How to Go Ghost Hunting in New Zealand
The South Pacific island nation of New Zealand is perhaps best known throughout the world as being the site of many movie productions, including a number of Bollywood spectaculars and the entire "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. What many visitors to New Zealand may not know, however, is that this land, first settled by the indigenous Maoris 1000 or so years ago and then colonized by European settlers in the 18th and 19th centuries, has a haunted history all its own. Perhaps the mystery of this remote and beautiful land is best expressed in its Maori name, Aotearoa, which translates to Land of the Long White Cloud.
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Instructions
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Start off your ghost tour on South Island with a visit to Larnach's Castle in Dunedin. This mansion was built in the late 1800s, and is said to be haunted by a young woman in late Victorian dress, alleged to be the ghost of the Larnach's daughter who died at the age of 21. Her bedroom and the ballroom that was built to celebrate her last birthday are the two spots where her presence is most felt.
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Check into Wellington's Hotel Intercontinental; if you are feeling particularly brave, try to reserve Room #221, where numerous guests have reported a particularly spooky feeling. The entire hotel is said to be full of mysterious cold spots and other disturbances, said to be caused by the suicide of one guest and the deaths of several workers during the hotel's construction.
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Drop by the Karori Cemetery while in Wellington. The south side of this enormous cemetery is where all of the oldest graves are located, and a strange floating orange light has been reported drifting among the graves on a clear night with no one else around.
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Visit Napier's Masonic Hotel, built in the 1860s and partially destroyed two times--by fire in the 1890s and again by an earthquake and fire in 1931. With that type of history, not to mention the various deaths (natural and unnatural) that have occurred in the hotel over the course of a century and a half, is it any wonder that strange lights, music, cold spots and the occasional apparition have been reported by hotel guests and staff alike.
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Be sure to check out the Waitomo Caves Hotel. This haunted hostelry was featured on a New Zealand TV2 program aired in 2001, and both of the presenters felt ghostly manifestations, including the feeling of a spirit walking right through one presenter and another presenter experiencing an invisible hand tugging at her. A psychic that was called in to consult on the program said she sensed two presences, a young girl and a very angry man.
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Drive up to Spirits Bay at the far north end of North Island. Cape Reinga, on the western end of the bay, is said to be a jumping-off point for spirits who are making their way out of this world. Legend has it that if you go out there late at night you can see these spirits of the departed making their way down the beach to a certain place, at which point they will simply vanish.
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Tips & Warnings
New Zealand has not made an industry out of commercialized ghost tours, so when it comes to supernatural exploration, you're pretty much on your own
- Photo Credit Wikipedia
