HAUNTED CANADA 🍁 Ghosts, Hauntings, and True Crimes
Haunted Canada: A podcast of Canada’s most creepiest ghost stories, hauntings, true crimes and mysteries. Hosted by professional storyteller Nadine, producer of the awarding winning Edmonton Ghost Tours.
HAUNTED CANADA 🍁 Ghosts, Hauntings, and True Crimes
Episode 25- The Massey Family - Ghosts, Haunting, Murders and Mysteries of the Keg Restaurant, Massey Hall, Hart House, Massey College and The Massey Murder of 1915. Toronto, Ontario
The Massey Family- Ghosts, haunting, murders, and msyteries.
- The Keg Restaurant
- Massey Hall
- Hart House
- Massey College
- The Massey Murder of 1915
For more information about this podcast please visit us at:
http://www.HauntedCanada.com
To learn more about the Edmonton Ghost Tours visit us at:
http://www.EdmontonGhostTours.com
Written and Produced by Nadine Bailey
Music by: Mountain Sound AudioJungle
Music Standard -Mystery Logo Audiojungle
Sources
https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/hart-almerrin-massey
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massey_Hall
Photo Credit: Euclid Hall in 1920 City of Toronto Archives
https://www.torontojourney416.com/keg-mansion/
https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/hart-almerrin-massey
https://thevarsity.ca/2023/10/29/midterms-are-not-the-scariest-thing-haunting-u-of-t-this-october/
https://magazine.utoronto.ca/campus/places/university-toronto-ghost-story/
https://watershedmagazine.com/features/masseys-on-my-mind/
Welcome to Haunted Canada. Hi everyone, this is Nadine. Hi everyone, this is Nadine. If you want to support the creation of this podcast, please take the time, leave a 5-star written review, share this podcast and tell a friend. You can also support us through the link in the show notes titled Show your Support, buy Me a Coffee. If you have a ghost story, haunting or true crime that you would like for us to cover on this podcast, please email me through the website hauntedcanadacom. Now on with the show. Welcome to episode 25 of Haunted Canada.
Speaker 1:On this episode, we're going to delve into the many ghost stories of a very famous family that has numerous buildings and landmarks named after them in Ontario, with many of these buildings filled with ghosts, hauntings, murders and mysteries. This is the famous Massey family, who became very wealthy in the agricultural and manufacturing sector, eventually living in what today is known as the Keg Mansion Restaurant, formerly known as Euclid Hall. The Massey family has a history of wealth and tragedy. While a mass and a fortune, they donated a lot of their money to worthy causes within the community through the Massey Foundation, including buildings that bear their name today that have many of their own ghostly stories, paranormal activity and tragic murders. The Keg Mansion in Toronto, ontario, is a historical home now turned into a restaurant that is haunted by the many different spirits, including the ghost of a loyal maid who hung herself from the staircase after her employer, lillian Massey, died in 1915. Also, there is a spirit of a little boy that is often seen sitting on the grand staircase, and the sounds of phantom children can often be heard running throughout the staircase, and the sounds of phantom children can often be heard running throughout the second and the third floors of the home.
Speaker 1:The Opulent House was originally built in 1868 for Arthur McMaster, who founded McMaster University, now located in Hamilton, ontario. When the massive home was originally built in the Gothic Revival style, it was built on Jarvis Avenue, where all the wealthiest families lived. That was often referred to as Millionaire's Row of the Gilded Age. He only lived there until the early 1880s when McMaster died, and the house was then purchased by Hart Massey, who was a very wealthy industrialist born into the prominent Massey family. Hart's father, daniel Massey, was a businessman who started the very successful Newcastle Foundry and Machine Manufactory in the agricultural field, later known as Massey Manufacturing. Hart took the business over when his father died and Hart was a natural in the business world and expanded the father's company throughout Canada, america, europe and Australia, making millions along the way. Many years later, massey Manufacturing was doing so well that it merged with a similar company called Harris, which eventually became known as Massey Harris. Hart Massey was noted as being a stern employer but a gentle Methodist who regarded his business as a trust from God. Hart contributed to many charitable educational and religious institutions and built the Toronto's famous Massey Music Hall and started the Fred Victor Mission in memory of his two sons, charles and Frederick. The Fred Victor Mission, a charitable organization, is still operating in Toronto to this day, with its focus being on providing homes and shelter for men, women and families who live in extreme poverty. And if the Massey name sounds familiar to you, you might recognize it from the dozen or so buildings that bear its name throughout Ontario, including, of course, the famous Massey Music Hall, massey College, the Massey Harris Building, hart House, the Lillian Massey Building at the University of Toronto, just to name a few.
