Library announces 2025 One Book One Haldimand selection

Haldimand County Public Library has announced Haunted Hamilton: The Ghosts of Dundurn Castle and Other Steeltown Shivers by Mark Leslie as its One Book One Haldimand selection for 2025. Haunted Hamilton was shortlisted for the Hamilton Arts Council Literary Award for Nonfiction and explores Hamilton's hidden, haunted past.

Print copies are available at local Haldimand County Library branches, and digital copies are available in e-book and e-audio formats. Visit the library website or call 289-674-0400 to reserve a copy. 

An author visit with Mark Lesilie will be held at the Caledonia Branch on Saturday, October 4 at 1:30 p.m. Open to all ages, the event will include a short reading, book discussion, Q&A session, and light refreshments. A library membership is not required to attend. 

One Book One Haldimand is an annual, community-wide reading program that encourages individuals to read a selected Canadian title and then join other readers for an evening with the author.

From the book cover

Hamilton, Ontario, may seem just like any other city, but a haunted past is hidden beneath it.

From the Hermitage ruins to Dundurn Castle, from the Customs House to Stoney Creek Battlefield Park, the city of Hamilton, Ontario, is steeped in a rich history and culture. But beneath the surface of the Steel City there dwells a darker heart — from the shadows of yesteryear arise the unexplainable, the bizarre, and the chilling.

Lock the doors and turn on all the lights before you settle down with this book, because once you begin to read about the supernatural elements that lurk within this seemingly normal city in Southern Ontario, strange bumps in the night will take on new, more sinister meanings. Prepare to be thrilled and chilled with this collection of tales compiled from historical documents, first-person accounts, and the files of the paranormal group Haunted Hamilton, which has been investigating and celebrating Hamilton’s historic haunted past since 1999.