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 26 - The Haunted Tranquille Sanatorium. Kamloops, British Columbia
Haunted Tranquille Sanatorium
The Tranquille Sanatorium in Kamloops, British Columbia has a well known reputation as one of the most haunted places in Canada. Many believe that the spirits of former patients and staff still linger within the walls, and there are plenty of reports of ghostly encounters and paranormal activity making it one of Canada’s most haunted locations.
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Written and Produced by Nadine Bailey
Music by: Mountain Sound AudioJungle
Music Standard -Mystery Logo Audiojungle
Photo Credit: The Wren News
Source
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tranquille_Sanatorium
https://indie88.com/tranquille-canada-abandoned-sanatorium/
https://www.americanhauntingsink.com/waverlytb
https://usghostadventures.com/haunted-stories/haunted-tranquille-sanatorium/
https://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/205/301/ic/cdc/tuberculosis/tbhistory/sanatoriums/first.html
https://thewrennews.ca/the-buried-history-of-tranquille/
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Welcome to Haunted Canada Music. Built on the outskirts of Kamloops, british Columbia, lies the ominous presence of the Tranquil Sanatorium, now a derelict and abandoned institution that permanently closed in 1983. It is steeped in the legacy of despair and suffering, once used as a sanatorium for tuberculosis patients in the desperate throes of the early 1900s. Its decaying halls and boarded-up windows now echo with the tormented souls of its dark and haunting past. Whispers of the restless spirits and the chilling encounters with ghosts who wander the abandoned buildings and underground mysterious tunnels make this desolate place the chilling center of ghostly manifestations and unspeakable horrors, making Tranquil Sanatorium one of Canada's most haunted locations. Hi everyone, this is Nadine Bailey, host of Haunted Canada, a podcast dedicated to the most creepiest and bone-chilling ghost stories and hauntings north of the 49 and around the world. Now turn off the lights and lean in as I share the darkest tales surrounding the Tranquil Sanatorium. The Tranquil Sanatorium in Kamloops, british Columbia, has a well-known reputation as one of the most haunted places in Canada. Many believe that the spirits of the former patients and staff still linger within the walls and there are plenty of reports of ghostly encounters and paranormal activity. According to the Kamloops Museum and Archives, the sanatorium opened and admitted its first patients on November 28, 1907, to treat those afflicted with tuberculosis, often referred to as the White Plague, and is located in a secluded area off the shores of Kamloops Lake, just on the outskirts of the city of Kamloops, british Columbia. Before Europeans came to the area, indigenous lived on the land and used the land for harvesting, fishing and hunting. In the 1890s, the land was then owned by Charles Cooney and William Fortune, two gold prospectors and fur traders who became very wealthy ranchers and were so kind that they began taking in those afflicted with tuberculosis and allowed them to live in the small buildings and tents on the property for as long as they needed. Eventually, the British Columbia government, under the guidance of the Anti-Tuberculosis Society, purchased the land to build the King Edward Memorial Sanatorium as a therapeutic space for those afflicted with tuberculosis and eventually renamed the sanatorium Tranquil. The name Tranquil comes from French-Canadian fur traders who, in the 1800s, renamed the area after a Sacua-Pemzi chief who they referred to as Tranquil, the French word for calm.
Speaker 1:By the early 1900s, the dark grip of tuberculosis had taken its hold and had become the leading cause of death in Canada, killing thousands along the way. As its deadly grasp made its way across Canada, spreading from person to person through the air, mercilessly taking souls like the Grim Reaper. Tuberculosis spared very few, and it did not discriminate Young and old, rich or poor. It didn't matter who you were. No one could escape its deathly embrace, as a single cough could strike you down. There are many terrifying stories of just how fast tuberculosis could take down a person, from people who seemed perfectly fine one evening then went to bed, only to be found dead the very next morning, to stories of how a single cough would travel throughout an entire family, killing everyone within a few days. It terrified the nation, hiding in and haunting every corner with its icy touch, while being completely indifferent to the pleas and the prayers of its victims.
