J-Ward Asylum for the Criminally Insane (The Investigation)

The second half of Saturday night was spent privately investigating J-Ward Asylum for the Criminally Insane .... and insane it was!

After a wonderful supper of pizza, garlic bread and drinks, the Lantern Ghost Tours hosts, Natasha and Richard, informed us that we had free range of the entire facility. Yes, the ENTIRE facility. We could not contain our excitement and were eager to get stuck into our investigating. When I refer to we, I was lucky enough to be investigating with ghost hunting friends, Amanda from ALM Paranormal and Matt from ARK Paranormal.

So after setting up our sleeping bags in the West Wing (Hospital Ward), we returned to the dining room. Within moments we heard banging on the perspex windows which divide the dining room from the main cell block. The three of us looked at each other and said "What was that?" It took us a moment to realise the windows were made of perspex. We tried replicating the sound and then debunking how it may have happened. What we concluded was the sound was definitely the perspex being banged on and we could not debunk was how it may have occurred. There was no one in the cell area and we were the only people in the dining area. Interestingly, another investigator Jenni also caught this sound numerous times on her EVP recorder and while she was sleeping. You see, Jenni had set up her sleeping bag in the dining room and whilst she slept, left an EVP recorder going all night. The sounds of the perspex banging on her EVP at 5.30 am, were exactly the same sounds we heard live at 10.30 pm. Very interesting!

Well, with the night off to a great start, we formally began the night with a live feed in the grounds and then a live feed to the @ParanormalVic Facebook page of the downstairs area in the old kitchen, the stairwell off the kitchen and the Governor's bathroom.

Oh my....what an experience!

This area was the creepiest space I have been in for a long time. A dark underground cavern.....cold and eerie. It was almost impossible to imagine it ever been inhabited. The kitchen with its stone walls and floors, with bars for windows and no real natural light. It was like a dungeon! There were two huge wooden doors, one which lead out to the sunken well and external stone staircase and another which led the the frightfully petrifying stone stairwell.

In this space we had significant K2 hits and a feeling of heaviness, but nothing else worth noting was recorded live.

But when we reviewed the EVP, video and audio footage, we had voices come through, including demonic growls and a deep male voice stating 'Kill' in the kitchen and 'Bash her' in the stairwell. Once in the bathroom, there were other inaudible voices in the bathroom, all of which were not heard live when in the space.

The growl was terrifying, it sounded like a beast who was not happy with us being in its lair, and although I do not believe, or should I say, have not yet experienced, an attack from a demonic beast, I can tell you one thing....if ever it was going to happen, this would be the place!

That growl was horrendous and when listening to it, absolutely scared the living daylights out of me.

What the???

Can't wait to go back!

Well, we were in the downstairs 'dungeon' for well over an hour. Our live video showed the attachment to Matt and the uneasiness with females being in the space. If you look at the picture above, I was standing to the right of this end of the bath, with my back to the open door to the stairwell where we had 'Bash her' said, Matt was in the left back corner and Amanda in the right back corner. Both of them had K2 meters which were getting consistent hits. Matt was touched a number of times and it was obvious the entity had a liking for Matt. Now given this was a male prison with well documented non-consensual homosexual behaviours, was there a connection due to Matt being a male?

In the end we moved out due to Matt's growing uneasiness. Before we left, we had to ensure some white energy to insist the entities stay within the space they were confined.

On reflection, I am so glad we did, because who knows what may have eventuated if we had not.

From here, we moved back upstairs to the dining area where Richard, the lantern ghost tour host, joined us as we moved over to investigate the Turnkey Master's Quarters. According to Richard, this space had not been investigated before and had only been recently refurbished. The space had three rooms, a kitchen and dining area to the right, a storage room and then a bedroom to the left. We went in the bedroom and set up the spirit box. We did a silent box with Richard on the headphones. He became very agitated and uneasy, fidgeting in his seat and appeared very uncomfortable. When this happens, we remove the person from the box. What was apparent was that a male spirit was coming through and every time a female asked a question, he would tell them 'No' or would be very rude and berate the female. What was interesting is, Richard, or the person on the headphones could not hear who was asking the question, or even what the question was - they have noise cancelling headphones on and could only hear the choo choo choo white noise of the spirit box and its underlying communication. The name that came through repeatedly was Jason. There was also a female, Elaine, that came through. This definitely warranted further investigation.

Am I skeptical about the spirit box? Well at the moment, I am open to it. Given that the person could not hear the questions and did not know who was asking the questions, or even know when they were being asked (as they were also blindfolded), you have to have some level of ....could this be true? When you transcribe the questions and responses and many of them are so in sync, it does get you wondering if this is a valid and authentic method of communication. Over time, if historical names, dates and events are validated, then this will definitely increase the credibility of this type of device.

So, to test this theory of hatred towards women, we gave the headphones to Amanda. The session began as normal, but it wasn't long before the voices Amanda heard through the spirit box began swearing at her and telling her 'No, not you", 'Go away' plus a plethora of expletives. What did come through was an overwhelming sense of a strong dominating male who had little if any respect for females. What could this imply - well I do not want to speculate!

