Kurunjang Homestead, Victoria, Australia

So here we were on a Saturday night at a homestead in Kurunjang. The we refers to myself, my mum and my cousin, Robert. We were doing an investigation after there were several reports about a spirit sitting and lying on the beds, touching faces and legs and moving up and down the hallway. The spirit was reported to be friendly, non threatening and the owner of the homestead felt like it was that of a young woman or teenage girl.

We started the investigation in the bedroom where we set up the ghost meter, the KII meter and the parascope. Within a few minutes the KII began to flash. It was rather evident that the spirit was enjoying playing with the meter and learning how it worked.

We let the spirit play with the meter for about five minutes before we began to ask questions. We explained that flashing once for yes and twice for no would allow the spirit to communicate with us. Within moments the ghost meter responded along with the KII meter. This clearly demonstrated how the spirit wanted to communicate a yes with us. We asked simple questions about gender, the house, whether the spirit wanted us to stay and if the spirit liked having us there. These were all answered with a very convincing yes.

After about fifteen minutes, we showed the spirit how to work the parascope and how it could light up the rods from red through to orange and green. We moved away from the devices and asked the spirit if they would like to light up the parascope. The ghost meter responded with a yes and then moments later the parascope lit up a single red rod. It then slowly moved through to orange.....one by one. It was clear that the spirit liked the parascope and enjoyed the bright colours. This pattern of communication and then giving permission to light up the parascope continued for about thirty minutes. When the spirit lit up the parascope, both my cousin and I experienced tingling sensations in our bodies. Mine started in my legs, went up through my thighs and into my arms. My cousin, Robert, had them through his hands, arms and fingers. We both could sense the strength of the spirit. My mother was lying on the bed and could feel the spirit beside her.

Once we left the bedroom, my mum complained about severe cramps in her legs. These only came on, after we finished the investigation.

After a break, we went back to the bedroom and repeated the same investigation and again, the KII and parascope lit up, we experienced the tingles and surprisingly, my mother's cramps returned.

We then moved into the kitchen, where the night before Robert had sensed people standing at the end of the island bench. He kept turning around to see who was there, but of course, there wasn't anyone there. That night, he dreamt of the exact same space, although it had a side table with dolls in it. So, we decided to investigate the space. We placed the KII meter on the spice cupboard and the parascope on the bench. There is about a one meter gap between the wall and the bench. Immediately the KII went to red, flashing non stop, green to red the entire time. If I tried to walk between the bench and the wall, the parascope would light up, from even a meter away. If you have ever used parascopes, you are aware that you virtually have to be on top of them for them to light up. After breaking the energy field and lighting up the parascope at least ten times, we decided to set up the laser grid. Robert was videoing the investigation and it was clear that there were was a shadow breaking the laser grid.

Robert was videoing the meters and whenever the parascope would light up, the camera would lose focus. If I went to move the KII, the parascope would light up, but I could say to the spirits, please do not light up the parascope, I just want to move the KII, and ..... the parascope would not light up.

It was the first time ever, that I had seen and felt such a strong energy field over a span of space, that I have to question whether this may be the phenomena of a paranormal vortex. I have heard about them, so I asked Robert to stand in the space where we thought there may be a vortex. Robert's eyes began to water, he became short of breath, felt quite ill and rather nauseous. As soon as he moved away from the area, he no longer felt ill.

So to investigate the "vortex" further, we went outside to the other side of the wall. The KII meter had a hits of orange in exactly the same area, at the same height, but definitely not as strong as inside.

We then thought it may be worthwhile trying out the spirit box to see if we could pick up any voices in the area that may be a vortex....but nothing worth noting.

The last investigation was that of the hallway leading from the bedroom, past the living room and down into the kitchen. Both owners of the homestead had stated seeing white flashes up and down this hallway and into the back hallway which led to two spare bedrooms.

We placed the parascope outside the front bedroom and then a series of KII meters down the length of the twenty metre hallway. Robert and I stood in the kitchen near the entrance to the back hallway. Robert set up the video camera and we began our wait. After about five minutes, I walked down the length of the hallway to the bedroom and looked in. This was the bedroom from earlier in the investigation.

I can not explain to you the energy I felt from that bedroom, it was strong and dense. The tingles in my face were extreme to the point of numbness.

I walked back down the hallway and watched. About thirty seconds after I had returned to the kitchen, I saw a very small blue orb about the size of a grapefruit come out of the bedroom. The orb was floating just above the floor. Moments later, the parascope lit up. Standing there, I could feel someone staring at me. It was as if the spirit had come out from the bedroom to see what was going on, looked down the length of the hallway and then retreated back to the bedroom. The parascope then faded.

