Ghost Hunt

As New Zealand’s only castle, one would expect this place to be imposing and perhaps a little creepy. Few visitors expect to be quite so overwhelmed with negative feelings, paranoia and the feeling of being watched. Built in 1871 for a wealthy politician, this spectacular estate is the haunt of many sad and wretched spirits.

During the late-1990s, most of the psychiatric hospitals in New Zealand were closed down, abandoned and left to the souls of former inmates who had inevitably suffered great trauma, grief and often physical and mental abuse. This hospital is such a place - a vast, dilapidated shell that resounds with incredibly sad psychic energy.

High on a hill overlooking lovely Waitomo Caves is an imposing, gracious Victorian-style hotel, the Waitomo Caves Hotel. This beautiful building has accommodated tourists for over 100 years – and also many ‘other-worldly’ visitors who refuse to leave its rickety, creaky corridors. The hotel is said to house at least 3 ghosts…

It is said that Dunedin is the most haunted city in New Zealand – with good reason. Many years ago, its original cemetery was moved, its graves desecrated and uprooted. The underground stream that flowed beneath these graves now carries the souls of the dead beneath the city, with rumoured hauntings in many of its central buildings the epicentre of which is the Fortune Theatre.

This is a ghost story based on love, dedication and tenacity. Riccarton House is a gracious mansion built by Jane Deans in memory of her dead husband. Although Jane died in 1911, it seems she’s never left the premises, often appearing as a black-gowned matriarch.

According to local historians, Auckland’s west coast is a very spiritual place, with reports of paranormal activity on the beaches, walkways and in historic buildings. The most famous is the Pink Lady, who hovers in the hallways of the quaint holiday lodge, sometimes terrifying guests with her eerie presence…

In its heyday, the gold-mining town of St Bathans boasted a population of over 2000; today it is a ghost-town, with 6 residents. But these isolated citizens are not alone -the number of the ‘undead’ actually surpasses the number of the living! St Bathan’s most famous spirit is The Rose, a prostitute who was raped and strangled in her room.

Commuters at Glen Eden railway station are often surprised as they relax over a cup of coffee at Platform7 Café… by a visitor from another realm. The ghostly stranger is said to be Alexander MacFarlane, a railway porter killed during a tragic accident in the 1930s.

Many theatres boast a ghost or two – but this magnificent theatre in Wellington has more than its fair share. The most famous of its spirits is that of Yuri, a Russian ballet dancer who was said to have been pushed to his death from the flies, 15 metres above the stage.

Kinder House and Ewelme Cottage are two lovely old buildings in Ayr St, Parnell, one of the oldest suburbs of Auckland. Ewelme Cottage is said to house the spirits of women and children who were attached to its tranquil energy; while the foreboding Kinder House has a male spirit, said to be the ghost of an austere minister John Kinder… or perhaps that of his brother, the victim of a scandalous murder…