Unsolved Canadian Mysteries

In the early hours of March 17, 1995, six teenage boys from Pickering, Ontario, vanished without a trace. Jay Boyle, Michael Cummins, Daniel Higgins, Jamie Lefebvre, Chad Smith, and Robbie Rumboldt, all between the ages of 16 and 18, had spent the evening at a house party before making their way to the shores of Lake Ontario. It is believed that, in the spirit of youthful adventure, they decided to take boats out onto the lake—despite the frigid temperatures and the dangers of the open water.

Sometime between 12:50 a.m. and 1:30 a.m., the boys were last seen near Frenchman’s Ba...

The Arctic is often associated with snow, ice, and tales of Santa Claus and his elves. But what if stories of Arctic elves aren’t just Christmas folklore? From ancient Norse sagas to modern-day encounters, the Arctic has a surprising history of little people—beings described as small, elusive, and mysterious. In our Elf Sightings in the Arctic Christmas special, we explore historical accounts, scientific discoveries, and eyewitness testimonies that blur the line between legend and reality.

Our journey begins with the Viking sagas of the 13th century, recounting events from around the year 1000. According to these saga...

The Disappearance of Lake Anjikuni Village is one of Canada’s most perplexing mysteries—a tale of an entire Inuit village vanishing without explanation. The story first surfaced in November 1930, when fur trapper Joe LaBelle stumbled upon what appeared to be a ghost town on the remote shores of Lake Anjikuni in the Northwest Territories.

LaBelle was familiar with the area and had visited the village before. He expected to find a bustling community of around 25 people preparing for the harsh Arctic winter. Instead, he found eerie silence. The snow-covered village lay abandoned, with food still hanging on d...

The Curious Case of Tootsie LaFleche is a tale of deception, brutality, and an unsettling mystery that gripped the city of Regina in the mid-1950s. What began as confusion over a missed holiday gathering unraveled into a gruesome discovery that shocked the community and left investigators baffled for years.

Michael "Mike" Todor was a well-known and respected member of Regina’s Romanian Orthodox community. A 74-year-old retiree, he had invited friends and neighbors to his home for Orthodox Christmas in January 1954. However, when guests arrived at his modest house, they were met not by Todor, bu...

Deep in the misty waters of the Gulf of St. Lawrence lies Anticosti Island, a place of treacherous shipwrecks, ghostly legends, and one of Canada’s most enigmatic figures—Louis-Olivier Gamache, better known as the Sorcerer of Anticosti Island.

Born in 1784 in LeLay, Quebec, Gamache’s life was an odyssey of hardship and adventure. As a boy of eleven, he joined the British Navy, sailing across the world before returning to find his parents dead. With nothing left for him in his hometown, he sought a fresh start, opening a store in Rimouski—only to see it consumed...

The Serial Killer of Toronto's Gay Village is a dark chapter in Canadian true crime history—one that exposed both the vulnerabilities of the city’s LGBTQ+ community and the investigative missteps that allowed a predator to go undetected for years. The man responsible, Bruce McArthur, was an unassuming landscaper and part-time mall Santa Claus, who managed to hide his violent tendencies behind a friendly smile and a grandfatherly demeanor.

The case began in the early 2010s when men started disappearing from Toronto’s Gay Village. The vibrant neighborhood, known for its inclusivity and nightlife, was suddenly grippe...

The Mystery of Charles Coughlin's Coffin is a tale of life, death, and a posthumous journey that has baffled historians for over a century. Charles Coughlin, a British actor with a flair for the dramatic, lived a life filled with adventure, scandal, and uncertainty. But it is not his performances on stage that made him famous—it’s the mystery of what happened to his coffin after his death.

Coughlin was a well-known performer in the late 19th century, traveling across North America and Europe for his craft. His life off-stage was equally eventful, marked by tumultuous marr...

The Paranormal Investigation of the First Wolseley Cemetery took us to one of Saskatchewan's oldest and most mysterious burial grounds. Nestled just outside the town of Wolseley, the cemetery is said to be the resting place of many early settlers who fought tirelessly to establish the community. But while history paints a picture of perseverance and hard work, local lore speaks of something much darker.The cemetery was abandoned after a devastating fire in 1905 destroyed many of the wooden grave markers. Without proper records, countless graves were lost to time, and the site was left to nature. Over the...

The Partridge Creek Monster is one of the Yukon’s strangest and most debated cryptid sightings. First reported in 1903, this mysterious creature has captured the imagination of locals, cryptozoologists, and skeptics alike for over a century. Witnesses described a massive, dinosaur-like animal prowling the snowy landscape—a creature seemingly from prehistoric times that had no business existing in the modern world.