We waited another five minutes and then again, I walked down the length of the hallway and looked into the bedroom once again.  Exactly the same experience. The orb came out, the parascope lit up, the sensation of being stared at. The only difference being the parascope and orb stayed in the hallway longer. Just at that time, Robert felt a strong gush of cold air come past him. It felt like it come from the back hallway. I then felt the cold air. I was three meters further along the hallway. We both looked down the hallway to the bedroom to see the parascope fade.

Then my son, who had been asleep in the back bedroom for at least two hours, came out and very sleepily said "Mum, why did you get out of bed in such a hurry.....what's wrong?"

As you can read, I had not gone to bed. I said to him...."I was just getting a drink, go back to bed....I'll be there in a moment".

Robert and I both looked at each other.....had the bedroom spirit called for support because it felt threatened that I had come down and stared into the bedroom twice? Had someone called out for help?

At this point I went down to the bedroom and explained that we meant them no harm and thanked them for letting us share their house with them that evening and packed up our equipment.

When I went into the back bedroom where my son was, he explained to me what had happened to make him wake up. It was the exact same motion that the owners had demonstrated to me.

Were there more than one spirit living in this house? I would say yes...definitely!

All in all a great investigation.

Monte Cristo Homestead, Junee, NSW, Australia

Visiting Monte Cristo Homestead had been on my paranormal bucket list for a few years now, so obviously we were very much looking forward to the overnight stay at what has been claimed to be the most haunted house in Australia.

We, as in my mum and my sisters, arrived at about 3.30pm on the Saturday afternoon and were greeted by the host who escorted us into the homestead. We entered through a side servant style door and were immediately in a room which had been set up for dinner. From here, we were shown upstairs to the sleeping quarters. At the top of the stairs was a landing with six bedrooms leading off to the left and to the right, was a small hallway with four ensuite style powder rooms. Each with a shower, toilet and basin. Our room had a double bed, single bed and a set of bunks with glaring floral wallpaper.

Once we were settled, we had about two hours to explore the grounds and outbuildings before dinner. The grounds were unkept and overgrown, but showed small glimpses of what grandeur may once have been. At the front of the homestead was a non-working fountain and some steps down to ornate statues, which were broken and covered in moss. You could only imagine what they must have once looked like. The homestead was perched on a hill, but with residential properties developed right up to the fence line and an overgrown garden, you lost sense of the homestead being perched high on a hill looking down to the town below.

We then wandered to the back of the homestead where there were a number of outbuilding. The servants quarters, which were not unlike any other early 1900's quarters. The four rooms, comprising a sitting room, two bedrooms and the kitchen, were full of historic bric a brac.  There was a ballroom, a dairy outbuilding and some stables. The ballroom was a large hall style building which was built by the second owner Reg Ryan. It was rather modern and resembled a community scout hall with remnants of halloween decorations. The stables were fully stocked with horse carriages, that were so packed in, you could not move between them to enjoy the majestic details of the workmanship. The dairy outbuilding was a small room with some historical artefacts. I was rather excited about investigating both the stables and the dairy later that night, as we had read many stories of sightings in these two buildings.

After about one hour, we moved upstairs to rest for the hour before dinner.

During dinner, the host shared stories of the history of the homestead, the Crawleys; the death of the youngest child Magdalena, the death of the maid who fell from the balcony, Mr Crawley, his mistresses, his twenty children (of which ten were born by servants illegitimately) and of course Mrs Elizabeth Crawley, who was part aboriginal. The host then shared his story of the second owners, his parents.  There was a lot of oversharing of the family disputes in regards to his father's will and the dysfunction which had resulted. To be honest, at times I questioned whether he should be sharing this information about his sisters, but it was all very interesting and really set the scene for our ghost investigation.

But for those that know me, I absolutely hate it when a host tells me how I should be feeling or what others have felt on tours. I do not want to know that people claimed to have their legs touched, or their jewellery taken or that they felt nauseous. I want to experience things for myself and I don't want to be told what I should be experiencing. I don't know whether it is because, if it doesn't happen, I will be bitterly disappointed, or because I don't like people being manipulated to feel a certain way or if I don't like the theatre and acting. I can't help but think, why are they trying so hard to convince us something happened .... just let it happen, if it is so damn good - it will happen!

But no, the host talked and talked and talked. He talked non-stop about all these experiences that others had claimed to have had. It actually got quite monotonous.

Eventually the time came to enter the homestead. Everyone was very excited. We were led down to the visitors gift shop where we were left to see a twenty minute video. Most of the video was a repeat of what the host had just shared at dinner. There were segments of where paranormal investigators had been in the homestead and they shared sound recording evidence of a choir singing in the ballroom. It was very interesting and I was looking forward to the investigation in this ballroom.

