#guild inn

…this is the beautiful entrance to the sculpture garden at The Guild Inn...

…in my hometown of Toronto…Canada...

…Guild Park is adjacent to The Guild Inn…an historic hotel in the Guildwood neighbourhood of Scarborough…a borough of Toronto...

…the hotel and park were once used as an artists colony...

…my parents celebrated their wedding reception…on a lovely June day…decades ago...

…the sculpture garden consists of various notable rescued facades and ruins from demolished downtown Toronto buildings…columns from old banks…businesses…clubs...

…the park and hotel enjoy an idyllic location close to Lake Ontario...

…but the Inn's fortunes have declined over the years …and as the Scarborough neighbourhood grew urban around it…the property became run down and neglected...

…the park has been designated a heritage property by a Canadian foundation...

…over the years... small theatre companies have staged productions and festivals on the Greek stage at the park...

…it is a beautiful other worldly experience to sit amongst nature and enjoy performing art...

…it is my hope that the abandoned hotel and derelict park can be restored...

Haunted Toronto

The Guild Inn

This building I presented to you when my Varsity article on abandoned Toronto structures was released. Now like many abandoned buildings there is usually a haunting and the Guild Inn is said to be not only Scarborough’s major haunting, but the most haunted building in Canada.

Now in order to understand the haunting we need to have a World War II history lesson. During World War II the Guild Inn was requisitioned by the Canadian Government and became a hospital for shellshock victims. Now shellshock was a very serious mental health issue and I think that hospital might have been a code word for asylum. Take that piece of information and add a rumour that during the war a tunnel was built from the Scarborough Bluffs to the Guild Inn. The tunnels function is technically unknown, but many say weird experiments happened there and that there have been sightings of ghosts roaming around the tunnels.  There have even been cases when the elevator would take people down the tunnels against their own will.

There apparently is also a ghost of a boy who would stare at guests while they slept. The sad part here is that since the building is abandoned the poor boy has no one to stare at.

Another interesting fact is that the couple who owned and operated the Inn (the Clarke’s) were architect lovers. Therefore, when an old building or landmark was torn down, the couple would purchase pieces of that building for their property. Many people called the Inn a graveyard for Toronto’s buildings. This is an interesting piece of information because spirits can sometimes hold on to an object and therefore, the Guild Inn could really be an Inn for ghosts.