From here we moved across to the Warden's Quarters and investigated the downstairs reception room. There was definitely some activity in the space, but was limited to tingles in the legs, K2 hits and catball activity in the room. We did however hear distinct footsteps in the hallway outside the room. In future, it would be interesting to do a deeper investigation here with a video camera and EVP in the hallway, as it definitely sounded like someone was walking up and down.

After this, we returned to the dining room where we then moved into the Hospital West Wing. Matt and Amanda were already in the space when I arrived as I had to visit the bathroom. When I opened the door, their faces were focused down the hallway and their eyes wide opened. "Shhhh, Lib....listen". So I stood....frozen.....not knowing what I was expected to hear.......and then after about a minute, I heard......footsteps, about ten of them, then a sound, which sounded like something on wheels, then a door being rattled. What the? I quickly looked towards the direction of the sounds and the door to where I believed it was generating from. It was at the end of the West Wing corridor to the left, only about five metres from where I stood. The door led into a caged in walkway and out to the shower block. I said....'ok, someone is out there', I quickly moved to the door, opened it and looked down the dark and eerie cage way.....nothing. I walked over to the shower block.....nothing.  I looked through the other door to the right....nothing.

I returned to Matt and Amanda who said that the exact same had been repeated three times prior. Exactly the same at about five minute intervals. So we waited.....and sure enough, a few minutes later......footsteps, trolley sound, door! It was unbelievable! So loud and so distinct!

Unbelievable!

What is even better, we have it on video audio. Our EVP's and most of our cameras malfunctioned that night (another story in itself), but there was one camera which picked it up. It was facing the other end of the corridor, about 15 metres from the door in question and around a small bend in the hall. I have put the link here for you to listen. Given that the microphone was facing the other way and was a good fifteen metres away from where the sound was - you can imagine how loud it was in real life.

This would have to be one of the loudest residual hauntings I have ever heard. It was absolutely mind blowing!

Trolley Noise EVP in the West Wing

By this time it is after one in the morning and some guests had moved off to bed in the cells, whilst the team, along with a few other guests moved up to the second floor cells, past the gallows and to a room at the end of the building. I am unsure what this space may have been back in the day, but it is currently like a conference room. The hosts informed us that many guests become nauseous in this space and females had vomited and felt threatened. So yes, we were going in there!

We set up the spirit box in an attempt to channel any entities. A few investigators had a go, including Natasha, a host, myself, a new guest named Aiden and the other host, Richard. What was clearly apparent was whenever a female was on, they were swore at and berated. If a female asked a question, they were told, no, not you, go way, you heard me....piss off. This investigation was interesting with some information documented for future investigations and follow up.

After about an hour near the gallows, we moved down to do some live ten minute challenges. Four groups went out to do a solo or pair challenge with a live feed back to base. The spaces included the Governor's Bathroom, the Police Lock Up, The Art and Craft Room and the Turn Key's Quarters. All spaces were uneventful. By the time we finished the challenges it was close to four in the morning.

What was noticeable, was the whole facility was uneventful from about three in the morning. No sounds, no banging, no trolleys, no voices.

At about five am we rolled out our sleeping bags on the very clean and super comfy mattresses and nodded off into dream land. We awoke at about seven, did a walk around, packed up and left by about eight.

Given the high amount of activity in the beginning of the night, I would ensure all the cameras and EVP equipment was set up early, I would investigate downstairs, the West Wing and the dining room early. On this visit, we did not investigate the chapel, the yards, the shower block or any of the cells. Given that, I would say J-Ward has at least another two overnight visits from me at the very least!

It was mind-blowing, eerie, creepy, horrific and absolutely fantastic!

I am back in February 2020 to continue the story.

Old Gippstown Heritage Park, Moe, Victoria, Australia

Old Gippstown is an amazing park and it never fails to disappoint. In amongst the plethora of suspected activity, there were two events that happened on the weekend that I want to share with you. These two events were different to anything I have experienced there, or anywhere for that matter, and to me, so definitive in nature, that I have found them both very difficult to debunk.

The first series of events occurred in the Old Theatre on the Friday night. The team were investigating the theatre with a number of devices, including K2 meters, a ghost meter pro, spirit box, dowsing rods and a laser grid. We had the laser grid set up facing the rear of the theatre and the metres were on the floor under the screen.

We appeared to be having intelligent communication with the ghost meter when all of a sudden there was a large bang as the laser grid fell from its perch. Now to get this in context. The tripod was balanced on the back of one of the chairs. The chair had a 10 degree backward slant and the weight of the tripod was also to the back of the room. It had balanced there rather undisturbed for at least fifteen minutes.....then bang. It was so unexpected that one of the team let out a frightening scream.

The thing is, the laser grid landed to the front of the chair and to the right, at least one metre away. How on earth did the laser grid land there? From our reenactments, debunking strategies and questioning, it was virtually impossible to have it land the way it did, unless we pushed it from the back quite aggressively, or picked it up and threw it.

When we went back to our 'spirit' on the metre, the spirit claimed that he had thrown the laser grid as he did not like it on in the theatre. Totally makes sense when you think about it.

After that incident, the spirit continued to communicate. We used a spirit box to see if he could talk through it with us. I am using the pronoun 'he', as during this investigation the name 'Johnno' came through very clearly on the spirit box, when we asked 'What is your name?". No other communication was detected through the box that evening.