The homestead was essentially seven rooms. Downstairs was a sitting room, library and dining room and upstairs there were three bedrooms and a drawing room. The homestead was well lit with candles and battery operated candelabras. In each room, the host talked and talked and talked and TALKED! Often repeating the stories he had just shared at dinner and often making the same jokes. If I had heard him say, "we had a guest on tour who said they were a medium, and I said, well I am a large" one more time........"sigh". In each room he talked about the experiences others had had in the room or what others had claimed to have happened. There was no time to sit there in silence, in the dark, to listen, to feel, to sense, or just simply to take anything in. The whole time we were in the homestead, the host just kept talking and talking. Yes, he was very knowledgeable and the history is amazing, but it would have been so much better to do the history tour from 3.30 pm to 5.00 pm, and then have the night to retrace your steps, but as an investigation. Don't get me wrong, it was interesting historically, but as a ghost tour, it was excruciatingly boring.

Upstairs in the "boys room", the host's bedroom from his birth until the age of 13 and the room in which the first owner, Mr Crawley, had died, was claimed to be one of the most active. Yet I felt nothing. The host talked about mediums who had been through the homestead, and what they had felt and shared. We went out onto the balcony and into a small chapel bedroom on the first floor and then down some outside stairs to the the front of the homestead, nothing. From here, we walked around to the back of the homestead. It was at this point, the host states that he was going home to open up the door for something. He left us all standing there and told us that this lady would take us to the outbuildings and he would be back shortly. There were sixteen of us. At this point, approximately eight guests returned to the dining area and didn't even bother with the outbuildings. The lady was just standing there and everyone was off doing their own thing. So my group (the four of us) moved off to the dairy outbuilding. This building was claimed to have had a young boy, aged 8, who had been hit by a tree which resulted in brain damage. His mother chained him to the dairy for 30 - 40 years.  He was chained there all day and night to stop him running away or hurting himself. Claims were made that his spirit was strong there and often the chain could be heard and he would growl and bark at people. It was dark.... it was the first dark spot we had been in all night. It was perfect for an investigation, so I set up my own EMF devices and sat with my sister quietly in the building. Talking and seeing if anything would like to come forward and communicate with us that evening. Nothing.

We then moved to the stables. Nothing.

From the stables we moved onto the ballroom which was fully lit up. By this time, the host had returned. At the entrance to the ballroom was the host, the lady, me and my sister and one other couple. I'm assuming my mother, younger sister and the other two guests had gone back to the dining room to join the others. I asked the host if we could turn off the lights and do an investigation, given that this was the space in which the paranormal investigators had recorded a choir singing. No, was his response. Shocked, thinking....this is a ghost tour in the acclaimed most haunted house in Australia and you showed us a video claiming investigators had recordings of a choir, but I could not turn off the lights????

So, I walked in on my own, walked around, put the EMF device down and waited for a a while. Nothing.

We then all returned back to the dining area for dessert and where the host continued to talk. He then told us that the plan was that another person was going to do an investigation with some gadgets in the outbuildings, but she was so overwhelmed with emotion that she went home. He also stated that he would not be there in the morning as he was going to the Wagga Wagga Swap meet the following day. As a guest, this made me feel like I was unimportant, as he had already left the tour to attend to something else only a half hour before. I said that I was happy to go do the paranormal investigation as I had brought some equipment with me and his response was no - again!

The host then shared that often things do not happen on the tours at night, and guests had claimed many experiences had happened when they went up to sleep in the rooms which were located in the most active part of the property. He claimed that many people do not last the night and leave. He went through what to do if we were so overwhelmed and wanted to leave the homestead. There were twelve of us sleeping over. As soon as dessert was finished, nearly all the guests left and went upstairs. No one talked, no one shared.... because there was nothing to share!

By about midnight all the guests had gone up to their rooms. I climbed into my bed only to find I had no blankets. So at 12.30 am I began searching cupboards on the landing to find a blanket. I found one.  I put the electric blanket on high and went to sleep. For me, a very uneventful and disappointing evening.

I woke at about 2.30 am and decided to take my equipment out to the landing between the powder rooms, which had a walkthrough to the main homestead. There was a heavy velvet curtain separating the two areas. I set up and sat there doing an investigation for about twenty minutes. I then went downstairs and tried there - nothing! So, off to be again I went.

At 8.00 am, I woke and went downstairs and into the homestead to walk around with my EMF device on my own, in the quiet, to see if I could sense, feel, see or hear anything. I had one EMF reading at the entrance to the drawing room, but I strongly sensed in was residual energy. There was no interaction and it did not move.

