Haunted Walk Ottawa - Activities for Teens

Friday October 13. The haunted day and the month of fear meet around once every seven years. While I may not be a superstitious person, it's hard not to see the significance of this spooky calendar event. What better way to spend it than at one of the most iconic Halloween attractions in the city- a haunted tour of the Bytown Museum?

We arrived on Sparks Street at 7 pm, ready for our tour. Our guide was wearing an ominous black robe, setting the mood for the experience that lay ahead. We set off, walking by city hall and listening to our first spooky story next to the Rideau Canal. The stories our guide told were historical anecdotes of mysterious ghostly phenomena around the area, including the Chateau Laurier. After walking down the locks, we arrived at our main destination- the Bytown Museum. 

The museum is a small brick building, reminiscent of Ottawa’s early days. We made our way in and sat down to hear our first ghost story, recounting how the ghost of Colonel John By haunts the building. We then made our way upstairs to the first exhibition room.

In the exhibition room, there was a full collection of artifacts dating back to the mid-19th century. Among them was the cast of Thomas D’Arcy McGee’s hand; an improvisation due to the fact that his face was too mutilated to make a death mask. I was quickly finding this tour to be an exploration of Ottawa’s early history with a creepy twist. 

We continued walking through more of the museum's displays, with each coming with a scary story. Finally, we arrived at the last room- the vault of the building. It was in this room that important weapons were stored. We cycled through it, as our guide told one last story about the many construction workers for the Rideau Canal that perished. A chilling end to a ghost tour.

If you want to see the city in a scarier manner than ever before, check out Haunted Walks’ ghost tours. On top of the Bytown museum, they offer the original haunted walk (downtown), Beechwood Cemetery, former prime minister Mackenzie’s estate and, for the last season ever, an abandoned jail. The original, Mackenzie’s estate and jail tours are available in French. The Haunted Walk also has tours in Kingston and Toronto. For more information, click here.

David is a fifteen-year-old aspiring adventure and travel writer living in Ottawa.  Skydiving is on his bucket list. He received a complimentary ticket for this post, but all views are his own.

Spooky Books for the Halloween Season - Ottawa Public Library Recommendations

The Ottawa Public Library is back to share some of their favourite books. This month’s post was submitted by Elizabeth Fosbery Richardson, Children’s Programming and Public Services Assistant at the Ruth E. Dickinson Branch.

Don’t read these titles in the dark!

With spooky season upon us, why not take some time to indulge in some fun and creepy new titles from the Ottawa Public Library?

Monsters in the Fog by Ali Bahrampour

As Hakim the donkey travels up the mountain, he encounters a goat who warns him of monsters on the misty and twisty trail. In this cleverly illustrated picture book, we find that things are not always as they appear. Children and adults alike will have fun trying to guess the shapes.

Creepy Tales! series by Aaron Reynolds

Things always start out great for this school-aged rabbit, but then things always seem to go from bad to worse. Follow Jasper in these fun read-aloud books, as he tries to outsmart some spooky carrots, a persistent pair of underwear and a relentless crayon. Titles are also available in French.

You're Invited to a Creepover series By P.J. Knight

In this new graphic novel series, adapted from the chapter book series of the same name, readers are sure to be spooked! Perfect for fans of the Goosebumps series.

Area 51 Files series by Julie Buxbaum

When Sky is sent to live with her uncle, she never imagined that she’d end up solving mysteries in Area 51! Follow Sky, her pet hedgehog and her new friend Elvis (who also happens to be an alien), as they try to keep themselves and the residents of Area 51 safe, in this funny new illustrated chapter book series.

Shakti by SJ Sindu

Shakti and her best friend Xi have discovered that the three mean girls in school have put a curse on the town. When Shakti tries to draw on her own magical powers, she accidentally summons Kali Ma, who represents destruction. Can she learn to find peace and tame Kali Ma before she destroys the town and everyone in it? This graphic novel is a great choice for those who love mythology and stories about magic.