Speaker 1:Like most cities within Canada, the United States and around the world, sanatoriums were being built and designed to assist and help treat tuberculosis patients. They were usually away from the general public and, while some of these sanatoriums required patients to pay, including Tranquil, the majority of these hospitals were free and run by the government. Originally, tranquil Sanatorium charged patients $55 a month to stay at the hospital about $1,000 in today's money with the average stay being around 200 days, almost seven months. Eventually, the government realized that the hospital and the care should be accessible to everyone in need, and people from across Canada were sent to Tranquil for treatment, as well as soldiers from World War II. Tranquil Sanatorium was built near Kamloops Lake, so the fresh, cold mountain air in the winter months and the dry summer heat would help the lungs of those who are afflicted with tuberculosis. When the sanatorium opened, it could house 49 patients, and over the coming years it expanded to accommodate 360 patients. As the Tranquil Sanatorium grew, the doctors and the nurses moved into the surrounding buildings and built houses for their growing families, forming a community called Tranquil. The community grew as well to have gardens, farms, a schoolhouse, fire department, post office and a gymnasium were built.
Speaker 1:The hospital was very advanced at the time and dedicated to preventing the spread of infection with a strict regimen of healthy foods and rest, with most tuberculosis patients sleeping on the open veranda. Now, if you're wondering what an open-air veranda is, it was an enclosed area outside the hospital, sometimes with a mesh screen around it to keep the insects out while also allowing circulation of fresh air. The veranda housed dozens of hospital beds lined up next to each other, providing a semi-outdoor environment for recovery and relaxation. Tuberculosis patients would sleep outside during all seasons, as it was believed that the cold, fresh air would help in the recovery. The concept was aimed at promoting natural ventilation and light, as it was believed that the cold, fresh air would help in the recovery. The concept was aimed at promoting natural ventilation and light, which were believed to have therapeutic benefits for patients. In the winter months, it got so cold that the nurses even said that some mornings the faces and the bodies of the patients were covered in frost.
Speaker 1:While many sanatoriums in the early 1900s were just considered a place for the sick, tranquil Sanatorium really took on a different approach. As a patient, your daily schedule was strictly regimented by hospital staff and usually included laying in bed in the open air veranda for extended periods of time. You were not permitted to open your own mail. You were not allowed to receive gifts of clothes or food from family members. This unjust treatment was often excused as being therapeutic and in the best interest of the patients. The sanatorium site consisted of a dozen buildings surrounding the hospital, including housing for the staff to live in, administrative offices, the kitchen and the morgue, just to name a few.
Speaker 1:The design of sanatoriums often included secluded areas to help prevent the spread of disease and to provide the patients with a peaceful environment for recovery. The interconnected buildings and underground labyrinth of dark and foreboding tunnels not only serve practical purposes, such as transporting goods, but also as an effective way to transport dead bodies, mainly so that other patients would not see them and would not be alarmed. When a person died at Tranquil Sanatorium, their lifeless body was swiftly removed from the area, placed on a metal hospital gurney, wrapped in a white sheet and silently transported through the murky underground tunnels to the morgue. I can only envision the hundreds, if not thousands, of souls that would have made this solemn and final journey. A haunting procession of bodies, a macabre parade creeping through the shadowed underground passageways, a horrifying ritual repeated day after day for those who passed away within those walls, the echoes of the metal wheels on the damp earth rattling and lingering in eternal darkness. The lucky ones who did recover from tuberculosis were able to go home. Yet, sadly, close to 1,500 people died at the sanatorium over the years, many of them buried at the nearby Tranquil Cemetery in unmarked graves.
Speaker 1:The stories of ghosts and hauntings surrounding the many buildings that were once used to treat patients have been a part of Tranquil Sanatorium's history. By 1957, there had been many advancements made in the care and a cure for tuberculosis was found, so sanatoriums weren't needed anymore, including Tranquil. They began shutting down and were converted into psychiatric institutions, or what we would call today as a mental health center. The facility would eventually shut down and many in the community surrounding the site would be out of work. On July 19, 1983, workers protested the closure by occupying the buildings for three weeks while 300 patients were still at the center. Because of this, the patients were transferred out of the site and in 1984, the facility closed for good. The site, and in 1984, the facility closed for good. By 1991, the ministry accepted an $8 million offer for the land from an Italian developer who hoped to make the area into a tourist destination. Yet sadly, the idea never flourished.