At 8.30 am, we had breakfast and all twelve guests were in attendance. All of them stated they had a good night's sleep, that was uneventful. They almost seemed disappointed. By 9.00 am nearly all of the guests, except us and one couple, had left. This in itself said a lot, as the host had said the night before, that after breakfast you could go through the homestead again for as long as you liked, as many spirits were active during the day.

It was at this time, Olive Ryan, the 88 year old widow of Reg Ryan, the second owner, came out to talk with us. Olive had made us dinner the night before and breakfast in the morning. This was by far my highlight of the weekend. She spoke candidly about her life and how her husband had restored the property. Interestingly, her version of the family dysfunction and that of the host were quite different.

In conclusion, I feel, that maybe, just maybe, once upon a time, spirits may have haunted this homestead, but now,  it is a homestead that is full of period style furniture and antiques. It is nice to see, but no ghost or paranormal activity was detected. It was almost like a 3-star bed and breakfast with a historical tour of a period style homestead tacked on. So if that is what you want, this was great, but if you want a ghost adventure, then this was not the place. We definitely enjoyed the weekend, it was very educational and interesting and we all agreed that it has lots of potential to improve, but much work is needed. Would I go again......not at this stage.

Aradale Lunatic Asylum, Ararat, Victoria, Australia

This is one place that I had been very much looking forward to investigating and was rather excited about spending six hours exploring the many buildings that are on the property. As we entered the grounds, we drove up a narrow dirt driveway with thick gardens and wooden fences on either side. It was very dark, cold, overcast and with a light mist. The absolute perfect setting for a paranormal investigation. Through the darkness you can see the outline of the buildings perched assertively on top of the hill. We made our way up past the overgrown fountain, that I am sure would have been majestic in its day, and stopped at the large iron gates which led into the asylum. Although this is (or was) an institution for 'lunatics', the gates feel very prison like. 

We entered through the gates and walked around the covered walkways to an administration style building towards the back of the property. This room was to be our base for the evening. The grounds are huge and the buildings soar up into the grey night sky. It is rather overwhelming and quite intimidating. 

Our first investigation was in the hexagonal building. This room was used as a day space for lunatics of simple mind or those that demonstrated child like behaviours. We were told that this building would be similar to what we see now as a child care centre with simple tasks and activities. The asylum closed in 1995 but there were remnants of Christmas decorations in some of the office spaces. Can not confirm whether they were from the asylum or from activities since. To the right of the building was the exercise yard for promiscuous women and to the left, that of diseased patients. There were windows all around with wooden seating along the walls. In this area I sensed a young boy aged about 12 - 15 years of age. We were able to communicate with him through the EMF device, where he was able to answer some questions. A boy, 12 years of age, he liked parties, but did not have any parties for his birthday and he liked Santa. We tried a music box, but the boy said he did not like that music. I had tingling sensations and the attachment was quite strong. 

From here we moved into the Chapel area and set up a number of devices, including EMFs, K2s, touch pad and and EMF generator. We were able to get readings on one of the K2s and several communications on the EMF which included asking the spirit to come forward and use the touch pad to light it up and make sounds, which it did. 

After the Chapel, we moved into the Matron's quarters. This was a grand building with ornate velvet wallpaper, chandeliers and many rooms. In the main office area on the ground floor, where history states that one matron had hung herself, we set up our devices. This room was directly under female wards and we could hear movements and sounds coming from upstairs. I felt very strong energy in two opposite corners of the room, so we set up laser grids near the two doors into the room. I sat in a different corner and our guide sat in the other. We had readings on the K2 and EMF devices, of which appeared to be coherent responses of a female head nurse, who was moved into the role quite suddenly. Could she have been the one who replaced the suicidal matron? She was not the last person to occupy the office. I could easily have spent more time in here because I very much sensed conflict. One investigator claimed to have seen a break in the laser grid moments before the EMF detector activated. 

We then moved through some uneventful wards and into the grounds. Whilst moving around the yards, we would often see glimpses of lights (orbs) in windows and would feel that sense of someone was watching us. 

From here, we moved into the three storey staff quarters building. We walked up to second floor and into a lounge area where a monitor had been set up with cameras on the first and third floor corridors. I collected some devices and a walkie talkie and made my way down, solo, to the first floor. Yes, solo, in complete darkness (I had a torch). I set up the devices along the hallway and then sat down, torch off, in silence, at one end. The camera (being monitored upstairs) was at the other end. Within seconds of being there, we heard a huge bang which sounded like the fire door being slammed shut. The guide was straight onto the walkie talkie asking if I had heard it (of which I clearly had). She checked the cameras and said that there was no movement of the fire doors. We had three distinct communications through our EMF and K2 devices and three distinct door slams. Sitting in silence, I could hear footsteps and movement. It was rather confronting because there was definitely no one on the floor with me and the other two investigators were a floor above me watching the cameras which covered all the corridors. 

