Photos: Jeff Dennome
I have a really fantastic job. As a guide for the largest walking tour company in the city, Tour Guys, I spend my working hours spinning stories of art, architecture and culture from the annals of Vancouver’s history to groups of eager tourists. The only problem? During the countless hours I spend digging through the archives I find a plethora of scandalous information that I simply cannot share on a family friendly tour!
Which is why I love October. Last year my boss Steve asked me to write a ghost tour for Hallowe’en, and l discovered that Vancouver has a pretty paltry collection of haunted tales. The ones that do exist are easily debunked and often stem from marketing ploys rather than any actual historic fact. They’re also.... cheesy. And I just couldn’t bring myself to script a tour around something I didn’t believe in.
That’s why I chose to write a tour about the events in Vancouver’s history that are really scary. That’s right - the murders, the riots and the unsolved crimes that call into question our reputation as the “most liveable city in the world.”
I collaborated with Alasdair (Ali) Butcher, a fellow East Van native, local history nerd and tour guide, and we wrote “Murders, Mystery and Mayhem,” a walk through the real "dark side" of Vancouver - crime, killings and terror. Ali agrees. “I can’t think of a better way to send chills down the spines of Vancouverites than by exposing the seedy, dark underbelly of the city’s gruesome past - and present. We talk about things on this tour that no one else in the city will tell you about.”
Last year the tour was a huge success and garnered us rave reviews. We’re launching an updated version of the tour this weekend, and I would love to see some of you VIA readers on the streets with me! Book with the code “VIA2012” to receive 50% off of the regular price for any of the tours this October. See you this Hallowe’en!
