The Ghost Who Smokes
The Queens Is Home To an Eerie Specter Who Enjoys Scaring The Staff. And The Occasional Dart.
Barrie is rich with old buildings, many of them once home to gruesome deaths and other such unearthly events.
And the older the building, the more likely spooky spectres are to appear when the haunted season arrives.
This is the case at the Queens, where on occasion, a paranormal entity straight out of Midnight Mass has been known to materialize.
The Hometown Pub has been a fixture in Barrie’s downtown for over 100 years and possesses its own share of grisly history. Years ago the former owner was murdered by a biker gang in the 1970s. Further, the building itself replaced the original Barrie hotel, which burned to the ground in mysterious circumstances in 1915.
Decades since a ghostly presence has been detected wandering the halls and rooms of the Queens.
The Ghost Who Smokes
Dubbed Mary, she has been known to flush toilets or move things around. Many times staff and patrons have reported hearing footsteps or voices in areas that aren’t accessible. Mary has even been known to enjoy the occasional cigarette; wafts of smoke odour have been detected despite nobody being nearby.
Moreover, in one eerie experience, a photograph was repeatedly turned around so that the back of the image was on view.
Who Mary is, and why she insists on frequenting the hometown pub from beyond the grave, is a mystery.
Could she have a connection to the Queen’s predecessor, the Barrie hotel, that burned to the ground? A murder victim who was last seen at the bar? A lost soul somehow trapped within the bricks of the edifice?
It all makes for fun speculation. Although the notion of coming upon such an apparition…alone…and at night… is perhaps best left to those wielding a wooden cross and bible.
More Hauntings in Barrie
Looking for a great Halloween party? Get down to Queen’s Hotel this weekend!
Furthermore, the Queens isn’t the only haunted venue in town. Listen to our audio trek through some of the most sinister spots in Barrie!
