Halloween maps, stats and spooky facts

All Hallows Eve has once again crept upon us and to help get you in the Halloween mood we’ve pulled together a few cartographic and statistical goodies. First up is a story map of ghost stories in the City of Toronto created by Esri Canada’s own Chandy Calope. Using the story map journal template, Chandy has created a fascinating tour of buildings in the Toronto-area that are rumoured to be haunted by ghosts, ranging from the prankster spirit of Black Pioneer Village, to the wandering “White Lady” of Queen’s Park.

The “Ghost Stories - City of Toronto” story map, created using the story map journal template.

Every city or town has their fair share of ghost stories, which are inevitably tied to a location. This makes story maps an ideal medium to collect and share ghost stories in a particular area. The City of Victoria used a story map to create a tour of haunted places to share its own tales of ghosts and hauntings.

The City of Victoria “Haunted Victoria Heritage Walking Tour” story map.

Why not take a stab at building your own ghost story map to spook kids and adults alike? Esri has developed a wealth of resources to get you started.

Next up, we have a selection of spooky statistics courtesy of Statistics Canada. For GIS professionals, Statistics Canada is a go-to source of a wide range of searchable information that’s easy to download. You can browse by subject, featured information or even subscribe to StatsCan’s official new release bulletin—the Daily—and set up an information feed based on subjects of your choice. It’s a handy way to keep up-to-date on all the latest Canadian-related information being released.

This year, Statistics Canada pulled together a collection of stats and facts with a Halloween theme. Here’s a selection of them, which provides greater insight into the influence that Halloween has on Canadians:

• 3,783,717 — The estimated number of children in Canada of prime trick-or-treating age—5 to 14 years old—in 2014, up 0.8% from 2013.
• 54.1% — The proportion of all criminal incidents reported during Halloween 2013 that were violations against property.
• 182 — The number of businesses engaged in formal wear and costume rental in Canada in 2014.
• $47.8 million — The value of "vestments and costumes" manufactured in Canada in 2012.
• 2,239 — The number of farms in Canada with pumpkin patches according to the 2011 Census of Agriculture.
  

  Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.
• $381.2 million — The value of monthly sales of candy, confectionery and snack foods at large retailers in October 2013. December, however, was the month with the highest monthly sales in 2013, at $450.9 million.
• Places and towns in Canada that make perfect settings for Halloween ghost stories:
  Axe Point, NT; Bloodvein River, MB; Coffin Cove, NL; Gore Bay, ON; Hatchet Lake, NS; Hells Gate, BC; Isle aux Morts (Island of the Dead), NL.

Today, we're getting into the Halloween spirit at Esri Canada as part of our annual United Way fundraising campaign. Employees across Canada are plying their GIS trade in full costume. Here's Hayleigh Conway, an Associate GIS Analyst in our Toronto office, "Lost in the Woods" - even with a map.

If you've embraced your inner youth and donned a costume today at work, we'd love to see it—especially if it's GIS-related. Tweet us your picture (#EsriCanadaBoo), post it to our Facebook page or email us at socialmedia@esri.ca.

Have a happy and safe Halloween.