How to Go Ghost Hunting in Australia

Australia is a fascinating and mysterious continent. The Aboriginal People, who had the land to themselves for thousands of years until the first white settlers arrived in the 18th century, spoke of the Dreamtime when ancestral spirits wandered the earth. Although the Dreamtime may be long gone, there are many who believe that spirits (both ancient and more recent ones) wander freely still.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Pay a visit to Hanging Rock, made famous by the 1975 movie "Picnic at Hanging Rock." Some visitors have claimed that they can see the spirit of Miranda, the girl who disappeared after hiking up the face of the rock in the movie. Although Miranda is a fictional character, it is possible that this story of a young girl's mysterious disappearance on Hanging Rock may have been based on a true story.

2. Check out Monte Cristo, said to be Australia's most haunted house. Located in the small town of Junee just outside of Wagga Wagga in New South Wales, the house was built in 1884 by Christopher Crawley, who died there some 26 years later. The house was abandoned when his wife died there in 1933, or so it was thought. But in 1963, when new owners moved in, they found that the Crawley family was still very much in evidence and so they remain to this day.

3. Peer through the bars at Maitland Gaol, Australia's most haunted prison. This jail (gaol) was in use from 1849 through 1998 and housed serial killers, drug lords, gangsters and all manner of lesser criminals for nearly 150 years. One would think that in death their spirits would make a break for the freedom they were denied in life, but evidently some of them are trapped there still. They are not shy about making their presence known by banging doors and making other strange noises.

4. Visit the tiny, yet very haunted town of Picton, NSW. Picton boasts of a church and cemetery where phantom children have been seen, as well as its own spectral dog. The old maternity hospital, the Emmett Cottages, the Imperius Hotel, the Razorback Inn and the Stonequarry Viaduct also have their resident spooks. The Picton Tunnel is the site of mysterious floating lights and Wollondilly Shire Hall (formerly the Lower Picton School) is haunted by a bearded man, a small boy and a little girl.

5. Drop in to Drew Sinton's Haunted Bookshop in Melbourne. Not only does this shop carry a full range of paranormal literature, but it is also the starting point for the Haunted Melbourne Ghost Tour, wherein "Haunted Australia" TV host Drew Sinton will lead you through Melbourne's blood-soaked back alleys and creepiest corners.

Tips & Warnings

• Do not remove even so much as a pebble from Hanging Rock. Visitors from all over the world have been known to mail back the "souvenirs" they took in order to rid themselves of the curse that inevitably accompanies such looting.

Resources

• The Haunted Bookshop

[aamericanwriter]

on 10/16/2009 Good luck on your writings!