By Greg Mansfield
The ghosts of Heritage Park have been haunting some of its old buildings for decades. Step into this sprawling 127-acre historical village in southwest Calgary, and you might discover that some residents never really left.
Since opening in 1964, Heritage Park has welcomed millions of visitors to explore Western Canadian life from the 1860s to the 1950s. Its made-up village showcases over 180 historic structures, complete with costumed interpreters and authentic artifacts. But after dark, otherworldy residents take centre stage.
Heritage Park sits on a peninsula surrounded by the Glenmore Reservoir. This land once belonged to Sam Livingston, Calgary’s first official citizen, whose farm now lies beneath the reservoir (there’s more about Sam here).
All the buildings featured in the made-up village are authentic from their time periods and were moved to the park from other locations in Alberta. Several of them are haunted; their ghosts moved to Heritage Park along with them.
Let’s stroll through the village and meet the ghosts of Heritage Park.
Prince House
The Prince House is Heritage Park’s most beautiful haunted location. This three-storey home with an eye-catching turret was built in 1894 by Peter Anthony Prince, a wealthy lumber and electricity magnate.
Prince brought Calgary its first streetlights after he fell off a wooden sidewalk one dark night. Frustrated by the dangerous conditions, he offered to pay for street lighting in exchange for a 10-year monopoly on electricity and water. His business success, however, came at a personal cost.
Tragedy struck the Prince family repeatedly. Three of Peter’s four wives died in the house. Margaret succumbed to diabetes in 1898, Emma died from tuberculosis, and Rosa lost her battle with cancer. Only his fourth wife, Emily, outlived him.
The Lady in White Still Roams
Staff and visitors regularly see the house’s most famous ghost – the Lady in White. She appears most often in the second-floor nursery, sometimes cradling a baby. Witnesses watch in shocked amazement as she makes the nursery’s rocking chair move on its own.
The Lady in White might be connected to artifacts in the house rather than the Prince family, since no children actually grew up in the house. Other female spirits peer from windows throughout the building.
Strange Lights and Moving Objects
The third floor holds the most mysterious activity. Despite being locked off and having no electricity, bright lights sometimes shine from its windows at night. The balcony door swings open and closed by itself, and visitors hear phantom footsteps echoing through empty rooms.
Some mornings, staff members find mannequins moved from their positions. Security guards tell stories of their dogs freezing in terror inside the house, only calming down once they leave the building.
During a 2016 paranormal investigation, spirits threw a doorknob at an investigator and stole equipment. One visitor saw a portrait’s face transform into a sinister expression with yellow fangs – an experience so frightening, he never returned.
Airdrie House
Don’t let the Airdrie House’s plain design and modest size fool you. This white-sided home with green trim carries one of Heritage Park’s darkest energies. Built by Samuel Bushfield in 1906, the house hides a gruesome past – a man abused and murdered his wife within these walls.
This violent history left an angry presence that particularly targets women and ghost hunters. Some sensitive visitors can’t even enter the building, while others feel physically ill when they cross the threshold.
Encounters with a Dark Force
Staff members report feeling invisible hands pushing them down the stairs or pressing on their bodies. The temperature inside remains cold even on warm summer days.
When I visited Heritage Park with my wife and our Calgary-based friends, Mark and Mary, in July 2025, I felt mildly claustrophobic inside Airdree House. Mary said she felt unsettled. The house was cold and creepy; it just didn’t feel right to any of us.
Locked doors in the house slam shut without explanation. Christmas decorations refuse to stay upright. And one witness heard footsteps from the upstairs late at night, confirming what many already suspected – a malevolent force dominates Airdree House.
Canmore Opera House
The Canmore Opera House brought culture to the mining town of Canmore from 1898 until around 1960. This log building hosted dances, plays, opera performances, and later became a movie theater. After a tragic mining accident that killed 700 workers, it also served as a temporary morgue.
Today, Heritage Park only opens the Canmore Opera House for certain live performances. However, the building hosts its ghosts all year round.
Sam Livingston Takes His Seat
Calgary’s first official citizen, Sam Livingston, apparently enjoys the shows. Staff and visitors spot him sitting in the third seat of the third row, watching rehearsals with keen interest. Sometimes he appears as a young man with long hair, other times as an elderly gentleman in period clothing.
Sam enjoys playing pranks on performers. He moves stage props, shakes curtains, and once made a prop gun disappear during a live performance. The actor had to improvise by shouting “bang!” instead.
Phantom Performances
Even when the theater sits empty, audiences hear a woman singing with a “fabulous voice” on stage. Applause, laughter, and party sounds echo through the building, but people find nothing when they investigate.
Thorpe House
Thorpe House offers a refreshing change from Heritage Park’s darker spirits, including the nasty energy in nearby Airdree House. Built in 1886 by Norwegian millwright Bernt Thorpe, this Folk Victorian home housed the same family for nearly a century.
Visitors immediately notice the warm, welcoming atmosphere. The house feels like a happy home where people truly loved each other. The lingering spirits seem unaware of modern visitors and radiate only positive energy.
Mrs. Thorpe Still Tends Her Home
Mrs. Thorpe (Matea) regularly walks down the main staircase with a smile, vanishing just before reaching the bottom step. Children’s laughter fills the halls, and fast-moving footsteps sound like excited kids running through the rooms.
A fascinating story involves the “dancing slippers.” A staff member heard footsteps descending the stairs and leaving the house. Later, a young girl and her mother watched a pair of shoes at the foot of a bed move as if slow dancing – though the sight frightened the girl and sent her running.
Gledhill’s Drugstore
Not all of Heritage Park’s spirits walk on two legs. Gledhill’s Drugstore, built in 1908, came with its own four-legged resident when workers moved it to the park in 1975.
During renovation, construction crews kept spotting a cat in their peripheral vision. They heard meows and tiny footsteps but could never catch the elusive kitty. They named it Smokey because it vanished like smoke whenever they tried to get a closer look.
Smokey the cat is still sometimes seen to this day. Visitors and staff catch glimpses of it darting around corners and hear its distinctive meow. It seems aloof and territorial, as if it’s still guarding its domain.
Planning Your Visit
Heritage Park is open year round and offers ghost tours in October, perfect if you’re brave enough to meet its permanent residents. Whether you believe in ghosts or just enjoy a good story, its haunted buildings will add an extra layer of intrigue to your visit.
The ghosts of Heritage Park remind us that history isn’t just about dates and artifacts – it’s about the people who lived, loved, and lost in Alberta. Their stories continue, whether we can see them or not.
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