Speaker 1:Haunted by the lingering presence of the spirits of those who tragically met their end at the abandoned facility, the Tranquil Sanatorium is filled with stories of ghosts, hauntings and paranormal activity that still affects the locals to this day. So much, in fact, that the sanatorium and the surrounding area have been used in such projects as a miniseries called Alice, been used in such projects as a miniseries called Alice and for movies, including the A-Team starring Liam Neeson and Bradley Cooper, and Firewall starring Harrison Ford, and it was also used as a location for a few TV shows, including the Scariest Places on Earth and MTV's paranormal reality TV series Fear. These shows help bolster Tranquil Sanatorium's reputation around the world as one of Canada's most haunted locations. Those brave enough to wander throughout the old, abandoned buildings have seen orbs floating throughout the air, shadowy and dark figures staring out from the dusty windows and have felt as if someone or something is watching them. People have reported a general feeling of sadness if they venture inside, while others have heard the crying of women and children inside the deserted buildings. The sounds of women crying have been heard echoing throughout the dark hallways, but when they check, there's never anybody there. Going throughout the dark hallways, but when they check, there's never anybody there. Outside the buildings, people will look up and see the figure of a woman standing in the window just staring down at them, but when they take a second glance, the woman has vanished. Who is this tortured soul lingering and haunting those who dared to enter Tranquil Sanatorium? It is estimated that close to 1,500 people died over the many decades at Tranquil, but one tragic and unsolved death really stands out and still terrifies people to this day.
Speaker 1:It took place when the sanatorium treated patients with mental health issues in the early 1970s. Margaret Schilling was, like many others at the hospital, who was there to get the assistance and the care that she needed until one day she simply just vanished. On December 1st 1978, as hospital staff were doing their nightly rounds checking on the patients to ensure that everyone was in their beds asleep, it was discovered that when the staff opened the door to Margaret's hospital room, they noticed that her bed was empty. The hospital nurse checked the entire room under the bed in the bathroom, but Margaret had simply just vanished. Staff combed the entire hospital, all the rooms were checked, yet no matter how much they searched, margaret could not be found. It was the wintertime and it was extremely cold outside, and it was highly unlikely that Margaret would have left the hospital without being properly dressed for the winter weather. Even then, the hospital staff still searched outside and the surrounding grounds, but there was no sign of Margaret. Her disappearance baffled hospital staff and for the next several weeks nobody could figure out what happened to their patients and how she had just vanished into thin air.
Speaker 1:Then, two months later, in January 1979,. Then, two months later, in January 1979, margaret's lifeless and decaying body was discovered in one of the abandoned wards of the hospital, an area that had never been searched. What makes this even stranger is the fact that when Margaret's body was found, she was completely naked on the floor and her clothing was neatly folded next to her. When her body was examined and an autopsy was done, it was determined that Margaret had died of heart failure. But what makes this death even creepier is that when Margaret's body was discovered and when her body was removed, her body had left a permanent stain of the body's outline on the cold floor. No matter how hard the hospital staff scrubbed, no amount of cleaning could banish the lingering stain left behind from Margaret's lifeless body. The mark was a permanent reminder of her gruesome death and it haunted and terrified the staff with its chilling presence. It is believed that Margaret's spirit is still roaming throughout and haunting Tranquil Sanatorium still to this day.
Speaker 1:Many people who worked at the mental health hospital reported seeing Margaret Schilling's ghostly apparition staring down at them from the window of the room where her body was found or walking in the hallways in a white hospital gown. It is believed that the wails and the screams that echo throughout the building is Margaret's voice calling out from beyond the grave. Others have reported over the years hearing the sounds of the squeaking wheels of the metal gurneys being pushed up and down the hallways. One of the most scariest and spooky places in the old, abandoned hospital is the dark underground tunnels that spanned two kilometers. Former employees, paranormal explorers and ghost hunters who have dared to descend into the depths beneath its decaying walls often speak of chilling encounters In the airy, dark and dampness of the tunnels. Whispers of tormented screams echo throughout the empty corridors, accompanied by flickering lights casting sinister shadows in the distance. The haunting sounds of squeaky wheels echo off the tunnel walls believed to be the restless spirits of thousands of tuberculosis victims, their lifeless bodies, shrouded in a white sheet, being wheeled through the dark pathways towards their final destination, the morgue.