Speaker 1:Hart Massey and his wife were originally living in Cleveland, ohio, on Euclid Street, amongst other wealthy families, but moved to Toronto and took up residency in the new opulent home in 1882 with their five children. Hart's wife, eliza Ann, renamed the house Euclid Hall. Euclid was the name of the street that the family lived on back in Cleveland, ohio, and was also the name of a Greek mathematician. The Gothic Revival-style house, which still stands to this day, no-transcript. Hart Massey and his wife Eliza Ann had six children, five sons, but sadly one boy died in infancy and one daughter, lillian Francis. Hart Massey wanted his eldest son, charles, to run the family company and while Charles was president for many years and was really good at it, sadly he died in 1884 from typhoid.
Speaker 1:Hart Massey's other children went on to do wonderful things with his daughter, lillian Massey, involved in a lot of philanthropy work. Chester Massey would eventually become president of the company when his father passed away. Even Hart Massey's grandchildren got involved. Vincent Massey, the grandson of Hart Massey, ran Massey Harris Limited up until the 1920s, when he moved into politics and did some pretty amazing things, including lead the Royal Commission on the Arts known as the Massey Report, established the Canadian Council of Arts and established the National Library of Canada and went on to become the first Canadian-born Governor General of Canada and helped introduce the Governor General Awards. Vincent Massey, the grandson of Hart, did so many impressive things for Canada that 23 schools are named after him to this day, while another grandson, raymond Massey, became a very famous actor in Hollywood who was actually nominated for an Academy Award, an Oscar for Best Actor, has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and acted alongside many Hollywood stars, including Joan Crawford, gary Cooper and James Dean.
Speaker 1:The Massys weren't just rich, they were ultra-rich in the late 1800s, and life growing up in the Massey family would have consisted of butlers, maids, governesses, private schools and every luxury that one could imagine. When Hart Massey died in 1896, he left a lot of endowments and charitable gifts to many organizations that were important to him. He gave a lot of endowments and charitable gifts to many organizations that were important to him, including Massey Hall and many Methodist colleges, including Victoria College, mount Allison College and the newly founded American University in Washington. Along with all the charitable giving, it led to the creation of the Massey Foundation. Its first major project was the completion of the Student Center for the University of Toronto, which was given the name Hart House. The Foundation also contributed to Massey Hall, a cultural landmark in Toronto, and an endowment at Massey College located at the University of Toronto.
Speaker 1:Like many wealthy people who died, hart Massey, was buried in a very grand family mausoleum at Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Toronto, ontario. Eventually, hart Massey's only daughter, lillian, married and moved into the mansion Euclid Hall. Lillian, like her father, hart Massey, gave to many charities and organizations, including helping to institute a four-year program on household sciences at the University of Toronto. Lillian Massey was also very kind and loved by many in her community, including her servants. Lillian's personal maid was especially devoted to Lillian and had worked for her for many, many years and was taking her pending death very, very hard. So much, in fact, that when Lillian died in her bedroom in the Grand Mansion on November 3rd 1915, her maid was devastated and inconsolable.
Speaker 1:Legend reports that when the doctor pronounced Lillian Massey dead by saying she's gone, the maid was overcome with such grief that she would begin to walk up the grand staircase towards the oval vestibule that looked down into the front foyer. Apparently, as the maid was walking up the staircase, nobody seemed to notice that she had a length of rope in her hand. The maid stood at the edge of the vestibule, which was directly outside of Lillian Massey's room, where her dead body laid. The maid had already fastened a noose and put it around her neck, tied the other end to the banister and threw herself over the edge. The maid's neck snapped instantly as her body swung back and forth in the front foyer for a long time until it was cut down. Their bodies swung back and forth in the front foyer for a long time until it was cut down. The Massey family members that were there at the bedside of Lillian and the staff inside the Grand Mansion were not only devastated with the death of the owner, lily Massey, they were shocked and mortified upon seeing the maid's dead body swinging back and forth from the banister.
