The Top Haunted Places in Melbourne

Pink Alley

The ghost of a little girl has been seen by several of our tourgoers at Pink Alley. Since she was just 12 years old when she was killed in 1921, our paranormal research team has concluded that it is the ghost of Alma Tirtschke. It seems that pregnant women are more attuned to her presence. The location where her corpse was recovered has caused two people to faint, and many more to experience overwhelming grief.

Altona Homestead

The Altona Laverton Historical Society is located at the Altona Homestead, which was once the Langhorne family's homestead. The hotel is famous because of its Devonshire tea and its collection of furniture and housewares dating from the 1840s to the 1900s. If you think this is mundane, consider that it also organises ghost tours once a month. Some claim to have seen the spirit of Sarah Langhorne, who passed away at the house in 1871. Paranormal researchers from all around the world have visited Altona Homestead.

Princess Theatre

163 Spring Street, Melbourne, Victoria, 3000, Australia

Melbourne's Princess Theatre showcases the most notable theatrical acts and musicals within the city yearly. An actor named Frederick Federici died in a trapdoor accident in March 1888 while playing in the theatre's performance of Faust. Bert Newtown, Lisa McCune, and Marina Prior, three of Australia's most well-known artists, have all claimed to have seen a ghost onstage. However, Frederici has a reputation (much like Casper's) as a nice neighbourhood ghost, and opening night seats are always held for him at the theatre.

The Princess, a grand 19th-century theatre, is the gilded home of first-run big musicals and has lately undergone its own transfiguration to play host to Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. The theatre is said to be haunted by more than just Nearly Headless Nick. Frederick Federici, a British opera singer of Italian descent, passed away on the opening night of a production of Faust after performing his last aria.

Afterwards, the performers swore he'd been on stage for final bows, and his spirit is claimed to haunt the venue. It's usual to keep a dress circle seat free for him on opening night, and many who have visited and worked at the theatre have reported seeing the well-dressed and by all accounts good-natured ghost.

Young and Jackson

1 Swanston Street, Melbourne, Victoria, 3000, Australia

Numerous prostitutes were reportedly killed in the area of Young & Jackson, one of Melbourne's oldest bars, in the late 19th century. When they passed away, authorities paid little attention. Since then, however, men have claimed to have seen a female ghost outside the bar; locals speculate that she is the spirit of one of the prostitutes who used to frequent the establishment. A careful examination of the lady reveals that, despite her stunning appearance, her neck has been cut, according to one account.

The huge old tavern besides Flinders Street Station never ceases to amaze, no matter how often we go by. Saturday night is a sight to see and a beast to behold, with its abundance of punters wearing dreadlocks, mullets, and facial tattoos and its ubiquitous scent of spilt beer, Jameson shots, and perspiration. The spectre of a dead lady, who supposedly makes her appearance to drunken males, has also been reported.

At first glance, the young woman is stunning, but as she approaches, the patrons see she has a gaping hole in her neck. Word on the street has it that she was a prostitute who was slain in the Flinders Street area somewhere in the 19th century, however this might just be the alcohol talking.

Old Melbourne Gaol

377 Russell Street, Melbourne, Victoria, 3000, Australia

The Old Melbourne Gaol was an "emblem of power" for the city of Melbourne in the 19th century. It was in use between 1842 to 1929, and 133 people were executed there. Ned Kelly, an Australian bushranger, was the most notorious convict at the prison. A Night in the Watch House and Ghosts? What Ghosts! seem like two great ghost tours, but I was wondering whether there were any more. Last but not least, there's a tour led by an actual hangman.

The brutality of the death penalty is memorialised by this historic structure. Some 133 individuals, including the one and only Ned Kelly, were hung at the Old Melbourne Gaol, so it's reasonable to think that some of them have lingered to frighten the unwary and reckless who choose to seek for them.

The staff of the Old Melbourne Gaol frequently hosts one-hour tours and investigations of this most haunted of Melbourne buildings, leading visitors through the prison's dark and twisting tunnels and cells. The gaol's gory past makes it unique among Melbourne's landmarks. Cell 17 is said to be one of the most haunted cells in all of Australia, so keep a watch on it.

Kew Asylum

Kew Asylum was founded in the 1860s with the intention of providing a more humane environment for its patients than the other asylums in Melbourne. All the way from "idiocy" to "inebriation" to "melancholia" to "epilepsy" were among the diagnoses given to its patients. A typhoid outbreak and acts of physical violence plagued the facility, despite its good intentions to provide compassionate treatment to its patients. Male patients who were classified as "criminally insane" were kept at Kew until 1888, when a royal commision ordered them transferred to a wing of Ararat Prison. The structure has been converted into apartments, but its exterior has been preserved. Reports from residents and guests include doors opening and closing on their own, tapping sounds, cries in the distance, the sound of rushing feet, and crashing sounds, and some even claim to have awakened to discover a shadowy figure standing at the foot of their bed. Sorry, but I'll have to decline.

Larundel Mental Asylum

Plenty Road, Bundoora, Victoria, 3083, Australia

Larundel, located in Bundoora, was a psychiatric institution that operated from 1953 until 1999 and had the capacity to hold up to 750 inmates at once. Once it shut down, the structures fell into disrepair. Even though the site is closed to the public, it continues to be visited by squatters, ghost seekers, and vandals at their own peril. Reports of loud hammering, sobbing, and youngsters giggling have been received. Construction of a new neighbourhood can be seen taking place there right now.