The spirit seemed eager to communicate using the ghost meter pro and actively responded with yes and no to many questions. The questions were asked in different contexts and worded in opposing ways, yet the spirit always communicated with the same yes or no response. Given this apparent intelligent communication we tried an experiment where we asked the spirit to go and touch one of the investigators. First David, then Celia, Alle, Jacquie and so on. Each time he would respond, yes I will touch, the ghost meter pro would go off, the dowsing rods would move in the direction towards the relevant person, stop on that person and then they would feel a touch on their leg.

Yes - you heard right......a touch!

And this happened over and over again, at least five times with different investigators. Amazing right!

The whole raw footage is uploaded on our Facebook page @paranormalvic and on the @Beyond the Veil Ghost Hunts page, so feel free to see this with your own eyes!

The second event is one that still has me questioning. We were in Calajero in the wee early hours of Sunday morning. A small log cabin to the north of the park (pictured here). Prior to this evening, we had not investigated in there at all.

I was standing in the log cabin looking out through the gaps in the back wall logs towards the main road, about 60 metres away. There was enough light outside to make out silhouettes of trees and buildings, when all of a sudden I see a shadow. A shadow with the shape of a head, but then a large humped style body mass - sort of like a semi-circle with a head. It moved from my right to my left, behind a tree, then out the other side and disappeared behind Ashdale House.

Firstly I thought it could be a person walking on the nature strip outside the park, but it did not seem to be that far away. The shadow seemed closer and bigger than that, plus the shape was all wrong.

So, as some of the team walked over to Ashdale House, I watched them through the gaps in the logs to see the shadows which were formed. The shadows were all wrong and not in the same place. So off I went to figure out the location of what I had seen. I worked out it was between a tree with a metal structure and a wagon. It moved from the back of the shearers shed and moved towards Ashdale House.

Not sure what I had just experienced, I entered Ashdale House with caution, only to feel a constant pull from outside.

I went out onto the porch and continued to feel like something or someone was out there. I walked around the verandah, down the sides of the House, out to the garden and back again. It was an eerie feeling, one that was new to me.

After the brief investigation some of the team members did in Ashdale House, we walked out the back of the House, back past Calajero and down the main street of the town towards the southern end of the park and the location of Bushy Park. The park is about two hundred metres from end to end. As I walked up the street, I felt a sense of uneasiness. Not quite fear, but definitely one with a heightened sense of anxiousness. Once at the end of the main street, where the road veers to the left for Bushy Park, or straight ahead to the old coach houses and miner's cottage, I could sense someone watching me....following me. I turned my torch on and flashed it around the various parts of the park, to see what was there. I don't know what I expected to see, but I could feel a presence.

This stayed with me as I walked through the old stables at the end of the property and around a 1900's miner's log hut and over a small bridge which led through to Bushy Park, the home of Angus McMillan, our serial killer. When I first arrived at Angus McMillan's house, I stood about twenty metres to the right of the homestead and clearly heard footsteps, followed by three distinct clicking sounds, which to me, sounded like the door latching on the homestead. I went to the entrance and tried the door handle. It was the exact same sound!

Had a spirit ….. had Angus, been following us through the park that night, seeing what we were doing, stalking us? I think maybe!

Given that he was an expert in exploration, tracking and bludgeoning his victims to death - I do think this shadow, this entity, this spirit which was following us, could be him.

But let us wind the clock back six hours and see if we can join the puzzle pieces together. That evening, the team had embarked on a number of individual challenges to different parts of the park, that we do not normally investigate. Each pair of investigators went out on a fifteen minute hunt. One team, seasoned investigators of the Beyond the Veil Ghost Hunt team, went up to the Old Miner's Cottage, their hunt was streamed live on Facebook so you can see and hear what they experienced. Footsteps circling the hut, saddle bags moving and a real sense of unrest. When they returned and shared their experience, Matt, another investigator, went up there to lay out some video and EVP equipment to see if we could capture anything. Whilst up there, he too heard footsteps and felt uneasy. He saw something, a shadow, jump out at him through the bushes and then suddenly it was gone.

To add to this story even further, when driving home after the investigation, I shared this experience with a fellow investigator Rod, who also believed something was out in the park that night. He too felt uneasy, heard the door clicking and felt a weird sense that he was being followed - interesting now isn't it?

So what was out stalking and hunting us in the park that Saturday night and into the early hours of Sunday? Was it Angus? Was it the Bishop from the church who we feel is predatory in nature? Was it the boy who we heard crying out for help and bagging on the doors through the EVP in the church? The projectionist from the theatre.....or was it the frightening tentacle orb from last investigation?

Whoever, or whatever is stalking us, is getting closer and louder. It is obviously not scared of us....maybe it is just waiting for the right time to show itself and maybe ….. just maybe ….. attack!

Bundoora Park, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia

Saturday night we joined the Australian Paranormal Society (APS) to investigate Bundoora Park Farm. The site is set up with a number of different activities, but for the investigation we were focused on the twentieth century heritage village, which comprises of a number of relocatable structures. 

Let's begin the night at the very start. We entered the grounds of Bundoora Park Farm to be immediately confronted with locked gates. It was pitch black with only the headlights from the car illuminating the road which was fully surrounded by bushland. It was eerie and cold.

