I’m not normally one for ghost stories. Scary movies freak me out. And I generally hate walking in unknown places in the dark. So I was surprised to find myself on Saturday night willingly visiting Old Melbourne Gaol with Emily from The Reluctant Wanderlust, and her friend Eilis.
We took part in the Ghosts? What Ghosts! night tour with about 20–30 other people. The Gaol was completely deserted, dark, and quiet. Our guide Trevor walked us through the empty corridors, and told stories about the creepy encounters people have faced in the building. From hearing moans, screams, and footsteps, to experiencing technology failures and feeling ghostly presences.
We heard stories about prisoners who died there, and from people who worked there. We saw photographs of ghostly figures—most of which were discounted, but a couple were definitely unexplainable.
We entered the most haunted cell, and we tried to take photos of ghosts.
At the start of the tour I noticed that I was standing right next to an open cell. I swear I heard footsteps in there, although it was empty. The girl next to me (who was standing right in front of the door) must have heard them too, as she turned in fright to look inside, and then moved herself away from the door.
Although it was already a cold night, and the Gaol is naturally a cold place due to the concrete walls and steel doors; I definitely felt the temperature drop drastically a few times during the tour. Whether that was due to ghostly activity is yet to be seen.
Aside from all that, our group didn’t experience much in the way of paranormal activity, unfortunately.
But, it was still really cool to hear about other people’s experiences, and to walk through that haunted old building in the dark.
Have you ever visited Old Melbourne Gaol at night?
Did you encounter any ghosts or ghouls?
What other Melbourne tourist attractions should I look into?
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