The Real Haunted Story Of The Fairmont Empress

Victoria lies at the southern point of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. It's a lively metropolis with natural beauty and enormous city structures.

The capital of British Columbia is Victoria, named after Queen Victoria. It's one of the Pacific Northwest's oldest cities, founded in 1843 by the British. Victoria has a history of dark stories, from opium dens to Prohibition run-running. Due to its gold rush past, some think the ghosts of fortune seekers from throughout the globe haunt the ancient town's alleyways.

Downtown Victoria's Fairmont Empress Hotel overlooks the Inner Harbour. The landmark has guarded the city for over a century. Legend says the hotel was constructed on an old burial site, like other haunted locations. Maybe that's true, but if you dig deep enough anyplace in the globe, you'll find something. Even without the burial site, the hotel's historical past is intriguing and tied to ghost stories.

The region's famous architect Francis Rattenbury oversaw construction. He was known for Parliament buildings and other projects, which gave the designs respect.

His ambitious design combined Châteauesque characteristics with upscale lodgings. The hotel embodied Rattenbury's and the Canadian Pacific Railway's beauty and ambition, becoming a Victoria icon.

It opened in 1908 as "The Empress Hotel." Due to its strategic position beside Victoria's Inner Harbour and Rattenbury's spectacular architecture, it was a success with residents and tourists. Visitors from throughout the globe flocked to enjoy the Empress's charm and refinement due to its outstanding hospitality standards.

Rattenbury had personal scandals and tragedies despite his professional achievements. After relocating to England, he got involved in a love triangle that culminated to his 1935 murder by his and his wife's 18-year-old live-in chauffeur. By then, Francis and Alma's marriage had soured, and Alma started an affair with chauffeur George Percy Stoner.

Francis Rattenbury was discovered in the sitting room with significant head injuries on March 23, 1935. Further inspection revealed a series of carpenter's mallet blows. The blunt hits shattered his head and knocked away his artificial teeth. Francis survived, shockingly. Unsurprisingly, he died four days later aged 67. Alma admitted to murder, but their chauffeur, George Percy Stoner, told a housekeeper he beat her. Alma reversed her confession when George and Alma were charged.

Death sentence for George Stoner. Over 300,000 people petitioned to mitigate his death sentence, believing Alma influenced him into killing Francis. After his death sentence was commuted, George Stoner served seven years in jail and was freed early to fight in WWII. After the war, he lived quietly and died aged 83 in 2000.

Alma, 37, was convicted but committed suicide a few days later on June 4, 1935. After stabbing herself six times in the chest with a knife, she jumped into the River Stour in Christchurch. Three stabs hit her heart.

Several Fairmont Empress ghosts are legendary. Given the architect's biography, Francis Rattenbury's ghost should be one of the most famous. Francis Rattenbury has been seen walking with a cane by staff and visitors. Why does he haunt the Fairmont Empress after dying far away? One idea claims he considered the hotel his finest accomplishment. He left the project incomplete and gave it to Canadian Pacific Railway head architect William Sutherland Maxwell. William completed the assignment. I'm unsure about this. Perhaps the ghost is William Sutherland Maxwell, misidentified.

Another story matches hauntings better. Lizzie McGrath was a chambermaid when the hotel opened. She said the rosary every night on the sixth-floor fire escape as a Catholic. She unlocked her normal window, went out, and fell to her death one night—the fire escape had been removed for repairs, but no one had been alerted. Despite minor specifics, Lizzie McGrath's tale is mostly factual, with claims of her spirit roaming the Fairmont Empress even today.

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