Alone in the Dark - Cumberland Village 🔦👻
OTTAWA'S most spine-tingling WINTER ADVENTURE! ❄️ Step into the unknown at 'Alone in the Dark', an unforgettable PARANORMAL ADVENTURE at The Cumberland Heritage Village Museum. Gain exclusive access to four heated heritage buildings, each filled with chilling tales and whispers from the past.
🔍 Will the spirits answer YOUR call?
Using ancient and modern techniques, you’ll attempt to make contact with the other side. Every shadow, every whisper, and every chill is authentic—nothing is staged.
💘 Treat your 'BOO' to a date they'll never forget—get tickets early for Valentine's Weekend!
🎟️ SAVE $13 per ticket when you book by February 7th—book yours now!
🗓️ First adventure BEGINS Saturday, February 8th.
✨ Spaces are extremely limited for this unforgettable experience. Choose curiosity over fear and JOIN US IN THE DARK! 🖤
Evening of Haunted Holiday Stories - Ottawa & Toronto!
'Tis the season… for ghost stories! 🎄👻 Join us this Saturday night at the Fox Theatre (Toronto) & ByTowne Cinema (Ottawa) for a one-night-only celebration of spine-tingling holiday chills. Hear Victorian ghost stories, enjoy a classic (and creepy!) short film, and experience a festive dose of the supernatural. Perfect for anyone looking to add a thrilling twist to their holiday traditions! Don’t let the Grinch steal your tickets—book now! 🎅😱
Krampus Virtual Haunted Campfire! 👻🔥
Merry Krampusnacht! 👹 Who—or what—is Krampus? What’s the connection between a devilish creature and jolly old Saint Nick? Gather around our Haunted Campfire from 2021 as we kick off the Haunted Holiday Season with tales of Krampus, chilling seasonal ghost stories, and plenty of festive surprises! 😱
Friday Nights in December! 🔦🎅
🎄👻 'Tis the season to be SPOOKY! 👻🎄 This December, take on the role of a paranormal investigator and uncover the haunted secrets of Black Creek’s eerily quiet, festive village. Snow-dusted streets and candlelit windows create the perfect eerie backdrop for a one-of-a-kind adventure through three of its most haunted buildings, each holding chilling stories and mysterious tales. Spots are limited—book your haunting holiday adventure today for you and your crew. Do you dare to discover what awaits in the dark?
Evening of Haunted Holiday Stories! 👻🎅
Who says the holidays can’t be spooky? 👻🎄😱 For one night only, step into the enchanting ByTowne Cinema (Ottawa) and The Fox Theatre (Toronto) for An Evening of Haunted Holiday Stories, brought to life by the master storytellers from The Haunted Walk. Looking for even more chills? Book the exclusive VIP investigation following the show. Perfect for friends, family, or a daring date night. 🎟️ Limited spots are vanishing fast—book now and make this holiday season truly spirited!
$25 per person for the show
$50 per person for show + mini-investigation
🚨 👉 PRO TIP: Investigation Spots Usually Go Very Quickly - Book Early to Avoid Disappointment!
LAST CALL - Ghosts of the SS Keewatin 👻
Will YOU get the LAST tickets? 🙋 This weekend is the FINAL CHANCE to step aboard the haunted & historic SS Keewatin for an unforgettable evening filled with chilling ghost stories and eerie Great Lakes legends! As you wander the historic decks, you may just hear the whispers of the ship’s storied past. Only a few tickets remain—but act fast—tickets are disappearing like mist on the lake! 👻
Gin & Miskatonic – A Night of Cosmic Horror
For the grand finale, I wasn’t going to let Halloween Cocktail Season go by without a nod to the Cthulhu Mythos and Cosmic Horror.
In 2020, it was the Herbert West, Re-Animator; in 2021, the Drinks Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. I somehow missed 2022, but made up for that in 2023 with the Miskatonic Reviver and Herbert West’s Deanimator.
Which brings us to 2024, where I’ll draw on Mike Slater’s ‘The Necronomnomnom: Recipes and Rites from the Lore of H.P. Lovecraft’ (2019). He’s actually written an entire H.P. Lovecraft-inspired cocktail book, too (which I have), but the Gin & Miskatonic, his spin on the Gin & Tonic, is in Necronomnomnom, and it’s one I’ve wanted to try for a while now.
