Ghostly characters are lurking inside the Gulf of Georgia Cannery in Steveston, ready to haunt visitors with their spooky sounds and scary stories.
The historic site's annual Haunted Halloween Tours run five times a day Oct. 27 and 28, entertaining visitors of all ages and anxiety levels.
Saturday's 1 p.m. tour is an open house suitable for children, while traditional tours are somewhat scarier.
Those late in the afternoon promise to be extra spooky, meaning more blood, guts and frightening figures.
The tours take visitors to shadowy places left undiscovered during regular guided walks.
And with creaking floors and echoing groans in the background, ghostly characters will pop out of each nook, telling tales of life inside the cannery.
One of the figures visitors will run into is Edwin Augustine Smith - inventor of the iron butcher machine - who died in a car crash, but returned from death to haunt the factory.
Other stories cover some gruesome accidents, for example that of Patty the Patcher, whose scarf got stuck in a machine.
In reality, the amount of casualties in the cannery has remained undetermined, Mark Turpin - one of the actors - said, referring to the lack of work security regulations back in the day.
While the tours are mainly for fun, they educate visitors on the history of the fishing and canning industry, according to Rob Hart, marketing coordinator at the cannery.
He said the themed walks are also community-based; students of Richmond high schools are asked to join in the plays, as such arousing their interest in history.
Other students involved are those of Blanche Macdonald makeup school in Vancouver, who prepare the actors' scary looks.
As visitors will encounter their ghostly guides in a dark and cold cannery, they are advised to dress warmly and to wear comfortable shoes.
Tours also tend to sell out quickly, so prior reservation is recommended via phone 604-664-9009, or online at gulfofgeorgiacannery.com/store, then click on "tickets".
