Australia Becoming as Popular for Paranormal Tourism as for its Beaches

In recent weeks one country in particular keeps popping up in my Google alerts for haunted places, ghost tours, and paranormal travel like never before: Australia.

England and America usually always have some ghost related links, Scotland emerges with its fair share of stories and so does Canada, but Australia used to be the exception. Once in a while I’d see a story here or there (mostly about the Quarantine Station, which does a remarkable job of promoting its paranormal tourism), but lately I’m seeing articles about different haunted places in Australia.

I decided to start collecting them to see if it was just me, or if there suddenly was an above average onslaught of news links featuring Australia’s paranormal tourism. Here’s what I’ve collected so far just this past month:

• A Haunted Evening in Sydney – Here’s the snippet from that one that immediately caught my eye:

The fact that we were not arrested within minutes is probably because the police are used to the presence of people roaming the Rocks at night carrying lanterns, various fake body parts, rubber rats and even a hangman’s noose.

I have never seen a ghost tour where the guides carry rats or body parts in addition to a lantern. But apparently that’s how they roll in an area of Sydney called The Rocks. Sounds fun! (The same story was also run on a different site at this link, which I found interesting.)

• Ballarat ghost-hunters wanted for TV show – “Wanted” as in to appear in one, not wanted because of one they made. Here’s the part of that one that most caught my eye:

Producers of the ghost-hunting show Spooked want five adventurous volunteers to accompany Australian ghost whisperer Anthony Grzelka to an undisclosed haunted location to film the pilot program on December 11.

Executive producer Keith McNamara promised a “scary” experience for volunteers and viewers alike.

I’d watch! Wonder if it’ll get picked up and broadcast in the U.S.?

• Ghosts of Christmas Past –  This one isn’t actually an article. It’s a press release issued by SydneyGhostTour.com that popped up in one of my Google alerts. This one sounds like a fascinating way to not only learn the history of Sydney but also about Christmas traditions.

Who would have thought a Ghost tour would be telling you about the history, traditions and quirky things about Christmas? Daniel Phillips, founder of SydneyGhostTour.Com, Sydney, Australia Local historian and tour guide acts as “The Ghost of Christmas Past”….

“Many of the things we take for granted today, like Christmas trees, and the giving of Christmas gifts, and even “Boxing Day”, were all first being established around the same time the Colony of Sydney was really just hitting it’s stride. Up until that time, Christmas was just another religious date, like Palm Sunday, or Pentecost where people went to church, remembered the date, and then went back to work, with little fuss before or after. No holiday, no presents, no decorations – nothing!”

“Ironically, only a hundred years or so earlier than that, singing Christmas carols could get you put in jail in England – it was considered a frivolous and possibly Catholic tradition by the Puritans who gave Charles 1st ‘the chop!’ ” Daniel states.

To me that sounds absolutely fascinating. I bet you’d learn a lot on that tour!

• A spook in the house- If for no other reason, click through on this link to see the stunningly spooky picture leading off the story. It’s a wonderful piece of artwork! After reading this excerpt from the article, I immediately filed Studley Park House in my “Places I’d Like to Haunt Jaunt to One Day” file:

Standing outside Studley Park House – an increasingly popular attraction for spiritual investigators – I’m asked to do precisely that. Two women are walking up a broken staircase leading to a porch, faint silhouettes in the failing light. Behind them the house is an ominous shape with its bell tower and boarded-over balconies. It looks like something from a Shirley Jackson novel.

Shirley Jackson? That’s all you had to mention. Sold! I wanna go there! Apparently Studley House Park is in an area called Macarthur and is about an hour outside Sydney. The article goes on to talk about some other haunted places there too, including  the 10-day Festival of Fishers Ghost that takes place there every November. When I get to Sydney, I’ll make it a point to go check out this Macarthur area! Sounds like a great Australian haunted hot spot!

Courtney Mroch

Courtney Mroch is a globe-trotting restless spirit who’s both possessed by wanderlust and the spirit of adventure, and obsessed with true crime, horror, the paranormal, and weird days. Perhaps it has something to do with her genes? She is related to occult royalty, after all. Marie Laveau, the famous Voodoo practitioner of New Orleans, is one of her ancestors. (Yes, really! As explained here.) That could also explain her infatuation with skeletons.

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Speaking of mystical, to learn how Courtney channeled her battle with cancer to conjure up this site, check out HJ’s Origin Story.