Uninvited guests

Ghosts. The dark. Getting salmonella from eating too much cookie dough. These are all very real fears of mine. I’ve never had a particularly bad experience with any of them, although it might be good for me to feel some sort of repercussions for my Pillsbury habit.

Ghosts go hand in hand with my fear of the dark. In fact, I don’t really like talking or hearing about “alive” dead people or “unfinished business” that much. One day in high school, however, my drama teacher was going on about the supernatural and informed the class that the most haunted hotel in all of Canada is Winnipeg’s Fort Garry. I was forced to confront a horrible reality: my family had been staying there for years.

The Fort Garry is a gorgeous hotel and although we’ve just stayed with family in recent years, I would consider returning -- in daylight -- solely for the incredible brunch. Two words: Chocolate. Fountain.

The thing with these old hotels (the Fort Garry was built in 1933) is they have such an eerie air. The hallways reminded me of what I imagined the Titanic corridors to be like, but wider. It was a creepy feeling. Other people have had much more graphic experiences.

Room 202 is said to house a female ghost, who appears in the middle of the night in a cloak or a robe and stands at the foot of the bed. The rumour has it that a woman took her own life in that room after finding out her new husband had been killed in a car accident. Another story goes that she and her husband were actually murdered in the hotel. Cleaning ladies have reportedly seen blood seeping from the walls. You could not get me in Room 202 even if they permanently moved the chocolate fountain there.

The hotel’s dining room has also played host to a supernatural guest. One employee said he saw a man eating a phantom dinner, seemingly ignorant of the presence of real people.

And then there’s the politician story (they never lie). In 1999, a Liberal MP claimed to feel movement in her bed, as if someone were trying to get more comfortable. This all despite the fact that she was totally alone. Or was she? Duh duh duh…you know the music.

Fortunately for me and my paralyzing fear of see-through people, I only read or heard about these stories after my family stopped staying at the Fort Garry and I now know to stay away. Now, if only someone could write horror stories about cookie dough.