A four wheel drive pulled over on the other side of the gate and a tall, heavily built man disembarked his vehicle and walked slowly towards our car. He was dressed all in black and was holding a torch which dimly lit his face. I was not sure if this was the right place, so I wound down my window. He questioned "investigation?" I said "yes". He then stated in a monotone deep voice "I'll unlock the gates, pull up over there and I'll lead you in". It was like I was entering a highly secured, secret underground bunker.

We drove through the gates and waited for him to lead us up the dark winding path to the village. That in itself set the scene for the night's investigation. I was excited!

After a very brief five minute introduction and history talk, we began the investigation part of the evening by splitting into two groups. All guests had been on ghost tours or investigations previously, so with no newbies in tow, the guides hustled everyone to their first destination.  My group was led by a member of APS and a medium as we followed them into the villa. This was a cottage style dwelling with a long hallway down the middle. The main part of the dwelling had four main rooms. Lounge and dining rooms to the left and the main bedroom and child's room to the right. The back of the house had an open space and a kitchen off to the right.

We congregated in the dining room, where the guide had previously set up an EMF pump, K2's, spirit box and EVP recorder with speaker. He began by explaining the equipment and then moved onto the EVP. He asked each member to ask a question and then wait about ten seconds in between questions, to give the spirit time to respond. At the end of the questioning, he played the recording back through the speaker to see if we could decipher any audible responses. Nothing.

He then moved onto the spirit box. This swept through a number of frequencies, a number of times. There were no clear responses heard over the white noise.

The medium then alleged to pick up on the spirit of a young boy about 3 or 4 years of age. She claimed he was playing and hiding under the table. This interaction lasted a number of minutes and it appeared the boy was communicating using the K2 meter. The medium and a number of guests claimed to feel a cool breeze. I felt nothing.

It was at this time that I sensed a female spirit with the name Mary, Maree or Maria. The spirit kept telling me she needed to speak with John. I thought this was odd as the original owner of the homestead was John. I thought nothing of it as I believed I had been influenced by the brief history we received on arrival.

As the group interacted with the alleged child spirit and the K2, this nagging in my head was getting stronger. "I need to talk to John. It's Maria, tell him I am here". This was going over and over in my head to the point where I developed a headache. I interrupted the group and said that what I was about to say may be irrelevant, but I am sensing a female spirit (fiftyish) that is nagging me to speak to an older gentleman named John. So I asked the guide if they have had any experiences with what I just said. It was at this point that the older gentleman to my right said that his name was John and his younger sister's name was Maria. I gasped and instantaneously my headache was gone. I said, I don't know what is going on, but she wants to talk to you. He then directed his questioning to the spirit and asked out loud "what are you trying to tell me?".....nothing. This was very odd and rather confronting. The story deepens later...…..

We then did a shout out, where the group yelled "HELLO" three times. The EVP recorded this session and we listened back to the recording to see if Maria had communicated, but nothing.

We then had five minutes to walk around the house to see the other rooms. It wasn't enough time to do any investigative work, it was just enough time to see what was in the other rooms.

Our group then moved over to the school house, where the guide had set up an EMF doll. They also had a K2 meter, EVP recorder, a laser grid and an ovilus. The guide explained each piece of equipment and handed them to guests to hold. The ovilus was given to John and was constantly giving out words, but I do not know what they were and I did not check the log. At one point, the guide asked the spirit his name and it did respond accurately with "Jim".

There was an occasional hit on the EMF doll and no hits on the K2.

This is where the John, Maria situation comes back. The nagging spirit was back in my head asking me to ask them about the migraines and the old lady who died of the heart, breathing issue. I felt like the spirit was saying if you ask them that - they will believe. This is what was going on in my head. It was so frustrating....getting louder and louder to the point where I couldn't think about anything else. So again, I say, look I am just going to say this as it is.

Someone has an issue with really bad migraines - John's wife (who was sitting next to him) says, I have debilitating migraines. Ok.

And there is an older lady who died of a heart issue, but it was more the breathing - John says, my mother.

Now this is getting freaky. I also stated that John was there with his two daughters and a niece.....don't know how I knew that - but it was correct. I guess it was all validation.

I then concluded with, Maria needs to talk to you. End of story......weird huh?

We then participated in an old school technique called the human pendulum. A group of guests stood up and formed a circle holding hands. We welcomed any spirit into the space and asked them to make it known who they wanted to communicate with. One lady then stated she was swaying and had felt cold around her legs.

She then moved into the centre of the circle and relaxed. The group then asked yes no questions of the spirit and the guest would rock forward for a yes and backwards for a no. I know this sounds staged, but when you see it in reality and see the movement that the guest does and how distinct it is, you do find it hard to debunk. Naturally it raised questions of authenticity and I could not help but reflect on the unconscious muscle force theory. I did find myself questioning whether it was genuine.

The responses were related to the young spirit boy whom was alleged to have followed us from the house. He stated he was cold, was an only child, was four years old and was happy living there.

I am rather intrigued with this old school method and will definitely trial this so I can validate genuine non control or influence.

After this, the entire group moved into the chapel where we experimented with a ghost box. This did not produce any results, so we moved the ghost box into the house and set up in the lounge room. There were a number of responses, but nothing that seemed to make sense at the time.

We then closed with a grounding ceremony.