Cinema Nova

380 Lygon Street, Carlton, Victoria, 3053, Australia

Paranormal activity has reportedly been experienced in the fourth theatres at both Jam Factory and Cinema Nova. Reportedly, the spirit of a white young girl haunts the fourth theatre at Nova. Witnesses in the theatre report seeing her sprint down the centre aisle. Cinema Nova also claims that several of its regulars would no longer attend any film shown in its theater's theatre four. Cinemas, with all their electrical equipment, are a magnet for spirits, according to paranormal investigators.

Ghost sightings have been reported in rural areas as well as urban ones. Many people, as Jacqui says, have seen a ghostly little girl at Nova's Cinema 4 on Lygon St. We attribute this phenomenon to the fact that ghosts, who lack personal energy fields, are drawn to radio and television broadcasting facilities and other locations with abundant electrical equipment.

Hosier Lane

Hosier Lane, Melbourne, Victoria, 3004, Australia

There are hundreds of people that frequent Hosier Lane every day because of its street art. But there is supposedly one major spirit that lurks about here after midnight. Professional ghost hunters in the area have concluded that the apparition belongs to Jack the Ripper suspect Frederick Bailey Deeming. While strolling along Hosier Lane at night, several men have felt icy hands on their necks.

Art Melbourne

Hosier Lane, a cobbled alley that connects Flinders Lane and Flinders Street just opposite Federation Square, is often considered the epicentre of Melbourne's street art culture. Also, the undead Frederick Baily Deeming is said to call this place home. The bodies of Deeming's first family were found in England with their throats slashed, and the corpse of his second wife was found in Melbourne with identical injuries. Many persons, including Deeming, were accused of being Jack the Ripper; his ghost is said to haunt Hosier Lane at night.

Willsmere (Kew) Mental Asylum

21 Wiltshire Drive, Kew, Victoria, 3101, Australia

One among Australia's largest asylums, formerly recognised as Kew Lunatic Asylum and later Willsmere, operated for more than a hundred years, from 1871 to 1988, when the government bought back the structures and the surrounding property. The original exterior of the building had to be preserved when the asylum was eventually transformed into apartments. Imagine the spectres that lurk in the hallways.

Melbourne General Cemetery

College Cres Parkville Melbourne 3052

The Melbourne General Cemetery is among the oldest in the city, being established in 1852. Since the cemetery is almost 150 years old, it is likely to include the remains of numerous historical figures, some of whom may not be resting in peace. On certain days throughout the year, Melbourne General Cemetery hosts spooky night tours. The company's goal is to make learning about the past enjoyable and visiting graves less daunting by using actors to play the roles of the deceased. If you want to try your luck with a Ouija board, you may do so after the cemetery has closed (but please don't do it before sunrise).

Black Rock House

Built in 1845, this home formerly belonged to Charles Ebden, Victoria's first auditor-general. The basement is said to be the most haunted area of the house, and there may even be tunnels below the whole property. There are at least 13 spirits in the building, and many of the male visitors report feeling Annie, a young lady. In order to educate guests about all of the spooky spooks that haunt the site, the inn offers ghost tours.

Even though it was constructed in 1856 for Victoria's first Auditor-General Charles Ebden, the building has always had an air of mystery about it. The mansion, which was constructed in the manner of Ireland's Black Rock Castle, served as both a seaside hideaway for the Ebdens and a venue for entertaining Melbourne's upper class. It had fallen into disrepair, but has now been restored to its original splendour. The mansion has long been shrouded in mystery, with tales of ghostly apparitions, spooky dungeons, and even a death chamber. It is reported that there are at least 13 ghosts lingering about Black Rock House, including a young lady called Annie who has a thing for men.

Williamstown

Williamstown 3016

Williamstown, Melbourne's original port colony, is steeped in colonial history and seafaring lore. Much of the waterfront is now parkland, although the port is still actively used. All that nautical activity, however, brought with it its share of less than savoury characters, such as sailors and the unscrupulous publicans and ladies of the night who catered to them. Money brought brigands and robbers, and sickness could wipe off hundreds at a time, so it seemed inevitable that the arrival of ships would bring these things as well. There have been several reports of ghostly apparitions, and some guests have even reported feeling sick and throwing up throughout the tour.

Point Cook Homestead

The Chirnside family, early Scottish pioneers, erected their house and stables in the 1850s, and both were steeped in mystery. Thomas Chirnside and other lost souls and stablehands, many of whom met horrible ends, are rumoured to haunt the property, which is surrounded by seashore and woodland. People who have visited the stables claim to have heard the galloping hooves of retired racehorses.

Aradale Asylum and J Ward, Ararat

Girdlestone Street Ararat 3337

To the west of Ballarat, in the little town of Ararat, are two of the most infamously haunted spots in all of central Victoria.

For more than 140 years, the mentally ill of Victoria were cared for at Aradale, a now-abandoned psychiatric institution. It's estimated that there were as many as 900 inmates in the facility at its peak, and some of them endured horrific abuse. There have been cases of tourists claiming to have "made contact" with the spirits of the dead.

Located just four kilometres from Aradale, the area known as J Ward becomes a terrible place as the sun goes down. Originally built in 1859 as a prison for the gold rush, the Aradale Asylum relocated there after the mines closed. However, this was no average ward; it was home to Victoria's most perverted and dangerous male inmates and was notorious for its stifling atmosphere and lack of human dignity.

Even during the day, a visit here is creepy; if you dare, however, you may take a tour at night or even join a paranormal investigation that lasts all night.