Billy Bishop Legion Hall

A haunted hall in Vancouver British Columbia. Unlike most places whose hauntings are attributed to violent or unhappy events, the Billy Bishop Legion Hall has no history of trauma, yet it is quite active. It may serve as an example of the influences of place--perhaps a sort of geophysical energy--that facilitates the eruption of paranormal phenomena. The site is near the former location of an old Squamish village that gave way to the development of the city.

The hall, built in 1929-1930, originally was a clubhouse for the Meralomas, an athletic group. The Canadian Pacific Railway bought it in 1936, but could not make the mortgage payments on it due to the Great Depression. The city of Vancouver took it over. It became a veterans' club in 1947, when it was purchased by the Air Force Association (AFA). The AFA became the Royal Canadian Legion in 1960, the organization that owns and operates the hall today. In 1964, the hall was named after Billy Bishop, a World War I aviator who shot down more than 70 enemy aircraft and became a national hero. The hall is full of war artifacts and memorabilia.

Most of the paranormal phenomena occurs upstairs: footsteps, the sounds of heavy furniture being dragged around, banging's and hammerings, and lights flickering on and off. The ghost of a woman has been sensed, but not seen, by a window.

Downstairs, an unfinished painting hangs near a corner of one room. People report feeling "weird" there, as though the ghost of the artist is still around.

- The Encyclopedia of Ghosts & Spirits by Rosemary Ellen Guiley