The Haunted Mansion Restaurant With Halloween Vibes

If your favorite emotion is fear, you go all out for Halloween, and your bookshelves are loaded with the works of Stephen King, you are in good company. Drive through any neighborhood in October and you'll find many front yards populated by towering skeletons, inflatable ghosts, and skillfully carved jack-o-lanterns. This is truly the time to unleash your inner ghoul. 

And, thankfully, this is the season for satisfying your thirst for all things spooky. You could, for instance, go on a jack-o-lantern carving spree like the folks of Keene, New Hampshire. Yes, this town holds the Guinness World Record for the "most lit jack-o-lanterns on display." In 2013, they broke their own record for the eighth time by lighting 30,581 pumpkin heads. If you live in fear of carving-induced carpal tunnel syndrome, perhaps impersonating a zombie is more your style. Did you know that Minneapolis is home to the world record for the "largest gathering of zombies?" In October 2014 the Zombie Pub Crawl brought together 15,458 of the undead. 

Are you intrigued by ghost sightings and haunted locales? If so, why not eat in a restaurant with a resident ghost or two?

On Toronto's Jarvis Street stands a Victorian mansion with an impressive heritage. Ghostwalk shares that it was constructed for the wealthy McMaster family (the ones who founded McMaster University) and was later purchased by the Masseys (yes, the family responsible for Massey Hall). It is now the Keg Mansion restaurant and, while still admired for its upper-class lineage, it is now renowned for something else. Ghosts. 

Over the years, many have reported strange occurrences within the eatery's walls. According to Narcity, one diner reports feeling something lightly brushing against her arm and the back of her neck. She then saw the image of a young blonde woman wearing a high-collared blouse and flowing skirt.  One customer says she encountered a woman in a very "beautiful old-fashioned dress" on the stairs. She felt odd about the event, so she asked the host who it was. She was informed there were no female servers working that night and they hadn't seen anyone in old-fashioned attire. Despite the Keg being child-free at night, another guest remembered seeing a boy on the staircase right before he vanished. These are just some of the other-worldly experiences that people claim to have witnessed at the Keg Mansion. 

Is there a possible explanation for these sightings? Perhaps a glimpse at the former home's history can shed some light on why people think this is a haunted restaurant.

Like all alleged haunted houses, The Keg Mansion possesses a gripping backstory that is thought to explain the building's strange goings-on. Narcity explains that in 1915, Lillian Massey passed away. She had been the head of the household since her husband's passing and was said to be beloved by her staff. One maid, in particular, took her passing unusually hard. Upon hearing about Lillian's death, she hanged herself. While most believe she ended her life over grief, Ghost Walks reveals that some contend there was a more sinister reason behind the maid's actions. It is rumored that she was having a tryst with a married man in the family and feared that her secret was about to come to light. 

Either way, some restaurant staff members have grown accustomed to seeing what they described to Ghost Walks as "a woman hanging down from the second floor. Swinging slowly from her noose." Vice reports that a little boy perished after falling down the staircase shortly after the maid's passing, which could explain the reported child sightings. 

The bottom line is that these tales, coupled with the building's haunting appearance, make this haunted house a favorite Halloween destination. If you are within the Toronto region or are looking for a road trip with a spine-chilling destination, an evening at The Keg Mansion may be the answer. Perhaps, a spectre or two will drop in for a "boo."