The Haunted Streets of Downtown Toronto tour takes participants to some of the most haunted buildings in the city. -- Photos courtesy of Muddy York Walking Tours

"Cool!"

That was my 16-year-old-daughter's reaction when I told her I was arranging for us to take a walking tour of downtown Toronto's haunted areas. That keen proclamation convinced me that I was onto something. At that age, most kids would rather go to a Barry Manilow concert than be seen with their parents in public.

What she didn't know was that she wouldn't only be learning about the unexplained manifestations that take place in this town, but as well, some history would be tossed into the mix. Had I mentioned that part, though, my suggestion may well have been met instead with that popular teenage utterance of "whatever."

It's a reaction Richard Fiennes-Clinton fights everyday. The founder and owner of Muddy York Walking Tours, located in Toronto, decided to fashion his fascination with history into a business, but he quickly realized reciting facts would only take listeners back to their boring Grade 7 classes. So, Fiennes-Clinton came up with the idea of masking the facts through themed tours.

"The trick of it sometimes is to not let them realize that they're learning history until it's too late. Most people are interested in history if you put the right spin on it," explained the 32-year-old historian. "A lot of people couldn't care less about the past if you just regurgitate dates and names. But tell them a story -- one that's violent and sexy, if possible -- and you'll have them hooked."

And hook them he has for the past four years, since Muddy York Walking Tours went into business. Of the tours currently being offered, one of the most popular is the Haunted Streets of Downtown Toronto.

It begins on the steps of the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) and takes participants around the downtown core to a litany of known landmarks that Torontonians will never quite regard in the same way after hearing the ghostly stories attached to them.

At the ROM, we learn about the origins of the building and the fact it is haunted not by one ghost, but two.

One of those apparitions goes by the name of Celeste. She is described as a little girl, no more than eight years old, in turn-of-the-century dress. For many years, she was observed by staff sitting in the theatre, watching the celestial shows at the McLaughlin Planetarium, hence the name she was given. The same story was repeated over and over: employees would spot the youngster and when approached, the little girl would vanish before their eyes. Because these appearances happened quite a bit, sometimes on a daily basis, the little ghost was adopted by the building employees and not really feared.

When the Planetarium became the Children's Museum, Celeste continued to make her presence known by disrupting exhibits or making toys fly off shelves. Now that the Museum has been closed for a while, those who knew of Celeste's presence worry about her. They wonder if she is lonely now that the building is mostly empty. But just who was this little girl who has endeared herself to somany? Richard has a theory.

"Based on the description of her hair being done in ringlets, she probably came from a wealthy family. This area used to be a rich residential community in the late part of the 1800s, so she probably lived around here and may have died of cholera. Being of that age, there wouldn't really be any paperwork on her since she would have been tutored at home, so we may never know who she was for sure."

A little further south, the group finds itself in the shadows of Queen's Park, home to the government of Ontario, and a building that has seen many mad and rowdy individuals throughout the times.

But a madness of another sort made its home on the grounds many years ago. From 1842 to 1886, the site housed the University Hospital for the Insane, which may explain the strange happenings in the area, including the apparition known as the Hanging Woman. She's described as a lady in a tattered dress hanging lifelessly from a noose in one of the tunnels which connects the different buildings on the grounds.

Richard recalls that a young girl taking the tour a while back gave everyone a first-hand account of her encounter with the Hanging Woman, which she experienced while working as a page at Queen's Park. He describes the look of fear that crept on her face as she told the story and suddenly some in the group, like my daughter, crowd in a little closer.

Other stops at Osgoode Hall and Old City Hall, on Queen Street West, offer listeners insight into the inner workings of the law and policy makers at the turn of the century with some hair-raising ghost stories to go along.

On the steps of the Old City Hall, now a courthouse, we learn of architect Edward James Lennox's colourful battle with the councillors and mayor of the time as the construction budget for the building ballooned from $600,000 to $2.5 million. But what else would one expect after taking 11 years to finalize the project? Needless to say, city council wasn't amused and made it their mission to make his life miserable during the whole ordeal.

However, it was Lennox who had the last laugh. On the columns that grace the front entrance of the building, there are stone carvings of faces contorted in very unbecoming and grotesque ways, which many believe are the depictions of Lennox's tormentors from City Hall. He included himself in the line-up as well, but his face stares out demurely amidst all the crazy-looking mugs immortalizing the legendary row in almost sure perpetuity.

Along with the lessons in history come the juicy ghost stories, like the judge who witnessed an apparition on a back stairwell and the very haunted Courtroom 33 where many have tried to spend a night only to walk out (maybe run) after a few hours of experiencing the unexplained. Many believe that the paranormal activity in the area has to do with the fact that the last two men to be executed in Canada were both sentenced to death in that room.

Richard Fiennes-Clinton, the owner of Muddy York Walking Tours, hopes his tours will educate as well as entertain.

The tour ends at what is considered the most haunted house in Toronto, Mackenzie House on Bond Street (which also takes the prize for darkest street in the city), the former home of William Lyon Mackenzie. The group is asked to get particularly close to the Georgian-style house as the tales of ghostly appearances are told and Richard must take delight in how his entranced listeners' eyes dart nervously from his face to the windows of the home behind him.

Whether he's spinning a tale of fact or hear-say, Richard tells it with flair, gusto and drama, keeping his audience captivated to the very last word. Such enthusiasm may be the by-product of personal experiences with the paranormal which leads to the question: has he ever seen a ghost?

"It's kind of hard to see ghosts on the tour when your back is always turned to the haunted building," he says matter-of-factly.

For information: www.muddyyorktours.com or 416-487-9017

Travel writer A.P. Rodrigues can be contacted through R + R Creative