Ontario Ghost Stories

Ghost House Books

by Barbara Smith

Spooky stories from all over Ontario, including Dundurn Castle, London's Grand Theater, Canada's Hockey Hall of Fame and Algonquin Park.

Genres: Nonfiction, Horror, Paranormal

240 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1998

About the author

Barbara Smith is a Canadian author celebrated for her captivating collections of ghost stories steeped in folklore, history, and national identity. Since leaving her job as a school secretary in 1988, she has published numerous books exploring Canada’s most enduring supernatural legends. Her passion for the paranormal was sparked as a child in Toronto and grew into a lifelong pursuit, fueled by a background in social history and mystery. With titles like Great Canadian Ghost Stories and Great Canadian Campfire Stories, Smith shares eerie tales from coast to coast, entertaining readers while preserving Canada's rich storytelling tradition.

Reviews

[Victoria · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a very interesting read! I liked the variety of different types of ghost stories and local ledgends. At times it could be needlessly wordy as it seemed like the author was trying to stretch out a small tale in order to cover more pages. Would recommend to anyone from Ontario as a casual read.

[Lindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were too many stories in here and half were a bit unbelievable possibly just made up. Still fun to read through October (spooky season)

[Renald Micallef · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had been gifted this book by a new friend of mine while visiting Ontario. She lives in a haunted farm and we got talkin about it. I received this book as a recognition of a mutual interest.

Rather than being a book full of mysterious tales, the author opted for just a recollection of ghost stories and of haunted places as told to her by others, or in some cases that were reported in the news. On this account it is not a book that should be read like a novel by page turning it, but should be read sporadically. I am saying this as I was a bit disappointed. Some stories were just a page long, so it felt crammed and devoid of substance.

I do understand that with so many ghost stories, the author had no time to delve deeper in each story, (as apparently there are more published books in the series), but it would have been more interesting if she did.

[J.D. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was so excited for this one since it was about local ghost stories. Sadly it was not at all what I was expecting.

Maybe it's because I'm a fictional horror / paranormal fan that this one fell extremely flat for me.

The stories themselves were way too short, as well as being boring for lack of a better word. For being so short, the stories seemed very wordy as if the author was purposely trying to drag them out with not a whole lot actually happening.

I think it would have been much better if this book was ‘based’ on true hauntings with some embellishments added to keep things interesting. Also there seemed to be too many stories crammed in so that it was hard to really be interested in or connect to the individual stories.

[April-lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this more interesting when I first bought it in my late teens/early 20s. I like the stories but re-reading it now I find the writing style awkward and sort of boring for a book of ghost stories.

[Lorraine · Rating 1 out of 5]

Didn't like this book. The stories were to short and not detailed enough.

[Zachary Duval · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite being a Halloween read, I decided to read it during the pandemic and some of the stories are creepily interesting. Also, it was great to learn more about Canada.

[Van · Rating 1 out of 5]

While entertaining on a local-interest level, Smith goes too far in defending stories that are transparently indefensible. Sometimes her arguments verge on unintelligible: "Like all legitimate legends, the nuggets of truth in these stories are as intriguingly buried as the treasures they speak of." The book is as credible as a gossip rag from the grocery store checkout counter (I can only suppose, having never read one). For example, Smith argues that if someone did not obviously stand to gain anything from telling a story, it must be the truth. Some of these "ghost stories" ramble verbosely about rumours, without supplying any details or first-person accounts. It would be fun to believe in ghosts, but Smith only persuades me that people like to tell stories. Some would like to make living from storytelling. Some may even profit from telling stories badly.

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

What can I say? I'm a sucker for a good ghost story! What makes a good ghost story? Real settings, a verifiable history, and, of course, witnesses who swear that the story is true! Something to keep an eye out for: Smith also has a second book of Ontario ghost stories that includes pictures.