The investigation was different to other public tours I had been on. This one was very well structured and moved through three spaces with about 45 minutes in each space. It felt really short, sharp and directed. It was suited to people who had an understanding of investigations as it exposed them to a new level of equipment that the amateur ghost hunter may not own or have used. Equipment such as an ovilus and a ghost box, given that they are relatively expensive pieces of equipment to purchase. It was not an investigation where you go off and do your own thing or sit around and wait and listen. With about 45 minutes in each space, which includes a talk about the equipment, a shout out, an EVP recording and a listen back, there is not much time left to explore.

Although there was not a lot of activity on this investigation, it was very interesting to learn two new strategies in the shout out and the pendulum. I will definitely try both of these at upcoming investigations and would highly recommend this investigation to others who want to see this equipment in action.

Oh by the way - the image is of the Chapel and those two graves are horse graves......yes horse graves!

All in all ….. a great way to spend a Saturday evening.

Table Tipping Experience, Moe, Victoria, Australia

In the early hours of last Sunday morning, I had my first experience of table tipping. The session was held in the Sunny Creek School, which was located at Old Gippstown Heritage Park in Moe.

Well, I had never heard of table tipping before being exposed to it by Beyond the Veil Ghost Hunts.

All I can say is my mind has been blown...…..totally BLOWN!

It was weird, confronting and unexplainable. For those of you, who like me, have never heard of it, let me give you a brief history lesson.

Tables have been used since antiquity for purposes of divination, but Table Tipping grew in popularity during the era of spiritualism, which was around the 1850's. Amateur psychics would have a séance and sit around a table with all their fingertips resting on the table. It was claimed that after a number of sittings (it sounds like it was a bit of a social activity), the table would begin to move, tap or even rock or tilt. The more sessions that the psychics would have, the greater the level of activity would be. For some, the table would spin or 'walk'. These psychics believed that the table moved due to communication with the spirits and that the tapping or thumping of the table could be used to answer questions from the other side.

Well as you can imagine, scientists explored and experimented with this phenomenon and physicists developed the concept of Ectenic Force and the ideomotor effect (or commonly referred to as conscious trickery).

Never heard of it, me neither.......and that is probably because it is a force not recognised by Science. Well, from what I can gather, they claimed that this force was a force that was generated by the unconscious forces of the human mind. In other words, when a group of people get together, they generate charge and the more they get together and touch the same table, the more that charge is transferred to the table. Over time, the table becomes more and more charged and will move about a lot easier when these table tipping sessions are held and the unconscious muscle forces are applied. It sounds sort of like the table stores the charge and has a charge memory. Freaky - you bet!

Well, that was the explanation as researched for the non-recognised scientific theory and although that is hard to comprehend on its own, let me tell you about the experience we had at the Sunny Creek School.

A group of us took an old brown table, waist height and about 45 cm square into the school. Four of us stood around the table and placed our finger tips around the perimeter. Another investigator stood on and watched.

After a few minutes of requesting any spirits to come forward and move the table, we could feel the energy move from our bodies and into the table. The table began to vibrate and then slowly rotate on the floor. Now, to give you a vision of what was happening. The classroom was dark, with just enough light to allow your night vision to see, the uneven floor was made from 130 year old boards and four of us stood with our fingertips on a square dark wooden table. We had about one to two metres of empty space around us; to my right was a cupboard and windows, to my left were the student desks. We carried the table in and we placed it where we wanted.

The longer we stood there and waited with our fingers on the table, the more it would respond to what we asked. We requested that the table rock, it did. To tilt, it did. To go up on two legs, it did. To spin on two legs, it did. To balance on one leg, it did and finally to spin on one leg......it did.

Can you believe it? A table spinning on one leg whilst four adults run in a circle to ensure their fingers do not leave the table. At one point, everyone had only two fingers on the table, and it was still spinning! When we finally asked the table to stop....it did. I was faint and drained of energy.

Then it got interesting. According to historical stories, any amateur can do table tipping, but only a true medium can make the table levitate. Not knowing this at the time, the group requested the table to levitate. After a few minutes we felt the table vibrate and DJ and myself looked down to the floor and the table was about 2 cm off the ground. YES - the table was off the ground! The table was floating! It was only for about 10 seconds, but the wooden table was not touching the ground. I was gobsmacked!

How was this possible? If I had not been there myself, I would definitely call BS on this whole thing. But when you are there and doing it, you can feel the energy being drained from your body. You feel the table vibrate, you see the table move and you see it spinning with your own two eyes.

All paranormal aside. If you were trying to debunk this, how could anyone move the table like that?

Old rickety floor boards, then lift it, spin it, tilt it, find the balance point on one leg, spin it some more, run around balancing it, albeit whilst only have two fingers on the table...….impossible!

So what was this? Well, either the human mind is absolutely amazing and capable of transferring unconscious energy to a table which can then store and remember charge and then respond to calls for action which are telepathically sent to an inanimate object...… or the spirits were communicating.

Naturally I am thinking, if it is our minds and our collective energy controlling this unconscious muscle force, is this what 'the force' is? Can the human mind, in fact, move objects? Can I train my unconscious mind to move objects? The possibilities and experiments are endless!

Whichever theory is correct, this experience was phenomenal. My mind is racing. No matter what you believe ….. nothing …… absolutely NOTHING could explain the experience I had.

