Tamara Miller's Haunted Tours have become extremely popular for Hatters and tourists alike, earning nomination for a provincial award. Using Tourism MH's Sunshine Trolley, Miller gives paranormal tours throughout the year, including a Christmas-themed event on Dec. 29.--PHOTO COURTESY FACEBOOK
bmiller@medicinehatnews.com
Hunting ghosts may not be considered a traditional part of the Holiday Season, but in Medicine Hat several individuals recently attended the first Christmas Spirits Ghost Tour to explore folklore and share local ghost stories.
Nineteen guests boarded the Medicine Hat Sunshine “Haunted” Trolley on Dec. 29 to tour some of Medicine Hat’s most active paranormal locations, solve riddles and participate in Christmas-themed games like “Two Truths and a Lie” before visiting the old St. Louis School for a short paranormal investigation.
“There’s a lot of folklore around Christmas that is very interesting,” explains Tamara Miller, founder of Miller’s Haunted Tours run out of Miller’s Emporium. “If you think of Ebenezer Scrooge, he was visited by three ghosts.”
The themed tour had guests solving various Christmas-themed riddles related to ghost stories, magic and holiday mysteries while visiting sites including the old Hillside Cemetery, the old Drill Hall located on the Medicine Hat & Exhibition Stampede Grounds that used to be one of Canada’s largest German prisoner of war camps in the Second World War, and finished with a 15-minute investigation inside St. Louis School.
“It’s really neat in itself, because the school has so much history to it,” said Miller. “We talked about the history of the school, the things that had happened … and then the participants got to roam around the school for about 15 minutes and check out the school with the dowsing rods.”
Miller explains a dowsing rod is a tool used to detect spiritual energy during paranormal investigations, however no paranormal activity was discovered during the tour.
“It was such a great night, it was nice to be on that trolley with the Christmas lights on … definitely I would do it again next year,” said Miller, who also expressed her interest in hosting a Valentine’s Day-themed haunted tour.
Miller moved to Medicine Hat in 2021 from Moose Jaw. Inspired by local history and her passion to connect and understand better, the paranormal Miller partnered with Tourism Medicine Hat to launch the set round of ghost tours in October 2024.
“I was worried no one was going to come and all this kind of stuff,” explains Miller, who tied up her own money to invest in her idea. “So in October 2024 I unleashed the beast, I did 25 tours, and every single one of them sold out.”
The ghost tour run by Miller is a unique experience to the southern part of the province and was recently recognized by Tourism Alberta for its impact on growth in local tourism.
In November, Miller’s Haunted Tours was one of three finalists recognized for the Tourism Alberta GRIT Award, which recognized innovators and leaders who drive tourism to the province.
Although Miller’s Haunted Tours did not win the award, she says the nomination and recognition is a victory in her books.
“I didn’t win the award, but it was so rewarding just to be there and just to be considered for an award,” said Miller, who says she never expected to even be nominated for an award.
Typically Miller’s Haunted Tours runs in the spring and wraps up in October, however due to the overwhelming success so far, Miller hopes to expand tours throughout the year, offering more holiday-themed tours exploring tragic and unsolved events.
“There’s so much good folklore and history that is ghostly in itself,” said Miller. “Because it’s about all of these stories, when it comes to any kind of folklore, stemming from something historical that is no longer with us, that always has that eerie vibe.”
