Rumour has it that the city of Victoria, in British Columbia, has a secret network of underground tunnels that were supposedly constructed during the last years of the 19th century. Access may be gained through many of the old buildings. Official city policy is to deny; rumours persist.

I would LOVE to learn more about these tunnels. If anyone has a story to tell, let me know.

Thanks.

KublaKahn

KublaKahn,

I just joined the forums and noticed your post. I live in Vancouver and there are a number of old / sealed tunnels under my city center that are fairly well documented. I wouldn't be surprised if Victoria does as well but haven't done a lot of research or scouting. I do know that the naval base at CFB Esquimalt has a series of bunkers and tunnels - some of which are actually open to public tour. Most of the oldest and original ones, however, have been sealed and not available to view. The original ones connect weapons stores with 1850's era stone seaside bunkers that housed ball and cannon (and some sealed ones apparently still do!)

You've got me interested now about the actual city center. I have a few contacts at the city engineer's department. On my next trip over there, I'll ask a few guys and see what I can find out. I'll post any findings in the forums here.

Cheers

BlackDog.

Interesting. I've seen a couple of these bunkers. I'd heard something about CFB Esquimalt tunnels. Seems reasonable given that it was a major military base during WWII.

As for Victoria, I've heard stories that tunnel entrances are located throughout the city, and some of these are to be found in old abandoned buildings. Three of these are owned by the same woman (a bit crazy after all these years, so the story goes). Apparently, her husband was a major developer during the early years of the last century. He was denied a business licence by the city, and so decided to spite council by leaving the buildings to his wife with strict instructions that they remain boarded up and inaccessible after his death. That was over 50 years ago, and everyone I know who has grown up in Victoria says that the buildings have been sealed for as long as they can remember. They are beautiful structures and are of great historical significance, but alas...

Also, it has been rumoured that other entrances, when plotted on a city grid, comprise the points of geometric patterns...pentangles, etc. Very curious, given Victoria's legendary status as being home to the largest concentration of Wiccans and Satanists in North America (not to suggest that Wiccans are Satanists).

Market Square, one of Victoria's oldest centers, has some puzzling entrances to something that go somewhere, but these are bricked over. These lead directly under Pandora and Johnston Streets respectively. As these buildings were constructed during the heyday (Goldrush days) by miners and stonecutters, etc. it seems reasonable that tunnels may have been part of the original design.

Thanks again for the info, BlackDog. Let me know when you plan to come over to Victoria.

KublaKhan.

Posted by BlackDog I do know that the naval base at CFB Esquimalt has a series of bunkers and tunnels - some of which are actually open to public tour.

Are you referring to Ford Rodd by any chance? I was out there last December and went there to check it out. I ended up spending the entire day there, that place is very cool.

I'm not familiar with Fort Rodd, Styrofoam.. I only know it as Esquimalt but I'm not a military historian by any stretch, so you could be right.

Kublakahn, I'm over on the island at least 4 times a year.. When I plan to be over there, I'll PM you and maybe we could compare notes over a few cold ones!

Excellent idea, BlackDog. I am familiar with 'cold ones' and I even know a place (or two) where these 'cold ones' may be had.

My latest information has opened up a new level of secrets, or at least has explained one or two things.

Street levels have changed over the years, with Johnston Street having been raised at least a full story, which is to say that the original street level is about one story below where it is now. So whatever storefronts, windows, doors, etc were there, these are all under ground.

Also, there's a place a few block up from the water, near Quadra/Vancouver Street(s) where there appears to be something of a sinkhole. Johnston Street was, at one time long ago, a ravine, and has since been filled in. I guess the city engineers back then neglected to include the possibility that the fill would settle, so now the street is sinking. It is alleged that this sinkhole, or rather the ravine, has some form of wall/ceiling structure, which would make it (for all intents and purposes) a tunnel.

I have learned also that the entrances I outlined in my first post (see above) around Market Square that extend under Pandora and Johnstone Streets respectively, are coal shoots that begin at water's edge and extend up the streets to the original Market Square buildings. These entrances are storage bins for coal and other goods that arrived in the city by ship about 100 years ago. Apparently, there are still rail cars...flatbeds...that were used to haul coal etc. up from the shoreline to the bins.

Now, none of this addresses another story I heard recently. There is a major network of tunnels that connects the Ross Bay Cemetary to the city center. This is likely false (who cares?) and is most likely related to a story published in a book titled Michelle Remembers, in which a woman claims to have been abducted as a child and forced into participating in satanic rituals. A few old crypts in this cemetary certainly do look like those old Batman cave type entrances (turn a lever and a door opens/floor opens to reveal a staircase that connects to tunnels, ritual chambers, etc.). One person I spoke with swears that she's seen people disappear into one of these crypts.

Whatever the case, the stories are numerous and are likely to prove more interesting than any 'fact' related to them.

