Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta, Canada is home to the Prince of Wales Hotel.  Opened on July 25, 1927 on the Great Northern Railway.  The series of hotels was grand and allowed for Summer guests to stay along the famous trails of railway.  The Prince Wales Hotel has grand views while overlooking the Upper Waterton Lake.  Considered one of the most photographed places in Alberta, the seven storied building is known world wide.

(images:trevorbexon/flickr)
Prince Wales Hotel

The Hotel’s views are not the only reason it is so well known.  Although the Prince Wales Hotel is only open about one hundred days each year, break ins are a constant occurrence.  One group interested in accessing the hotel with no outside interruption are ghost hunters and paranormal activity researchers.  Battered by winds, rattling windows, rocking floors, and whistling throughout the hotel make it the perfect playground for paranormal activity.

Employees, guests, and ghost hunters report seeing apparitions from the corners of their eyes, hearing foot steps on deserted balconies, faucets turning on and off on their own accord, stuck doors opening on command, and random knocking.  Much activity seems to occur in room 510- so much so that courageous guests ask for the room specifically, and spooked guests quickly ask for a substitution.  Room 608 is another hot spot, with many guests reporting strange activity, including feeling as though they are being “tucked in.”

One source of the paranormal occurrences comes from an employee who worked in the Prince Wales Hotel in its early years.  She was spurned by her lover and committed suicide on August 2, 1977 by jumping from a sixth story window.  She haunts the bar, often rattling liquor bottles and sending an icy breeze down guests’ necks.  A second suicide happened in the early seventies by another broken hearted employee.  Mary fell in love with the hotel’s manager and when he broke her heart, she jumped from a window, clad in nothing but a sheet.  She is often seen around the hotel and notorious for removing or rearranging items in the gift shop.

(images:trevorbexon/flickr)
Prince Wales Hotel

Another Prince Wales Hotel haunt frequents the Royal Steward Dining Room.  His tell tale sign is the smell of pipe tobacco smoke, in a smoke free area.  No one is able to locate the source, and often see the figure of a man in hotel windows or mirrors.  He appears to be well dressed, often described as an Abraham Lincoln looking figure.  Often seen in the dining room and basement, he is speculated to be a construction worker who fell from scaffolding to his death.  It seems he opted to remain at the hotel and spends his days in luxury.

Finally, guests and employees describe frequent encounters with another previous employee of the hotel.  In its early years, the hotel featured a talented chef.  The chef had a lovely wife who stayed with the chef during his Summer shift at the Prince Wales Hotel.  Unfortunately, she was very popular with the hotel’s male employees.  The chef was convinced his wife was having affairs with the employees when she mysteriously disappeared.  The wife frequently appears in common rooms, covered in blood.  Speculation around her disappearance involved the chef chopping up his wife and then disappearing from the hotel.  He was later reported in Europe, sans spouse.