High above the Scarborough Bluffs (Toronto), the Guild Inn began as a quiet 1914 summer estate before transforming into a rare blend of artists’ colony, architectural sanctuary, and wartime outpost.
Under Herbert and Rosa Clark, the property became home to creators. And later a rescue site for fragments of Toronto’s demolished historic buildings. Now the beautiful “building graveyard” in Guild Park.
But years of abandonment added a dark history. When the house was boarded up in the early 2000s, it became a magnet for ghost hunters and urban explorers.
Reporting stories of spirits that remain in the building.
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HISTORY | BUILDING GRAVEYARD | GHOSTS
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The Guild Inn Begins
Perched high above the Scarborough Bluffs, the Guild Inn began its life in 1914 as the summer estate of American soldier Colonel Harold Bickford.
Called “Ranelagh Park”, the massive property reached way to the Bluffs. Bickford’s family lasting only 7 years before moving to Buffalo.
What started as a private retreat would soon evolve into one of Canada’s most unusual cultural landmarks. Becoming part artists’ colony and part architectural sanctuary. And thanks to the eerily once abandoned Guild Inn … a hotspot for ghosts.
Clark Collection
In 1932, Herbert and Rosa Clark (nee Hewetson) took over the property. Rosa was wealthy! As the heiress to the popular Brampton, Ontario shoe company, Hewetson’s.
The couple lived at the Guild for more than 40 years. During which time they purchased the surrounding lands, shaping what would later become Guild Park.
The Clarks transformed the estate into a thriving artists’ colony. Offering space and support to painters, sculptors, and craftspeople.
The Guild Inn at War
During World War II, the estate was seized by the government. Turned into a a training facility for the Women’s Royal Canadian Naval Service (WRNS).
The WRNS served in every non‑combatant role within the Canadian Navy. Taking on duties in intelligence, communications, maintenance, and more.
At its peak, the service saw over 6,000 women enlisted.
Then the Guild was converted into a veterans’ hospital. Dedicated to soldiers returning with what was then called “Shell Shock”. Which is now recognized as PTSD.
This period marked the end of the Guild Inn’s innocence. Ushering in a new and more somber chapter in its history.
Toronto’s Building Graveyard
After the war (starting in the 1950s), the Clarks witnessed what they considered a disgrace unfolding in Toronto. The widespread loss of beautiful historic buildings in the rush toward “modern” development.
They were forward-thinking people! Because today we wish those structures had been saved. Instead, what remains is an architectural graveyard. A collection of fragments that hint at a vanished era of craftsmanship and design.
They rescued fragments from Toronto’s vanishing buildings. Creating a one‑of‑a‑kind outdoor museum now described as a “building graveyard”.
Some historic pieces preserved at Guild Park…
- Bankers Bond Building — Built 1920, demolished 1973
- Temple Building — Built 1895, demolished 1970
- Toronto Star Building — Built 1929, demolished 1972
- Fire Station Engine House No. 2 — Once stood at Richmond & Portland
These salvaged columns, facades, and sculptures now stand scattered throughout as relics to a forgotten part of the city.
Guild Inn Ghost Stories
The Clarks gave the property to the city in the 1970s. Then in 2001, the Bickford House (Guild Inn) was abandoned.
And although the Guild Park & Gardens remained open to the public, giving access to the Building Graveyard. The house itself was closed off and boarded up.
Starting what became a 16-year time of neglect and decay. A creepy abandoned building.
Leading to long after the Clarks’ era, the abandoned Guild became a magnet for paranormal investigation and urban exploration.
Leading to some memorable experiences.
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Shadow in the Basement
During one investigation, the team was moving through a silent wing of the building when they heard a sound. It echoed down the hallway.
They rushed toward the noise until their flashlights landed on a small figure. Then the shape moved.
Slowly a shadow figure unfolded from the ground. It rose to full height and drifted forward.
It felt cold as the thing passed them. The figure didn’t acknowledge them, just walked by and slipped down the corridor.
The team followed. But the hallway was now empty.
Boy with Two Different Eyes
Many believe the Inn’s resident spirit is a young boy. A quiet spirit who drifts through hallways and appears quickly to connect with people.
Investigators have reported glimpses of him throughout the building. As a small silhouette at the end of a hallway. Except for one investigator.
He was alone in a room when he felt the sensation of someone close to him. He turned to see a face only inches from his own.
A pale, expressionless face of a child staring into his eyes. The investigator froze as the boy remained for a moment before fading into the darkness.
That’s when the investigator realized it. The boy’s eyes were mismatched. One a dark brown. And the other blue.
Called Heterochromia. A rare condition affecting less than 1% of people (including the original Ghostbuster, Dan Ackroyd). Such a random thing to notice. Making this ghost experience very real.
Man in a Top Hat
A former employee of the Guild Inn once recalled a night shift he was forced to work.
He was alone in the kitchen. The building now settled into that silence not long after closing.
The silence was broken from a crash inside the Walk‑in Freezer. The sound was sharp, echoing through the room as the kitchen returned to silence.
He slowly approached and opened the freezer door. Seeing a box of melons had fallen and spilled across the floor.
Feeling relief, he crouched down to pick them up. Thinking someone left the box too close to the edge of the shelf.
Then another bang from behind him. He jumped and spun around. Seeing a figure standing in the freezer’s doorway.
A strange sight. Tall, straight backed, regal looking man in a top hat. Standing perfectly still and looking into the freezer. No expression, just a calm, unsettling intensity. As if inspecting a room that belonged to him.
And then, without a sound, the man was gone.
The employee crawled to the entrance. Carefully looking around to make sure the man was gone, before running out of the kitchen.
A New Life for the Guild Inn
The Guild Inn’s story ends on a great note. In 2017, the site was given a $20 million dollar investment leading to the creation of The Guild Inn Estate. An event venue taking advantage of the natural beauty of the park and Scarborough Bluffs.
2 replies on “Toronto’s Guild Inn | Haunted Hotel in Scarborough’s Building Graveyard”
I lived in the Guild from 1974 until 2004 and I couldn’t even begin to count the hours that I spent on the grounds of the Guild Inn or in the hotel itself.
As an insomniac, a wanderer, explorer and lover of absolutely everything about the place, I wandered the grounds, surrounding forest, cliff top as well as the lakeshore at all hours of the day and night for decades. I could probably have gotten around blindfolded, even after a decent amount of the upper edge had eroded down the bluff.
I took countless photos, skipped classes and sat with my feet dangling over the edge, sketching and listening to music on my walkman and every spring I would sneak some lilacs home because I loved the fragrance.
There were no credible stories circulating, only made up urban legend type stuff, I never saw or heard anything, (though not for a lack of searching and hoping,) and all the people I knew working there had the same lack of experience(s.)
Funnily enough, when I was at U of T Scarborough, there was an apparently made up story about someone supposedly hanging themselves in the principal’s residence down in Morningside Park.
I tended bar at a faculty event by myself one night and when I was walking around turning off the lights before leaving, the huge fixture in the large front foyer came back on after I turned it off, not once, not twice but three times.
Paranormal? No clue. Any actual evidence to support the story? I never found anything. It was a really bizarre experience though because I know how to turn a light off so I have no way to explain it…
Thanks for sharing your experience, Anna! Most of the ghost stories are from inside the Guild Building. Although, I’m sure the old Toronto building parts have a feel to them. Sounds so calm.