Victoria, Canada - The ghost stories never seem to stop here. No Canadian town can claim to be as haunted as Victoria, the capital of British Columbia.
Nestled on the south of Vancouver Island, Victoria manages to simultaneously highlight its British roots while boasting a number of modern touches including alternative shops, high-tech jobs and trendy micro-brewery pubs.
But it's the ghost stories that make the city stand out.
Anyone hunting Victoria's spooks should look up John Adams. Once or twice a day, the grey-bearded historian leads tours through the city centre with its 19th century facades. He attributes the high ghost population to the abundance of saltwater and subterranean volcanic rock in the region.
'That holds in the ghosts' energy.?'
One spooky spot is Roger's Chocolates, a shop along Government Street in a building dating back to 1903. According to Adams, spectral hands regularly reach into the store's tills. At other times they grab milk chocolates and smash them on the ground.
'It's probably the old owners, Charles and Leah Rogers. They only liked dark chocolate,' explains Adams. Charlotte, a clerk, nods knowingly. 'Just today the room's stereo turned on all by itself,' she says. Already, the first chills run down the spine.
Bastion Square and the distinctive Empress Hotel on the harbour are considered to be especially haunted. Guests routinely find an old woman knocking at their door, asking about her room.
'Then she names the number of a room that doesn't exist any more, because it was replaced with an elevator in 2001,' says Adams. The woman died in that room. 'Now the ghost's room is gone. As soon as the guest turns around, the woman vanishes.'
The hotel has more pleasant experiences in store such as classic British afternoon tea. Since 1908, up to 115,000 guests annually have participated in the daily event. Tea is served with milk, followed by sandwiches with crabmeat, tuna, cucumbers and mango jam. They are followed by scones with jam and cream, and, finally, biscuits.
Waiters wear white gloves and the porcelain has the same pattern as that used when King George VI visited in 1939. Everything here is 'very British.'
Which is as it should be, says Kristine George of Victoria's tourism office, noting that tourists, mainly Americans and Asians, are always on the lookout for living traditions from colonial times.
Other reminders of the town's British roots include double-decker buses and stores like the Edinburgh Tartan Shop, which specializes in classic fashion for men and women.
But Victoria is much more than a city with a lot of British history. In Beacon Hill Park, there's a placard marking Mile Zero of the Trans-Canada Highway, which runs all the way to Newfoundland.
Boutiques and designer shops abound around Market Square. Brewery pubs stay busy serving up lager and ale creations for 20 and 30- somethings.
Once the town was considered 'a place for newlyweds and nearly deads.' No longer.
Internet: www.travelcanada.ca, www.tourismvictoria.com, www.hellobc.com.
http://travel.monstersandcritics.com/fe ... le_Britain
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