Ingredients (in order of use):
- Ice
- 3oz gin (recipe specifies Hendrick’s, but as Miskatonic University often sponsors Arctic and Antarctic research expeditions, I felt Northwest Passage Expedition Gin was a good choice)
- 3 lime wedges
- 4-5oz tonic water (I used 1642’s Elderflower Tonic because, well, ‘Thank you, Elder Sign!)
- 1oz Hpnotiq Passionfruit Liqueur
- A carefully carved section of lemon peel or a sprig of rosemary, properly trimmed
Directions:
Select a tall glass to hold the full dose of the potion.
Add ice to the glass, then add the gin.
Squeeze the juice from three lime wedges and place them equidistant around the rim (the number is important, but we do not know why).
Add the tonic generously and stir gently.
Pour Hpnotiq over the back of a bar spoon to layer on top (according to Necronomnomnom, this will make the test subject more likely to drink the elixir).
Place the lemon peel or rosemary sprig prominently in front of the glass.
Enjoy with your Halloween fun: a) handing out candy, b) watching John Carpenter’s In the Mouth of Madness (1994), c) reading Dan Simmons' The Terror (2007), or d) playing T.I.M.E. Stories: Endurance Expedition (a board game best described as Time Cop meets The Shackleton Expedition meets the Cthulhu Mythos).
Last Weekend for Cemetery Tours! 🔦🪦
This weekend marks the dramatic conclusion of Tales from the Mausoleum at Beechwood Cemetery in OTTAWA! This is your last chance to experience ghostly tales and dark history in a one-of-a-kind setting. Limited spots are filling quickly—secure yours and close out Spooky Season with an unforgettable evening stroll among the headstones!
The Lavender Lady 🍸👻
Built in 1913 at 189 Yonge Street, Toronto, the Elgin & Winter Garden Theatres served as the Canadian flagship for Marcus Loew’s North American chain of theatres (now part of Cineplex Galaxy). This unique complex features two theatres—each with distinct characters—stacked one atop the other. The Elgin is formal, with ornate opera boxes, while the Winter Garden evokes a whimsical forested garden (heritagetrust.on.ca/ewg/ewg-home/learn/history).
And there are ghosts, too—three or four, at least. Among them is the Lavender Lady, a spirit known for the scent of lavender that accompanies her presence in the Winter Garden. Her mysterious story is best shared by the Haunted Walk, but we're here for a cocktail inspired by her.
The Lavender Lady cocktail is a twist on the White Lady, a drink that dates back to 1919. Originally created by Harry McElhone at Ciro’s Club in London, the first version combined brandy, crème de menthe, and orange liqueur. By 1928, following the decline in the popularity of vaudeville, the Winter Garden was closed; sealed off and left untended. Similarly, McElhone updated the recipe to gin, orange liqueur, and lemon juice—similar to a gin-based Sidecar. The recipe below leans into gin and a lavender twist, fitting for the theatre’s ghostly lore.
Ingredients:
1 & 1/2 oz Indigo Gin (such as Empress 1908, Scapegrace Black, or Dunrobin Earl Grey)
3/4 oz orange liqueur (e.g., Grand Marnier, Dry Curacao, or Cointreau)
3/4 oz lemon juice
1 tsp simple syrup
2 dashes Lavender Bitters
1 egg white (optional, fresh preferred)
Lemon peel or dehydrated lemon wheel for garnish
Directions:
Add the first five ingredients (or six, if including the egg white) to a cocktail shaker.
Dry shake (without ice) for 15 to 20 seconds (omit this step if not using egg white).
Add ice and shake until well-chilled.
Strain into a chilled coupe glass and garnish with a lemon twist or dehydrated lemon wheel.
Enjoy this cocktail while booking tickets for the Ha
Ghosts of the Village at Black Creek 👻😱
Don’t miss your chance to explore Toronto’s famously HAUNTED pioneer village! You might’ve toured the village on a school trip—but you haven’t truly experienced it until you’ve faced it after dark. 👻 Will you dare to step inside the eerie buildings, uncover the spine-tingling secrets that only come out at night, and leave with a ghost story of your own? Claim your spot before it fades away...