 The Stars Did Wander Darkling by Colin Meloy

When something mysterious is unearthed by a construction company in a quiet seaside town, and all of the adults begin acting strange, it’s up to the kids to figure out what’s gone wrong before it’s too late. Perfect for fans of Stranger Things or author Neil Gaiman. Grades 4 and up.

Activities for Teens: Escape Room Lockdown Ottawa

Like most high school students, I have a firm separation between fun and tests of intelligence. A math quiz is not exactly my idea of a relaxing Friday evening, and it doesn’t take much thinking to go to the movies. Work and play don’t mix for me… with one exception. I find escape rooms to be a thrilling test of the mind that I can enjoy with friends. That's why I chose Lockdown Ottawa’s Trudeau Towers for my most recent outing.

As soon as we entered the building, we were excited to check out the escape room. My friends and I climbed down the metallic stairs in the windowless structure and checked in. We were then taken to another floor and shown a video about the story behind our escape room. The plot for us was that we were visiting Trudeau Towers, Ottawa’s newest luxury hotel. The guide then showed us into what appeared to be an elevator and closed the door.

Suddenly, the lights went out as we were left confused for around 10 seconds. When they turned on, an announcer over the speakers revealed that our elevator was stuck and we had 45 minutes to diffuse a bomb before it went off. Just like that, our puzzle-solving began.

Obviously, I cannot reveal how to solve the escape room or give too many details. The clues consisted of riddles and various creative contraptions. Each clue lead to the combination key of a lock that would open up another clue. We had to work together as a team to figure out how to solve the escape room.

As the game progressed, we used the walkie-talkie for one of our limited hints and eventually opened a trap door connected to a crawl space. As the clock wound down and the bomb came closer to detonating, we organized ourselves into different roles to solve the clues more efficiently. Just as we were close to solving the second last clue, the door opened and our guide revealed that the bomb had gone off. 

While we weren’t able to escape before the clock ran out, we had a great time solving clues and working together. We were impressed by the creative ways we were supposed to find lock combinations and how engaging the design of our escape room ones. My friends and I will be sure to check out another one of Lockdown Ottawa’s escape rooms sometime in the future. 

Lockdown Ottawa offers 5 different escape rooms, each with different themes. For a Halloween themed escape, check out their CarnEvil room. The other available themes are hockey, time travel and aliens. Unlike many other escape rooms, the cost for these rooms are a flat rate of $109+HST regardless of number of players (which ranges from 2-6.) For more information, click here.

David is a fifteen-year-old aspiring adventure and travel writer living in Ottawa.  Skydiving is on his bucket list. He received a complimentary ticket for this post, but all views are his own.

Ottawa area activities for teens: Cannamore Orchard’s Acres of Terror

Being chased in a dark forest. Zombies.

You may think I am describing a horror anthology, but these are actually all the things that make Cannamore Orchard’s Acres of Terror one of the scariest rural experiences in the Ottawa area.

We arrived at Cannamore Orchard at around 8 pm on a Saturday night. We got our tickets, and, after a brief wait, a guide took us and our group to the haunted wagon ride, the first activity of our spooky night. We sat down, and the tractor began taking us through a dark and mysterious forest on a bumpy ride. Shortly after the tour started, we passed by an unsettling portrayal of a witch ritual. I don’t want to give away the scare, but throughout the journey in the forest, there were some disturbingly elaborate displays with great actors, just the right amount of jumpscares and something chasing the wagon that you might not expect. To understand what I’m talking about, you must experience it yourself.

After some thrilling jumpscares and a ride that kept us literally on the edge of our seats, we realized our night of horror had only just begun. After exiting the wagon, we were directed to a haunted house. While waiting in a short line, the trend of people leaving the house screaming and shaking was a good (or rather bad) sign of what lay ahead. We entered the haunted house and found a tight corridor with many twists and turns. Again, I cannot spoil the scare, but let's just say I am still scared of turning around a corner. Jumpscares, confusion and people in scary masks following you made this a perfect haunted house.