Speaker 1:To this day, people who are working at the Keg Mansion restaurant will often catch a glimpse of a maid hanging from a rope in their front foyer, while on other occasions people will actually hear the sounds of the rope twisting against the railing or the sounds of the maid's neck snapping. Even scarier is the fact that employees at the Keg restaurant will often see what appears to be a woman dressed in an early 1900s maid uniform slowly walking up the grand staircase carrying a rope, yet when people take a second glance, she's vanished. When Lillian Massey died, she gifted the family mansion Euclid Hall to the University of Toronto, and it was used for many different purposes over the decades, including being used as a women's college, veterans hospital, art and antique gallery and CFRB radio station. Then in the 1960s it was a popular restaurant called Julie's, with the Bombay Bicycle Club on the second floor. By the early 1970s, the mansion was purchased and still is to this day used as the Keg Mansion Restaurant, with many reports of ghosts, hauntings and paranormal activity still happening to this day.
Speaker 1:The ghost of a maid who hung herself from the oval vestibule over the foyer and is still seen swinging from the rope to this day and wandering throughout the house is one of the most famous ghost stories of the Keg Mansion. Many believe the legend that the maid hung herself, but there are actually two famous stories as to why the maid might have died. One reports that the maid was devoted to her employer, lily Massey, who died in the house in 1915. The maid had been devoted to Lillian her entire life and when Lillian Massey passed away, the maid was distraught and overcome with grief, taking her life by hanging herself from the vestibule railing over the foyer. A different legend states that the maid may have been having an affair with one of the Massey men and it was close to being exposed. The maid was terrified that people would find out and decided to take her own life by hanging from the rail over the foyer.
Speaker 1:The second ghost that wanders throughout the Keck Mansion is believed to be that of a man wearing a black suit that is often seen wandering throughout the restaurant and is usually seen in the dining room standing in the corner. This spirit is believed to be that of a former butler that lived in the house when it was owned by Hart Massey, while on other occasions the apparition of a young boy has been seen sitting on the grand staircase, while other people have often heard children running, seen sitting on the grand staircase, while other people have often heard children running up and down the grand staircase and running throughout the second and the third floor of the house Over the years, when guests have been inside the Keg Mansion restaurant having dinner with their small children, the kids will often head out to the foyer and sit on the steps of the grand staircase telling their parents that they want to play with the little boy again. When the parents check, there's never anybody there, and it's always believed that the young children who visit the restaurant can see the ghost of the little boy sitting on the staircase. Many staff and guests have reported lights going on and off, doors opening and closing and the feeling of a presence, especially in the female washroom, as if someone is just staring at you. Yet when people look around, there's nobody there. Staff who work at the historical building to this day believe that it's the ghost of Lillian Massey, who died in the house in 1915.
Speaker 1:While the former home of Hart Massey, one of the most wealthiest industrialists in the late 1800s, still stands in Toronto this day and is known as one of the most haunted locations in Toronto, it seems that there are many other buildings that bear the Massey name that have a lot of their own dark history, including, but not limited to, massey College, hart House at the University of Toronto and one of the most famous and notable locations in Toronto, massey Music Hall. Massey Hall opened in 1894, and this impressive theatre was built by Hart Massey, who, throughout his life, had given a lot of his wealth to wonderful causes, including university churches and the building of Massey Hall. Hart Massey wanted to build a music hall in order to fill the need for a music place where people in Toronto could enjoy music of a non-religious theme, but also a place where anybody could come to enjoy music, no matter if they were rich or poor. Hart Massey financed the building of Massey Hall, which ended up costing just over $152,000. The building has a neoclassical facade and the inside design was taken from a palace in Spain. Yet what's most impressive is that there are 30 stained glass windows at the top of the hall, with each being that of a famous composer. Having Massey Hall built was a labor of love for Hart Massey, as he wanted to build the hall in the memory of his son, charles, who loved music and sadly passed away in 1884 from typhoid.
Speaker 1:Like most theaters and concert halls around the world, massey Hall has many of its own ghosts and hauntings. There are two very prominent ghosts that currently reside at Massey Hall. The first is said to be that of an older man who is often seen wandering around the backstage of Massey Hall. When people see this man, it appears as if he's wearing early 1900s attire. Yet as soon as the staff at Massey Hall see this man's spirit, he'll often just turn and vanish in the hallway. Many people believe that it's the spirit of either Hart Massey, the millionaire who paid to have the impressive Massey Hall built, or the spirit of Charles Massey, who the building was dedicated to. The other ghost is that of a woman referred to as the Diva. It seems that this female ghost will often sit in the audience and make loud noises when any other woman is singing or rehearsing on stage. Another haunted building that was donated to the University of Toronto and bears the Massey name is Hart House, named after its benefactor, hart Massey name is Hart House named after its benefactor, hart Massey.
