﻿ Glendon College

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Please note that Glendon is located in North York. Thank you to a reader for the correction.

The following was sent in by one of our readers....


I would like to bring to your attention a little story that happened last year when I was a student at Glendon College in York. Maybe you know already about the legend of the ghost of Glendon, but something happened to a guy who was living in my residence and it's kind of weird.

Behind Glendon Manor, there is a really beautiful garden, where students often go to study. Students living in the Wood residence (which face the garden) walk trough the garden to go to the pub (which is in the manor). One night, I got out of my room to go to the pub to get some matches. When I opened my door, I saw that guy who was living three rooms next to mine and he was scared to death, he was hysterical.

He was talking with a couple of people when the guy saw me headed for the door and still in shock asked me where I was going. Surprised (cuz he never talked to me before), I told him I was going to the pub to get some matches. He replied... "Don't go there...don't go outside there is a ghost out there!!"

Then I was asked by the people gathered outside if I ever experienced something bizarre, like feeling the presence of someone...which I didn't.

That guy then told me that he was walking in the garden, and saw a lady, dressed in white, walking in the garden with a sad face, and it looked as if her feet were few inches above the ground. I thought this was interesting, but to see that guy, shaped like a wrestler, being so scared and asking my friend to spend the night with him it was kind of funny. I remember he even asked my friend for a rosary cuz he was afraid the lady might come back to haunt him during the night.

Well, he never let me go out, he simply went in his room instead and gave me the matches I needed. When I went back in my room, I looked out of the window, which was facing the garden, just in case I might see the ghost, but saw nothing unusual

I thought this story was very interesting as Glendon College is proud of it's ghost. They even talk about the ghost in that welcome book they give to all the students at the beginning of the school year.

As an addition to this report, we were sent the following...

The hairs on my arms and the back of my neck stood straight up reading the story about the student who came across a ghost in the Glendon's garden.

I used to work at Glendon Hall (C.D.Howe Institute) in 1983. I was pregnant with my first child at that time. We were located upstairs, taking over half the upper floor. I loved going to work everyday, the setting was so beautiful. A short time after starting my new job, I was upstairs in the attic section (which also had another few steps leading to another doorway inside the attic which was always locked, I was told the dean's living quarters were the opposite side and this door led through to his side of the attic).

Anyway, as I was saying I was upstairs getting some books for a customer when all of a sudden I felt a cold chill come over me, it made my arm hairs stand up - there were no open windows up there - so I looked around thinking maybe there was a fan on that I didn't know about... nothing... but the second attic door was unlocked and opened. (we did not have a key to this door) As soon as I looked in the direction of the doorway, I knew I wasn't alone.

I didn't see a figure, but I could feel her, instinctively, I knew this was a woman, I still don't know how I knew that but I was 100% sure it was, an overwhelming feeling of sadness came over me.....(this is where the other story about the fellow thinking she looked sad gave me the creepies)I hotdogged it down those stairs so fast, I was just so frightened.

Thinking back over it, I'm not sure why I was so frightened and I'm sorry I didn't stay up there to see what would have happened.

I shared the event with a co-worker who upon seeing my faced knew something had happened to me upstairs, she turned very pale also. Apparently, one or more of the economists who used to work there had one late evening while he was working seen a woman walk by in the hallway. I believe he saw her more than once. Well, the unlocked door was never explained. I just never realized there was a story of a ghost at Glendon Hall, or legend of a girl committing suicide. I often wondered if my pregnancy had something to do with my feeling her presense? How strange that 2 others saw a young woman and neither of us shared the stories until my fateful day... I guess we all thought the others would think we'd lost our minds or something!!! I just wish I could remember more of what was said about this young woman... it's just been too many years now. Maybe someone else would remember more details?

Here is yet another person telling us a bit about Glendon's ghostly legend...

My time at Glendon started in 1992 and there was no mention of a ghost.

My only encounter with it was third hand in 1995 and the folks in campus security and the local historian for the area could not substantiate anything other than if I heard anything further to let them know (out of interest's sake).

From memory and what the North York archival office and local historian provided me back in the mid 90s, Glendon College used to be the estate of Edgar Wood, founder of (I believe) the National Bank of Canada. He bequeathed the property to the University of Toronto in the early twentieth century.

No reports of anyone who had died a traumatic death on the property on record. The only character we thought would have an attachment to the campus was a gardener that lived for a short time in the front gatehouse and stayed on at his position until his death. I believe he was also a bit of an eccentric... either that or some other characteristic stood out for some reason or another.

We finally guessed that if it was a female ghost from the turn of the century, it may have likely been someone from Sunnybrook hospital who ventured over and made herself a home out of the campus or someone who was buried at the cemetery across from the CNIB.

My reason for researching this started in the middle of the winter when a group of us who were doing a project for a 3rd year media class met in the gatehouse (which was the women's shelter/food bank) to work on the project with a girl who volunteered there. Things were quiet on the women's shelter/food bank front that we weren't interrupting any of the normal goings on that occurred there.

