The Secret of Room 29: What The Christie Mansion Tried to Hide

 
Beneath the polished elegance of the Christie Mansion in Toronto lies a story that most in polite society would sooner forget. This grand home that once belonged to biscuit maker, William Mellis Christie, hides within it's walls a family secret so dark that it was walled away, literally. Behind the sealed door of what is now known as Room 29, legend has it of a young woman who was imprisoned by the Christie Family, her life being consumed by isolation and despair. Some believe that her spirit still lingers there, pacing behind invisible walls, mourning a truth the mansion tried to bury. It is there that in the soft creak of its floorboards, and the chill that lingers in it's corridors, The Mirror Watches finds the echo of such a secret one that to this day refuses to stay silent. 

Mr. Christie you make good cookies....and haunted tales. 

The Christie Mansion located at 100 Wellesley Street, West Toronto is tucked neatly behind Queens Park and The Ontario Legislative Building. This is a simple Victorian Mansion which was once the home of William Christie and his family, known to the world as the founder of the great cookie empire, Mr. Christie's. The house had originally belonged to William, and then later his son, Robert. Yet, this house harbors a dark secret, a chamber hidden from the rest of the house, was known to be the home of Robert's unnamed Mistress. Where she lived a life of isolation and despair. 

The house was originally built for William Christie some ten years after he started his cookie empire. Thing was that Mr. Christie loved making biscuits, and started making them at a young age. In fact, he was only 19 years old, when he started making biscuits, in Scotland. It was in those early days that he apprenticed for a local biscuit maker but later he came to Toronto and found work at the Mathers & Brown Bakery. Where Mr. Christie dedicated most of his time, making delicious cookies. 

He worked at this bakery for a good ten years before he went to the "Brown" side of the bakery and struck a deal. William and Alexander Brown partnered to form Christie, Brown & Company. There success was so quick and so huge, that they needed a factory built to accommodate the company. That factory was of course built on Adelaide Street, which was Duke Street back then. It still stands today, as George Brown College. By the 1870s, William bought out Brown and continued the company alone, until his death in 1900, the cause was bone cancer. William died within the house. 

Everything then transferred to his son, Robert, who for 20 years continued his father's legacy. Yet, in the 1920s everything changed. This is where rumor meets legend. They say that Robert had a secret chamber built between the main hallway and library. Which is now known as Room 29. Where it is said Robert hid a mistress for many years in the Mansion to fulfill his deepest dark desires. 

Legend says however, that sickness had taken over Robert and clouded his judgment. Leading to poor decisions that lead to the loss of profits and nearly killing the Christie Brand. After his death in 1926, the company was sold to a United States company called, Nabisco, which he arranged prior to his death as he did not want to destroy his family's legacy. Robert also died within the house from a serious but unidentifiable illness, he was 57 years old at the time of his death. According to legend many believe he died of guilt. 

It was soon after his death that they discovered a secret room, hidden behind the main hall and library. The doors disguised as wooden panels, to hide it from view. It is said that it was within this room, that Robert kept his mistress locked up and hidden away from his family, and most of the staff. It is said that Robert eventually grew bored of his mistress, and stopped visiting her in her chamber. Only allowing a single servant to visit her and see to her needs as well as take her outside at night for some air. Eventually, all alone and isolated, it became too much for his mistress, she pulled the bedsheets off the bed, twisted them into a rope, tied it to the chandelier, and looped it around her neck before jumping from a chair to her death. 

Over the passing decades the Mansion has changed ownership frequently, but in most recent years is a small school space for Regis College. Where at one point two female students went into Room 29, and shut the door until it was open a crack not wanting to feel claustrophobic. They were deep in their studies when the door slammed shut. They pulled the door hard, but it would not budge as if it were jammed or being held from the other side. Terrified the two girls screamed and another passing student who heard their screams lightly pushed on the door and it opened. 

Much of the activity in Christie Mansion happens in Room 29. This paranormal activity includes the door slamming shut and refusing to open, as well as mysteriously locking itself. Some witnesses describe an unnerving feeling within the room, mainly the feeling of isolation and being watched. Which people claim mirror the emotions of the mistress. While Doors throughout the mansion especially around Room 29, open and close all on their own, and make it frustrating to access or depart from them at any given time. 

The story reminds us that some secrets refuse to stay buried. Echoes of guilt, grief and obsession woven into the very walls that once hid them. Whether the whispers in Room 29 are that of a restless lost love, or simply the imagination of those of us who dare to listen, the mansion remains a mirror to the darker corners of the human soul.  It is in silence and shadow we find  the uneasy truth that what haunts us most is not always what lingers after death, but what we choose to conceal while we live.