Gatsby Mansion

Gatsby Mansion, known as Pendray Inn and Tea House, is a restaurant and hotel located in Laurel Point, Victoria. The area is considered a sacred burial ground for the Lekwungen Nation.

The tribe practiced sky burials, a funerary custom whereby corpses are placed high in trees to "allow the elements to clean the flesh from the bones". In 1885, immigrant Jacob Sehl cleared the land to build a furniture factory, destroying many human remains and forever cursing the location. 

The factory burned down in 1894 and witnesses reported "figures leaping and dancing in the flames". In 1908, William Pendray reconstructed a paint factory on site, only to die instantly when a metal pipe fell from the ceiling. Pendray's son Ernest passed away several years later after being trampled by a spooked horse outside the factory. 

Today the Gatsby Mansion is widely known as one of the most haunted locations in Victoria. It is rumored that "if you would like to see a ghost, there is a good chance your wish will be granted". 

Address: 309 Belleville Street. Victoria, BC.
Source: Victoria's Most Haunted, Gibbs, (2017).