Throughout, the rest of us heard noised coming from the east side of the gatehouse and thought someone was in there. A while into our group session, someone realized that no one was back there. It could have been wind and the trees outside but one of us noted that it seemed like someone else was in the house. The girl who volunteered there shrugged and casually mentioned that it could have been the ghost.

We looked puzzled at each other for a moment and then she explained that earlier in the school year, a woman who was living out of the back of her car came knocking. She was offered a room at the house and graciously accepted. That night, security came knocking just to check since they noticed a light in the attic window of this one level gatehouse and weren't expecting anyone to be in there. She noted with them that she was there but wasn't in the attic at all. They looked again and no light. Shrugged and went about their way.

The story continued that in the middle of the night, the woman woke up to find a ghostly figure in a white night gown looking at her. She threw the covers over herself and in the morning opted to leave and take her chances out of the back of her car.

October 11th, 2004: The following update to the Glendon report was sent in by one of our readers:

The Ghost at Glendon College is very much a reality; but not just in the rose garden (behind Glendon Manor) but very much in one room of Hilliard Residence. In my four years at Glendon nothing good ever came out of that room. People who moved into that room as friends never spoke to each other again a short time after being in the room together, legs would get all marked up with pen and marker during the night, and was just generally a very creepy environment.

In my first year the room was inhabited by two first year students who didn't know each other. They could not stand each other and disagreed on everything. One eventually moved to a single room as soon as one became available. The one thing they did agree upon was the presence that also occupied the room; and complained of their legs being marked up by pen. Later that year the remaining resident had a friend visit from Vancouver. For whatever reason within less than a week that friend took A BUS back to Vancouver, an 8 day ride, just to get the heck out of that room.

In my second year, two guys lived there, both in the Canadian army. While never admitting to anything, they did not get along overly well that year, and moved to a different floor for their third.

In my third I dated one of the girls who lived in that room and similar things happened. Both she and her roommate complained of markings on their legs. When I stayed overnight it happened to me too, although all three of us could never find anything to cause the markings. She lived with one of her best friends, but shortly after moving in several rifts emerged between the two and now they barely speak. The creepiest part of that room has to be the pen on the leg thing, looks a lot like a child would have done it and always legs, no other part of the body as if a pen had accidentally been left in a bed.

Glendon was a great school, and ghost stories seem to run rampant - perhaps owing to its remote location and lack of options to do much else - but nonetheless residents of Hilliard residence when selecting their room may think twice about the end of the very long, very dark hall!

Submitted April 2005...

Ghost Sightings/Experiences at Glendon - October 2003

I've been attending glendon for five years. and over that time through discussions with students and a photographer who has shot many weddings here (and thus has come here after dark to scope out spots). I've collected quite a few stories and have included them here.

Little girl in the Willow tree in the Garden.

A playful little girl around the age of 8 likes to reside in the willow tree. She's extra playful and enjoys climbing trees. She is believed to be the spirit of a child who fell down the stairs, or out of the tree. There is also a report of seeing a little boy at the bottom of the fountain in the same garden. These two may be linked though it is unclear as to how.

Second Floor of the manor.

This area seems to be haunted by an old head of house, who was never happy. Reports of dizziness, and uneasiness come from people who venture up to the second floor. A sense of being lost and wanting to flee has also been reported.

Gazebo closest to the ravine.

A malignant spirit is said to reside there, reports of feeling as though one is being pushed while walking down the stairs towards the athletic centre. This spirit is described as angry and possibly died in the ravine. they dislike seeing happy people in the aforementioned gazebo. A report from a photographer who used to take wedding photos here states that they get an uneasiness around that area and will not take wedding photos in that gazebo.

Lady in the Library.

Reportedly spotted gazing out the windows from the basement and first floor. According to sources has a liking for young men and often makes her presence known to them by temperature change. Most sightings of this spirit occur when wedding photos are being taken in the garden, or late evenings in winter. Believed to be a young woman who committed suicide

Ghost dog?

There has only been one report of this spirit. A German Sheppard that reportedly likes to run around campus, usually around the front gates and likes to follow people.

Wood Ghosts

There are reports of eerie feelings in the Wood D house and C house basements. Particularly the corner corridor. The overwhelming desire to flee the area comes over many people who walk down this stretch of hallway. Also it has been reported that several years ago when the D house laundry room was still in existence many times appliances would break down and stop working for short periods of time. All this equipment seemingly repaired itself, and is now working in proper fashion in the A house laundry room.

There are also reports of spirits in the D house second washroom, and a story that the cause comes from a young woman who killed herself in the bathtub, and haunts the bathroom. Reports from the neighboring rooms state that objects often go missing and then reappear days later in obvious places, strange and unexplainable bruises and scratches on the inhabitants of the rooms, as well as general uneasiness late at night in that particular hallway.

Finally there is a report that I'd like to put to rest and that is the report that there are rooms in Wood that are blocked up or closed up because of so many suicides in them. The supposed blocked up room is at the end of A2nd hallway. This room is not blocked up, but rather it is part of the adjoining apartment.