What's the consensus of using a bit of duplicity to gain access to an area that is 'Off Limits?' I want to pose as a retailer looking for a new location and I want to have my 'building inspector' check the place out.

Any thoughts on this idea?

That's a form of social engineering. As long as it's not something that can be detrimental to someone else, it is usually fair game.

Great. But as for 'detrimental to someone else,' there's always the chance that I may ('scuze me...my 'building inspector') may end up getting cornered or some such. If that's the case, I'll have to think fast to make an escape, and this might mean plowing through some meaty construction-worker types. it's not that I pose some kind of risk or threat to such types, but getting out is getting out, and at whatever cost lest I end up getting busted, which would be bad.

Thanks for the tip, Jester

You can just as easily say you want to look at the place closely yourself as a prospective buyer. And if you want to take pictures, tell them you need some to show your partner who's out of town.

That's what I was thinking. In fact, my 'partner' and I discussed this the other day, and we agreed that the best way to gain access was along the lines you suggested.

Thanks again.

many many rumors about these tunnels, and they are the reason i got into UE. there are two open entrances that i know for a fact are easily accessable, but one requires a raft.
as far as closed entrances go, there is one underneath the clothing store, The Patch, and apparently the bolted door underneath the budget car rental place (fairfield and douglas i think) is also an entrance.

Posted by maply many many rumors about these tunnels, and they are the reason i got into UE. there are two open entrances that i know for a fact are easily accessable, but one requires a raft. as far as closed entrances go, there is one underneath the clothing store, The Patch, and apparently the bolted door underneath the budget car rental place (fairfield and douglas i think) is also an entrance.

You are awesome. We should hook up to discuss these.

What about the rumour that the entrances make up plot-points for such things as pentagrams and other esoteric symbols?

I've also heard that there's a super secret elite society a lá Eyes Wide Shut-type orgy chambers, and that the tunnels lead to these. This sounds totally improbable, but it's part of the larger story.

Then there's the newly exposed building next to the old parking lot besides Swans Hotel. Apparently, this building is used as a squat and shooting gallery (beware of contaminated hypodermics!!! wear steel-toed boots) is filled with secret escape holes. The building is very old...one of the city's earliest brick structures, and that some of the walls have false doors or hidden doors that lead to escape routes that connect to other parts of the building. I met a guy who's been in this building (only during the daylight hours as the place scares this shit out of him at night) and he might be willing to lead an expedition through the parts with which he is familiar.

HEY JESTER...as the leading or at least one of the leading UE in the Lower Mainland, would you be interested in checking these places out?

kubla...

I've had so many people tell me they know where an entrance to those and to the vancouver tunnels are, but whenever it came to getting any actual details, they were no longer around. If the entrances do check out as real, then definitely.


As for the cult aspect, victoria does actually have a very substantial satanist sect, but it's always just speculation that weird things happen in the tunnels.

Ditto on the details: I've met about a dozen people who know someone who know someone etc. etc. etc. but when push comes to shove, everybody disappears.

I'll keep looking, and as soon as I have something concrete, I'll let you know.

I was poking around one of the older boarded-up buildings down near the water the other day and discovered a group of meth-heads getting high. One of them, a twitchy fellow named Rusty, told me that getting into the building isn't a problem and that he's been inside dozens of times. Then he said he'd never been inside. Then he asked me if I was a cop. I told him no. Then he said he'd been inside dozens of times. I guess it's a bit of a shooting gallery for the city's addicts...or at least some of them. Sure enough, there are many many contaminated hypodermic needles laying around. It's a bit of a mine field. Steel-toed boots are an absolute must for this gig. Further inspection revealed that some of these hypos end up stuck in the little holes in the mortar between the bricks. It's an interesting effect. Next time, I'll get some pictures and post them.

Some guy told me that the woman who owns the building is a loony old dame holed up in an exclusive rest home somewhere up-island, and that she once called him to ask for 'gigalo services.' This guy told me that the building has an opening in the basement or in some lower level, and that it leads into a series of tunnels that connect and blah blah blah. He's been in them, and he said that if I buy him a sandwich sometime, he's ready to take me through the whole system.

Imagine that: the price of entry is the cost of a sandwich.

Was it this building?

Yep. That's the one.

Quote: Ditto on the details: I've met about a dozen people who know someone who know someone etc. etc. etc. but when push comes to shove, everybody disappears.

I found this forum while looking for info today for a friend about this. The tunnels do exist. There are multiple entrances. I have not been down there myself, but my boyfriend and a good half a dozen of our friends have. (I missed the trip.) They used an entrance near Hillside mall and went down to the "cave of wonders" (which would be more aptly named "long hall of mediocre graffiti").

I'm not sure if the "under The Patch" entrance is for real, my boyfriend worked there (in the basement most days) and we still have friends there. He doesn't ever recall seeing anything there.

My friend whom I was doing the searching for has confirmed that the entrance at the car rental location is boarded up. They checked it out yesterday.