DIARY OF A GHOST HUNTER

Last weekend I held a ghost tour at Grossman and Brough Houses on Church Street Maitland. Originally Maitland consisted of three separate towns which arose roughly all around the same time. West Maitland, now just Maitland, was a privately founded town which grew because of its proximity to the Hunter river and which today is the commercial centre of the city. The other areas were East Maitland, which was established by the colonial New South Wales government, and Morpeth, another private town founded by Lieutenant Close, a Peninsular War veteran. Each town functioned as if they were separate municipalities. I was born in Maitland and lived there with my parents until 1976 when my father lost his job and was forced to look for part time work in Newcastle to make ends meet. We moved to Wallsend, Newcastle and I have lived in that city ever since. To be honest I really didnt like Maitland when I was growing up. In fact many of the areas scared me to death. As I grew o...

'TALKING TO SHADOWS' by MARK WALLBANK I received one of Mark's new books Talking to Shadows at Paracon 2016 a few weeks ago and have been busily reading it ever since.                                                                                   Mark Wallbank - founder Haunted Auckland Mark is the founder of New Zealand based paranormal and research group HAUNTED AUCKLAND (find them here:http://hauntedauckland.com) Mark and his team have been working within the realms of the paranormal in their country for many years and have investigated historic and significant sites as well as numerous...

Now that Paracon 2016 is over, and I have recovered from all the excitement, I can give a little report on my experiences at this amazing event. I think a recovery period is needed for it all to sink in! What an event! Firstly, its the meeting up with people that you may only get to see once a year, then there is the meeting and listening to great overseas guests, also staying in the Blue Mountains and enjoying the company of like minded people who all have come together to have a great time. What's not to like?! There was a slight chill in the air in the mountains but The Carrington Hotel is such an iconic place to have a conference that the cold didnt matter - we all just took in the brilliant scenery and atmosphere. Alex Cayas the creator of PARACON and master and commander of his team of "Spirit Guides" whose dedication in looking after all of the guest speakers, including myself, was faultless, can be proud in knowing that all of the overseas guests spok...

In the first weekend of March this year I had the amazing opportunity to invite a group of ghost hunters to explore the magnificent BURNIMA HOMSTEAD at Bombala, a small township in south eastern NSW, about 80 kms from Cooma. It hard to imagine what this township could have been when, at one time, it was considered for the capital of Australia (now at Canberra) as it sits, distance wise,  almost perfectly halfway between Sydney and Melbourne. Bombala was proposed in 1903 by King O'Malley as the site of the parliamentary seat of Australia. It was considered as a location because it was half way between the two cities of Sydney and Melbourne. The proposal was ultimately rejected in favour of Canberra . The town lies on the banks of the Bombala River . (wikipedia) About 5 minutes before you reach the township is Burnima Homestead which was our destination for an overnight stay and ghost hunt. I had heard about the homestead from an article I read last year regarding it...

I am always looking for new experiences, places that I can stretch my psychic muscles and feel the paranormal. Therefore I was really looking forward to my visit to Tasmania - not only to see a very good friend who has moved there but to head back to a place I have visited once before, Port Arthur. Port Arthur was named after George Arthur , the Lieutenant Governor of Van Diemen's Land . The settlement started as a timber station in 1830, but it is best known for being a penal colony . From 1833, until 1853, it was the destination for the hardest of convicted British criminals , those who were secondary offenders having re-offended after their arrival in Australia. Rebellious personalities from other convict stations were also sent here, a quite undesirable punishment. In addition Port Arthur had some of the strictest security measures of the British penal system.(wikipedia) Port Arthur has a similar history to that of Newcastle, as it started as a Penal settlement,...

In my recent research into the beginnings of love for modern ghost tales I hit upon the story surrounding the birth of Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein". Here we have the cauldron that conjured and stirred the great ghostly stories of our time. The night and circumstances themselves would make a brilliant story!                                                                                                   Frankenstein (courtesy wikipedia.org) The circumstances that gave birth to Mary Shelley’s novel...

My heritage is Polish. My pagan roots have always fascinated me and that is where I feel most comfortable. Back, far back, before Christianity was thrust upon the Poles as part of a deal not to destroy them Poland was pagan. Here I find beautiful folk and legends that bring everything to life and give it a soul. The forests are alive with fairies and sprites that keep everything in balance. There is good and there is evil. We would do best to recognise both. Here is one legend that I remember from my childhood about a man who falls for one of the seven deadly sins. That of greed. I hope you enjoy it. Twardowski: The Pole Who Sold His Soul Posted: January 2, 2016 | Author: Crazy Polish Guy | Filed under: Polish Culture , Polish Legends |   Normally on Christmas Eve I like to watch some version of Charles Dicken’s A Christmas Carol . This past Christmas Eve, though, I broke tradition and watched an old Polish film from 1936 called Pan Twardowski . ...