Skeleton Park (McBurney Park) - Kingston, Ontario Canada

In the early 1800s, Fort Frontenac once stood in Kingston, Ontario.  At one point during the history of the garrison and the town, a cholera epidemic wiped out thousands including soldiers and citizens.  The dead were buried in the garrison cemetery located nearby.

Kingston's Upper Cemetery on Ontario as it was in the 1800s

In 1827 the cemetery changed hands and expanded to become a common burial ground over the years.  A typhus epidemic sent many more to their deaths and were placed in what was known as the Kingston's Upper Cemetery.  When the cemetery reached full capacity in the 1850s, it fell into neglect. 

All that remains of Ft Frontenac Kingston, Ontario Canada

In 1893, it was demanded by locals that the cemetery be removed so work began on removing the remains of those buried in the graveyard and their tombstones to other cemeteries located in the area.  However, when one grave was opened and several soldiers from the garrison days were discovered partially decomposed, a great panic spread that the cholera epidemic could revive itself and devastate the town.  All work stopped on removal of the bodies.  The remaining tombstones were turned over and the entire cemetery covered over with a thin layer of dirt and became Frontenac Park.  

Removal of the graves from Kingston's Upper Cemetery in 1893 Ontario, Canada.  Today it is known as Skeleton Park.

Today the park is known as McBurney Park and is a relaxing and enjoyable place to spend time.  Children play on the play equipment, folks walk or sit and enjoy the peaceful atmosphere and concerts are held there as well.  However, on occasion the remains of a body surface due to weathering or when work is done in the area and a body is accidentally dug up. On one occasion work was being done in the city and a granite slab was uncovered.  Turning it over, it was a tombstone and found beneath the stone was the actual body of the person marked on the stone.  Thus, discoveries like these have earned the park the nickname "Skeleton Park".  There was but one tombstone remaining which is a very large monument to large to cover over or remove.  It is dedicated to priest who is buried there and serves as a reminder of what the park once was, or still is.

A large monument marking the grave of a priest that can be seen in a photo above as it appears today in McBurney Park which is located in Kingston, Ontario.  Also known as Skeleton Park.

It seems that the "residents" of McBurney Park are rather unsettled with the state that they were left in.  On occasion, they make themselves known.  Many visitors to the park have heard disembodied voices.  Several eyewitness claim to have seen actual apparitions in the park, some of those being children who seem to want to run and play.  Many houses surround the park and a large percentage of them have reported a high level of poltergeist activity such as doors opening and closing on their own as well as objects moving about unaided.

So if you want to take a walk with the dead and maybe catch a glimpse of a ghost or two, take a stroll through Skeleton Park, considered to be one of the most haunted places in Canada.

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