The Toronto - Haunted Cocktail 🍸👻
This week, we’re shifting focus from the Upper Great Lakes to Toronto, or York, as it was known when James Worts arrived from England in 1831 to build a flour mill. His partner, William Gooderham, joined a year later, and their mill at the Don River's mouth laid the foundation for their business. Tragically, Worts died by suicide in 1834, shortly after his wife's passing.
In 1837, Gooderham expanded into brewing and distilling, and by 1845, Worts's son, James Gooderham Worts, joined as a partner. Their massive distillery, built in 1859, still stands in Toronto’s Distillery District, despite surviving an explosion and fire in 1869. For a deeper dive into Gooderham & Worts' history, check out Davin de Kergommeaux’s Canadian Whisky: The Essential Portable Expert.
Now, let’s talk about the Toronto cocktail. Originally called the Fernet, it first appeared in Robert Vermeire’s Cocktails: How to Mix Them (1922). By 1948, in David Embury’s The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks, it was known as the Toronto. While its exact origins are unclear, a note in Vermeire’s book suggests Torontonians were fond of it. Gooderham & Worts was thriving in the 1940s, making their Four Grain Whisky a fitting choice.
There's debate about whether the Toronto is a Manhattan or an Old-Fashioned variant, but both are valid. Below are instructions for the latter:
Ingredients (in order of use!):
1 tsp well-packed brown sugar
2 to 3 dashes of aromatic bitters (Bittered Sling Kensington Aromatic Bitters are a great choice)
1 tsp water
1/4oz Fernet Branca
2oz Gooderham & Worts Four Grain Canadian Whisky (which, as a result of many, many sales and mergers, is now made by Corby Spirit & Wine in Walkerville, ON, and not in Toronto)
Directions:
-Put a heaping, well-packed teaspoon of brown sugar into a mixing glass
-Coat the sugar with aromatic bitters and let it dissolve slightly
-Add the teaspoon of water and muddle
-Add the Fernet and Whisky, some ice, and stir until well chilled
-Strain
The Edmund Fitzgerald 👻🍸
🍸 We’re continuing with a nautical theme this week as we explore the shipwrecks, tragic losses, and phantom vessels of the Great Lakes. These eerie stories are featured in The Haunted Walk’s “Ghosts of the SS Keewatin: Tales from the Great Lakes” tour. We're also paying tribute to the SS Edmund Fitzgerald, the most famous wreck on Lake Superior. Between the sinking of the Invincible in 1816 and the Fitzgerald in 1975, Whitefish Bay alone has claimed 240 ships. The Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum estimates that the lakes have claimed 6,000 ships and 30,000 lives, though some historians suggest the numbers may be even higher.
Now, onto the Edmund Fitzgerald cocktail, inspired by the Orillia Museum of Art and History and The Common Stove in Orillia, ON. If this recipe seems familiar, you're not wrong—it’s a variation on the classic Corpse Reviver #2, similar to the 'Herbert West: Reanimator' (2020) and the 'Necromancer' (2023). In this version, the absinthe rinse is swapped for Benedictine, and I’ve tweaked the original by reducing the orange liqueur and adding a teaspoon of Blue Curacao for an aquamarine hue, reminiscent of the Great Lakes themselves.
Ingredients (in order of use!):
1/4 tsp Benedictine
3/4 oz lemon juice
3/4 oz Lillet Blanc
3/4 oz Dry Gin (Georgian Bay Gin would be a good thematic choice)
1/2 oz Orange Liqueur (Grand Marnier, Dry Curacao, or Triple Sec)
1 tsp Blue Curacao
cocktail cherry
Directions:
- put the 1/4 tsp Benedictine into a chilled Nick & Nora glass (or Coupe) and set aside
- add the lemon juice, Lillet Blanc, gin, orange liqueur, and Blue Curacao to a cocktail shaker with ice, cover, shake until well chilled, then set aside for a moment
- swirl the Benedictine around the chilled glass (alternatively, put the Benedictine in a small spray bottle and use a couple of spritzes to coat the inside of the glass)
- strain the shaken cocktail into the glass and gently drop a cocktail cherry into it
Enjoy while booking tickets f
