Discover The Past

Very interesting and well done. We had Kate. The story of Victoria. Everything we hoped. Highly recommended.

This was a great tour. I enjoyed the historical stories of the town and the ghost stories were just a bonus. Well done, highly recommend it!

Took the whole family on a ghost walk tonight, and it was TERRIFIC! I know that with these tours, the guide is often the key, and we were fortune enough to to have Chris Adams, who owns the company with his dad John. The history was fabulous and we all enjoyed the spine tingling tales. Would DEFINITELY recommend!

Had an amazing time. I hope to come back soon and do another one. Our tour guide was a lovely lady and made everything so interesting. Literally could feel the energy in the streets as she spoke.

This is my third ghost tour. I have taken tours in Seattle and Edinburgh as well. This tour wasn’t my favorite of the three, but it was definitely more gruesome than the other two which made falling asleep fun that night! ha. I went on a Thursday so we took the Trounce Alley and Broad Street tour. Like someone mentioned in another review, it seemed like some of the stories were implausible or that if someone died young then that place was suddenly haunted. I went for a good tale and I definitely got that but I’m not sure I really needed to hear about bulging eyes and purple dead people. A good story doesn’t need that type of embellishment. Nevertheless, it was fun and I learned a few things, but I’m not sure I’d go back for another ghost tour but would be willing to try a walking history tour.

I did the weekday 7:30p tour with Chris but we ended up doing the 9:30p route due to rainy conditions (more shelter). I’m not one that is easily scared by ghost stories, so I can’t say that it was spooky. However, it was informative because you get to learn a lot about the history of Victoria and Chris is a good storyteller. He takes you to various landmarks downtown and narrates relevant ghost stories to that location. Some of the ghost stories did seem like a stretch though. It seems like if someone had an untimely death anywhere in Victoria, that place automatically became «haunted.» I’d say this might be for you if you’re into learning the history of Victoria, but don’t expect to get scared. If you do, then it’ll be a nice little perk :)

John and his group of storytellers are great. It helps if you believe in ghosts (I do) and enjoy a fun historical story. You will learn about the city, the builders of the city and the people who inhabited the city… or still do! And try not to be too scared when he tells you your hotel is probably haunted. We went on the 9:30 tour when the sun is down and the atmosphere is just right. Easy walking and highly recommended.

I had a terrific time on the ghost walk. Learned about some of Victoria’s darker history. The tour guides passion and knowledge for the subject was impressive. It was a good time :)

Oh my goodness, ladies and germs. If you ever find yourself in Victoria, look up the local Ghost Tour. It was terrifying, and here’s why: I am personally afraid of the dark, I think ghosts might be real, and it’s terrifying when people randomly faint on your tour.
I honestly did not sleep a wink that night. Or the night after. But I think the hotel we stayed in was haunted, or just had very creeky floors and doors. I woke up in a sweat imagining a floating ghost head above me!
The tour guide himself was a bit cheesy, but if that’s your job and you do it all the time, you probably have to do something silly just to get through it and deal with all the tourists.
At one point there was a huge commotion when a girl on our tour suddenly passed out! When she came around, it turned out she had just had her Wisdom teeth pulled and hadn’t been able to eat solid food, so, she fainted. I just want to say, why did you plan to have your wisdom teeth pulled right before you go on vacation? But okay. Anyway, I recommend the tour, it was informative and if you are scared of literally anything, you will get the fear factor you paid for.

Well we stumbled upon this ghost walking tour — and I’m very thankful that we did.
My mom and I thought it would be «neat», «entertaining» and «fun». We didn’t nearly expect it to be as educational and informative as it was. (…and Might I add, we were pleasantly surprised).
This is a tour that goes on twice per evening, every day of the week. If you get John Adams, you’ve scored the right tour guide. We learned afterward that John is actually the one who started the tours and owns the company. He is a well-​known historian in the city. He’s written books and also teaches some lectures at the university.
John Adams takes you around to 3 – 4 different sites — and during this time he stops to talk about the history of the buildings, the people associated with the buildings, personal encounters and then the «well-​known tail of the spot».
Every night they do different tours — so you could go two nights in a row and see different sites and hear new stories.
I think it was around $ 12.50 /​person and it was remarkable — You buy your tickets at the tourism Victoria booth by the harbour. We did the one we went on went into St. Anne’s academy and because of John Adam’s connections and fine reputation in the city, we were allowed after hours access to spaces that you otherwise were restricted to going to.
This walk was the highlight of my trip to Victoria!
*****Do this tour when you first arrive, it will give you lots of insider info into activities around the city. John Adams was great at pointing on free activities that you can do while visiting the beautiful city. ******

My husband and I went on the ghost walk and had a good time. The guide was very knowledgable and friendly. It’s a father/​son team, and they look like they were made to do this. It’s a lot of walking, and it can get very cold at night (especially in February!) so wear comfortable shoes and wear layers! We saw a lot of cool places and heard some really interested stories.

We did the ‘ghost’ tour. They take you around to various locations and describe ghosts that alledgedly haunt certain places. The tour ends up in a small room in a building where they tell about one final incident. It did a great job of scaring my 10 year old, but we expected that going in.
Kinda cheesey, but a good time for not a lot of money. We spent a day in the city centre and it was fun to do something different. The guy who ran the tour really did a good job. He was very serious and seemed very into what he was doing.
Best was the neat walk around Victoria and learning some of the dirty secrets of the past. I don’t believe in this stuff, but it was fun and inexpensive.

Do you love walking tours and do you especially love Ghost tours? Well, if you find yourself in Victoria do yourself a favor and take this tour! At only $ 14 a person it’s a bargain, that’s what, the price of a couple pints? We were fortunate to take this tour in October and it seems like they really beef it up for Halloween. On the tour we learned a lot of local history and folklore. I would have loved to hear more specifics on the actual ‘hauntings’ but this seemed more of a novice ghost tour because they explained simple things like how hauntings occur and the different types of hauntings. Of course, we had a few kids in the group so maybe they toned it down? This tour seems to be very popular with both locals and tourists because every time we passed people on the street you’d hear them remark «oh, it’s Ghost Walks». Our tour guide (Chris I think?) was one of the best storytellers I’ve seen or heard! That is essential on a tour like this one!
We only learned about Discover the Past because we saw it on the map the hotel gave us and I’m so glad we found them! I would defiantly take another tour from them the next time we visit!

Discover The Past provides Ghost tours, Chinatown tours, Neighbourhood tours, School Tours, Lectures, Dinners, Bus Tours in Victoria throughout the year.
You will find mention of them and pamphlets at the Victoria Visitors Information Centre, right by the Harbour– where you will also meet your tour guide. Prices vary per tour.
The company was started by a fellow named John Adams whom I understand has done A LOT of research when it comes to the area’s history and ghost stories in Victoria — and a rich history it is!
The tour we took was the «Ghostly Walk» at 8:30pm on the September Labour Day Long Weekend and it lasted 1 ½ hours. Got a great overview of Victoria’s history, some good ghost stories on the Harbour, Inn at Laurel Point Hotel, The Empress Hotel, Roger’s Chocolates, Claires’ Restaurant, The Bard & the Banker Pub, Trounce Alley and the Mariners Museum (formerly the Courthouse).
I usually love these types of tours and while there was a great deal of information our 2 guides shared with us… but after a summer season of tours a few of us had really hoped there would have been a smoother flow to the stories. There was a bit of jumping around in the stories, some awkward jokes… no real rhythm.
Would I go again? YES. Maybe different guides would tell the tales better? Possibly. I do know for sure there are many more stories to hear about and there is a huge selection of Walks to take through the year.