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Update April 2012
When I was younger, my Girl Guide troop had a sleep-over at Old Fort York. We were staying in the barracks just north of the entrance. Sometime in the middle of the night, my bunk-mate woke me -- she had to use the washroom, which was located in the building next door, just south of the entrance. Since we'd been instructed to use the 'buddy system', I went with her. It was rather chilly outside, and there was a low-level mist covering the ground, no higher than our knees. Shivering from both the temperature and a sense of the creepies, I glanced across the field and spotted a man, in full regimental reds, standing at attention with a musket or a rifle on his shoulder. I stopped in my tracks, as did my friend, but he gave no sign of noticing us. He simply stared out towards the lake. Uneasy, I hurried her into the washroom. Being as eager as I to get back to the warmth of our sleeping bags, my friend was in-and-out in record time...perhaps a minute or so later, we were on our way back to the barracks. Glancing back to where we'd seen the man...there was nothing. We both looked around, seeing no sign of a bright red coat anywhere amongst the buildings, and even creepier...the mist that covered the field was entirely undisturbed. Heart pounding, I raced my friend back to the barracks, aware the entire time of how the mist swirled around our feet as we ran. There was no way anyone could have moved across that field without leaving a visible trail. Needless to say, neither one of us slept any more that night, we simply huddled together on our bunk until the sun came up!
In response to some of our questions the witness writes:
Unfortunately, I can't recall the exact date...it would have been either late spring or early fall, since it was rather chilly. Late spring is probably more likely, since most of our Girl Guide outings required planning, and we didn't resume meetings until the fall anyways. (I also learned that it would coincide with the battle fought there in April of 1813) It was probably around 1996 or so? I also considered the possibility of a re-enactor, but again, I can't reason why one would be in full dress in the middle of the night, or why he would stand in the middle of the field waiting to scare a couple of little girls. On a more recent visit, I casually asked the staff about security there at night, and they replied that if anyone is there at all, they are in plain street-clothes.
Webmasters note: It is possible that the witness saw a re-enactor, or interpreter, but why one would be there in uniform in the middle of the night I would not know, nor does it seem very likely. To be honest I would have been creeped out too.
When I was younger, my Girl Guide troop had a sleep-over at Old Fort York. We were staying in the barracks just north of the entrance. Sometime in the middle of the night, my bunk-mate woke me -- she had to use the washroom, which was located in the building next door, just south of the entrance. Since we'd been instructed to use the 'buddy system', I went with her. It was rather chilly outside, and there was a low-level mist covering the ground, no higher than our knees. Shivering from both the temperature and a sense of the creepies, I glanced across the field and spotted a man, in full regimental reds, standing at attention with a musket or a rifle on his shoulder. I stopped in my tracks, as did my friend, but he gave no sign of noticing us. He simply stared out towards the lake. Uneasy, I hurried her into the washroom. Being as eager as I to get back to the warmth of our sleeping bags, my friend was in-and-out in record time...perhaps a minute or so later, we were on our way back to the barracks. Glancing back to where we'd seen the man...there was nothing. We both looked around, seeing no sign of a bright red coat anywhere amongst the buildings, and even creepier...the mist that covered the field was entirely undisturbed. Heart pounding, I raced my friend back to the barracks, aware the entire time of how the mist swirled around our feet as we ran. There was no way anyone could have moved across that field without leaving a visible trail. Needless to say, neither one of us slept any more that night, we simply huddled together on our bunk until the sun came up!
In response to some of our questions the witness writes:
Unfortunately, I can't recall the exact date...it would have been either late spring or early fall, since it was rather chilly. Late spring is probably more likely, since most of our Girl Guide outings required planning, and we didn't resume meetings until the fall anyways. (I also learned that it would coincide with the battle fought there in April of 1813) It was probably around 1996 or so? I also considered the possibility of a re-enactor, but again, I can't reason why one would be in full dress in the middle of the night, or why he would stand in the middle of the field waiting to scare a couple of little girls. On a more recent visit, I casually asked the staff about security there at night, and they replied that if anyone is there at all, they are in plain street-clothes.
Webmasters note: It is possible that the witness saw a re-enactor, or interpreter, but why one would be there in uniform in the middle of the night I would not know, nor does it seem very likely. To be honest I would have been creeped out too.
Our thanks goes out to the witness for sharing this experience with us. If you have experienced something similar, can add further information to this report, or have experienced something that you believe may be a ghost in Toronto please contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or fill out our reporting form Your privacy will be protected and confidentiality is assured.