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Mackenzie House: Toronto's Most Haunted Building
When Anna and Emily from the ScotlandShop team travelled to Canada in August 2019 to tour the Highland Games, they hosted a Pop Up Shop in Toronto's Most Haunted Building: MacKenzie House! We selected Mackenzie House to host our pop up as not only is it named after a famous Scot, and descendant of the Clan MacKenzie, but it is also steeped in Canadian history, read on to find out more.
Clan MacKenzie was one of the most powerful clans during the 17th Century and today there are traces of the Clan all over the world, with quite a few famous MacKenzies in the mix (read about them over on the blog), one of which was William Lyon Mackenzie the 1st Mayor of Toronto and the last official resident of Mackenzie House. William Lyon Mackenzie's story is an interesting one, born in Dundee in 1795 and resident in Scotland until the ripe old age of 25, when he emigrated to Canada with his friend. He started a career in Politics once he arrived in Canada and in 1834 was elected Toronto's first mayor, after they had established the Toronto City Council, a role he held for just under a year. Frustrated to not be elected into parliament in 1836 he decided to organise a rebellion, unfortunately it was unsuccessful due to bad organisation.
After the failed rebellion in 1837, Mackenzie was forced into exile in the US where he resided until 1850. When he returned to Canada, he had no money to his name and no belongings, so in 1859 his friends and supporters pitched in together to purchase Mackenzie House for William and his family to stay in. He stayed there until 1861 when he died in the house, his wife and daughters lived in the house for a further 10 years.
In the mid 1900s caretakers moved into the house to prepare for the renovations needed to turn the house into a museum, and it was at this time when the ghost stories first began to be told. There was many a tale of the ghost that lived in Mackenzie House; hearing footsteps creaking on the stairs, playing of the piano and spirits standing over those who were sleeping. It is believed by many that it is the ghost of William Lyon Mackenzie that occupied the house, for although he was buried at Toronto Necropolis many believe his spirit returned to Mackenzie House. However, don't worry you are safe to visit as a blessing was performed on the house in 1960 to remove any spirits who were currently residing there.
The house now operates as a museum, where you can view the furniture that dates back to the 19th Century, a printing press that dates from 1845 and there is even an Art Gallery and a gift shop that you can also visit. The Museum not only wants to inform you about the life of the 1st Mayor of Toronto but also emulate what life would have been like during the 1860s.
MacKenzie House is located on 82 Bond Street, Toronto and if you would like to make an appointment you can do so through the website. While you are attending our pop up shop, you could even take a look around the house and learn the history for yourself.