We packed up and moved over to the morgue. Now this is where the investigation turned nasty and the more I reflect on the night, the more questions I have. 

In the morgue which was a two roomed building, we placed a touch pad on the slide table in the Coolroom, a K2 on the autopsy table and an EMF on the examination trolley. The investigator attempted to make contact with a doctor that she believed she had communicated with previously. It was at this point the touchpad in the Coolroom sounded and the EMF device responded. I felt a strong presence and a slight pressure on my thigh as if someone had accidentally leaned up against me. It was uncomfortable and did not feel like the normal tingling lactic acid feeling I usually have when investigating. I then swapped positions with the investigator and the spirit energy then moved across to me again. I must have pulled a weird face, because the investigator quickly said that it would be best for us to move on. We retrieved the devices and left quite abruptly. On discussion as we moved to our next location, the guide said that they had detected a 'not so nice' male in there who used the area for inappropriate relations with women. Not sure, but what I felt was a definite pressure on my thigh and an invasion of personal space. 

From there we moved into the male wards. We went up to the second floor and into a lounge area. The feeling in here was very different to the rest of the asylum. Our guide investigator had told us that she really didn't like being in this building nor the feelings she has encountered in here. We moved down a corridor to a bathroom area which linked the two wings of the mens wards. We were in the bathroom and talking about the renovation of the bathroom when there was an almighty bang. It was so loud the room vibrated. To give you context, we are talking about a concrete and stone 150 year old building. There is no one in this building, but us. It is a still night with no wind. Directly above the guide there is a fluorescent light, which fell from the roof. It was as if someone had pushed over a huge concrete slab or smashed a sledge hammer into concrete. I was standing opposite the guide and her face went white and her jaw dropped. "WHAT WAS THAT!!?", she gasped. I have never seen an experienced paranormal investigator have such a reaction. She pulled out her mobile phone and began texting. She looked totally rattled. I quickly went through the bathroom into the other common area, shining my torch down corridors and into wards, looking for anything that had fallen or doors which could have made that sound. Within five minutes, the Head Investigator of the asylum was in our building (obviously that is who she had texted). She explained to him what we had experienced. You could tell by her tone and her language that she was rattled. A few moments later, another two guys were there. I am still trying to work out what we had experienced. You can not believe the deafening sound that it was. 

While the guys went off to see if they could locate the cause, we moved down to the ECT room at the other end of the building. It was pretty obvious our guide was concerned, she was pacing around the room staring out each window, east side, west side, north side, constantly looking and pacing. I am not sure, but I think she may have been concerned there were others in the asylum with us. Whilst looking out one of the windows, she stated that there was a truck driving out of the asylum. The other investigator ran over to the window and together they watched this truck drive away. What was that truck, why was it there and where was it going? Did this truck have something to do with the noise we had heard? Very odd, very, very odd. After ten or so minutes, one of the guys returned and said that there had been some shifting of the slate tiles on the roof. A slate tile did not make that sound...I can promise you that. The guide then spoke about the sighting of the truck, which also seemed to baffle him, and asked if he could stay contactable for the rest of the tour. Something had definitely spooked her!

Nothing substantial happened in the ECT room, so we moved across the cage which connected the men's wards with the administration and women's wards. 

Once in the women's ward, the guide did not stop with her slightly paranoid behaviour. She closed big sliding doors and stated that this is our block 1 (barrier) and then we walked the whole length of the ward past communal areas, isolation rooms, lounge areas and bathrooms, where she slid another big door closed and said this is our block 2. Blocks from what?

Two of us undertook some uneventful investigation in one end before we moved to a central communal area. We set up a number of devices in the room and sat there in complete silence. A little while after the EMF device activated. We were able to engage with a few questions of which a female entity identified that she lived in the ward rooms to the left of the communal area. She said that she was in her own room and had an iron bed. This seemed interesting, because to the left were rooms that did house iron beds. We asked her if she could identify her room for us by flashing once when we reached her room. We walked down past a number of rooms and when we were between the third and fourth rooms the light flashed. We walked back to the third room and asked if that was her room, no. The fourth room, is this your room, yes. Again, is this your room, yes. 

