Ottawa Prison Hostel (12 photos + 1 video)

Hostels have long become a convenient and cheaper way to stay in the right place and save money compared to regular hotels. It is believed that these are predominantly youth options, but they are chosen by people of different ages, gender and social status.





But not everyone would risk spending time in this place. After all, this inexpensive hostel was once a prison, which became famous for its inhumane policies.



Prison around 1875

Today the building houses a hostel, which until 2023 was managed by Hostelling International. The Ottawa Prison Hostel once housed real prisoners, not visitors looking for a cheap place to stay. After the prison closed in 1972, Hostelling International saw potential in the empty building that it was a shame not to take advantage of, bought it, converted it and opened a hostel. The top floor, which was once used as a death chamber, has been restored to its original condition so that visitors can explore it and experience the dark atmosphere of the past.





Women prisoners in front of their cells, 1895

Given the unique history of the building, it is not surprising that there are rumors that the hostel is haunted. The spirits of prisoners who were once held in the building against their will are said to wander at night, slamming doors, appearing at the foot of guests' beds, and howling softly in the hallways and common rooms.



Before the prison closed, it was the main cell block in Ottawa for more than 100 years. The first building was built in 1862 next to the area's courthouse.

Perhaps the most famous event in the prison's history is the hanging of Patrick J. Whelan on February 11, 1869.



Whelan was framed for the murder of Thomas D'Arcy McGee and was such a despised figure that an estimated 5,000 people gathered to watch his hanging as a spectacle. The judge promised that Whelan would be buried in the family plot in Montreal. But the authorities were so afraid of unrest that the killer's body was buried in a secret place on the prison grounds.



The unknown location of Whelan's burial site on the grounds of the Ottawa Prison contributes to rumors of spirits, ghosts and other nightmares. But if stories about them are exaggerated to attract interest and are fictitious, then the fact of the cruel detention of prisoners is quite real.

The number of prisoners was three times the permissible limit. Men were kept together with women and even children, and those arrested for drunkenness and hooliganism often shared a cell with murderers or the mentally ill.



The last officially recorded execution in the prison took place on March 27, 1946. Eugene Larment, who killed an Ottawa police detective, went to the gallows. Although the building ceased to be used as a prison back in 1972, the real gallows were left for the surroundings. And they fully retained their functionality, creating a gloomy but very authentic picture of the world for the hostel residents.











View of the gallows from the exercise yard