Australia’s Haunted Landmarks

When you think of ghosts and ghouls you most likely think of rickety houses covered in ivy, or old asylums on misty moors. The oceanic paradise of Australia is probably the last place to come to mind. But with waters full of stuff that eats you, and often inhospitable lands teeming with things just as iffy, this land with a darker history than most really does seem the perfect home for things that go bump in the night.

So, here is a look at haunted Australia, a list of ten haunted prisons, houses and townships. Reader beware.

OLD MELBOURNE GAOL

Completed in 1844, the Old Melbourne Gaol is one of the most famous buildings in Australia. Before closing in 1929, the prison housed dangerous criminals among petty offenders, the homeless and the mentally ill. Executions were undertaken, and at least 133 prisoners, including the infamous outlaw Ned Kelly (whose remains were later sent to Pentridge and recently exhumed) and Jack The Ripper suspect Frederick Bailey Deeming, met their end on the hangman’s rope. The Gaol is an imposing building, but despite a bloody history, it isn’t known for its hauntings — though the things are reported, the building is relatively quiet. Some believe Elizabeth Scott, the first woman to be hung at the gaol, still walks the halls.

MONTE CRISTO HOMESTEAD

Compared to the Old Melbourne Gaol, and most other buildings in the country, the Monte Cristo Homestead is a hive of ghostly activity. Finished in 1885, the double-storey late-Victorian manor sits on a hill overlooking the town of Junee, and claims to be Australia’s most haunted house. Now a museum, it has a bloody past — a caretaker was murdered in the 1960s, a stable boy burned to death, a maid fell from a balcony, a baby was dropped from a stairwell and a man was imprisoned in the dairy. With wall and floors practically running red with blood it’s not exactly surprising that people report seeing ghosts. Supernatural occurrences range from strange voices, phantom lights and invisible forces, to ghostly figures and animal mutilations. Hardly the best place to spend a night.

JENNY DIXON BEACH

In 1870 a coal schooner called the Janet Dickson ran aground during a storm along the central coast. All on board survived, but others in subsequent years weren’t so lucky. Before the construction of a lighthouse, more than 20 people were killed. The area is famous for its ghosts; there have been many reports over the years, including that of a woman in a flowing dress who walks the beach at night, and the legend of a phantom hitchhiker that haunts a nearby road.

STUDLEY PARK

Now a country club and home to Rolls Royce enthusiasts, Studley Park was built in the last years of the 19th century, and has had many different uses. A highly recognisable building, it served as a school for nearly four decades, and it was during that time that Ray Blackstone, a fourteen-year-old student, tragically drowned while swimming. Sadly, that wasn’t the only premature death to befall a resident of Studley Park; in 1939 the son of Arthur Gregory, a former director of 20th Century Fox Australia, lost his fight with appendicitis. Visitors to the area report feeling of being watched, and mediums have claimed the presence of several entities, including a soldier who could have called the place home when it served as a command school, and a young girl who was supposedly raped and murdered in a top floor bedroom.

THE GUYRA GHOST

In 1921 in the town of Guyra events that would come to be mirrored by a cult movie of the same name saw twelve-year-old Minnie Bowen apparently possessed by a violent poltergeist. What began as shaking walls and thrown stones led to the cottage being constantly surrounded by people and international interest. Minnie’s parents did all they could to calm the spirit, but try as they might they could not. Soon the young girl claimed to be possessed by the ghost of a sister that had died just a few months earlier. The terrors continued even when Minnie was moved from the house, but all of a sudden they just stopped.

PICTON

Founded in 1822, the small town of Picton would appear to have more dead residents than living ones. The tiny St. Mark’s church and pioneer graveyard is the playground of children often seen walking hand in hand. Legend has it the children are Blanche Moon, who was crushed to death by falling sleepers in 1886, and David Shaw, who died from polio in 1946. The old maternity hospital is one of the scariest places in town. Haunted by an unpleasant matron, visitors report hearing the cries of unearthly babies, and waking with spectral hands wrapped around their necks. There are many more stories to be told in the town of Picton.

THE STREET WITH NO NAME

Believed by locals to be home to inexplicable evil, the area in Sydney's Annandale has served as a dumping ground for numerous mutilated corpses, and is thought to provoke strange behaviour in children and dogs. The street with no name has its share of resident ghosts to go along with the horrific happenings, including that of “Jock”, a railway worker struck while attempting to rescue an injured animal from the same fate.

CHANNEL 9

Studio 9 in Willoughby was originally a church that was built in 1858. The building had been converted into a music hall and in the late 1950s it, and the surrounding area and cemetery, was purchased by the future owners of Channel 9 Studios. A new television production centre was built atop the old cemetery, where it’s rumoured the bodies still remain. Perhaps an unusual setting for a haunting, the staff at Channel 9 believe that a World War I soldier called Charlie roams the corridors, and is responsible for many ghostly goings on. Perhaps Charlie’s body still remains somewhere beneath the foundations.

THE TEA TREE GULLY HOTEL

Named after the trees that thickly dotted the landscape on which it was built, the Tea Tree Gully Hotel was opened in 1854 and since then its walls have played host to horror. Staff at the hotel refuse to visit parts of it alone, complaining of bad atmospheres, whilst others have heard voices, seen lights flash on and off, and heard phantom footsteps all around. Like many hotels of its age this one has seen its share of death, with accidents, suicides and murders all taking place there. Several people have reported seeing and speaking to a cheeky girl in period dress, though no records mention her.

ARADALE ASYLUM

An abandoned psychiatric hospital preserved as if it were still in operation, the Aradale Asylum is a labyrinth of dead ends and dark passageways, many of which could easily hide a ghost. Made up of 63 buildings, the complex looks imposing, so much so that sceptics sweep aside all notion of paranormal activity. But so many reports of footsteps, loud bands and apparitions by visitors and staff add up.