We set up the EMF, K2 and the touch pad. It was very interesting that we would get communication for about 3 minutes and then it would disappear for about 2 minutes and then return. It was the same time intervals for the next forty or so minutes. Two of the investigators said that they sensed a young female. Answers were precise and repetitive. We ascertained that she was female, aged 19 when committed by her husband, Had been there for between 10 and 20 years and passed at the asylum. we asked were you here in the 1900s, yes, 1800s, yes, 1890's, yes, 1880s, yes, 1870s, no, were you here at the turn of the century, 1900, yes, 1910s, no. She told us that she was in an isolation room because she was considered aggressive and that she did not get along with other patients. We were able to determine her name started with a C, and when we asked Claire, no, Clara, no, Catherine, yes. We asked again, Clara, no, Catherine, yes. When we asked the same questions, though slightly different, we were given the same answer time and time again. We sensed that she was not physically there on our plane, but had come to communicate with us directly, as she had a story to tell. I am sure the guide is going to go back and build more around this story. It was very strong, very precise and I felt, very genuine. Nothing was random. Answers of yes and no never wavered, no matter how many times you asked the question or if they were asked in varying contexts. 

The guide stated the women's ward is traditionally very active, but I only felt this one spirit. It was almost as if she had waited for us, waited for all the other energies to be exhausted by the earlier ghost tours, as if she had waited to tell us her story. 

I will return, and when I do, I would like to say hi to the boy in the hexagonal room, revisit the Matron's quarters, the men's bathroom, men's wards, some new spaces and then lastly back to talk with Catherine.

Great night, but you do need to spend hours there. Hours and hours!

Chirnside Homestead, Melbourne, Australia

It's 10.00 pm and I am standing on a private beach looking out to the bay and listening to the ocean waves crash. I am just fifty metres from the Chirnside family homestead on an eerily moonlight night. I am waiting for my fellow investigators to arrive so we can enter the homestead to begin our tour. I stand there for about fifteen minutes, watching and listening. In the distance I can hear dogs growling. It is the growl you hear when you are walking near someone's property and the watch dogs are letting you know that they are there, and that they are watching you. But tonight, there are no dogs around.

Soon after the team arrives, we walk across the grounds and enter the homestead. We do a quick walk around to get our bearings. There is a long narrow sunroom facing the beach. It is similar to a closed in verandah and has large windows to capture the sea breeze. Just off the sunroom is a short hallway. The hallway has three rooms to the left and two rooms to the right. Four of us went into the first room on the left and two friends waited in the hallway with cameras and EMF detectors. In the room is a solid round ornate table. We sat at the table and began to talk as if we were having a card game with banter style conversation. I was the only female at the table. Not long into the activity I began to feel tingling in my thighs and arms. I could sense a presence near my shoulder and I felt very uncomfortable. About five minutes in, I felt what I believed to be fingers on my cheeks and down my neck. At this point, one of the male investigators asked, what we believe was a spirit, to kindly leave me alone.

Shortly after, we called to the others to open the door. As soon as the door opened, one of the team, Kathy, claims to have seen a woman standing in the middle of the room on the right. This room was directly opposite the room I was in. Kathy stated that the woman was dressed in a white dress and was staring directly at where I was sitting. Kathy looked over at me and then back towards the woman, but she was gone.

The medium with us on that investigation stated that the room was a "mens' room" and it was in this room that they would have female visitors to attend to their needs. He stated that the room opposite was the lady's room where wives could lounge whilst their husbands were socialising. Was the lady that Kathy saw, a wife? Was she watching me, a female visitor? Was the fingers I felt on my face and neck, that of her husband?

Essendon, Victoria

I want to share with you my most memorable and unexplained experience. In 1988 my parents renovated our family home. This included demolishing the entire back half of the house and building a two-storey extension. My room was in the upstairs back left hand corner. Ever since the extension was built, we would often hear footsteps upstairs, especially in that room, along with noises from the four original rooms at the front of the house. We would hear people talking and would often sense a presence, yet we knew no-one was there.

In 1991 I was standing at the kitchen bench, which was in the new extension, and was facing the archway which linked the old with the new building. My mother was standing on the other side of the bench, facing me and with her back to the archway. The archway was at 11 o'clock, so about 30 degrees to the left of my view.

It was late in the afternoon the night after a party. There were still some helium balloons in the dining room (the room on the other side of the archway). I was having a conversation with my mother when I saw a black shadow outline of a person (a man) appear on the wall of the dining room. I could see this through the arch. I grinned at my mother and said my brother was out there, watch, he is going to scare us. You see, we had this ongoing family discussion about our house guests, some believed, others were sceptical, and one of those sceptics, was my brother.

So anyway, I watched the shadow for at least a minute, waiting for him to make a noise or jump out of the archway in his attempt to scare us, but no, instead, one of the bunches of balloons came down under the arch and whooshed across the ceiling to the stairway about three metres away from the arch. Giggling under our breath, my mother and I pretended not to see it and waited for my brother to appear, but nothing.....we waited, nothing. Shortly after, I whispered to my mother, he's gone (as in the shadow). So we both waited patiently for him to come in or for the front door to open or close. But again, nothing.