Speaker 1:The Hart House Theatre has its own ghostly presence, which is that of the former caretaker Bert, who died in his house in the 1950s. Yet it's believed that his spirit continues to show up at the Hart House Theatre, the place that he loved so much. Not only has the former caretaker Bert made his presence known, he has also saved the life of one of the theater's directors, a man by the name of Paul Templin. The story goes that Paul was working late one night at the Hart House Theater when Paul fell asleep in his office. It seems that as Paul was drifting off into a deep sleep, he suddenly heard the door to his office open and then slam shut. Of course, as this was in the evening when there was nobody else in the theater at the time. This startled Paul. As the door slammed shut, paul jumped to his feet and was wide awake, and when he stood up he could smell smoke. When Paul opened the door to his office, there was a lot of smoke in the hallway in the theater, as there was an electrical fire. Paul quickly got out of the building and alerted the fire department. Paul is noted in several newspaper articles as stating that if it hadn't been for the ghost Bert slamming the door shut and waking him up, he might have died in the fire that very evening. Paul also noted in an article interview that I read that he'd often seen the figure of a man believed to be Bert the ghost in the frosted glass of his office door, and many actors who performed at the Hart House Theatre had often seen an older man wandering throughout the backstage area and then just vanish. Many actors refer to the ghost as Bert the caretaker.
Speaker 1:Another famous building that garners the family name is the historic and haunted Massey College at the University of Toronto. The college was built in 1962 by the Massey Foundation, yet interestingly enough it only started to admit women in 1974. And today it is said that the spirit of the first master, otherwise known as the principal, robertson Davis is still haunting the building, as he promised to do before his death. As he promised to do before his death, robertson was the master, the principal, of Massey College for 18 years, from 1963 till 1981, and he would use his amazing storytelling talents to entertain students and fellow teachers during the annual Christmas party known as the Gaunty Night, with stories of ghosts and hauntings that were set within Massey College. Robertson would always start off these Christmas events with the same ghost story called the Revelation of Smoky Fire, a story that was about a master of Massey College. Robertson's ghost stories were so well spun together that the students and his colleagues would look forward to each Christmas party knowing that they would be entertained with another spooky tale from Mr Davis. Yet what's even more interesting is that Robertson Davis always said that when he died he would come back to haunt Massey College, and Robertson was a man of his word. Robertson retired in 1981 and actually used that time to put together a collection of ghost stories into a published book called High Spirits, and to this day, every Christmas, during the Christmas party, one of the staff will read one of Robertson's ghost stories from his book. Some of the ghost stories in the book include the ghost who vanished by degrees when Satan comes home for Christmas and the cat that went to Trinity. Sadly, robertson passed away in 1995, and the staff at Massey College believe that he kept his word when he said they would come back to haunt the college Students and staff have often seen what appears to be the apparition of Robertson Davis walking throughout Masset College, but just as people seem to get a somewhat clear glimpse of him walking through the hallways of the school, he will just vanish through a closed door or a wall.
Speaker 1:Many people have reported hearing loud sounds and crashes coming from empty classrooms, but when people check those rooms, they're empty. Teachers have reported that when they're leaving classrooms they'll turn off the lights, close the doors only to hear loud crashes and bangs. Yet when they run back into the room to see what's happened, they'll notice that desks and chairs have been flipped over and the books that were once on the tables have now been thrown to the floor. Many believe that the former master, the principal of Massey College, has also made his presence known in the 2005-2006 class photo. When the picture was developed, there was a mysterious shadow present and many believe that is the ghost of Robertson Davis, the former master of Massey College, making his presence known in death as he promised to do. Death as he promised to do. While the financial legacy of the Massey family changed the financial and the business landscape of Canada, there are so many stories throughout the generations that leave many people still fascinated by this wealthy family. While the Massey name and the Massey Foundation are connected with numerous buildings, universities and endowments, it's the Massey murder of 1915 that truly shocked the country and led to a sensational trial that kept everyone fascinated as to what the outcome might be.