Old Gippstown Gippsland Heritage Park, Moe, Victoria, Australia

This weekend I headed off with a few friends to Old Gippstown Gippsland Heritage Park in Moe, Victoria. The paranormal weekend was organised by Beyond the Veil Ghost Hunts and I would have to say, this weekend was one of the best experiences I have had. The park is a collection of over forty buildings from the 1840's to 1930's and features some buildings which were relocated and heritage listed, while others were purpose built for the park.  

We arrived early Friday afternoon and were fortunate enough to have time to walk around the eight acre site and get our bearings. The team were setting up the Mechanics Institute Hall, which would be our base for the weekend. The hall was big enough to set up eight double camper beds, tables, chairs and had a fully equipped kitchen area. There were eleven people in total on this investigation, which was the perfect size for an in-depth investigation.

Not long after nightfall, the team headed out for a high level scope of the space and buildings. Firstly we moved into the old shearer's shed. The air was dense as we walked around the space. My friend, on her first investigation, claimed that when she touched some of the wool on the shearer's table, she was poked rather aggressively in her side, while another investigator stated she was touched on the behind. We were only ten minutes into the night and already some investigators were having experiences. 

From here we moved through a few more buildings, but to ensure the blog is not a thesis, I will only focus on the actual places where significant experiences were had on the Friday and Saturday nights. I will then write up separate blogs for the three big experiences from the Saturday night. When I say big, I mean BIG......HUGE!

Well, getting back to the investigation, at the other end of the park, from the Mechanics Hall, there was 'Bushy Park Homestead', the relocated homestead of Angus McMillan, a well known explorer, farmer and mass murderer, who kept the skulls of those he massacred. On the Friday night we visited his house and within minutes, investigators claimed to have headaches and feelings of uneasiness, which resulted in nearly all of the female investigators leaving the space. There were a number of KII hits and catball activations in the kitchen area of the homestead. There was a lot more to this story, so read the 'Out Kitchen Blog'. 

Friday night, we also explored the Funeral Parlor and 'Loren Iron House', the home of the Sheppard family. Next door to the family home was the workshop. This workshop, although built on site, delivered considerable catball activity around the old phone on the wall. The phone appeared to have significant residual energy attached to it. When we left the space, a few of the investigators claimed to have seen a light in the upstairs loft shine down through the roof cavity. 

The Church was also relatively active on the Friday night. For the first part of the investigation we set up a few devices in the church and on the altar and then sat and waited in the pews. There were a few minor hits on the KIIs, parascope and catball, but when whilst in this space, I was drawn to the priests area through a closed door, just to the left of the altar, the vestry. We opened the door and two of us went into the space where the energy was intense. There was a lectern in the space which had some bibles on it. When we placed our hands on the bibles, the tingles shot through our bodies. The charge was so intense, one of the strongest I have ever felt. It was a really intrusive type feeling. A few of us returned to the space during the day on Saturday, where the vestry was very active with the KIIs and it was then that we decided that we would set up a video, audio, parascope and some trigger objects that night. There was a definitive presence in that space and deep investigation was required. Saturday night did not disappoint and the activity was insane. And by insane...I mean totally insane. I will write that up separately as the 'Holy Trinity Anglican Church Blog'. 

From the Church we moved into the old solicitor's office. The office was located relatively close to the Church. The last known occupant of the office was a solicitor named Bill White from 1946 to 1969, who worked with the troubled youth of Gippsland. We sat in the space trying to connect with any spirits. After about twenty minutes, I was sitting in the office chair and Rod and Alle were sitting on waiting chairs. Ken was standing near the entrance. Both Rod and Alle became slumped in their chairs, both seated rather defensively and both commented on feeling hopeless, defeated, depressed and very sad. They felt they had no where to go and Alle became very emotional. I was overcome with empathy and the feeling that this is so sad and that no one should have to feel like this. We felt like someone was desperately trying to get our help. We decided to think about this throughout Saturday and work on how we might be able to assist what I sensed was a young thirteen or so year old boy. Although we were only in the solicitor's office for about an hour, it does feel like these experiences, the Church, the office and the upcoming theatre, were all related in some way. How? I am unsure, but I definitely feel they were related. 

After some lovely supper, we moved into the old Tynong Theatre. We had been using the ovilus throughout the night and it was projecting a lot of religious terminology, including words such as Bishop, sacred, unholy and recuse. DJ who was operating the ovilus collected over two hundred words that evening. When we were in the theatre, the catball activated a number of times on stage right (our left). I also witnessed a tentacle style blue/purple orb grow out and over the stage. It was like a predator and a rather intimidating feeling. I did not like it, nor did I like the bat which decided to fly around the theatre. Yes, a bat!

By this time it was nearly 4.30 am and the team had decided to call it a night. We had so many areas we wanted to revisit and explore on the Saturday. We had yet to visit the Sunny Creek School, which I will write up separately, as this was my first experience with table tipping, the Shelter Shed, the Out Kitchen, the Miner's Hut, Coach House, Stables, Garages, Police Station and Lock Up, Ashdale Farm House, Yallourn House, Fire Station, the Post Office, the Bank and a number of other buildings. There was so much to investigate that I knew then, that I would have to be back for another weekend soon.

It was interesting to note that there was significant activity during the day on the Saturday. We had significant KII hits in the Church, the garage where an old World War II ambulance was located, the Doctor's House and in the Miner's Hut.

