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A cloaked guide details the haunted history of old Kingston at one of the many stops on the Original Haunted Walk of Kingston. -- Photo by Phil Raby

Public hangings, ghouls and body snatchers... not exactly the type of stories you would expect to hear in the dignified university town of Kingston, Ontario.

As one of Canada's most historic cities and Ontario's oldest settlement, it's a town steeped deep in its rich political past. Kingston was the first capital of the united Upper and Lower Canadas before the national seat of government was moved to Ottawa in the 1840s. It was also home to Canada's first Prime Minister, Sir John A. Macdonald.

The only disturbing fact that might come to the mind of Kingston's visitors may be that some of Canada's most infamous and notorious criminals call this city home as they do their time at the Kingston penitentiary.

But there's an even more sinister side to be found here. Since 1995, Glen Shackleton has been running Haunted Walks Inc., offering walking tours that take you to the city's most eerie locales. Shackleton got the idea to conduct historical and haunted tours in Kingston after going on one in England.

"It was a lot of fun, so I thought I could do the same thing back home. It was just a hobby, but it grew so quickly it became a full-time business," he explains, amazed at the popularity of his enterprise.

Walking tours, with a variety of themes, are now offered in both Kingston and Ottawa all year long, with Halloween, of course, being the busiest season.

The Original Haunted Walk of Kingston, takes place at night and consists of a small group following a guide fully clad in proper haunted-tour attire: black cape, black clothing and an old candle-lit lantern in hand.

The tour meets in front of the Prince George Hotel in downtown Kingston and then proceeds over to the Market Square, right behind City Hall. It is here that participants learn about the strange happenings in Kingston's bastion of civic affairs.

The magnificent City Hall, that is over 160 years old, held prisoners in cells that still exist in their original form today.

The story goes that modern-day city workers heard strange noises, such as chains rattling, crying and footsteps, originating from the old jailhouse that currently serves as a storage facility.

Other ghoulish retellings include the story of the public hangings that took place a century or so ago at the Frontenac County Courthouse and Jail. The executioner was so busy that Kingston quickly began attracting tourists from all around the lake to witness the grisly justice being meted out.

The executed were buried on the premises, but when the jail was moved, some say not all of the bodies went with it. There is one story of a mysterious man with a strange piece of neck ware. Local inhabitants claim to have seen this poor soul, with a noose still around his neck, always leaning up against the same area of a wall at the old courthouse.

In 1976, when construction took place on that same wall, a crude coffin with a skeletal corpse was discovered interred there. Local historians suspect the man may have been the victim of an unauthorized jailhouse execution. Kinder souls gave the remains a proper burial and the ghostly presence of the "noose man" soon disappeared.

Even more bizarre is the story of the old burial ground that became a public park. When the grounds of the cemetery became completely full, mostly with victims of a cholera and typhoid outbreak in the mid-1800s, the local government decided to turn the area into a public park.

Kingston City Hall at night, one of the spooky stops on a walking tour of the city's historic and haunted buildings. -- Photo by Phil Raby

But rather than deal with the expense and effort of removing the remains and grave makers, it was decided that it would be more expedient to simply topple the headstones and cover them with a layer of soil.

In time, people forgot about what laid beneath and McBurney Park, its new name, became a place where many would spend their weekend afternoons. It wasn't until years later that the macabre past of the "park" was remembered as grave markers and the occasional human bone began to poke through the grounds. Even some family pets have been known to dig up the odd ghastly souvenir.

Speaking of bones, you'll also hear about the prolific turn-of-the-century grave robbing that took place to meet the needs of medical students' studying anatomy at the local university.

Are all these stories true? Yes, according to Shackleton, who makes sure each tale is thoroughly researched before making its way onto the tour circuit. The guides are also specially selected for their storytelling and dramatic skills to bring the stories alive to the listeners.

For more information on tours being offered log on to www.hauntedwalk.com.

By day, Kingston City Hall hosts a vibrant outdoor fall market, but at night the ghosts and goblins are rumoured to take over. -- Photo by Phil Raby

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