Speaker 1:There are hundreds, if not thousands, of other sanatoriums around the world that have their own stories of ghosts, hauntings and paranormal activity, including Fort Capel Sanatorium in Saskatchewan, muskoka Cottage Sanatorium in Gravenhurst, ontario, and the Charles Kamsel Hospital in Edmonton, alberta. I covered Fort Capel Sanatorium in episode 9 of Haunted Canada and if you want to hear the full story, take the time and go back and listen to that episode. Fort Capel Sanatorium is haunted by many ghostly apparitions, including the spirit of Nurse Jane, who is often seen wandering the hallways pushing an empty wheelchair, and the sounds of children's voices. Cold spots and the spirits of the dead bodies can often be felt in what was once known as the morgue that is now a kitchen. The Muskoka Cottage Sanatorium in Gravenhurst, ontario, which opened in 1897, was the first tuberculosis hospital in Canada. It is nestled on the pristine Lake Muskoka and is full of ghosts and hauntings. Many paranormal investigators have explored the now-closed facility and have reported hearing the sounds of disembodied voices that can be heard throughout the building and in the surrounding woods.
Speaker 1:The Charles Kamsel Hospital was originally built in Edmonton in 1913 in the Inglewood area. It was a Jesuit college for many years and was then used as a military hospital during World War II. In 1946, it was used as a tuberculosis treatment center specifically for Indigenous people and was named after a prominent Northwest Territory geologist, charles Kamsel. The hospital permanently closed in the 1990s and was meant to be sold. However, the deal fell through and for nearly 20 years the building remained empty. The haunted structure remained boarded up and sometimes guarded by security guards to keep out the would-be explorers and ghost hunters.
Speaker 1:People report that even when they've driven by the old Charles Kamsel Hospital that they would get a dark and foreboding feeling. Others will report seeing a young girl staring out from one of the broken windows on the fourth floor, and even security guards who have worked there have had their own terrifying encounters. A former security guard who had worked at the abandoned building was once on one of my ghost tours in Edmonton many years ago, and he told me some of his own strange experiences. He said that one evening, while he was doing his nightly rounds, walking throughout the building to ensure that everything was locked up and that there was nobody in the building, he would often hear phantom screams in the hallway, see lights flickering on and off in empty rooms, and he would often see the ghostly apparition of a young girl standing at the end of the hallway on the fourth floor. As he began to walk towards the girl, telling her that she shouldn't be in the building, she would just vanish in front of him. Yet the security guard told me one of the most creepiest stories that still sticks in my mind to this day. He said that late one evening during the wintertime he was doing his nightly checks and was down in the basement area, and as he was beginning to leave, he noticed that a light was on in one of the rooms, a room that he had just checked and was empty. As he went to, of course, turn off the light, he opened the door and noticed a man sitting in the corner on a chair. The security guard said that the man sitting in the chair just kept looking at him and began to say in the chair just kept looking at him and began to say get out, get out. The security guard said that it was at that moment that he couldn't handle the haunted hospital anymore and he quit the very next day. Between the Muskoka Cottage Sanatorium and the Charles Kamsal Hospital, they all have very similar and unique stories of ghosts and hauntings, and these are just a few of the many haunted hospitals that I will be covering in more detail on a future podcast.
Speaker 1:The tuberculosis outbreak that struck around the world in the early 1900s had a lasting impact on the lives of many, and, while there were hundreds of sanatoriums built around the world to try and help those afflicted with tuberculosis, sadly many people died. Despite being forgotten, abandoned and reclaimed by nature's decay, the spirits of the past continue to wander throughout the abandoned hallways of these hospitals and sanatoriums, their haunting presence still enduring to this very day. The tuberculosis outbreak that ravaged Canada and the world inflicted untold suffering and death on families, leading to the Canadian government to establish sanatoriums as what was believed to be a safe haven for those infected. These sanatoriums, with their belief to be a safe haven for those infected, these sanatoriums, with their belief of the healing power of cold air, provided respite for the sick to rest and recover. While many patients did triumph over the disease, sadly many others did not escape the grasp of death's cold hand, and it is believed that the restless spirit of those who perished still linger within the walls of the sanatoriums across Canada and around the world still to this day.
Speaker 1:Well, everyone, that is the end of episode 26, and I want to thank everyone for joining me this week and going on this journey with Haunted Canada, and thank you to the show sponsors, eamon and Ghost Tours. I will link it in the show notes. If you would like to support this podcast, please follow and share and, if you're able, give us a like and a five-star written review. That's always appreciated. Also, you can follow us on our many 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, please email me through the website hauntedcanadacom. Have a good night, everyone, and stay haunted.
Speaker 2:Thanks for watching.