We then went to the next section of the Acres of Terror- the Spooky Village. An innovative new creation, Cannamore Orchards’ Spooky Village is a small collection of buildings with many Halloween related uses. You can visit the butchershop, or the local jail, with creepy twists and great actors. We spent a good 20 minutes popping in and out of buildings, more scared than when we entered. 

Finally, as the last part of our tour, we entered an indoor fog maze. Like the haunted house, we walked through a tight corridor that turned every few meters, but this time, it was empty and full of mist. We walked for a little while, expecting this to be the whole tour, when suddenly a small person with a mask jumped out from behind us! Caught off guard, we began running as he ominously followed us. More of them appeared, as we tried to escape. Finally, we made it to the exit and concluded our visit.

I would definitely recommend this experience for older children in your household. The evening experience is not intended for younger children.  

If you want a thrilling evening and get into the Halloween Spirit, visit Cannamore Orchards’ Acres of Terror. Register as soon as you can, since spots fill up quickly. Current available times are on weekends from 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm. Groups leave every 15 minutes. For more information, click here.

Where is it and how much does it cost

Cannamore Orchards is located at 1480 County Road 32, Crysler, ON, K0A 1R0

Acres of Terror includes 4 main attractions: The Spooky Wagon Ride, House of Terror, Fog Maze & Spooky Village.  Tickets include a visit to all attractions.  Tickets must be booked for a specific date and time slot to ensure a safe & enjoyable experience for all.  Regular Night Admission is $34.00 per person.

Day sessions are geared towards younger kids and those easily scared and the price tag is a little lower at $25 per person or $75 for a family of four.

David is a fifteen-year-old aspiring adventure and travel writer living in Ottawa.  Skydiving is on his bucket list. He received a complimentary ticket for this post, but all views are his own.

Pumpkins after Dark: A Halloween option without the scare

As a teen, I have realized that the Halloween season offers three options for activities in my demographic: horror movies, haunted mansions and extremely late stage trick or treating. While I love a good scare, it can get repetitive as October drags on. This weekend, I tried something different, with the Pumpkins after Dark Display. 

We arrived at Wesley Clover Parks out in Kanata shortly after sunset, where we showed our tickets at the booth and entered the place. Inside, there were stands for a variety of food and drink with a long orange-encrusted pathway ahead of us. On both sides of the path, there were a plethora of professionally carved pumpkins that depicted a variety of popular culture characters. Obviously, iconic horror movie villains were engraved in the illuminated pumpkins. There were also designs for characters across various franchises and genres, with a Jurassic Park section and even some Mexican Day of the Dead carvings. We walked through the display for several minutes, admiring the craftsmanship and effort put into it. After completing our tour of the pumpkins, we decided to grab some hot chocolate and donuts. This was an incredible way to get into the halloween spirit, even without the traditional scares.

What's good for teens

Pumpkins after Dark is an excellent Halloween activity for teens in Ottawa. It is a great evening activity to spend with friends, with many displays to look at. You can grab some hot chocolate or treats, or take a look at engravings of your favourite horror movie characters. It is also a great opportunity for employment, with many workers at the exhibit getting their first job as a helper there. Overall, this is a great place to visit (or work) this Halloween season for teens, families and people who are sick of haunted houses. 

If you want an engaging, jump scare-free Halloween experience, check out Pumpkins After Dark. They will be open until October 31st in Wesley Clover Parks from 6:30 to 9:30 pm. Dress warmly, as this is an outdoor event. It is wheelchair accessible, but a relatively long walk.

Ticket prices are as follows:

Adult (17+) starting at $18.95
Youth (4-16) starting at $15.95
Children 3 and under are free, no ticket required
Family packages (2 adult, 2 youth) starting at $64.80

Pumpkins after Dark is officially partnering with the Ottawa Senators Community Foundation. For more information, click here.

David is a fifteen-year-old aspiring adventure and travel writer living in Ottawa.  Skydiving is on his bucket list. He received a complimentary ticket for this post, but all views are his own.