Glen Shackleton, Artsci’96, turned a passion for history and storytelling into a thriving business.
The year that Glen Shackleton, Artsci’96, spent at Herstmonceux Castle in England changed his life, in more ways than one.
In 1994, he was a third-year student and signed up to study at Herstmonceux as part of what is now known as Bader College. He soon met Jacqueline Price, Artsci’96, and, now married, they’ve been together for 30 years.
Shackleton’s second formative experience while at the castle was otherworldly. He and Price took a trip to York, where he went on a ghost tour.
“It was fascinating,” he says. “What a cool way to learn about history, which I love, but also folklore and cool ghost stories, kind of getting a bit of everything, as well as getting out in the evening. I loved it.”
There was born the idea for the business that he launched back in Kingston as a third-year student. The Haunted Walk has prospered, and Shackleton now has approximately 100 employees giving haunted walks in Toronto, Ottawa, and in Kingston. There’s even a popular haunted tour of Queen’s University.
“There are eerie tales of student grave robbers, professors reaching out from the beyond, heists gone wrong and streets shrouded in mystery,” the Haunted Walk website warns. “Join us for the Ghosts of Queen’s University and graduate with a degree in the supernatural!”
Other tour locations include Fort Henry in Kingston, the Distillery District in Toronto, and Beechwood Cemetery in Ottawa. Guides lead small groups on tours that last 75 to 90 minutes.
An early tour in a Kingston cemetery went awry when police cruisers pulled up. “They had reports there was a cult doing some kind of rituals in Skeleton Park, and then they had gotten a complaint,” says Shackleton. “I gave them a brochure, and they loved it. They actually came on the tour later that week with their spouses.”
Shackleton also wanted to foster links between Queen’s students and the larger community, he says. “Not just people who are tourists, but also students to come and get to know a little bit about the city and history and feel more of a connection to the place where they were going to school.”
It may be like asking if the owner of a toy store believes in Santa Claus, but does Shackleton believe in ghosts?
“I didn't come into this as somebody who was a true believer in ghosts,” he says. “I have, however, had some experiences that I can't explain. I guess I put myself as a bit on the fence about it, but I think … that’s how most people feel about it. It's more of a question of experience than belief, I guess, with ghost stories.”
