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Canadian Legends + Monsters: The Kingston Park Built on 10,000 Graves – ParaGhoul Paranormal: Discoveries from the Dark
Original air date: March 15, 2026
Imagine sitting in a park with your kids on a warm afternoon. They are digging in the dirt, running around, playing as kids do.
Then one of them walks over and says, “Mom… look what I found.”
And in their hand is a human femur.
It sounds like something out of a horror movie. But in Kingston, Ontario, there is a park where stories like that have actually happened. Locals know it as Skeleton Park.
The History Behind the Haunting
Those who visit McBurney Park today may not realize that the park was once a cemetery. One source suggests the burial ground first opened in 1809. A historic map from 1816 shows the cemetery in the same location as the current park, where it was known as the Garrison Burying Ground.
Within a few years it began to serve more of the community. Anglicans and Catholics started using the burial ground, and by 1825 it had been renamed the Upper Burial Ground and expanded to include a section for Presbyterians.
By the 1850s, the cemetery had reached capacity. It is estimated that roughly 10,000 bodies had been buried there, beginning with soldiers and later expanding to include many of Kingston’s residents. This number grew quickly due to mass graves and epidemics that affected the region throughout the 1800s.
One of the most devastating was the typhus outbreak of 1847, also known as ship fever. During the Irish famine, it is estimated that about 50,000 Irish immigrants passed through Kingston while trying to escape the crisis in Ireland. Tragically, up to 1,500 of them died after arriving in the city. Around 300 local residents also contracted the disease.
Other outbreaks also contributed to the cemetery’s population. Cholera epidemics in 1832 and 1834 are estimated to have killed about ten percent of Kingston’s population at the time. Malaria outbreaks between 1827 and 1832 likely added to the number of burials as well.
The Upper Burial Ground officially closed in 1864. Over the following decades it fell into neglect. By the 1890s the area had become a growing residential neighborhood, and many residents were unhappy with the poorly maintained cemetery nearby.
In 1893 the decision was made to convert the burial ground into a city park. A newspaper article from the Daily Whig on December 31, 1898 praised the mayor’s accomplishments and included a line about the new park:
“Frontenac Park, once the place of the depraved and desolate, now a lovely spot.”
What that line did not mention was that thousands of bodies were still buried beneath that “lovely spot.”
There had been attempts to exhume and relocate the remains to other cemeteries in the city, but fewer than 1,000 bodies were successfully moved. The bedrock and high water table made the process difficult, and there were concerns that disturbing the graves could cause old diseases to return.
In the end, the decision was made to leave the majority of the graves where they were. Headstones were flattened or removed, soil was placed over the area, and the park was created above an estimated 9,000 remaining bodies.
Frontenac Park officially opened on February 6, 1894. It quickly became known by another name, however. Frost heaving often brought bones and skeletal remains to the surface, and the public began referring to the area as Skeleton Park.
Discoveries Beneath the Park
Over the years, the history of the cemetery has continued to surface in unexpected ways.
An article published in The Whig-Standard on October 8, 1992 discussed how construction crews repeatedly encountered graves while working in the park. According to the article, workers installing electrical wires or benches would find burial sites almost every time they dug into the ground.
There are even stories from years ago of children using broken gravestones as baseball bases or attaching skulls they found to their bicycle handlebars. It is a disturbing image, but it shows just how close the cemetery remains are to the surface.
Historic maps also suggest that some nearby homes may actually sit on parts of the old burial grounds, particularly on the south side of the park.
Church records reveal just how many people were buried there. Anglican records show hundreds of burials during the cholera outbreaks in the early 1830s, as well as more during the typhus epidemic of 1847. Research suggests that more than 4,000 Anglicans alone were buried in the cemetery.
Roman Catholic records are less complete, but historians estimate that about 4,000 Catholics were also buried there by the time the cemetery closed in the mid-1800s.
In recent years, the city has acknowledged this history. A plaque was installed in 2008 by the Kingston Historical Society with assistance from the City of Kingston and the Ontario Heritage Trust. The plaque marks the location of the former burial ground and recognizes the thousands of people who were laid to rest there.
A Celtic cross monument was also placed in the park with an inscription honoring the estimated 10,000 immigrants, many of them Irish or Scottish, who were buried in Kingston’s Upper Cemetery between 1813 and 1865.
Today, any construction work near the park typically requires archaeological review to ensure that graves are not disturbed.
The Ghost Stories
With thousands of graves lying just beneath the surface, it may not be surprising that Skeleton Park is also said to be haunted.
One of the creepiest stories involves children who visit the park. Some parents have reported their kids talking about invisible friends while playing there. Others claim to have seen children playing in the park who suddenly disappear.
Stories like that suggest that the spirits of children buried in the old cemetery may still linger there. Children’s ghost stories have always given me goosebumps, even before I became a mom.
Other reports describe ghostly women wandering through the park. Witnesses often say these figures do not seem threatening. Instead, they appear calm or maternal, leading some people to believe they may be watching over the ghostly children.
Another strange claim suggests that the park sometimes appears to transform back into the old cemetery. According to the story, visitors may briefly see rows of tombstones and the outlines of the original burial ground before the scene returns to the modern park by morning.
Personally, I find that one a little harder to believe. With smartphones everywhere these days, you would think someone would have captured evidence by now. Still, people continue to report strange experiences in the park.
Visitors sometimes describe sudden temperature drops, even during warm summer evenings. Others mention unusual mists, whispers, disembodied voices, or the unsettling feeling that someone is watching them.
There are also reports from homes built near the park. Some residents have claimed to experience classic paranormal activity such as lights flickering, objects moving on their own, or doors opening and closing without explanation.
Conclusion
After digging into the history of Skeleton Park and reading through old newspaper articles, I have to admit that it makes me want to visit Kingston even more. The city seems to have an incredible amount of history and ghost stories tied to it, and Skeleton Park is just one of many locations.
Would you go for a walk through Skeleton Park?
One article even suggested sitting quietly in the park and simply listening, just to see what you might hear. Personally, I think I would want to visit on a full moon night. Some stories claim that the chances of seeing the park transform back into the old cemetery are higher under the light of a full moon.
That would definitely be an interesting experience.
Why do you think places like Skeleton Park continue to capture our imagination? I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
Explore More Local Hauntings
If stories like this make you curious about the ghosts in your own backyard, make sure to grab your free YQR Haunts: Guide to Regina Ghosts. It includes some of the top haunted locations in the city and a few stories you might not have heard yet.
👉 Download your free guide here