The first documented sighting occurred near the Partridge River in the Yukon Territory in 1903. The group of witnesses included French writer Georges Dupuy, gold prospector James Lewis Buttler, trapper Tom Leemore, Catholic missionary Father Pierre Lavagneux, and...

The Legless Wonder of Nova Scotia is a mystery that has perplexed historians and locals alike for more than a century. The tale begins on a chilly morning in 1863, when eight-year-old George Albright stumbled upon a strange figure on the shores of Sandy Cove, Nova Scotia. What he initially thought was a pile of driftwood turned out to be a man—unconscious, disoriented, and missing both legs.

George ran to get help, and soon, the townspeople gathered around the mysterious figure. The man was brought to the Albright family home, where they tried to communicate with him, bu...

The disappearance of Mekayla Bali remains one of Saskatchewan’s most haunting unsolved mysteries. On April 12, 2016, the 16-year-old girl from Yorkton vanished without a trace, leaving behind a trail of unanswered questions and a heartbroken family still searching for answers.

Mekayla Bali was described by friends and family as a quiet, shy, and introverted teenager. She was a homebody who enjoyed spending time on her phone, using anonymous messaging apps to talk to people online. One of these apps was Kik, a popular platform that has since gained notoriety for being exploited by online predators. Mekayla often dr...

In the early 20th century, as the world grappled with the profound loss caused by World War I and the Spanish Influenza pandemic, one Canadian couple sought to bridge the gap between the living and the dead. Thomas Glendenning Hamilton, a respected physician and member of Manitoba's Legislative Assembly, and his wife Lillian May Hamilton, turned to the unknown in search of answers. Their experiments with séances and ectoplasmic photography would become some of the most famous—and controversial—paranormal investigations in Canadian history.

The Hamiltons' journey into the supernatural began in 1919, following the death of their...

On the morning of September 1, 1974, Edwin Fuhr, a farmer near Langenburg, Saskatchewan, set out to harvest his canola fields. It was a clear, crisp day, and Edwin was operating his swather when he crested a small hill on his property. What he saw next would change his life forever.

As Edwin brought his swather to a stop, he noticed five metallic, dome-shaped objects arranged in a semi-circle near a slough on his land. The objects hovered silently just above the ground, each rotating rapidly. Intrigued but wary, Edwin dismounted his machinery and cautiously approached the strange objects...

The Mystery of the Calgary Mummy is one of Alberta’s most perplexing cold cases—a story of unease, discovery, and unanswered questions that has haunted the community of Tuxedo Park since 1948.

It began when Alfred Pearce and his family moved into a modest house at 1805 20th Avenue NW in Calgary. From the moment they arrived, Mrs. Pearce complained of a strange, oppressive feeling in the home. She described it as a "creepy presence," like unseen eyes watching their every move. Her daughters echoed this discomfort, saying they often felt a cold sensation brushing against their skin.

The Legend of the Ogopogo has captivated Canadians for generations, blending Indigenous oral history with modern-day sightings of a mysterious creature said to inhabit British Columbia’s Okanagan Lake. Known originally to the Syilx (Okanagan) people as na-it-aka, or the "spirit of the water," this legendary being was believed to guard the lake and control safe passage across its waters. But is it merely folklore, or is there something more lurking beneath the surface?

The origins of the legend date back centuries. According to Syilx tradition, travelers were expected to offer gifts—often tobacco, animal meat, or othe...

From the late 1950s to the mid-1980s, the city of London, Ontario, became an unlikely epicenter of terror, earning the grim title of The Serial Killer Capital of Canada. During this period, the small city saw an unprecedented wave of serial killings, with over 30 victims and a suspected 6 to 9 serial killers operating within its borders. To this day, many of these crimes remain unsolved, and the question of why London became a hunting ground for so many predators still haunts investigators.

The story of this dark chapter begins with cases like that of Jackie English. On...

The disappearance of the Jack family is one of British Columbia’s most haunting mysteries. On August 1, 1989, Doreen Jack, 26, Ronald "Ronnie" Jack, 26, and their two sons, nine-year-old Russell and four-year-old Ryan, vanished without a trace after accepting a job offer from a stranger. More than three decades later, the family’s fate remains unknown.

It all began at the First Litre Pub in Prince George, where Ronnie was approached by an unidentified man who claimed to have a lucrative short-term job opportunity. The man said that Ronnie could work at a nearby lumber mill, while Doreen could cook...