Speaker 1:Charles Massey was the oldest child of Hart Massey and was described as a workaholic who literally worked himself to death and died in 1884 from typhoid. Prior to his death, he spent all of his time working in the family business Massey Manufacturing, later to be known as Massey Harris. But Charles took a different approach from his father. While his father's heart was stern with employees, charles was kind and knew many of the employees' names, loved music and was an accomplished organist. He brought music into the plant for the workers and also created the Massey Band, a string quartet and a glee club. When Charles died of typhoid in 1884, his father, hart Massey, had built Massey Music Hall in memory of Charles.
Speaker 1:It's noted that when Charles Massey died his father, hart, didn't really do much to help Charles' widow and their children, and they became known as the Poor Relations. Charles Massey's oldest son, bert, went on to become a car salesman in and around 1915. A bit of money and had a somewhat nice but shabby house that's still located on Waldmere Road in Toronto to this day. They did actually employ an 18-year-old English maid by the name of Carrie, yet it seems that Burt Massey liked to try to take liberties with the help. One evening Burt Massey had tried to make some advances toward Carrie and she was afraid that this would happen again. So the very next day, on February 8th 1915, when Burt Massey was coming home from work, carrie got her employer's gun and shot Burt Massey twice as he walked up the front steps of his home, killing him instantly.
Speaker 1:The maid Carrie was arrested and made a full confession and was put on trial for the murder of her employer. And because the Massey name was attached to this murder trial, it fascinated the public and was played out daily in the Toronto newspapers and around the world. Since Carrie had made a full confession, many people just expected for her to be found guilty, and because the death penalty was still in effect in 1915, many thought that she would hang for the murder of her employer. For her to be found guilty, and because the death penalty was still in effect in 1915, many thought that she would hang for the murder of her employer. Yet when everything came out, in the trial of the liberties that the employer, burt Massey, was trying to take with his maid Carrie, she was found innocent by an all-male jury.
Speaker 1:The home where Burt Massey was murdered still exists to this day in Toronto, but has been divided into two separate properties, but it is believed that the spirit of the maid Carrie and her dead employer, burt Massey, still roam throughout the historic home to this day. Over the years, many people have reported that when they're inside the old historic house that they'll often see what appears to be the ghost of a young woman wearing a maid's uniform from the early 1900s, and on occasions paranormal phenomenon will happen, such as books flying off the shelves and items disappearing, only to reappear in other rooms. Yet the most spookiest thing is when people have often reported seeing what appears to be a man covered in blood lying on the front steps of the house and when people take a second glance, he's gone. Many believe that it's the spirit of Burt Massey, who was shot dead on the front steps of his home on February 8th 1915.
Speaker 1:The story of the Massey murder has fascinated people for the last hundred plus years, so much so that it was written about numerous times, most recently turned into a book called the Massey Murder A Maid, her Master and the Trial that Shocked a Country, written by Charlotte Gray. While the Massey name is synonymous with wealth and privilege, the legacy of the family still lives on to this day, as seen throughout its contributions to educational institutions and the arts, with buildings such as Massey Hall, hart House and Massey College, just to name a few. Yet it seems that the ghosts, hauntings, murders and mysteries that still reside within many of the Massey buildings are still fascinating and terrifying people to this day. Whether it's the ghost of the maid that hung herself in the banister at Euclid Hall, now the Keg Restaurant, the ghosts that are still seen wandering throughout Massey Hall, or the spirit of the master of Massey College that promised to haunt the college when he died, or the many ghosts surrounding the house where Burt Massey was murdered on his doorstep in 1915, the one thing that is for sure is that the Massey family left behind a legacy of ghosts and hauntings that are still terrifying people to this day.
Speaker 1:Well, everyone, that is the end of episode 25 of Haunted Canada and I want to thank everyone for listening and also thank you to the show's sponsor, edmund, and Ghost Tours. I will link it in the show notes. If you would like to support the continuation of the Haunted Canada podcast, to hear more episodes, please follow the podcast, give us a like and a five-star written review. Also, you can follow us on our different social media platforms. Or if you have a ghost story, haunting or true crime that you would like for us to cover on this podcast or that I can read out to everybody, please, crime that you would like for us to cover on this podcast or that I can read out to everybody, please email us through the website hauntedcanadacom. Have a good night, everyone, and stay haunted.