DIARY OF A GHOST HUNTER

At least 3 Youth Hostels in Australia seem to have stories of ghostly meanderings within the buildings they occupy. A number of years ago we did a short investigation at the Newcastle YHA and we really did not find anything conclusive, even staying in the spooky Room that is mentioned in the story below. But maybe we were just not there at the right time on the right day! Maybe we did not give enough time to connect properly or maybe the Matron really did not want to be seen. One day maybe we will get another chance!! THE SHANTY OF CAPTAIN ALLEN ANCHOR BEARD  Sydney Central YHA is home to a huge mural by Mulga of Captain Allen Anchor Beard, who had a fondness for seagulls because many moons ago a trusty seagull saved his life. Allen was thrown overboard during a particularly vigorous storm as he sailed the summit of Cape Horn. After surviving the shark infested waters for the whole night a seagull chanced across Allen on its breakfast fishing exped...

I am a ghost hunter. I am someone who loves to lose myself in forgotten and over gown places just like Waterfall Sanatorium. I am afraid that for this site I am too late to venture beyond the fences that block the area. I can only imagine what I might be able to find there.  Just one-and-a-half hours drive south of Sydney, 2,000 souls lie lost and buried beneath overgrown bush land: former patients from a century-old sanatorium now long forgotten. Now the land is an abandoned graveyard, inaccessible by foot and barely visible through broken branches, thick undergrowth and the tree canopies that grow above. At the turn of the century, tuberculosis - otherwise known as consumption or the White Plague - ravaged the newly federated nation.  With no cure the highly infectious sufferers were instead contained in sanatoriums.  It was here where people were sent to die. The Waterfall Sanatorium was the state's only purpose-built facility for peopl...

Have you been to the most haunted house in Australia? I was there over 5 years ago when Reg the owner was still on this side of the veil.  Now, I am totally sure he makes himself known as one of the ghosts that haunts the historic site. Monte Christo can be found at Junee, NSW. The homestead is now being run to Reg's wife and his son, Lawrence. Lawrence conducts the ghost tours and tells stories about growing up in the homestead and the very many spooky stories associated with the homesteads long history. As with all houses of this ilk, the stories are not always sweet and covered with love and light. Some, are a little more mysterious and dark. I am hoping to go back after the COVID lockdown is over. And if you decide to go, I suggest stopping at the township's cemetery and stop and pay your respects to the original owners, the Crawley family and ask permission to visit. They may treat you nicely if you do!!! This story below, comes from an article by NATIONAL...

The macabre world of Maitland  phrenologist Archibald Hamilton from the MAITLAND MERCURY by Kevin Short Yes ladies and gents, phrenology was a 'science' and studying the bumps on a person's head was thought to offering insight into the mental health of a person. Certainly,it was thought that murderers, rapists, thieves had strange bumps and different skull shapes than normal reasonable people who did not commit heinous  crimes. Worse still, all indigenous people were always at threat of losing their heads to phrenologists for examination. And as this story starts to tell you many of these 'scientists' would do just about anything to procure a skull to examine, even if it meant paying the gravedigger to collect one for them from a new burial. Strange? Weird? But true.  EVERY HEAD TELLS A STORY: Phrenologist Archibald Hamilton who as fortunate to escape the clutches of the law. The 'Old St Peter's or ...

I love finding gems of local history that are weird, strange, spooky and crazy. there is certainly more to the story of Newcastle than meets the eye. This is the story of the BEACH HOTEL - not 'that BEACH HOTEL' at Merewether...there was another one. Now all that remains of it is the story - an what a story it is!!! WEIGHING a hefty 46 stone, or just over 290 kilograms, “Jolly Nelly”, the cook at the Beach Hotel, was dubbed “The world’s fattest lady”. Nelly was brought to Sydney from America to be part of Arthur Greenhalgh’s ‘freak show’ before the outbreak of World War II. She was one of several “sideshow freaks” put to work at Greenhalgh’s Newcastle pub during the war years. When transport and lighting restrictions were introduced at the beginning of the war, Greenhalgh had difficulty placing his ‘freaks’ in employment. To house his ‘attractions’, including Irishman John Aussen, who towered 8 feet 6 inches tall (2.5m), and the ‘Human Skeleton’ Bill ...

The World News reported this story in February 1938 about two men who had a spooky encounter what literally turned one man's hair white from his frightening night visitor! HAIR TURNED WHITE In 1900 my mate and I descended into the Hillgrove Gorge to prospect for gold. This gorge is from 1500 to 2000 feet deep, and winds away for about 40 miles. There are only certain spurs up or down which man or beast can travel. It really is a terrible place. We erected our tent on a small, green patch of flat and made ourselves as snug as possible. - There were no other prospectors in the gorge besides us. Close to our tent was a dead ironbark log. Beside it we made our fire. We were both men of mature age and considerable mining experience, well used .to a. rough life in the bush, and not in any way superstitious. We never indulged in ghost yarns. However, our first night in the gorge will never be erased from our memories. The fly pole of the tent was projecting about four ...

Phasmophobia is an intense fear of ghosts.  For people with a ghost phobia, the mere mention of supernatural things — ghosts, witches, vampires — can be enough to evoke the irrational fear. Other times, a movie or TV show might be responsible. Recollections or imagined scenarios may be all that’s needed to generate the severe anxiety or absolute terror that is associated with a ghost phobia, too. Read on to find out if your dread of a scary movie, empty house, or Halloween decoration is a normal level of fear or dislike, or if it’s a genuine phobia. Fear of ghosts Many children experience a fear of ghosts or otherworldly beings from a young age. For many, those fears and anxieties will disappear as they move into adolescence. But for others, the fear remains. It may even worsen into a chronic and potentially debilitating phobia. Causes It’s unclear why phobias of any type develop. Some people with a genetic predisposition to anxiety have an increased risk of d...