Come celebrate Halloween the Unsolved Canadian Mysteries way, with scary stories from Dylan, Kenton and our editor Christina. Some stories are true, some are legends, and some are, well... you'll find out.

This is our first attempt at something like this, so we would love to know your thoughts, and would love to know (after you finish watching it), how would YOU end the story of the three kids?

The Possession of Barbe Hallay is Canada's oldest documented case of demonic possession—a terrifying tale of obsession, curses, and supernatural forces that dates back to 1660 in Beauport, New France, near present-day Quebec City. It is a story of unrequited love that turned into a nightmare, involving prominent historical figures, unexplained phenomena, and a community gripped by fear.

Barbe Hallay was a young teenager when she took a position working for a family in Beauport. One day, a man named Daniel Vuil arrived at the household and asked for her hand in marriage. Although only 13, Hallay was le...

The Curse of the Lost Lemmon Mine is one of Alberta’s most enduring mysteries—a tale of gold, murder, and misfortune that has captivated treasure hunters for over a century. It began in 1870 when two prospectors, Joe Lemmon and his companion, known only as Blackjack, ventured into the wilderness near the North Saskatchewan River, not far from present-day Calgary. Their goal was simple: to strike it rich. What they found, however, was far more than they bargained for.

As they scoured the riverbanks, Lemmon and Blackjack discovered placer gold deposits glinting in the sun. They followed the...

The story of The Mad Trapper of Rat River is one of Canada’s most legendary and perplexing wilderness mysteries. In 1932, a man calling himself Albert Johnson sparked a massive manhunt across the unforgiving Arctic landscape, leaving behind a trail of violence, confusion, and unanswered questions. His true identity remains unknown to this day.

The ordeal began when local trappers reported someone tampering with their traplines near the Rat River in the Northwest Territories. RCMP officers visited Johnson's remote cabin to question him, but the man refused to cooperate or even speak. A few days later, when th...

The story of Michael Eugene Oros, better known as The Mad Trapper of Sheslay, is a chilling tale of isolation, paranoia, and violence in the remote wilderness of northern British Columbia. Oros, an American draft dodger, fled to Alaska in the late 1960s to avoid conscription into the Vietnam War. But the harsh conditions of Fairbanks proved too unforgiving, and he soon moved south, settling in the abandoned mining village of Sheslay, British Columbia.

Life in Sheslay only deepened Oros's paranoia. He became increasingly convinced that he was being stalked by shadowy figures he referred to as "...

On the morning of April 2, 1978, the quiet community of Bell Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, was rocked by an ear-splitting explosion that sent shockwaves across the island and beyond. The epicentre of the blast was the Bickford family farm, where residents reported blinding flashes of light, deafening thunder, and electrical malfunctions that fried televisions and melted wiring. The phenomenon, which came to be known as the Bell Island Boom, remains one of Canada's most mysterious events.

The explosion was so powerful that it registered on seismographs across the province, with reports of unusual atmospheric disturbances extending as far...

In the summer of 1899, the Dagg family of Clarendon, Quebec, experienced a terrifying series of events that would go down as one of Canada’s most infamous paranormal encounters. What began as playful pranks soon turned into a nightmare of violence and fear as an unseen force, later dubbed Dagg's Demon, made its presence known.

The disturbances started innocently enough—objects moved without explanation, and strange noises echoed through the house. At first, the family dismissed the events as mischievous tricks. However, the phenomena escalated. Dishes shattered midair, furniture slid across the floor, and ghostly whispers filled the...

Nick and Lisa Masee vanished without a trace from their North Vancouver home on August 11, 1994, leaving behind a mystery that has baffled investigators for decades. The couple, known for their financial connections and high-rolling lifestyle, was last seen the night before they were scheduled to meet with a potential investor for Nick’s new business venture. They never showed up for that meeting—and have never been seen since.

Nick Masee was a former banker with the Bank of Montreal who had recently shifted gears to join Turbodyne Technologies, a company seeking to make waves in the auto...

Tom Thomson was one of Canada’s most celebrated painters, known for his breathtaking depictions of the country’s wilderness, particularly Algonquin Provincial Park. However, his legacy is forever intertwined with mystery, as his untimely death in 1917 remains one of Canada’s greatest unsolved cases.On July 8, 1917, Thomson set out on a solo canoe trip in Algonquin Park. When he failed to return, concern grew. A week later, his body was found floating in Canoe Lake, with a bruise on his temple and a fishing line wrapped around his leg. His canoe was discovered overturned, but something about the circum...

