With an area as vast and historical as Burnaby Mountain, is it really any surprise that every year reports flood in from witnesses who claim to have experienced different kinds of paranormal activity? Check out our list of some of SFU Burnaby’s most haunted places and make sure you keep an eye out for anything supernatural the next time you’re on campus.
Better yet, tweet us at @PeakSFU with your own tips on where our paranormal investigators should scope out next.
The woods surrounding Burnaby Mountain
Extensive forests cover most of the land around campus, so it only makes sense that a lot of ghostly sightings originate here. The sounds of footsteps stepping on twigs when no one else is around, ritualistic markings on tree bark, and weird burn marks discovered on the forest floor. These are just a few of the bizarre happenings that the woods of SFU have come to be known for.
The top floor of Bennett Library
Even during peak midterms and finals season, the library can have a haunting feeling; a tingling feeling at the back of your neck like someone — or something — is watching you. Lights in the library’s elevators have been known to flicker on and off haphazardly, and sometimes computers will just freeze while you’re in the middle of doing work, seemingly without explanation. Employees will probably brush these types of things off as completely random, but what if there’s a spectral force at work here?
The Highland Pub
The only bar on campus is also the spookiest bar on campus. Loud music reportedly plays through the speakers even when there’s no one dancing, and beer often emerges directly from the tap so flat it’s scary. A rumour also persists that every Saturday, when most bars are busy enjoying one of the busiest days of the week, the Highland stays closed in order to appease the countless ghosts that haunt the men’s urinals. If you really want to see some spooky things, though, go on a night other than Friday.
The SFU Gallery
In preparation for this article, The Peak had to conduct weeks of research and seek out things from SFU’s past that the university didn’t want people to find — including the SFU Gallery. Not ringing any bells? The gallery located in the AQ? It’s usually open but no one’s ever really going in or out of it? Nothing? Well, the point is we’re pretty sure SFU Gallery is also haunted but as of yet we can’t confirm these observations. (Because investigating the Gallery would require us to actually go there.)
Mr. Sub in the Maggie Benston building
If there’s one relic from the past that reminds us that what’s dead doesn’t stay dead, it’s the Mr. Sub on campus. It’s so widely regarded as being haunted that rarely anyone ever goes there, even when there’s a lineup at most of the other food places.
Club Ilia
The ghosts at Club Ilia are of a similar astral plane as the ones found at The Highland pub, but they’re even more tortured from years of being neglected. Haunted spirits walk to aisles of Ilia as recurring events happen weekly, hoping to serving as a reminder that there are actually two places on campus to get afternoon drunk.
