Ghosts of the Town Hall, Coburg, Victoria, Australia

Wonderful memories of dancing at our Primary School Ball at the Coburg Town Hall, was what inspired me to book and investigate this amazing building. I could vividly remember dressing in ball gowns, whilst Mrs Wong's band played on the stage. We did about four public tours here before Covid hit, so I will combine all the experiences into the one blog. Who knows, I may again book this venue when the tourism industry opens up once more. 

On entering the building, flashbacks to when I was 8 or so years old started to conjure in my mind, but I was not here this time to dance, but to hopefully experience those that danced before me. There were three of us in our team and we had about 15 guests book the tour. Although parts of the building were strangely familiar, the apparent stillness, desolation and emptiness was apparent and at times melancholic. 

The most significant paranormal event occurred when the group were sitting in the foyer. One experiment I like to do is an EVP introduction, where all the guests sit in reticent silence as we move around the room, introducing themselves before waiting three or so seconds before the next person speaks and so on. This experiment allows us to potentially identify any spirits who may wish to come through, or if any spirits connect with one person in particular. 

As I started the EVP session "Hi, my name is Libby, and we are going to introduce ourselves. We mean you no harm and just want to see if you would like to talk to anyone", darkness descended on the room, the temperature dropped, and an uneasiness was felt.  

We reviewed the EVP recording with no avail until we reached a girl named "Ashley". After she introduced herself, you can hear a very distinct creepy laugh (from 8.40 on the video). It was loud, audible and a distinct EVP capture, as we did not hear it with our naked ear. After we replayed this a number of times, we investigated where Ashley was sitting, which was at the bottom of the stairs which led to the balcony. Besides some K2 hits and some temperature changes, nothing else remarkable happened. 

DARK HAUNTING'S OF COBURG TOWN HALL! - YouTube

The video is courtesy of Yvette and is publicly available on her YouTube Channel. Although she did not capture the whole evening, you get a clear sense that the venue is haunted and well worth investigating. 

There was a fair bit of movement on the stage, where guests claimed to see shadow figures darting through the laser grid; we could hear footsteps .... footsteps, yet no one was there. Some loud, some shuffling, some distant. Sitting high in the balcony watching an empty stage, you could see and hear the movement, the REM Pod activating, motion sensors being triggered and shadows darting in and out of view. 

For those that were game enough to climb the ladder to the roof of the stage, they felt like they were being watched, were cold and felt nauseous. With nearly all of the guests experiencing the same phenomena, we set up a Ouija Session on the stage - with some responses. 

Another unexplained event was a lady captured what she believed was a full body apparition of a young girl near the orchestra pit. 

Although, this cannot be confirmed, it was apparent that the Coburg Town Hall is haunted with those that continue to roam the stage and dance amongst the living. 

Until next time .....

Ghost Doors of Kilmore

Having investigated Old Kilmore Gaol for quite a while now, one rule that the team have established is, you always close the doors. Why? Well it stems back to one of our early investigations, where we were certain we had closed a door and when we returned it was open. 

So the theory is, if you (and everyone) always close doors, then if you return and the door is open, then you can ask why or how?

The Kilmore spirits are obsessed with doors. Not a night goes by where they have mischievously opened at least three doors. Why the obsession? My theory is, it is a gaol and in gaols, doors are always locked. Prisoners are locked in their cells, in the wards, in the gaol. Many locked doors block them from the outside world. So, if an opportunity arises to open a door and escape - then why not?

I am going to share with you four of our most haunted doors and stories which have been witnessed by at least four people and up to seven. We have been fortunate to capture some on camera and others with the eyes of multiple witnesses. 

Door 1 - The Hospital

There are two doors to the hospital. One which is at the front and one at the side. The side door originally was the entrance to the men's ward and opened to the yard just in front of the cell block. Often we would hear noises near the door, but last month, we were leading an investigation with a group of seven people. We were sitting in the dark and heard a noise and bang from that corner of the hospital. We shone a torch to see the door was open. We then proceeded to close the door, secure latch it and test it. It was locked! We sat down and continued with the nurse experiment. We called for nurses to assist our trigger item (a guest lying on the floor). Within seconds of us calling for assistance, we heard banging in the direction of the door and heard the latch. We clickly shone the torch to see the door swing fully open to be followed by our K2 metres spiking near our "patient". 

This is not the first time the door has opened, many guests claim that the door opens or they hear the latch. 

Is this a nurse spirit coming to the aid of ill and sick prisoners? I think so!

Door 2 - The Wash House 

This door is in the corner of the gaol. It leads from the main courtyard into the original wash house or laundry. It is in this area that I believe the gaol's demonic spirit resides. When you enter the door you are almost always confronted with a wall of dense air. You are overcome with the stench of sulphur and it is in this area that many artefacts are stored. 

One night at the end of a public investigation, the team of four returned to the wash house to do a lock up. We walked in the room to find the chairs overturned. Not surprised by this phenomenon, as this room often has poltergeist activity, the four of us turned the chairs upright and took a seat to debrief on the night's activities. We talked casually amongst ourselves, only to be interrupted by the sound of the door latch. Thinking, who would be coming in as we were all in here, we thought maybe a guest was coming back as they had forgotten something. We looked over at the door which then opened, to reveal ..... noone! Shocked, we got up and looked out to the courtyard, shone the torch up and down and into the yard. NOONE!

Who had come in, or who had left?

The following month, I was sharing the story with a group of guests. I demonstrated how the door latch moved and the door opened. I then went to shut the door to have it jam. The jam you feel when someone puts their foot in the door to stop you from closing it. A guest standing less than a metre away who had been watching me the entire time said "Did someone just stick their foot in the door?". I replied "It sure did feel that way!" 

A spirit definitely didn't want me shutting the door!

Door 3 - The Store Room

Our most infamous door, this door has been caught on video and poltergeist activity has been witnessed by over twenty guests. It is so active, that we now have a slide bolt, as well as the latch on the door. This door has unbolted and opened at least a dozen times that I have witnessed and countless times with guests investigating the kitchen and store room. It was in this room that a prisoner escaped from the cell through the store and out the kitchen. It is also the door which leads to the store that holds many of the gaol artefacts. 

I am looking forward to next month where I will place a door alarm and a camera on the door for the entirety of the night!

Door 4 - The Back Door

Now this door has us stumped. We will be placing a camera on the door to see if we can capture what is happening. 

Let me provide you with context. This door is the back door which leads out of the gaol to the church. Above this door was the original sentry tower. When packing up at the end of the night, we bolt closed the door. Now this door is an original maximum security door - MAXIMUM SECURITY!

We go into the gaol, bolt the door shut and then proceed through the gaol and exit through a different door. It was after this, that the owner contacted us to ask if we had left the door opened. Definitely not!

The following month - we bolted the door closed once again, only to be contacted by the owner on the Sunday, the door was open once again! We had been locking this door for years, YEARS! Stumped by the door opening, the following month, we bolted the door shut and placed a huge piece of stone up against the door. The door remained closed. 

First investigation back this year, we bolted the door shut, but did not place the stone up against the door. You guessed it! The owner contacted us on Sunday at 8.00 am, the door was open! We had only left there at 7.30 am. 

Are these spirits attempting to escape the gaol? Is this a guard exiting out through the men's yard?

Who knows, but we will be placing a camera on the door to record from when we leave to see who, what or how this door continues to open.