Mazes & Monster on a Hill

Ian Paul was born into the tourism industry. His Canadian, Grimsby-born grandfather was stationed in Bermuda during the war. That’s where he met his wife. Once they had married, and after a short-lived business renting out treehouses in Grimsby, he convinced her to buy the property on Clifton Hill which now houses the attractions that Ian has had under his ownership for many years now.

By Martine Mackenzie

“I had to prove myself in the family business in order to be able to stay on,” he says laughingly. “I started out as a lifeguard at the old Honeymoon Hotel when I was 14. From there I became a stock boy in Honeymoon Gifts. When I turned 18, I began working as a bartender at the Jolly Brewer Bar which my Dad owned. I went off to McMaster University to study economics but came home every weekend to work in the bar instead of going out to the bars in Hamilton and partying with my buddies,” he jokes. “After I finished university, is when the company began adding attractions to the Hill and that’s where I ended up and where I am to this day.”

The Paul/Burland family has developed the property into what it is today. When the family matriarch passed away in 1994, the property and family business was divided up with Ian taking over one part of Clifton Hill and his cousin Charlie Burland, taking on the other part. “We took over the House of Frankenstein in the early 1980s. We then added the Crystal Caves Mirror Maze, and we now have the FrankenCoaster on the roof of the House of Frankenstein. I’d like to mention another unique attraction that is a tenant on our property and that is the Upside Down House,” he adds. “It’s a very cool concept.” Like all businesses in Niagara, Ian was very happy to see sanctions lifted and business as usual coming back.