Looming over the Limestone City is a 19th-century military fort with a tragic and haunted history.
The Haunted Walk offers a 75-minute walking tour inside Fort Henry where expert storytellers share bone-chilling supernatural encounters and disturbing tales. You’ll traverse the historic building’s schoolhouse, said to be crawling with spirits, and its limestone underground.
“Walking through Fort Henry at night and being in the tunnels, you feel like you’re being watched,” Glenn Shackleton, owner of The Haunted Walk, said in an interview.
Petrifying tales from the past
Your steps will echo against the small spiral staircase leading to the underground tunnels, dripping with condensation and dotted with spider webs. During the 1800s, detainees would shuffle through the hallway towards the gallows.
Some prisoners, however, were luckier than others. Fort Henry is the location of an audacious prison escape you’ll learn about on your tour.
Those who were unable to traverse Fort Henry’s 20-foot walls to freedom were hanged near Kingston’s courthouse or directly outside the military fortification. On your tour, you’ll get an unobstructed view of where Nils Von Schoultz was executed in 1838.
Schoultz, a Swedish military officer, and 400 members of the seditious association called the Hunter’s Lodge marched down to Prescott, Ontario in the early 1800s, wanting to free Canada from the British Crown. Their coup, known as the Battle of Windmill, was unsuccessful. Schoultz was arrested and sentenced to death by British leaders.
Members of the Hunter’s Lodge were gruesomely hanged in downtown Kingston, but their execution didn’t go according to plan; tour guides will delve into all the grisly details.
The terrifying tales do not end with prisoners of war–soldiers stationed at Fort Henry endured harsh punishments and horrific conditions. Under the hot summer sun, soldiers charged with public drunkenness were forced to march across the military fort’s square in their thick wool coats.
Exhausted and dripping with sweat, those unable to handle the unbearable heat dropped dead in the middle of Fort Henry, right where you’ll stand.
Beyond the walls of Fort Henry
Outside the confines of the military fortification, tragedies occurred on Cedar Island. Surrounding the island is Deadman’s Bay–tour guides will tell you how the haunted waters got this ominous name.
Also visible from Fort Henry is Kingston’s idyllic skyline, marked with historic buildings and unique infrastructure. Tour guides will take a break from the spooky stories, giving you time to snap a picture of the pink and orange sunset.
When the sun finally dips below the horizon, shrouding you in darkness with only a dim lantern guiding your path, you’ll finish the tour in the school room and bakery. Before departing, tour guides will share hair-raising personal encounters with ghosts.
They’ll ask a brave volunteer to leave the room last, with the chance of encountering a tall, disfigured ghost known as “scuddles.”
More frights for scare seekers
The Haunted Walk of Fort Henry is available until the end of September. Explore The Haunted Walk’s other tours on their website.
Starting in September, Fort Henry has several spooky attractions you can check out, including Fort Fright and Terror Tuesdays. Book your tickets online.
See all of Kingston’s spooky attractions.
