Headless Ghost Story from Port Stephens

Headless Ghost.

A N.S.W. Mystery.

A correspondent writes to a Sydney paper : —

Many years ago a retired sea captain built a large house in a lonely spot at the junction of Limeburners' Creek and Karuah River (Port Stephens), and therein reared a large family, After the old dad' went west,' most of the family being married, the house was taken

by a fisherman with a large family.

At night they were disturbed by footsteps, doors opening and shutting, crockery rattling and on moonlight nights the figure of a woman without a bead would be observed.

As three fierce dogs were kept, no stranger could approach unmolested.

On one occasion one of the sons fired point- blank at the figure, without effect.

The fisherman's family were away, and the house remained closed.

One night some young fellows from Karuah were fishing close by.

A storm coming on they took refuge in the empty house. They propped a log against the door, and lo, in the middle of the night, the log fell in, the door opened, and there stood the

woman in the moonlight.

The young fellows jumped out of the paneless window and hurried to their boat.

And they '’ never went the same way since.''

The house was afterwards removed to Karuah and rebuilt, being occupied

by the Inspector of Fisheries (Mr. J. G. Latta, late of Woy Woy), who

assured the scribe that nothing uncanny occurred.

Afterwards the ghostly visitor remained near the site at the junction, and one night a timber-getter who was camped near the creek ran into the village of Limeburner's Creek, terribly scared, and announced that the ghost had appeared to him.

The two youngest kids of the fisherman were scared in the scrub near the house, and running home told an elder sister, who, in endeavouring to cross a rusty bridge, fell in the creek and was rescued by a local oysterman.

All the above details were published in the Dungog Chronicle and Coraki Herald, and I have the clippings if challenged. I spent 14 months at Karuah, visited the site of the old

home during the daytime, and have conversed with all the parties referred

to (barring, of course, the headless ghost).

Appeared in the Gosford and Wyong District Advocate NSW 1906 – 1954 July 10th 1919.

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