Tucked away on Jarvis Street, once the heart of Victorian Toronto’s high society, stands a striking architectural relic with a history as colourful as its ornate interiors.
Built in 1867, Euclid Hall has served many purposes over the years, including as a private estate, art gallery, and early broadcast home for Toronto radio station CFRB. Today, most Torontonians know 515 Jarvis Street as The Keg Mansion, a beloved destination for steaks, Victorian charm, and some seriously spooky local folklore.
The historic restaurant is also said to be home to one of Toronto’s most famous ghosts: a heartbroken maid whose tragic story has become part of the mansion’s history.
The Tragedy at Euclid Hall
The woman who once ran the household, Lillian Massey, was the matriarch of the prominent Massey family, whose name can still be found throughout Toronto, including at Massey Hall. The family built its fortune through agricultural equipment and became one of the city’s most influential dynasties.
In late 1915, news arrived from Santa Barbara, California, that Lillian Massey had died. According to the long-standing legend, the news devastated the mansion’s staff. One young maid was said to have been particularly overcome with grief.
The story claims that she climbed the grand staircase, stepped onto the second-floor oval vestibule overlooking the main foyer, and took her own life by hanging herself from the wooden railing. It is this tragic image that became the foundation of the Keg Mansion’s enduring ghost story.
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A Darker Version
There is also a darker version of the legend. According to one account, the maid’s despair wasn’t simply caused by Lillian’s death. Rumours suggest she was involved in a secret affair with a married man connected to the Massey family and feared the relationship would be exposed following Lillian’s death.
Rather than face the resulting scandal, the story claims, she chose to end her life. There is little historical evidence to support this version, but a real-life incident involving the Massey family may have helped inspire the legend.
In February 1915, just months before Lillian Massey’s death, a maid named Carrie Davis shot and killed Charles Massey on his driveway. Contemporary accounts reported that Davis shouted, “You ruined my life!” The shocking incident generated significant attention in Toronto and may have helped cement the image of a disgruntled or “vengeful” Massey maid in the public imagination.
Sightings at Keg Mansion
Whether rooted in tragedy, rumour, or years of storytelling, the maid’s ghost remains one of the mansion’s most famous pieces of folklore. Staff working late at night have reportedly described an eerie phenomenon.
According to the legend, witnesses sometimes catch movement near the grand staircase or second-floor oval vestibule, only to turn and see the shadowy figure of a woman seemingly hanging from the railing. Then, just as quickly as she appears, she disappears.
Unlike many ghost stories, the Keg Mansion apparition is said to be tied to one specific location, making the building’s architecture an integral part of the haunting.
A Historic Toronto Landmark
The ghost story is only one part of the mansion’s fascinating history. Built in 1867 for Arthur McMaster, nephew of McMaster University founder William McMaster, the property was later purchased by industrialist Hart Massey. Lillian Massey eventually named the home Euclid Hall.
Over the decades, it served as a residence, art gallery, broadcasting location, and restaurant before The Keg purchased the property in 1976. Today, diners can still admire its Victorian architecture while enjoying a meal inside one of Toronto’s most distinctive historic buildings.
And if you’re dining at the Keg Mansion after dark, take a closer look at the grand staircase. You never know when you might catch a glimpse.
