This northern funeral home, for all intents and purposes, looks like any other funeral home that you'd expect to find in a Canadian city. It's situated in an urban area and from outward appearances the exterior of the building is clean and the grounds are maintained. Upon closer scrutiny however you'll discover that the business is no longer in use. One rumour is that the owner retired, another is that the owners are transitioning locations.

Entry to the building took some figuring out but once inside we were greeted with an immaculate funeral home. The electricity was still operational and we were quick to note that an alarm system was installed.

We made our way to the chapel where funeral services would have been held before the deceased was driven by hearse to the cemetery. Several light switches adjusted the ceiling and spot lights, setting the appropriate mood for services.



OAP


MK

Upstairs we found the hoist for raising and lowering coffins.



MK

What made this location different from other similar explorations was the inventory left behind. We observed thousands of dollars in coffins and urns, some of them not even unboxed.


OAP

The showroom was located in the upstairs of the business where various coffins were on display. Note the child's coffin in the centre.




Urns on display


Antique Brownie cameras (MK)



Magnetic vehicle procession sign (OAP)

What made this location memorable and some might say 'creepy' was the discovery of the embalming room. We'd missed this on our first visit and had to go back a second time.

Body bag (photo: MK)


Corpse makeup (photo: MK)


Embalming instruments (photo: MK)