities like Marilyn Monroe. This place, surrounded by so many activities and nature scenery, is worth a visit if you plan a trip to Canada, even if just for the folklore and legends that it houses. I like to imagine it as a caretaker in one particularly lonely winter night, as you're tasked with checking some of the light fixtures up in the eighth floor. As you step off the elevator, being greeted by Sam's huge smile before he vanishes. Working your way to the end of the hallway, only to discover that the window has been opened once again. Perhaps that's what explains the noises. An intruder makes you think twice about what would be more frightening between the two that or the ghosts. You get to the light fixture, finish your repair, and walk down the hallways once again as you pass the secret rooms and dark corners of the place where the ghosts of the past desperately try to hold on from vanishing completely in the darkness of their memories. This episode of a Dark Memory was written by me and Win Kovars. You can send me ideas for haunted places or creepy mysteries by finding me on Instagram or social media at edwin cove that's e d w I n co v, or by going to edwin dot fm on your browser to find out what other shows I'm working on, or if I ever get banned from social media for scary people. Up next, check out my other two podcasts. One is called Scary Story Podcast and the other is called True Scary Story. I think you'll like them. Oh and please leave me some stars or join me on scaryplus dot com for a free stories and early episodes. Thank you very much for listening, See you soon.