Saturday evening was definitely the highlight. I have never been on an investigation where there was such a variance in activity and experiences - from autoboard writing, to orbs, sounds, voices, growls, table tipping and sensory experiences.....and these were all just with me. Other investigators claimed to have had a myriad of personal experiences as well.

One of the smaller experiences occurred in and around the National Bank. After a small group had finished in the solicitor's office for the second night (to note it was relatively uneventful on the Saturday), we returned the board to base and went looking for the other half of the group.  As we moved over to Main Street, the four of us distinctly heard two male voices talking up and to the right on main street (near the bank). As we moved up to that area, we again heard the two voices, albeit louder and clearer. As we approached the bank....nothing. We then saw a shadow up the top of Main Street outside the inn and realised the group was up there. Once we got there, the males of that group were not even together and had not been talking at all. At this stage, the entire group moved down to the bank where we had heard the voices. In the main area we had significant hits on the Ghost Meter Pro which appeared to respond and answer questions. After about thirty minutes, we called it a night and headed back to camp.

As previously stated we bunked in the Mechanics Hall. Early on Sunday morning, only an hour or so after we had gone to bed, there was significant movement in the Hall. One investigator claimed to have been touched, while sleeping, on the shoulder, resulting in a cold numb feeling; others heard footsteps on and around the stage and lots of them. Me - I slept away!!

Although we investigated for both nights until nearly 5.00 am, next time I think I would investigate in the late afternoon as well. The site is highly active and does not seem to settle at all during the day. 

Would I be back - without a doubt, and the sooner the better! The team of Beyond the Veil Ghost Hunts were amazing. Hospitable, approachable, friendly and they made me feel like I had known them for years. Would I book in with them again - you bet!

Now don't forget to read the other three related blogs. Three amazing personal experiences that blew my mind!

1. 'Out Kitchen' - autoboard writing

2. 'Holy Trinity Anglican Church' - video, audio and sightings

3. 'Sunny Creek School' - table tipping

Just wow!!!

Out Kitchen, Old Gippstown Heritage Park, Moe, Victoria, Australia

The time was approximately 11.00 pm and the group of ten investigators headed up to the 'Bushy Park Homestead' of the Old Gippstown Heritage Park. In this homestead there were a number of buildings, including the home of Angus McMillan, an explorer, farmer and mass murderer of hundreds of aboriginal people, an Out Kitchen and a few buildings and sheds behind the homestead.

The night before we had investigated the homestead with some activity, but on the Saturday, the team used the autoboard in the Out Kitchen. The Out Kitchen is to the left of the homestead you can see above. It is approximately 30 to 50 paces away, door to door. Stories from past mediums had suggested that a single lady named Mary lived in the Out Kitchen with her two children and it was common for Angus to come into that space.

Research showed that the Out Kitchen was built to house single female land owners and had been relocated to Gippstown from Labertouche and was set up in the park to demonstrate where farm hands and servants of the homestead would have eaten their meals. Was Mary a single female land owner, or was she a house maid who prepared meals for Angus McMillan's staff or was she in fact Christina, Angus' wife? More questioning may be required here.

To move on, four of us sat down at the kitchen table and set up the autoboard. We also placed a KII and Ghost Meter Pro on the table and a catball and parascope on the bench and mantel.

One member was videoing, two were watching on and the remainder of the team moved to elsewhere in the park.

After a few moments, the group could smell an overwhelming stench of alcohol, rum to be exact. The park was surrounded by roads and there were no hotels or venues which served alcohol in the near vicinity. Along with the stench, people felt cold breezes or tingling. The Texta moved and it became evident that the spirit would move the Texta to my right for a yes and to the left of the board for a no. The amicable interactions continued for quite a while with accurate responses to questions, including the number of people in the room. Sometimes there were seven, other times there were only five people, but each time, the response was accurate.

After about thirty minutes of solid interaction with the board, the Ghost Meter Pro lit up on the table. From questioning, it appeared that the spirit on the Meter may have been Mary and her children. The Meter responded accurately to questioning about herself and Angus, along with stories which had been collated over previous interactions. We asked this spirit if it was cold and it responded yes, we asked if she would like Matt (one of the investigators) to make tea and she said yes, so we role modelled the making of some tea. The spirit appeared happy to interact with us.

Shortly into this, the team members who were outside moved into Angus McMillan's homestead. Within seconds the autoboard stopped communicating and the stench of alcohol was gone. The room felt empty. Had Angus gone to check on who was poking around his home?

Once the investigators left the homestead, one of the team named Nelly, came into the Out Kitchen where four of us were still on the table and Matt was still on the video. Within moments, the autoboard was responding again. We asked had Angus gone to check on his home ....yes. At this point, Nelly felt an uninvited touch on her behind. She believed it was Angus, so we questioned ….the response was yes, he had touched Nelly. Nelly shared some past experiences with Angus and from her story and the responses on the board, it may be possible that Angus may be obsessed with the young female. Angus stated that he would follow Nelly wherever she went and appeared to become agitated and rather aggressive when questioned about this topic. It was a distinctly different feel to the previous interactions.

We had been told Angus had two sons, so I began to question about his children. Instantaneously the board ceased and the demeanor in the room shifted to one less amicable and inviting to one of tenseness and uneasiness. The team decided to pack up the investigation and move out of the space rather hastily.

