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Top 6 Haunted Buildings in Australia

With Halloween looming, things are getting a little creepy in the iBuyNew office as we list our Top 6 most haunted buildings in Australia.

1) Monte Cristo Homestead (Junee, NSW)
First occupied by the Crawley family from 1884, today this Homestead is thought to be Australia’s most haunted private residence. Many ghost hunters have explored this house and it is suggested that the majority of spirits that wander the house are believed to be from this family.

The present owners Reg and Olive Ryan first moved into this derelict and vandalised home in 1963 and did not know this house was haunted. However, it did not faze them and they have been running tours of the property showcasing its dark and paranormal past.

At least ten ghostly entities are thought to haunt the house, with ghosts including:

  • Mrs Crawley – When her husband died, Mrs Crawley only left the house on just two occasions during the last 23 years of her life due to her grief for her husband. Her ghost has been seen on a number of occasions in her former room and is sometimes found wandering the halls.
  • Ghostly voices have been heard by visitors.
  • Many visitors experience the feeling of being unwelcome.
  • It has been told that a child suffered a fatal fall on the main staircase and now young children are stopped by an invisible force from walking up the stairs.
  • Children who also do not suffer from asthma appear to have this illness when in the house, but it disappears as soon as they leave.
  • Guests and visitors have also seen strange lights and full-body apparitions over the years.



2) Old Melbourne Gaol (VIC)
The Old Melbourne Gaol is home to a grim and dark history and once housed some of Australia’s most dangerous criminals, including the infamous bush ranger Ned Kelly who was hanged here, along with 132 other convicts.

Built during the mid-1800s, the building has moved and been re-built a number of times. It is thought that the old grey building is haunted by the souls of those who died here many years ago, including the first woman to be hanged in Victoria, Elizabeth Scott.

The Gaol is probably one of Melbourne’s most haunted sites and has noted a number of hauntings. These include:

  • Upstairs in the ‘Woman’s Ward’ from cell 16 – coldness and shadowy figures, as well as voices heard. Many visitors find they cannot enter this cell or get such a strong feeling from it they won’t want to enter.
  • The true condemned cell – located directly next to the gallows and is full of fear and terror.
  • There have been detections of changes in electro-magnetic radiation in the building which indicates paranormal activity.



3) Quarantine Station (Manly, NSW)
Known as one of Australia’s most haunted sites in Australia, the Quarantine Station in Manly on the North Head of Sydney has appeared on various TV shows such as Ghost Hunters International & Jabba’s Curious World.

Originally it was used as a Quarantine Station during the years of 1833 – 1984 to isolate those suspected to be carrying contagious diseases who arrived on migrant ships. More than 500 people died here from deadly diseases such as Typhus, Smallpox, Spanish Influenza and the Bubonic Plague.

There were very strict conditions to ensure that these diseases would not reach the people of Sydney and ships would offload crew and passengers who thought were contagious.

Today, many ghost tours are run at QS appealing to the whole family as well as advanced ghost tours for the hardy. You also have the option to stay the night – only if you dare!

  • Over 50 spirits are thought to wander Q Station, particularly through the hospital, dining halls, shower block and the morgue.
  • Some visitors will often feel that they are being pushed by people who are not there.
  • Visitors sometimes feel cold spots or being tapped on the shoulder as well as seeing ghosts.
  • Lights appear in the hospital wing that cannot be explained.
  • Sometimes nurses who once worked there are seen.



4) Princess Theatre (Melbourne, VIC)
The Princess Theatre is thought to be haunted with its own ghost. It is said to be the ghost of baritone Frederick ‘Frederici’ Baker who just finished his final song on the evening of March 3rd 1888 and was lowered down under the stage, but had a heart attack on the way down.

However, some cast members were convinced that he had been on stage during the curtain call, so dying after his last song seemed impossible.

Today, it is said that his ghost still haunts the theatre and can sometimes be seen in the audience during performances. A seat in the third row is still left vacant for him.



5) Fremantle Arts Centre (Fremantle, WA)
Originally the Fremantle Lunatic Asylum and Invalid Depot in 1864, this building was often overcrowded, underfunded and over time became used to home those of any type of social problem including alcoholism, prostitution and the elderly.

During the 1900s, patients were moved to another location after several suspicious deaths occurred. It was then used as a womens’ refuge housing pregnant teens and then became a technical college.

Today, it has turned into an arts centre and is well known in Western Australia as being a haunted building. Even members of staff and patrons have experienced a ghostly presence. These include:

  • Doors opening and closing by themselves.
  • Ghostly figures appearing in photographs.
  • Being kissed on the cheek or being pushed along the staircase.
  • Female ghost is thought to wander along the first floor hallway, angry and searching for her lost baby. This woman is thought to have committed suicide by jumping out of a first floor window.



6)  Beechworth Asylum (VIC)
Built in 1867, this decommissioned asylum is one of the most haunted buildings of its kind within Australia. Once known as the haunted Mayday Hills Lunatic Asylum, it finally closed its doors in 1995 after 128 years of service.

Over 3,000 patients died here, and it is thought that many spirits still wander the buildings and the grounds giving a certain eeriness about the place.

Today, the Asylum is owned by La Trobe University and nightly Ghost Tours take place at the hospital.

Some of the things people have heard and seen include:

  • The sound of children laughing echoes down abandoned corridors.
  • The apparition of a Jewish woman who was thrown out of an upstairs window by another patient is sometimes seen standing at the place where she fell.
  • Many visitors report seeing the ghostly figure of Matron Sharpe – a former member of staff who spent most of her life there and was known for her compassion. She is often seen walking down the property’s main staircase.
  • Some have seen a figure of a man who appears close to the cellar, only to completely disappear a moment later.
  • Doors swing open by themselves.

 

Published on 1st of January 2023 by Anthony Lamb
Anthony Lamb
Anthony Lamb

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