Hamilton’s Dark History

Only Dark & Violent Stories from Real History

Only dark and strange stories in a city filled with them!  Murder, mobsters, hangings and mayhem jammed into this captivating tour.

Featuring…

  • Reason for the city’s laughable reputation for hanging people.
  • Real story behind the infamous Torso Murderess, Evelyn Dick.
  • The death everyone wanted featuring Whitehern Mansion.
  • Rise & fall of Canada’s King of the Bootleggers, Rocco Perri.

Plus, proof Hamilton is a true mob town!

Well-crafted tales from real history.  Rare with limited dates this season!

BOOK NOW! | FAQ | REVIEWS | UPCOMING TOURS

||UPDATES

Excellent
Ghost Walks of Hamilton
Based on 659 reviews
The quality of resources, including the guides were excellent. The price is incredible. I would recommend!
This was a lovely experience. I loved hearing about the history of Hamilton and the staff were very warm and engaging. I wanted a more guided tour of the castle and they explained that that is freely available for anyone with a local library card. I'm looking forward to going back and spending more time. I recommend taking an earlier tour so there's enough light to see the sites during the bus tour portion.
Had a great time, brought the kids too !!!
It was a chilly clear October night and perfect for the tour. Our guide was amazing. I highly recommend this tour.
Dundas Ghost Walk was so much fun and informative. Daniel our tour guide did an amazing job. very knowledgeable and shared some great stories. Highly recommend!
It took me a while to write this review because I wasn’t sure how to explain myself, in fact I’m still not sure. So here is my account of the Hermitage Ghost Tour on September 26, 2025. I am not from around here so when my friend/neighbour suggested the tour I was excited to experience something new. In total there were 12 of us neighbours that decided to go. It was 8:30 start time with the sun going down. It was spooky mainly because of the dark and our guide (I think Geoff) was so in character and was amazing as well as informative. As soon as we left the first welcome building I I had an overwhelming feeling of my sister saying “it’s me Alma”, which I told a few of my friends at the time. So we go through the ruins where our guide told us a story about “Alma” creepy but all good, met with the psychic, all good, left Hermitage and walking back, all good. Then we stopped at an area where our guide told another story, then “IT” happened. Two of my friends and myself all got “pushed” forward at the same time, enough to bang into the people standing a foot in front of us. It wasn’t a physical push that you could feel but more like an “energy” that moved us forward with great force. I have never experienced this before but I grew up in a town that was built in 1763 so seen and heard lots of creepy stuff before but never this “energy”. Afterwards we looked at our photos. My camera was fine at the welcome building but all my photos of the ruins were covered by cloudy mist but at the end in parking lot photos were again fine. I will be going back again. Thanks for a great night!
Lots of fun!
My third Ghost Walk at Hermitage Ruins.
This time joined by a group of friends.
Always a great experience!
The tour gide was so nice
I went of the "Dark History of Hamilton" tour last week. It was very interesting. I lived in Hamilton for a few years while I was attending McMaster and our guide, Daniel, taught me so much about my once-adopted city that I didn't know about. He was very knowledgeable and enthusiastic. He clearly loves what he does. (Daniel, you're not a teacher by any chance, are you?) I actually went to my local library a couple of days later and got out some books about the Torso Murder. I would recommend this tour to anyone.
Really enjoyed the ‘Dark History’ walk. Daniel’s stories of Hamilton’s past were fascinating, and
his humour kept the tour light and engaging. Great way to spend an afternoon. Highly recommend!
The Alleyway on Augusta

Beside 13 Augusta Street MAP
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Hamilton Dark History Prices

General . . . . . . . $15.00

+ HST Tax & Small 1.5% Fee

Book for Hamilton’s Dark History

Select Date / Click Book Now to See Times

Dates

  • 2025 Dates
    • Sun Aug 24 5p FULL

Tour info

80 MINUTES
DURATION

OUTDOOR TOUR
RUNS RAIN OR MOONSHINE

PAID PARKING
PARKING LOTS & STREET

WHEELCHAIR ACCESS
WITH ASSISTANCE

MATURE CONTENT
ILL-ADVISED FOR LITTLE KIDS

group bookings for this tour
private walks information

Upcoming Hamilton Tours

SEE FULL CALENDAR

FAQ & Interesting Info

Why we are different from other Tours?

A focus on masterful storytelling at a reasonable price.  First, we’ve put special attention into respecting the ghost story.  Also, with a dedication to traditional styles mixed with natural (and interesting) odd history.  This is our specialty since 2003.