After about two minutes, we both were a little curious. So we went into the dining room, no brother, we went into the lounge, no brother, the bedroom, no brother. The front door was locked from the inside and the archway was the only link from that part of the house to where we were. Where had this person gone? Where did the shadow come from?

Confused, but intrigued, we tried to replicate the shadow, but couldn't. We tried with the lights on, off, curtains opened, closed, but nothing portrayed the shadow we had both seen.

We then moved onto the balloons. You see, the ceiling in the dining room was 13 feet high, yet the ceiling in the kitchen was 10 feet high. We tried everything to bring those balloons down and through the arch and across the roof to their resting place near the stairs. It was impossible. Nothing we tried even came close to what we had observed. We tried everything we possibly could to try and debunk what we had seen. It was frustrating and obsessive. For hours we discussed, reflected and re-enacted.

It absolutely blew my mind.

When my brother returned late that night, my mother and I told him what we had experienced. He, my sceptic bother, could not fathom how this could have happened. Now, the three of us were trying to re-enact what we had witnessed and again, to no avail.

The three of us then gathered around the bench, me on the side facing the arch and my brother and mother on the other side of the bench with their backs to the arch, but facing the laundry.

We came to the conclusion that it must have been wind and an unusual shadow cast from the window (mind you a shadow in the shape of a man). I did not believe this, but I had to tell my mind something, so it would stop obsessing on what it had witnessed, when suddenly the lid of the washing machine lifted and the filter in the centre came out and flew across the kitchen and landed near my ride hand side.

The three of us gasped in "WHAT THE?". The washing machine was off, the lid was closed. Who or what did that? What was going on? Who, or what was telling me, it was not wind, nor a shadow, it was ME!

I was 21 when this happened and the tingling sensation and pain in my legs which flowed up through my body is what I experienced that day and still do today when around spirits.

I know now that what I witnessed was paranormal and was in fact my first visual experience of a spirit that I can clearly recall.

We have since moved on from that house, but to no surprise, the new owners have shared with us many unexplained experiences, one of which is a shadow of a man who lurks in the dining room. Did our renovation impact on spirits......

Interesting, very interesting.

Lunatic Asylum, Beechworth, Victoria

On Thursday night I headed off to a paranormal investigation at the Lunatic Asylum in Beechworth Victoria, with three other people, and a great guide named Adrian. This is one investigation that I have been anticipating for many years. Ever since my son went there seven years ago and had quite a traumatic experience, one which he has vowed never to return. That in itself says something happened, something unexplained and something I want to know!

Although the investigation started slow, as the night progressed, so did the experiences. Experiences, some of which were the strongest I have ever had on any of my investigations.

So our investigation began in the women's wing. Quite quickly I had something or someone attach itself to me via the EMF device. I couldn't feel them or sense them, but they did appear to respond to questions I asked through a yes no light activation on the EMF device. For example, I would ask was this room the matron's bedroom, the device would respond no. Is this an area where the matron slept - no. I would ask was this a lounge type room for matron - yes. I then would go into another room and it would respond that this was the bedroom. This information was confirmed by the guide. We also had the light parascope light up in the doorway when requested. The other members on the investigation did appear to have similar responses with their EMF devices. Other than that, this area was low in activity, but great in history.

As we moved from area to area, it was apparent that the spirit who had attached themselves to me early in the evening had decided to be my travel buddy. When we moved into another area of the asylum that was quiet, my EMF would detect a spirit. On occasion it would respond that it was the lady who had been with me previously. The only areas this spirit did not come with, were the bullpit corridor and the cells.

From here, we moved across to the male wing where we used an ovilis device. There were a few words that came through on the meter, but I did not sense any activity personally. This was a great space with lots of rooms to explore and conversations to be had. We moved into a kitchen area where Adrian attempted to connect with a spirit using the parascope, to no avail. We also used the laser grid to detect any movement or shadows. Again, there was no movement. This area was very quiet, albeit it was early in the investigation.

From here we moved into the bullpit area and a long corridor area. It was here that I felt my first strong sensation. The sensations I feel are tingles which start in my toes and move up through my legs, similar to what lactic acid feels like. Usually they stay as strong tingles, but sometimes they can be so strong my legs go numb and hurt. For very strong sensations, the feeling will flow up my body and into my cheeks where my jaw becomes a bit paralysed. When this happens I also begin to sweat on my face (but no where else). It is the weirdest sensation.

