The Haunted Victoria Ghost Walk: a Review

The Haunted Victoria Ghost Walk is a tour that my family and I participated in during our last visit to Victoria, British Columbia, which is easily accessible by the Coho Ferry or the Victoria Express Ferry, out of Port Angeles, Washington. The Haunted Victoria Ghost Walk is a walking tour through historic areas of the city of Victoria, a waterfront city located on Vancouver Island. Founded in 1843, Victoria has a rich and varied history of ghost stories and haunted legends. The tour guide of the Haunted Victoria Ghost Walk is John Adams. Mr. Adams is an experienced and animated storyteller of hauntings in the Victoria area, having researched the local tales of ghostly activity, and even experiencing some himself! Mr. Adams is not only the creator and guide of the Haunted Victoria Ghost Walk, but he has also authored books on the subject of ghost stories and legends stemming from the area.

The Haunted Victoria Ghost Walk is a family friendly tour. The stories and buildings are indeed a little spooky, but we took all three of our children along, who were ages ten, four, and one, at the time, and they had fun and handled the stories just fine. The tour lasts for about an hour and a half, and does require a good deal of walking, covering several city blocks. For those who have already spent the day meandering around the many shops of Victoria's Downtown District, some kind of rest period before embarking on the Haunted Victoria Ghost Walk is probably a very good idea. Particularly if you will be bringing children along.

Victoria, British Columbia, has some absolutely beautiful historic buildings located in it's Downtown District. Mr. Adams does such a good job of educating tour participants of the history of these intriguing buildings, as well as any legends or ghost stories that are associated with each one. Although Victoria feels like this very elegant and proper community, it clearly has had it's share of crime and tragedy, particularly in it's earliest days. During the Haunted Victoria Ghost Walk, participants are not only entertained, but informed, as well.

Many people may be surprised to learn, as we were, that Victoria has it's own Old Chinatown. They may be further surprised to learn that some really tragic events took place here. This part of the tour was one of our favorites, and my daughter still talks about the story she learned here!

At one point during our tour, we were given the opportunity to use divining rods on our own, to see if we ourselves could detect any spirit activity! This was so entertaining, and my daughter enjoyed this part of the tour immensely.

One memory I just have to share about our experience on the Haunted Victoria Ghost Walk, was something really humorous that occurred. During one portion of the tour, participants are led through a short, brick tunnel area, that just leads from some buildings to an open public area. Before walking through this short, covered, area, tour participants are told a story of "ghostly chains" that are often heard here. Our visit to Victoria was part of a much bigger vacation up the Pacific Coast that we had brought our children on, involving many stops along the way, and nights of camping in the Redwoods. Due to the time we would be spending in remote and forested areas, we had purchased a few bear bells for the kids to wear while hiking in these places. Instead of having our one-year old wear her bear bell, we had attached it to the aluminum backpack carrier we were using to carry her around in while on our vacation. As we walked through this supposedly haunted tunnel on the Haunted Victoria Ghost Walk, we realized that the bear bell on the backpack carrier was slightly jingling, and being that everyone on the tour was being so quiet and straining to hear the "ghostly chains", several of them commented that they could hear them! What they were actually hearing, of course, was the bear bell on our daughter's carrier, but we didn't have the guts to tell them!

The Haunted Victoria Ghost Walk is a worthwhile and enjoyable experience. For those interested, get additional tour details, reservation and schedule information by clicking on this link: http://www.discoverthepast.com/discvr/gwalks.htm .