Fisher’s Ghost

This is an Australian ghost story from around the 19^th Century, the events take place in Campbelltown, it was a rural outpost but it is now part of Sydney. Frederick Fisher, an English-born Australian farmer suddenly disappeared, his friend and neighbour, George Worrall, claimed that Fisher had gone back to England and that before he left he had passed over power of attorney to him whilst he was away. Later Worrall said that he had written to him, he did not intend to leave England and come back, saying that the farm was given to him.

Four months later the situation took a different turn, a respectable man of the area, John Farley, ran into the local hotel in an agitated state. He told the patrons that he had seen him sat on a rail of a nearby fence. He said that Fisher had said nothing to him but pointed to a paddock beyond the local creek, he had then disappeared. The story was taken with little stead but given that the disappearance had aroused suspicion they decided to look into it further.

Local police searched the area that Farley had described, and they found the remains of Fisher buried by the creek. George Worrall was arrested for the crime, he confessed and was subsequently hanged. Fred Fisher was buried in the cemetery at St Peter’s Anglican Church in Campbelltown. Some think that Farley had been made aware of the crime, or had stumbled upon the details/body and then made up the story to point them to the corpse.

Since 1956 there has been The Festival of Fisher’s Ghost, and it is organised by the local City Council, NSW, Australia. It is used to promote the community, to bring a diverse set of people together in order to celebrate the town and its history. The event is a ten day one and has a parade, fun run, all sorts of other events and even a Fisher’s Ghost Art Award.

Read more: here 

Larundel Psychiatric Hospital

Like many asylums this Australian institute is reportedly haunted and as of 1999 its closure has brought paranormal adventurers to the sight. It was part of a larger complex known as Mont Park, it had 750 patients at its peak and has housed some of the most mentally ill criminals in Australia.

It was the first treatment centre for Peter Dupras, a serial killer with rape and false imprisonment included in his history. It is also the birthplace of Lithium, used in the treatment of the manic episode of those suffering bi-oplar.

The asylums construction started in 1938 but WWII disrupted it, it formerly opened it’s doors in 1953. The asylum grounds now have 550 residential dwellings and the last remaining wards are due to be redeveloped.

As for ghostly goings on? Expect the usual of banging, children’s laughter and crying. One rumour of a child on the third floor of a building playing a music box kept turning up in my searches. The creepy sounds and music may well be from the local university who intend its use to scare away trespassers. As with all of these glorious old places I can see why, vandalism and graffiti disturb me more than ghosts, because ghosts down show a blatant disregard for property and history.

Atlas Obscura Entry

Wikipedia Entry 

By Melburnian – Own work (Digital photograph by author), CC BY 2.5, Link

Boggo Road Gaol

Today the gaol in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia is open for guided tours and is the only surviving intact goal for the period of the 19^th Century in Queensland. It was officially known as Brisbane Jail but gained a more local name of Boggo Road.

In 1903 a female prison was built, later known as Division 2 and is the surviving building. It has been heritage listed. Division 1, built in 1883, was demolished during an overhaul to provide an oval and recreation facilities in the 1960’s. Division 1 saw 42 hangings one of those was Ernest Austin who was the last man executed in Queensland in 1913, under the oval on the former site was a facility that became known as the black hole. It is where the prisoners were subjected to punishment of what I presume was pretty darned awful. It was used until some time in the 1980’s.

During the 1970’s the inmates undertook protests, hunger strikes and riots hit the headlines. The prison conditions were outdated and inadequate. In 1989 Division 2 building was closed down and 1992 they closed Division 1 and it was demolished in 1996. A modern prison for women operated adjacently until 2000 and was taken down in 2006.

Ernest Austin is alleged to be a member of the Boggo Road Gaol ghost collection. Legend has it that he was not at all sorry for his crimes and mocked the crowd that gathered at his the gallows for his execution. He said he would return from the grave to cause more suffering, he went on to haunt the prison, lock eyes with his victims and then drive them into madness.

It seems this story doesn’t fit so well with the records that suggest his last words were to beg forgiveness. For some reason he is said to haunt Division 2 but was hanged in the demolished Division 1. It seems this story may be an urban legend or an old story that crossed into the area after the original building was destroyed.

By Item is held by John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland., Public Domain, Link

Manly Quarantine Station

(Sydney, Australia) As people arrived to colonise Australia it was important to minimise the disease, smallpox, plague etc.. reaching the island. A quarantine facility was implemented and an act passed in 1832 meant the quarantine station was there to protect the people for over 100 years. 1828-1984 the station was open in some way or another.

At peak times people would run out of space, camps would be made outside for residents. It could be a miserable experience and healthy people would help with cleaning and constructions just to break the monotony.

Lady McNaughton was a typhoid riddled ship which came with 54 dead in 1837. A further 13 died in the station. Captain Stokes of the Beagle also wrote that it was possible to identify the station by the White Crosses littered around it.

It is still like a city in itself and there are regular tourists, and not surprisingly there are ghost tours in operation.

There are stories of doctors, nurses and disembodied patients that return to haunt the place. There are three cemeteries that now are overgrown or demolished and no doubt some of those buried suffered as they passed from awful sicknesses too. Cold spots and feelings of being touched are reports that have come back.

Park rangers have historically reported ghostly lights or figures in unoccupied hallways and rooms of the building, they have then gone into to investigate only to find that there is no-one there. A common tale from visitors is about a little girl who sometimes holds a tourists hand, or people can join the group, only to later realise that no child was in the tour group.

Another story from the Australian Ghost Hunters Society was that a woman on the tour went to the mortuary with the group. She looked pale and concerned at the end of the tour and when asked why she said she had seen a body on the slab. It was not a prank, she said only she had seemed to see it, and he turned to her. He said “Look what they’ve done to me! Look what they’ve done to me!” he then exposed an incision from his throat to his naval. It was an experience she would never forget.

Rookwood Cemetery

It is known as The Necropolis, located close to Lidcombe Station in Sydney, Australia. Around a million souls are at rest in the Victorian Cemetery and ‘Friends of Rookwood Inc’ campaign to raise the awareness of its cultural significance and to ensure its preservation.

1^st January 1868 the non-denominational burial ground was opened. By the end of the 1890’s they had buildings including a chapel and cottages for employees. The garden cemetery was a popular place for Victorian’s as a visiting spot and it was in it’s height a major employee for the area.

One of the most famous graves is that of Harry Houdini, the magician. It is also the burial place of one of the more infamous Davenport Brothers and they are said to haunt the cemetery. They toured the world and displayed ‘Spirit Phenomena’s’. One of the brothers died 1^st July 1877 when they were on tour in Australia and he was buried there.

Houdini visited it in 1910 to find it somewhat neglected, he and two magicians placed flowers there and Houdini paid for the stonework to be repaired. The surviving brother was so moved by the kindness he revealed the secret of their trick (although it seems quite viable this was already known to a fair few).

Rookwood’s haunted reputation probably stems from the sheer fact that it is a cemetery. There are victims of wars, sickness and those who were stillborn all located there. As far as cemeteries go it seems a fair example of those from the time and worth a visit for it’s historical value alone.