Carleton County Jail, Ottawa

Located at Nicholas Street, between Wilbrod Road and Laurier Avenue East, Carleton County Gaol (jail) was the first penitentiary facility built in the Ottawa area. This three-and-a-half-storey building, featuring Italianate style, was architected by Henry Horsey and finished in 1862.

After being a prison for almost one and half centuries, it now houses a youth hostel. The building is renowned for its historical, architectural and contextual value, and serves as a live illustration of what the local prison system was like in those days. Carleton County Gaol is situated near many important buildings of the city, such as Carleton County Courthouse.

Throughout its history, the jail had held perpetrators of all stripes – from small time offenders to brutal murderers. The most prominent of Carleton's inmates was Patrick Whelan, who in 1869 was hanged here to death for killing Thomas D'Arcy McGee. This was the last public execution performed in Canada and was witnessed by more than 5,000 people.

In 2002, The Ottawa International Hostel was renamed The Ottawa Jail Hostel and designated a historic landmark. Although converted into a hostel, after renovation some of the cells were preserved in their original state so that the visitors could see the gruesome conditions in which the prisoners had been kept.

The Carleton County Gaol is notorious as one of the ghostliest sites in Canada, reportedly for having had too many innocent souls locked inside and held in appalling conditions (without bath or daylight, and with only one meal a day). Some of these people were tortured to death; others, in solitary confinement known as "The Hole", were stripped naked, chained to the walls and left in complete darkness. After the jail's closure in 1972, a number of reports have come in about unexplainable happenings and supernatural activity observed in the building. One such occurrence was the ghostly presence of a little girl and an old man witnessed by several people.

As soon as you enter the building, you can't help feeling a deep sense of sadness, gloominess and distress. Whilst in here, prepare to be scared by some of the horror stories told by the guides about haunting incidents that have taken place in this former jailhouse. By all means, visiting Ottawa's premium jail is an unforgettable experience which one definitely must have, provided the one is not fainthearted.