Kingston Penitentiary: Ghosts and History of Canada's Most Notorious Prison

Kingston Penitentiary was the first penitentiary in Canada and, when it closed, one of the oldest prisons in continuous use anywhere in the world. Its grey limestone walls on King Street West held everyone from a teenage Grace Marks to Paul Bernardo, saw riots in 1954 and 1971, and gave Kingston its reputation as Canada’s prison city.

Today you can walk its ranges on guided tours run by the St. Lawrence Parks Commission. The tours tell the prison’s history, not its ghost stories, but the stories follow anyway: of an inmate who swore revenge as he died, and of a guard murdered on a night shift who is said to still make his rounds. Here is what the records show and what people report.

History of Kingston Penitentiary

The Provincial Penitentiary of the Province of Upper Canada opened on June 1, 1835, and took in six inmates on its first day. It was built on the shore of Lake Ontario just west of Kingston, then the capital of the Province of Canada, and over the next century it grew into a walled complex of cell blocks, workshops, a hospital and later a psychiatric treatment centre.

Its early regime was harsh, built on silence and hard labor. Among its prisoners was Grace Marks, convicted as a teenager in the 1843 murders of her employer and his housekeeper, whose story Margaret Atwood later told in Alias Grace. Over the decades Kingston Pen became the place where Canada sent its most dangerous offenders, including Clifford Olson, Paul Bernardo and Russell Williams.

Two riots mark its history. In 1954 about 900 inmates rioted for two hours, causing an estimated $2 million in damage before guards, 160 soldiers and the RCMP regained control. In April 1971 a four-day riot led by inmate Billy Knight saw six officers taken hostage; they were released unharmed, but two inmates were killed by other prisoners.

The federal government closed the penitentiary on September 30, 2013. It had been a National Historic Site since 1990. Public tours began that fall to raise money for charity and resumed in 2016 under the St. Lawrence Parks Commission, which also runs Fort Henry. Directly across King Street, Canada’s Penitentiary Museum in the former warden’s residence holds most of the prison’s historical records.

The ghosts of Kingston Penitentiary

George Hewell

The ghost Kingston’s tourism board names is George Hewell, described as a violent inmate who attacked guards and other prisoners. In 1897, the story goes, a guard struck back in self-defence, and the dying Hewell swore revenge. Visit Kingston says he has been seen many times since.

We could not find an independent record of Hewell’s death, so treat the details as the story is told rather than as documented fact.

William Wentworth, the guard on his rounds

In the Queen’s Journal, a former tour guide described hearing keys jangling in a locked, unused cell block in the Regional Treatment Centre, then seeing a man’s shadow walk up the range, lock a cell and walk back. A fellow guide told her it was “just William Wentworth.”

She wrote that Wentworth was the last staff member to die at the penitentiary, stabbed on the third floor of the treatment centre during a midnight shift in November 1961, and that his killer was never caught. In her account he is a friendly presence, still doing the job he was hired to do.

The light in the women's yard

The same guide described a glowing light hovering over the gated courtyard where huts for women prisoners once stood, seen during a tour of nearly 30 people and gone when the group passed again. She stressed that these were her own experiences, and the official tours do not promote them.

Keys, moans and footsteps

Older ghost lists add the sound of keys, moaning and footsteps in the empty ranges. Some retired officers who now work as guides share their own stories at stops on the tour.

Where to look

• The Regional Treatment Centre: The former psychiatric hospital where William Wentworth died and where the shadow on the range was described. Only the Extended Tour goes inside.
• The main cell blocks: The long tiers of cells radiating from the central dome, where keys and footsteps are reported.
• The women's prison yard: The gated courtyard where women prisoners’ huts once stood, and where the glowing light was seen.
• The hospital: Another Extended Tour stop, along with the gym and school.

Visiting Kingston Penitentiary

Kingston Pen Tours run in season, roughly from spring into the fall, and they sell out on busy weekends, so book ahead. There are three options: a 45-minute Express Tour that Visit Kingston describes as fully accessible, a 1.5-hour Standard Tour of the living quarters and workshops, and a 2.5-hour Extended Tour for smaller groups that adds the hospital, gym, school and Regional Treatment Centre, with stairs.

The route is about a kilometer, so wear comfortable shoes. Some stops are led by retired correctional staff who share their own memories of working in the prison. Tours are offered in English and French.

There are no official ghost tours or paranormal investigations inside the penitentiary. For Kingston’s ghost stories after dark, The Haunted Walk runs evening tours downtown and at Fort Henry, and the Ghost and Mystery Trolley Tour passes the old Rockwood Asylum nearby.

• Visiting Inside only on a booked Kingston Pen Tours visit (run by the St. Lawrence Parks Commission)
• Tours Express (45 minutes), Standard (1.5 hours) and Extended (2.5 hours) guided tours in English and French
• Hours and season Seasonal, roughly spring to late fall; check dates before you go

Tips for your visit

• Book the Extended Tour if you want to see the Regional Treatment Centre.
• Visit Canada’s Penitentiary Museum across the street for the records and artifacts.
• Pair the prison with Fort Henry on the same day; both are run by the St. Lawrence Parks Commission.
• Ask the retired staff guides about their own experiences.

More haunted places nearby

• Fort Henry: Kingston’s haunted fortress, with summer ghost tours
• Hochelaga Inn hotel guide: stay in a haunted Kingston inn
• Haunted places in Ontario: more of the province’s haunted history
• Haunted places in Canada
• Haunted places in Ontario

Sources

Facts on this page are checked against the official website, historic records and news coverage. Ghost stories are reported as staff, visitors and investigators tell them, and we say where records contradict a story.

• Wikipedia: Kingston Penitentiary
• Queen's Journal: My encounter with the Kingston Pen's notorious deceased employee
• Visit Kingston: 6 places to hunt for ghosts in Kingston
• Kingstonist: St. Lawrence Parks Commission confirms return of Kingston Pen Tours (2025)
• Visit Kingston: Pairing Kingston Pen Tours with autumn comforts
• The Haunted Walk: Kingston tours