550 Gerrard Street East, Toronto, ON
Rated this place:
posted Oct 19 2009
TripAtlas.com's 10 Best of Haunted Toronto: Featured as part of TripAtlas.com's 10 best haunted attractions in Toronto: The Old Don Jail has housed its share of criminals and madmen. First open in 1864, the jail was recognized as a leader in the humane treatment of criminals. A total of 34 prisoners were executed at the Don Jail, including Robert Turpin and Arthur Lucas, the last two men who were sentenced to capital punishment in Canada on Dec 11, 1962. It's said that they haunt the Old Don Jail (as well as Old City Hall). Another story tells about a female inmate who hung herself in her cell. Today she haunts the jail as blond, very agitated and angry ghost. Tragically, in 1977, the jail was closed and recognized as a terrible embarrassment to the Criminal Justice System in Canada. In 2007, a handful of bodies were found buried under the Old Don Jail while renovations were taking place.