Whitby Centennial Building
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Skyecat
N 43° 52.528 W 078° 56.575
17T E 665270 N 4860098
Whitby's former courthouse has a ghost or ghosts of many appearances. A large black dog that transforms into a tall man with burning red eyes.
More recently, lights have been reported to go on and off by themselves and the apparition of a person is
Waymark Code: WMBMTB
Location: Ontario, Canada
Date Posted: 06/03/2011
Views: 13
History of Building:
The Centennial Building was built in the early 1850s as the Ontario County Courthouse. Designed by prominent architects Frederick Cumberland and Wallace Storm, this building served from 1854 until 1964 as a trial court and a meeting place for County Council. In 1967, a local Centennial project turned the building into a community centre. The courthouse presently houses the Whitby Courthouse Theatre, a banquet facility, local archives and is used by community organizations.
In 1979, the Centennial Building was designated as a Heritage Structure under the Ontario Heritage Act, and a Heritage Easement was registered with the Ontario Heritage Foundation in 1984, protecting the heritage value of both the property and the building. During the 2002-2003 season, the Centennial Building was temporarily closed for renovations, which focused on restoring the facility to its original splendour. Following this extensive renovation project the Centennial Building officially reopened to the public on June 14, 2003.Whitby Courthouse Theatre, located in the Centennial Building, provides quality community theatre to the public.
Ghost Research
July 28th, 2007: A team of researchers from Genuine Hauntings of Ontario Search Team (G.H.O.S.T) visited the Centennial Building to determine the validity of the reports of a ghost or ghosts. The team was made up of Marc, Dan, Curtis, April, Adrian, Aimee. Here is the summary by Marc:
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visit link)
In 1873 the first ghost sighting occurred in the Court House. A man fell to his death from the balcony of the Court to a chair below. Workers still claim to see “Shadow People” in the Hallways and lights will turn off and on. Man claimed to be seen in the Audio/Video room of the Theatre area which was once the original Court room.
Besides some strange photos we captured what appears to be a moving orb which is over the chair where it is suspected that the man fell to his death.
There is also one EVP we captured while setting up our equipment up on the stage where the Judge’s chair and defendant’s box would have been.
Up on the Balcony, Dan, Marc, Aimee and April all felt a sick/dizzy feeling right where the man fell over. This happened before we knew where in fact he did fall from.
According to (
visit link)
Paranormal phenomena have been witnessed in this building over the years by several of its custodians. Lights in the Regal Room (banquet hall) have been reported to go on, when the building has been darkened and secured for the night, causing custodians to re-enter the building and have to secure it once more. One particular custodian witnessed an apparition in the upper balcony of the theatre, which then stepped down 15 feet onto the seating floor. Such reports date back to 1871. Gord Howard, a staff writer for the Oshawa/Whitby This Week claimed, "If this place isn't haunted, it should be"