The Baldoon Mystery is one of Canada’s most famous and perplexing tales of paranormal activity. It began in 1829 in the small Scottish settlement of Baldoon, Ontario, when the McDonald family moved into their new home, expecting a peaceful life on the fertile farmland. Instead, they were met with a series of inexplicable and terrifying events that would haunt them for years.

Shortly after settling in, the McDonalds noticed strange occurrences: objects moving on their own, stones pelting the house from an unseen source, and furniture rearranging itself without explanation. The family reported hearing disembodied voices, unexplained kn...

Ronald Bax was the last known person connected to the tragic murder of Krystal Senyk, a vibrant 29-year-old musician and beloved community member from Carcross, Yukon. On March 1, 1992, Krystal was found shot to death in her home. Authorities quickly identified Bax, an obsessive and possessive man with a violent history, as the prime suspect. However, by the time police arrived, he had vanished without a trace.

Krystal had become a target of Bax’s jealousy after she befriended his estranged wife. Bax, known for his controlling behavior, couldn’t handle the rejection and the sense that Krystal was...

The Wendigo is one of Canada's most chilling and enduring legends, deeply rooted in the oral traditions of various Indigenous communities, particularly among Algonquian-speaking tribes. This creature, often associated with the harsh, unforgiving winters of the North, has fascinated and frightened people for centuries. Yet, despite its presence in popular culture, much of what people believe about the Wendigo is far from its original folklore. Contrary to the modern depiction of a towering, antlered beast, the Wendigo was traditionally described as a gaunt, skeletal figure with frostbitten skin, glowing eyes, and an insatiable hunger for human flesh.

...

In our fourteenth episode of Unsolved Canadian Mysteries, Kenton de Jong and Dylan Fairman discuss the mysterious deaths of Barry and Honey Sherman in 2017. Once the 15th wealthiest people in Canada, they were found dead in their mansion. From botched police investigations, bad blood within the family, and two very strange statues, this unsolved mystery comes with a $35 million pricetag for whoever can solve it.

In 1967, Stephen Michalak, an amateur geologist, was prospecting for silver near Falcon Lake, Manitoba, when he experienced an encounter that would become one of the most well-documented UFO cases in Canadian history. While exploring the wilderness, Michalak saw two glowing, disc-shaped objects descend from the sky. One flew away, but the other landed nearby. Curious, he approached the craft, noting its seamless, metallic structure. When he reached out to touch it, the surface was so hot it burned his glove.

Suddenly, the craft emitted a blast of hot air or gas, striking Michalak in the chest and...

Wilno, Ontario, a small and quiet town, holds one of Canada's strangest and most unsettling folklore mysteries. In 1972, a researcher named Jan Perkowski published a report titled Vampires, Dwarves and Witches Among the Ontario Kashubs, detailing eerie claims of vampiric entities that were said to stalk the Kashubian-Polish settlers in the region. These were no mere legends—the report described in detail how the community allegedly identified, feared, and even destroyed these creatures.

According to Perkowski’s findings, some Wilno residents believed in two distinct types of vampires. The first was a physical being, a reanimated corpse that...

St. Henry’s Kronsberg Cemetery, tucked away near Dysart, Saskatchewan, is shrouded in eerie folklore. Featured in Ghost Stories of Saskatchewan 3 by Jo-Anne Christensen, this burial ground has earned a reputation as the most haunted cemetery in the province. Paranormal investigators, visitors, and locals have shared chilling tales of shadowy figures, disembodied voices, and an ominous winged entity known as "The Guardian."One of the most terrifying reports comes from the Calling Lakes Paranormal Investigators (CPLI), who spent time researching the cemetery’s ghostly activity. They claim to have witnessed black shapes slithering across the misty ground, hooded specters dart...

Toronto has its fair share of urban legends, but few are as eerie as the Tunnel Monster of Cabbagetown. In 1978, a man named Ernest encountered something terrifying beneath the streets of Toronto—a creature that not only defied explanation but also spoke to him before vanishing into the darkness. More than four decades later, the mystery remains unsolved.Ernest, a resident of Cabbagetown, had been searching for a lost kitten near his home when he stumbled upon a hidden entrance to a tunnel system beneath the city. Crawling inside, he discovered a cavernous space with damp walls and an ov...

On May 20, 1935, the small community of Duck Lake, Saskatchewan, was shaken by the tragic death of Frank Smith. His wife, Mary Charlotte Smith, confessed to the crime, leading to a series of trials that captivated the public and left lingering questions about justice and mental health.The morning began routinely for Mrs. Caroline Fisher, who worked for the Smiths. Arriving at their cottage around 7:00 AM, she found Frank lifeless on his cot and Charlotte in apparent distress. Charlotte admitted to shooting her husband, prompting Mrs. Fisher to alert local authorities. Detective Corporal E.J. DesRosiers of the RCMP and...

