The quantum theory of the damped harmonic oscillator has been a subject of continual investigation since the 1930s. The obstacle to quantization created by the dissipation of energy is usually dealt with by including a discrete set of additional harmonic oscillators as a reservoir. But a discrete reservoir cannot directly yield dynamics such as Ohmic damping (proportional to velocity) of the oscillator of interest. By using a continuum of oscillators as a reservoir, we canonically quantize the harmonic oscillator with Ohmic damping and also with general damping behaviour. The dynamics of a damped oscillator is determined by an arbitrary effective susceptibility that obeys the Kramers–Kronig relations. This approach offers an alternative description of nano-mechanical oscillators and opto-mechanical systems.