Richard Fiennes-Clinton, owner of Muddy York Walking Tours, has an actor’s presence. Clad in a regal black cape, he swivels his body back and forth and projects his booming voice right to the back of the spellbound crowd in front of the Royal Ontario Museum, the meeting place for his Ghosts of University of Toronto Tour. His blue eyes glitter as he regales his audience with grisly anecdotes. The dreary darkness and the cold drizzle form the perfect backdrop to the spine-tingling tales.
First stop is the former Planetarium, its windows overhung by untrimmed tree branches and its steps slippery with sodden leaves. Inside it’s apparently even spookier. Celeste, a young girl who once lived in the building, is lonely and likes to come out and play.
Next is Trinity College, whose ivy-covered tower soars high into the starless night sky. Its founder, the stern John Strachan, apparently wanders the grounds to check on the calibre of today’s students. As Fiennes-Clinton relates historical tale after tale, the tour participants shiver – not just with the cold.