So, here is what happened. Adrian placed an ovilis on the window sill of the corridor and a parascope at one end of the corridor and one about half way down. We all stood at the other end of the corridor in complete silence and darkness. I'm talking complete darkness, blackest of black. The history of the bullpit is enough to scare anyone in regards to males and the issues that went on, but to stand there in the dark - usually you would think it would be nerve racking, but no, not at all.  Not long into the session, I asked Adrian if he was aware if children were permitted or housed in this area. One thing that I have found on all my investigations is that if they are children present, they will usually come and find me. I can usually feel them, hear them; they have touched me, pulled on my clothes and played with my hair and at times - I can see their orbs or glimpsing shadows. It is a nice feeling, although I can sometimes get teary and emotional, but in a motherly way.

The other common sensation I usually experience, is one of a not so nice manner. The physical sensations are the same, but I generally feel anxious and uncomfortable as opposed to motherly and caring. Experience has indicated that this feeling is usually associated with older males and more dangerous males. So in this scenario, standing in the dark, in the corridor, in the asylum, I had the tingling sensation, but I felt calm and safe, hence my question regarding children. Adrian asked why. I said that I can sense a very small child, very small, maybe 3 to 5 years of age. Not long after I said this, I could see a flashing blue orb, very close to the ground and about half way between the two devices. I asked if anyone else could see it, to no satisfaction. After seeing this orb about 10 times, I walked down and showed the group where I was seeing it. At that point my tingles shot up through my body to my face. I knew then that a child was present.

Once I returned to the group, I stated again when I saw it. Adrian then confirmed he saw it too and that this was the first time he had actually seen one with his own eyes. He had photographed them, but never actually seen one. I then saw that the orb was moving back towards the end of the corridor at which point I saw a red line appear through the middle of the orb. Instantly the parascope lit up for all to see with a vertical red line. First was the red line and then on request, the child played with it until it moved to the green lights. Adrian then asked the child to come forward and do the same with the other device. I watched the orb move forward and cast a shadow across a doorway (the shadow and change in light, not the orb, was observed by Jack at the exact moment I saw the orb pass the doorway - Jack was another person on the investigation). A few moments later I was able to tell the group that the child was right near the second parascope. A second later, the child was able to light up the second device. I was blown away by his playfulness and that I could sense the child and see the orb. It was one of the best experiences I have had. I am so excited to return to that area and make contact with that child who appeared to be very happy to play and be around me.

I believe that this child and at least one other, followed me downstairs, because of an incident that happened when I was standing in a room with another member of the group. The other three members of the group had already moved outside. I was reflecting on what had happened in the corridor and how impressed I was with what the small boy (on instinct) had done. At that point, I heard the cupboard door close behind me. I went over and opened it and tried to emulate what I had heard. I then summoned Adrian and explained what I had just experienced. Whilst I was explaining it to him, we heard the cupboard door do the same thing in the other room. We ran in there to see the door opened, which had previously been closed, which I can confirm, as I was in that room only moments before. I then could hear very soft children giggles. The night was still, doors were closed and the asylum was deadly silent. We quickly realised that these children were playing hide and seek in the cupboards. It was amazing. The giggles were soft but audible. I ran from room to room, hearing them giggling. I didn't want to leave them, they seemed to love having me there.

From here we moved to another building. Adrian informed us that it is in this building where most people have photographed a spirit at the end of a hallway. Although nothing for me happened here, it was great to hear the tales and see the autoposy table. Again, there were plenty of rooms to explore and make connections. The only sensation I had was that I could hear whistling late in the investigation. It appeared to come from an area down a hallway. We also placed the ovilis on the autoposy table and Adrian made a connection with Sergeant John who was a returned soldier. I would have liked to explore this connection in greater detail, given my personal experience with the defence force, but the night was getting on and we still had the cellar in the Olivine building to explore.

So off we went underground to where criminals were held. These criminals worked on building the asylum during the day and then were housed in cells underground of a night. The five of us moved into a cell and stood there in complete darkness. It was not long before Adrian and myself heard footsteps. Distinct footsteps. You could feel the air thicken and you could sense a presence. In fact, I could sense three figures. Two male and someone else. On reflection, I believe one was a young female. My tingling was strong, painful and at times excruciating and I felt very uncomfortable. I knew these were dangerous males. We then set up the spirit box where Adrian asked questions. The only audible sounds that come through to the questions of whether we could stay, were NO and whatever. The whatever was a female voice. We then placed the parascopes on the stairs leading out of the cellar. As my tingles began to subside as they moved away from us, the lights on the devices were activated. This could be a response of the spirits walking up the stairs. Once the lights stopped, my sensations stopped and I no longer felt uncomfortable. We were alone. Very alone.

Our investigation was then over for the night, but I definitely need to go back and work through that child spirit, along with the young female that attached herself to me for the evening. I sensed a young teenage girl who worked sort of like a tour guide for me. I would like to see if I can explore that connection further and why she was so comfortable walking around the asylum with me.

Great night with genuine experiences and connections.

Until next time!