Spooky Hotels and Haunted Inns That Keep the Legends Alive

By

Lisette Marie

November 12, 2025

16. Fairmont Château Laurier – Ottawa’s Phantom of the Founder

The Fairmont Château Laurier is a 660,000-square-foot hotel with 429 guest rooms in downtown Ottawa, Ontario, located near the intersection of Rideau Street and Sussex Drive and designed in the French Gothic Châteauesque style to complement the adjacent P. Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons @Michel Rathwell

The Fairmont Château Laurier is one of Canada’s most stunning and historic hotels, yet behind its grand Edwardian architecture lies an eerie legend. Charles Melville Hays, the man who commissioned the hotel, never got to see it open—he perished aboard the Titanic just weeks before its grand unveiling in 1912. Many believe Hays still roams the halls, overseeing the hotel from beyond. Guests and staff report ghostly apparitions, flickering lights, and strange cold spots in the halls. The sound of footsteps echoing when no one is there has spooked many visitors, and some claim to have seen the shadowy figure of a distinguished gentleman in early 1900s attire. While the hotel is a beacon of luxury, its link to the Titanic tragedy adds an unmistakable chill to its opulent atmosphere.

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