Guided Spirit Walks at Victoria Lawn Cemetery 

About the Walks

Explore St. Catharines' past through the stories and experiences of the city's most famous - and infamous - residents in these guided spirit walks through one of the city's oldest and largest cemeteries, Victoria Lawn Cemetery.

The Victoria Lawn Cemetery Guided Spirit Walks are produced by the St. Catharines Museum & Welland Canals Centre and are a part of the legacy of Niagara-area projects funded by the 2012 Cultural Capital of Canada grants. The Guided Spirit Walks take audiences on an evening walk through the cemetery where actors, portraying historic St. Catharines characters, appear to share their part in the history of St. Catharines.

2020 Guided Spirit Walks: A Virtual Experience - Playing Favourites: Stories from the Past

Reformatted as a virtual experience, the 2020 Guided Spirit Walks broadcast stories from Victoria Lawn Cemetery into the homes of hundreds of viewers. 

In its ninth season, the 2020 Guided Spirit Walks production featured a selection of well-loved stories and historic personalities from past productions in a “best-of” style. 

You can now watch the scenes, all closed captioned, from the 2020 virtual presentation on Youtube. 

2019 Guided Spirit Walks - Glimpses of St. Catharines: Stories of the Famous & Infamous 

Spanning across different eras and featuring all sorts of local personalities, the 2019 Guided Spirit Walks delved into St. Catharines' stories of fame and fortune, scandal and misadventure. 

The 2019 production took a glimpse into how St. Catharines residents dealt with various stories of fame and infamy throughout the city’s history. We hear from the stories from the famous violinist Rubena Chapman Becker, Confederate sympathizer James Bowen, bootlegging detective Duncan Brown, the son and daughter of a man allegedly murdered by his wife and her lover, and many more intriguing stories.

2018 Guided Spirit Walks - At War's End

Witness the dramatic impact four years of war had on the residents of St. Catharines in 1918 with an engaging historical and theatrical walk through Victoria Lawn Cemetery. Pre-registration is required. See below for details. 

Cast, in order of appearance:

• Adrian Petry
• Paul Byrne
• Jacqueline Conway
• Brenda Schultz

• Katelyn Thompson 

• Rachael Othman 

• Brittani Morgan 
• Irene Romagnoli    
• Karen Donald

• Ian Ashman   

•  Fraser Morgan   

•    Des Corran   

• Armand Romagnoli                                                    

• William Hamilton Merritt 

•  David Poirier

2017 Guided Spirit Walks - One Dominion

Join the historic cast of local characters - including St. Catharines' only Senate appointment: Senator James Rae Benson - on their way to the big Dominion Day celebration. Our annual historic tour will consider and reflect what confederation meant for our community in the new 'One Dominion'. 

Cast, in order of appearance: 

• Fraser Morgan
• Paul Bryne
• Armand Romagnoli
• Irene Romagnoli
• Brittani Morgan
• Megan O'Melia
• Kayla Cowie
• Katie Thompson
• Ian Ashman
• Des Corran
• Brenda Schultz
• Lauren Curtas

2016 Guided Spirit Walks - Keep the Home Fires Burning: Stories and Music from the First World War

Take a trip back in time to 100 years ago and discover the stories and familiar
music of the First World War.

The 2016 Guided Spirit Walks at Victoria Lawn Cemetery will feature the war-time stories of important St. Catharines figures including Catharine Welland Merritt, who allowed her home, Oakhill (now CKTB Radio Station), to be used as a convalescent hospital for returning troops. The tours also include letters, postcards, and diary entries from soldiers Bert Hill, Jack House, Percy Bradshaw, and Lt. Col. Frank McCordick.

Cast, in order of appearance: 

• Sara Nixon
• Victor Packard
• Nicholas MacLaurin
• Irene Romagnoli
• Cassidy Martin
• Fraser Morgan
• Brittani Morgan
• Ian Ashman
• Brenda Schultz
• Roslin Chen
• Kate O'Melia
• Megan O'Melia
• Kayla Cowie
• Des Corran 
• Armand Romagnoli

2015 Guided Spirit Walks - Our Canal, Our Community

Our 2015 walks focused on the tragedies, successes and sacrifices made by thousands of workers during the building of the four Welland Canals in "Our Canal, Our Community."

The 2015 tour featured stories from the construction of the Welland Ship Canal/Fourth Welland Canal between 1913 and 1932. Last year's tour includes the following historic personalities:

High Constable Richard E. Boyle, Merritton.
World Famous Temperance Lecturer Lillian Phelps
Edward Gardiner, Canal Surveyor and Engineer
Various fallen canal workers including 15 yr old Antonio Collini.

Cast, in order of appearance:

• Roslin Chen
• Kayla Cowie
• Kate O'Melia
• Deborah Hawkins
• Darlene Erskine
• Des Corran
• Nicholas MacLaurin
• Irene Romagnoli
• Melanie Newman
• Fiona Madill
• Armand Romagnoli
• Brenda Schultz
• Ian Ashman
• Brett Greening
• Jordan Kripp
• Victor Packard

2014 Guided Spirit Walks - Doing Our Bit: The Great War

"Thank you to all of our wonderful volunteer actors and event assistants. We could not have done it without you!"

2013 Guided Spirit Walks - Second Canal Era

Thank you to all of our wonderful volunteer actors and behind-the-scenes crew for their hard work, dedication and many a rainy evening spent at Victoria Lawn.

2012 Guided Spirit Walks - War of 1812