51 Stuart Street
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
built in 1860

By Stephanie Cumerlato

I personally can remember my Dad taking me down to the Custom House (now run by the Workers Arts and Heritage Centre) when I was young to look at this beautiful architectural structure.  I could have never imagined the connection I would form with this historical building many, many years later!

In 2003, my husband and I began a new part of Haunted Hamilton... ghostly walking tours of our amazing city. Next to our original Downtown Hamilton walk, the Workers Arts and Heritage Centre is closest to our hearts and a big part of what we do.  From our first big event (the Meet and Greet) to our original Costume Ball events and of course the Ghost Walks, the Custom house has been a home away from home.

Located at 51 Stuart Street at Bay Street South in Hamilton (MAP), the Workers Arts and Heritage Centre and museum is a hidden gem, unless you know where to look for it. But move closer to the huge, Romanesque stone structure and you can't help but wonder what kind of mysteries lay with those walls.

Of my strange connection with this building, perhaps there is a reason?  This is the only building where I have had all of my ghostly experiences in over ten years of investigating and running the tours!  I feel a connection with the Workers Arts and Heritage Centre’s main ghost, The Dark Lady.   She’s Hamilton’s oldest known ghost, first heard about in the late 1800’s, the subject of a spooky poem by Alexander Wingfield.

Then in 2005, Halloween night, I may have witnessed the Dark Lady herself.  I was sitting at the front of the main gallery; location of the latest wonderful art exhibit put up by the Worker’s Arts and Heritage Centre, and was scrapping some wayward wax from a table.  I heard a quiet creaking from the old wood floors and was hesitant to look up, afraid of what I might see.  When catching my nerves, I looked up to find a young woman sitting in a chair directly in front of me.  She was there for a moment, before vanishing right before my eyes.

To this day we continue to run one of our scariest walks at the Worker’s Arts and Heritage Centre.  Some folks might think they are stepping into a old and typical museum... but as they ascend the stone steps to the dark wood of the front door, and pass through the lobby, they may just feel how very different this place is.  The sensitive may even realize they’ve stepped into another energetic world of ghosts and history. 

The Ghost Walk takes you from basement right to the attic, seeing areas of the building not normally open to the public.... and in the bowels of the Workers Arts and Heritage Centre you will see the a place that can make the sensitive cry when first stepping inside.  This is the infamous basement vault, said to be Dark Lady's resting place.  Only adding to the negative energy are the fifteen hobos buried under the floor.  After riding the rails, they climb in through once prominent tunnel to seek shelter in the Custom House.  The other end of that tunnel came out in the vault, that is until it collapsed on these men, burying them alive!

It is said that more than twenty-five ghosts currently haunt the Workers Arts and Heritage building, Hamilton’s original Custom House.  We here at Haunted Hamilton can quite confidently say that we have had several run-ins with many of these spirits, and hopefully will continue to have this opportunity for years and years to come.

Join us on a Ghost Walk and see what feel within the walls of this spectacular building!  Become a part of its 150 year history with a tour in 2010.

Visit www.ghostwalks.com for tour dates and info.