DIARY OF A GHOST HUNTER

"So where are the bloody ghosts?" A lady recently said this to me, as she stood in my face, as if by pressuring me I would be able to conjure up a few to make her happy. Of course it was my fault. Yes it was my fault that she had not had an experience. But it made me think. I kept wondering what is it that these people want? What do these people expect? Where have they gotten these expectations from? Have we raised the bar so high that it is now not achievable to please most people if they don't actually see a ghost. Is that the goal of everyone coming on a tour? Have we made promises to our ghost hunters that we just cannot keep? Why do people really expect to come on a public site and if they don't see a ghost they have the right to give us a mouthful and tell us its all shit. Where has the process gone? That step by step process of connecting and experiencing? Now, it seems people just want to scream - run - be entertained - be frightened - ...

As I sit here, having spent the last few days refining risk management assessments, meeting with Council members and Board members regarding a possible new site for public tours, I reflect on what it takes to do this and of the continued importance to do so as I see a lot of out historic sites fade away or be removed in the name of progress and the immense sadness that brings to my heart.                            Joseph Lycett - Newcastle ( Cultural Collection Newcastle University) I live in Newcastle NSW and am very passionate about the place. I love its unique history, the way it developed from the second oldest settlement on the East Coast of Australia as, well a repository for political prisoners who stirred up a shit fight at Castle Hill in the first instance, and then for those convicts that continued to be pains in the backside for the government in Sydney. We started with what would have b...

Last weekend I was asked to be a special guest investigator at Q Station Manly at the Paranormal Investigator Tour starting at 10pm to 2am, with Anne and Roman Rzechowicz from Oz Para Tech . Oz Para Tech run these intensive and immersive nights every two months, as well as being able to organise private investigation tours on the site for small groups. I have been to Q a few times now and am always thrilled to investigate. This time I found myself elbow deep in research as stories opened up to me about some of the doctors and nurses that spent time at the Quarantine Station. I was initially chasing some photos that I could show as part of my bit on the tour, but I found myself following one certain female nurse whose face I found staring back at me from the National Archives collection. The North Head Quarantine Station is situated on Sydney Harbour, at North Head near Manly. To protect Australia’s early settlers from ship-borne disease and epidemics, it was established in...

Its been two years since I travelled for the very first time to England. My memory was promoted by a Facebook 'memory' post where one of the first stops was Harrod's where I just had to act posh and sit and enjoy a cup of tea, like a civilised person, in their tea shop. Of course it meant checking out the souvenirs and wondering if I could afford a Harrod's bag. I left with an umbrella instead - much more affordable, and being looked at by the server at the tea shop as if I was going to put the cutlery in my bag! Its exciting to know that I will be heading back with my bestie travel buddy Gayle Oliver this October. Unfortunatley due to my husband's ill health, he will be forced to just watch me via live feeds and Facebook posts as I waste....no 'invest' our money in an unforgettable experience. Again I will be trying to head out to as many ghost tours and haunted sites as I can whilst being away. This will again create an interesti...

This weekend we had a very special event at Maitland Gaol, one that has been in the planning since last September, after I met Amanda Howard, true crime author, at APPI's Psychic Fair in Sydney.                                                      Photo from Daily Telegraph article I pounced on Amanda at the fair and asked if she would be interested to come to the Gaol and do an Author's talk. She agreed and so finally the night arrived last Saturday. Amanda has written 18 books, and has another another heap on the boi,l and she is totally fascinating to listen to. The backdrop of the Gaol and the history of the inmates there was a perfect place to allow our minds to enter, for just a moment, into that of the criminals Amanda has interviewed over...

I've been studying a little about Demonology over the last 5 months. Demonology is not the study of how to worship the devil (yes, some people do believe it is) It is the study of the history of demons and demonic belief in history and for me, current beliefs about demons and their effect within the paranormal and specifically in Australia. Considering I was bought up in a very Catholic environment I really only heard about demons and the devil in church - my parents never mentioned such topics. It was not talked about at home and my first real understandings came from religious teaching at school and "Rosemary's Baby", a book written in 1967 and a best seller about the time just before I hit my teens. Religion at school back then could leave scars on impressionable young children - being taught by nuns in full neck to knee black habits was daunting. They looked and behaved so differently to anyone else I was accustomed to. Back then they could still w...

This is not the average run of the mill blog about another ghost story - yet it has to do with ghosts, unseen wraiths that cause continual havoc in our physical world. These particular ghosts we have all had occasion to be effected by. They can become poisonous and destructive if left unchecked - they can possess us and direct us. You must always be on the look out for them, for they are hard to spot, usually shielding their real needs and desires behind a facade that will make you think that what you are about to engage in is perfectly fine. The Hungry Ghost in mythology is a creature depicted with a small mouth and small hands and a huge belly that needs to be continually fed in small amounts but can really never be satiated. It is left wanting and needing more.  We all have lurking hungry ghosts inside each and every one of us. Myth is often tied to an aspect of our souls and our selves. It is a way of explaining that which is hard to understand. Like Gods and Goddesse...