Kingston holds the distinction of Canada's most actively haunted city per capita, a legacy encoded in 19th-century limestone that absorbed two centuries of military detention, cholera outbreaks, and maritime disaster. The downtown core preserves 23 National Historic Sites within a single square kilometre, more than any comparable urban area in the country, and nearly every heritage building carries documented accounts of unexplained footsteps, cold drafts in sealed chambers, and apparitions captured in tour-group photographs. Fort Henry, completed in 1837 as the linchpin of Britain's North American defence, served simultaneously as fortress, prison, and internment camp through both world wars; its casemates and powder magazines still echo with reports of shadow figures in period military dress. The Kingston ghost walk tradition began in the mid-1990s when local historians cross-referenced archival death records with persistent visitor reports, mapping a constellation of supernatural activity that aligned precisely with sites of historical trauma. The limestone bedrock beneath the city, quarried extensively for construction between 1820 and 1890, possesses unusual acoustic properties that amplify sound in unexpected ways, contributing to the eerie resonance visitors describe in the Market Square dungeons and the corridor beneath City Hall. Tour routes pass the old Frontenac County Gaol, operational from 1840 to 1971, where hangings occurred in the central courtyard and inmates were held in near-total darkness; paranormal investigators have recorded unexplained electromagnetic fluctuations in the execution chamber. Guides on Kingston ghost walk tours draw from trial transcripts, ship manifests, and garrison logs to reconstruct the lives that ended abruptly in epidemic, accident, or judicial sentence. The waterfront district, once crowded with taverns and boarding houses serving Great Lakes sailors, witnessed frequent violence; several buildings retain original cellars where bodies were stored during winter months when ground proved too frozen for burial. Evening darkness enhances the theatrical effect, as gas lamp replicas and handheld lanterns cast moving shadows across stone façades, and the absence of modern lighting reveals architectural details invisible by day. The tours operate year-round, with winter departures considered especially atmospheric when breath clouds and ice-sheathed walkways heighten the Gothic sensibility that has made Kingston a pilgrimage site for enthusiasts of dark tourism.