On the morning of October 29, 1924, an explosion ripped through a Canadian Pacific Railway train near Farron, British Columbia, killing nine people. Among them was Peter "The Lordly" Verigin, the enigmatic leader of the Doukhobors, a pacifist religious sect that had fled Russia to escape persecution. Nearly a century later, his death remains one of Canada’s most enduring unsolved mysteries.Verigin was a philosopher and spiritual leader whose radical views clashed with both the Russian Empire and, later, the Canadian government. He led thousands of Doukhobors to Canada in the early 1900s, establishing a self-sufficient communal society in Western Ca...

For over two centuries, Oak Island, a small landmass off the coast of Nova Scotia, has been the site of one of history’s most tantalizing treasure hunts. Legends of buried riches, cryptic symbols, and deadly traps have lured adventurers, historians, and fortune seekers from around the world. Yet, despite relentless digging and six recorded deaths, the island’s greatest secret remains elusive.The mystery began in 1795 when three young men stumbled upon a curious depression in the ground beneath a tree. As they dug, they discovered layers of wooden planks and stones, leading them to believe they had unco...

On July 5, 2004, five-year-old Tamra Jewel Keepness vanished from her home in Regina, Saskatchewan, in a case that continues to haunt the community. Despite exhaustive searches, numerous leads, and a $50,000 reward that remains unclaimed, the mystery of what happened to Tamra that night has never been solved.

Tamra lived with her mother, stepfather, siblings, and others in a crowded house in Regina’s Core neighbourhood. The night she disappeared was chaotic, with people coming and going, arguments erupting, and tensions running high. By the following morning, when her mother went to wake her, Tamra was gone. There were no...

In the early 1990s, the small town of Martensville, Saskatchewan, was thrust into the national spotlight when horrifying allegations surfaced of a Satanic sex cult operating in the community. What began as a single report of abuse spiraled into one of the most infamous cases of mass hysteria in Canadian history. But beneath the frenzy, was there a deeper, darker truth that authorities were unwilling—or unable—to acknowledge?The allegations stemmed from a local babysitting service, where children claimed they were taken to secret locations and subjected to unspeakable rituals. These accusations escalated to include members of the loca...

Few figures in Canadian folklore are as infamous as Marie-Josephte Corriveau, a woman whose gruesome fate in 1763 led to one of Quebec’s most enduring ghost stories. Known as La Corriveau, she has been branded a witch, a murderer, and a restless spirit who haunts the streets of Quebec City to this day. But what really happened to her, and why has her legend persisted for over two centuries?

Marie-Josephte Corriveau was born in 1733 in the village of Saint-Vallier, New France (now Quebec). Married twice, she was accused of murdering her second husband, Louis Dodier, under suspicious ci...

Nestled in the eastern waters of Lake Ontario, near Prince Edward County, lies a mysterious region known as the Marysburgh Vortex. Often referred to as Canada’s version of the Bermuda Triangle, this eerie stretch of water has been the site of numerous shipwrecks, unexplained disappearances, and bizarre occurrences dating back centuries.The Marysburgh Vortex is one of three points forming the so-called “Great Lakes Triangle,” which extends from Kingston to Oswego, New York, and back to the waters off Prince Edward County. Within this zone, countless vessels have vanished without a trace, leaving behind only speculation and legend. One of...

Deep within the remote wilderness of Canada’s Northwest Territories lies Nahanni National Park, a breathtaking landscape of towering mountains, deep canyons, and rushing rivers. But beyond its natural beauty, the park harbors a dark and eerie mystery that has earned it the ominous nickname: The Valley of Headless Men.

For over a century, Nahanni’s rugged terrain has been the site of unexplained deaths, particularly involving prospectors and explorers who ventured into the area seeking fortune—and were later found decapitated. The most infamous case occurred in 1908, when two brothers, Willie and Frank McLeod, set out to fin...

On a stormy night in November 1980, 32-year-old Granger Taylor left his parents’ home in Duncan, British Columbia, and vanished without a trace. Before his disappearance, Taylor, a mechanical genius with an obsession for space travel and UFOs, had left behind a cryptic note stating that he was leaving on a 42-month interstellar journey aboard an alien spaceship. To this day, his fate remains one of Canada’s most perplexing unsolved mysteries.

Born in 1948, Taylor had an uncanny ability to understand and build machinery. As a self-taught mechanic, he restored antique vehicles, including a locomotive and a World War...