Reviews | What people are saying…

Excellent
Ghost Walks of Hamilton
Based on 659 reviews
The quality of resources, including the guides were excellent. The price is incredible. I would recommend!
This was a lovely experience. I loved hearing about the history of Hamilton and the staff were very warm and engaging. I wanted a more guided tour of the castle and they explained that that is freely available for anyone with a local library card. I'm looking forward to going back and spending more time. I recommend taking an earlier tour so there's enough light to see the sites during the bus tour portion.
Had a great time, brought the kids too !!!
It was a chilly clear October night and perfect for the tour. Our guide was amazing. I highly recommend this tour.
Dundas Ghost Walk was so much fun and informative. Daniel our tour guide did an amazing job. very knowledgeable and shared some great stories. Highly recommend!
It took me a while to write this review because I wasn’t sure how to explain myself, in fact I’m still not sure. So here is my account of the Hermitage Ghost Tour on September 26, 2025. I am not from around here so when my friend/neighbour suggested the tour I was excited to experience something new. In total there were 12 of us neighbours that decided to go. It was 8:30 start time with the sun going down. It was spooky mainly because of the dark and our guide (I think Geoff) was so in character and was amazing as well as informative. As soon as we left the first welcome building I I had an overwhelming feeling of my sister saying “it’s me Alma”, which I told a few of my friends at the time. So we go through the ruins where our guide told us a story about “Alma” creepy but all good, met with the psychic, all good, left Hermitage and walking back, all good. Then we stopped at an area where our guide told another story, then “IT” happened. Two of my friends and myself all got “pushed” forward at the same time, enough to bang into the people standing a foot in front of us. It wasn’t a physical push that you could feel but more like an “energy” that moved us forward with great force. I have never experienced this before but I grew up in a town that was built in 1763 so seen and heard lots of creepy stuff before but never this “energy”. Afterwards we looked at our photos. My camera was fine at the welcome building but all my photos of the ruins were covered by cloudy mist but at the end in parking lot photos were again fine. I will be going back again. Thanks for a great night!
Lots of fun!
My third Ghost Walk at Hermitage Ruins.
This time joined by a group of friends.
Always a great experience!
The tour gide was so nice
I went of the "Dark History of Hamilton" tour last week. It was very interesting. I lived in Hamilton for a few years while I was attending McMaster and our guide, Daniel, taught me so much about my once-adopted city that I didn't know about. He was very knowledgeable and enthusiastic. He clearly loves what he does. (Daniel, you're not a teacher by any chance, are you?) I actually went to my local library a couple of days later and got out some books about the Torso Murder. I would recommend this tour to anyone.
Really enjoyed the ‘Dark History’ walk. Daniel’s stories of Hamilton’s past were fascinating, and
his humour kept the tour light and engaging. Great way to spend an afternoon. Highly recommend!

Do we go into any of the buildings?

This is an outdoor tour in Hamilton’s core. Most locations are abandoned, closed at night, unable accommodate our group… or is an alleyway! Book for our indoor tour at Castle Kilbride

Why are dates and times missing when booking?

When a date or time slot is missing in the Booking… If a missing time, that tour time is sold out.  A missing date, means the entire night is sold out.

Info | Why Hamilton is Darker than any Canadian City

The reason Hamilton’s Dark History exists! Our archive consists of information showing off ghost stories in this very haunted city of Hamilton. 

But we’re obsessed.  Strange and dark history must be mix into these ghostly tales.

Opened up an interesting history, odd for any Canadian city. 

A New Tour Born

The Hamilton’s Dark History was born from these stories.  Vagabonds, outside the squeaky clean image of this young country, but oh so interesting.

Great example is outside the region of this tour.  A town once known as Mount Albion.  Has since been wiped off the map.  Why is it the darkest history in Canada?  Because…

Home to the Ghost of a Tragic Legend

“Alas, poor Jane Riley,

for Joseph she did die

By jumping off that dizzy brink,

full sixty cubits high” ~ Slater

Jilted by her lover.  The boy from a rich family caught with a prostitute in a near-by church.  Poor Jane Riley rushed to the precipice of Albion Falls.  

Town’s folk saw her wandering alone in the woods.  Hair disheveled, dirt smeared across her face, screaming at the sky and whispering to herself.

Downfall

It disturbed them, but nobody helped poor Jane Riley.

Days later, men working beneath the Albion Falls saw at the top two shadows appear over the sun’s glare.  Shielding their eyes and looking up, two girls balanced at the edge.

One reached out, missing, as the other leaned forward.

The men ran, splashing through the water, trying to see where she would land.

Strange Note

They watched her fall feet first, leading to an action removing all doubt this was an accident. Her dress billowed out like a parachute which slowed her descent.  Her desire to die was evident as she brushed it down and sped to the rocks below.

They stayed with her. Jane Riley barely alive, as the men reassured she would be okay.  She silently died after one hour.

Was Hamilton’s Mob Graveyard (in a true Mob town, proven on the tour)

Organized crime needs a body dumping ground. Such as a remote location far from the central city. Forests, quiet, and pitch black at night.

Like the movie scenes. The old 1920’s Ford parked just off a wooded path shining headlights into the woods. As two men in suits dig a hole. That happened in Hamilton!

Body Dumping Ground

Al Capone had one. Was a burial ground outside of Chicago (Bremen Township) known as Bachelor’s Grove.  Because it was remote, secret, and best of all, bodies already in the ground.

For Rocco Perri, it was Albion Falls (Mills).  As shown by the story of Fred and Joseph on the tour.  He was Ontario’s King of the Bootleggers. 

Most likely for other families followed.  

Where a Murderess got Infamous

In the 1940’s, some kids are playing in the Albion woods less than a mile from the Falls.   A boy noticed it.

Looked like a dead animal on the fallen leaves, but something wasn’t right.  The kids got their parents, and they knew.  This wasn’t an animal… it was wearing a shirt.

Not an Animal

It was the human torso of John Dick.  Kicking off the legend of Evelyn Dick.  These stories now famous throughout Canada and even the United States.   Her story on the tour outside of the once courthouse where she was tried, found not guilty, then found guilty again.

Want more darkness?  Join the Facebook group called Hamilton’s Darker History

Should I book in advance?

Yes.  We are limited on space for tours.  Advance bookings allows us to guarantee spots for you, and book in additional guides if needed.