Although Australia may not have a long history compared to some countries, we still have our fair share of ghosts. We’ve compiled the top five haunted places in Victoria.
Visit if you dare!
The Arandale Mental Hospital has a sordid past.
1. Arandale Mental Hospital
Whether you’re a believer in the paranormal or not, the history of the Aradale Mental Hospital is enough to send shivers down your spine.
Lobotomies, straightjackets and electro-shock therapy were all daily treatments given to the patients.
The huge barracks-like facility opened in 1867 and for 130 years it housed the criminally insane, the mentally ill and anyone in between.
When it was decommissioned in the 1990s, it became the largest abandoned mental asylum in Australia.
During its time of operation, around 13,000 people died there, with many spirits staying to walk the lonely halls after years of mistreatment.
One of the most reported spirits is Nurse Kerry who keeps a watchful eye over the ghost tours that pass through her ward. Visitors claim to hear women’s screams, see shadowy figures and feel nauseous.
As for guests who visit the electroshock therapy room, they often report feeling a hot buzzing around their temples even before finding out what room they’re standing in.
Creepy.
Be prepared for a fright night here!
2. The Jam Factory Theatre
Popcorn, a choc-top and a movie make for a perfect night out in South Yarra’s Jam Factory multiplex theatre.
But not if you’re in cinema four.
Workers and patrons alike report two ghosts that frequent the red velvet seats; a little girl who giggles and an older man in a hat smoking a cigar.
Although not all visitors report seeing any ghostly figures, many often complain of smoke wafting throughout the cinema despite the glowing ‘no smoking signs’ mounted on the wall.
Workers at the theatre claim to feel unexplained icy breezes and see the heavy curtains lining the walls rustle as if someone is brushing against them.
Frequent moviegoers to the Jam Factory Theatre even refuse to see a movie if it is shown in cinema four, so keep that in mind if you don’t want a fright!
The Princess Theatre.
3. The Princess Theatre
Opening its doors in 1854, the Princess Theatre in the heart of Melbourne’s CBD is the oldest continuous entertainment location in Australia.
Adorned with chandeliers, plush seating and finely-decorated ceilings, the theatre radiates 19th century luxury.
See some of the finest musicals and shows Australia has to offer, but only visit if you dare.
The theatre plays host to its own resident ghost, an actor named Frederick Federici who died during the last scene of a play.
Frederick Federici.
His character had to fall into a descending trapdoor in the stage during the final act, and at that very moment; he suffered a heart attack and died.
The cast had no idea, returning to the stage to take their bows.
Strangely enough, the cast and the audience swear that Frederick had been on stage for the standing ovation at the end of the performance.
Bert Newton and Lisa McCune are two of many who have claimed to see Frederick’s ghostly figure lingering amongst the crowd.
To this day, the theatre saves a seat for Frederik every opening night.
Many ghosts are said to wander the cells.
4.The Old Geelong Jail
From construction in 1849 to its decommissioning in 1991, the prisoners of Old Geelong Gaol faced a grim reality.
Confined in stone walled cells with no heating, air conditioning or plumbing, the inmates of the facility would brace the cold in winter and suffer through the stench of waste in the heat of summer.
The conditions were so dire, that even seasoned criminals like Chopper Read have sworn never to set foot inside the prison ever again.
The gaol may no longer be inhabited by the living, but there are still ghostly beings parading through the wings.
With executions and murders rife throughout the gaol, it isn’t surprising that it’s haunted.
There is one ghost, however, that gives those taking part in the gaol’s ghost tour a particular shock; a little girl.
In the 1960s the east wing was used as an industrial school for girls between the ages of eight and 16.
Although the prisoners and the girls were separated on different wings of the prison, tour guide Deb from Twisted History, believes that the prisoners were to blame for this child’s death.
Wandering through the east wing today, many visitors see the apparition of the girl, crying on the steps.
Kindly visitors that go to comfort her look on stunned as she vanishes into thin air.
The ghost at Altona Homestead had a tragic past.
5. Altona Homestead
Don’t let the tea and cucumber sandwiches fool you, there’s more to Altona Homestead than meets the eye.
A quick 20 minute drive from Melbourne’s CBD, the beautiful bluestone home is still complete with its original furnishings and is host to delightful high teas.
But wandering around the corridors lies the spirit of its former resident Sarah Langhorne, whose life was marred by tragedy.
She lost her son, Henry, at seven months old and went on to lose her teenage daughter, Alice, when she succumbed to diphtheria.
Sarah died of Parkinson’s disease in 1871 and is often spotted staring longingly out from her bedroom window.
The homestead is open for monthly ghost tours where you can experience spine-chilling encounters with the afterlife.