We closed the door behind us, due to Mary stating she was cold and moved out of the Bushy Park area. By this time it was after 12.30 am.

Nelly stated that she could still sense Angus, so she underwent a sage cleansing, just in case. Given the history of Angus being a mass murderer of hundreds of aboriginals, who kept their skulls as trophies in a hessian bag, I too would undertake a cleansing.

The next day I did a little research into Angus and his family. Interestingly, his wife Christina was previously married to a man who died at sea. She gave birth to her first son, Ewan, not long after his death, with Angus named as the father on the birth certificate. After the birth of Ewan, she married Angus, who was 51 years of age at the time. During their marriage, Christina gave birth to a second child, named Angus Junior. Angus Senior at this time had been doing several explorations and died whilst on his travels. The children were aged approximately 3 and 6 years of age at the time of Angus' demise. Within a year of Angus' death, Christina married for a third time. I am sensing many hidden secrets here and more exploration is required to delve deep into the life of Angus and Christina.

How deep? Well given his intelligent, philanthropic, yet aggressive personality, a man who learnt the indigenous language to exploit his explorational pursuits and then bludgeoned them to death..... I am not sure!

One thing is for sure, I can not wait to go back there again!

Holy Trinity Anglican Church, Old Gippstown Heritage Park, Moe, Australia

Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Moe was opened in 1895 and deconsecrated in 1968. The Church consists of four main spaces, the main body for the congregation and altar, with a small vestry to the left (with external access), another entrance on the right and the main foyer entrance.

On the Friday evening, we were doing a broad investigation of the space, of which there was no significant activity, when I was drawn to the room on the left (the vestry). According to the team who run the investigation, they had not been in that room on any previous tour. On hearing that, myself and a guide, Alle, opened the door and moved into the space. Unless a door is locked, I will open it!

As I had previously stated, the energy was electrifying and we knew that a deeper investigation was required in that space the following day and night.

So here we were on the Saturday night. We moved to the Church and Matt set up a video camera in the vestry, some audio recording equipment and I set up a parascope and a ping pong ball trigger. We then left the space for a while.

When we returned to the space we sat in the main congregation area and waited and listened.

After about ten minutes I began to see flashes of white and green orbs that appeared to be generating from the room. Other investigators also claimed to have seen these flashes. Shortly after this, I saw a purple/blue mist come out from the room and over a balustrade, which had been placed in front of the door, and appeared to stand up. The mist like orb was assertive in statue and presence. It was the size of a very tall man and was physically strong. I could sense that it was there to protect something. At first I thought the Church, but then I sensed it was protecting the vestry, blocking us from entering the space. It was there for a very long time. Alle, one of the Beyond the Veil Ghost Hunt team members, was sitting opposite the vestry and each time I mentioned the mist/orb, she would take photos with her full spectrum camera.

Alle has since shared photos she took which shows the purple mist which I claimed to have seen. The colour is exactly the same as what I saw and appeared to be moving in the same manner that I witnessed. Coincidence or validation?

After about forty-five minutes of uneasiness and the viewing of mist like orbs in the Church, we decided to leave the equipment and move on to another space, returning to collect the equipment a few hours later.

At about 1.00 am, three of us, Matt, Ken and I, returned to the Church. Matt walked in first, I was about two metres behind him and Ken came in last. The air was dense and cold. When Matt was about half way down the aisle, we heard a distinct growl like sound. Matt continued over to the vestry and as soon as he entered, we heard another growl sound. Except this time it was very loud and almost in desperation. It was more of a frustration groan. It was rather unsettling.

We quickly grabbed the equipment and apologised for coming into the Church and thanked the priest.

Of course, Matt forgot the audio and had to go back in and retrieve that.

Matt has the audio and visual and will spend time analysing what was captured. He has already shared that audio was picked up in the Church.

But one thing I know and without the use of any equipment, is what I saw, felt and heard.

I felt depression, control, restraint, protection, aggression and uneasiness. A feeling that we were not welcome in the Church or that we were interrupting something. It was uneasy, uncomfortable and felt predatory in nature. I felt huge electrical energy shoot through my body, tingling me from head to toe. I saw orbs and mists, strong in colour and statue, blocking our entrance. I heard growls and cries of frustration or agitation.

Without even analysing any evidence, I know there IS something in that vestry and that something does NOT want us in there.

Knowing that - I will be back!

Ballarat, Victoria, Australia

A few weeks ago, I, with family and friends, went on the Ballarat Ghost Tour with the company Eerie Tours. The tour was a 90 minute walking tour through the streets of Ballarat.

The reason we chose this tour was that it was advertised as suitable for children. This gave me an opportunity to take along my sons who are fascinated with ghosts and allowed for my friend to bring his daughter along.

The evening began with a lovely meal at the local Irish pub. The meals were great value and huge in portion size .... a definite revisit is in order.

We then made our way up to the train station to meet with the guide and other tour guests. In total, there were about thirty people on the tour with eight children. One child looked about 7 or 8 years of age.

Our guide, Lachlan, was amazing. Theatrical, knowledgeable, personable and humorous. His quirkiness and attention to detail made the evening a fun night for adults and children alike.

For most of the tour we walked through the streets and laneways of Ballarat, stopping at various locations to hear the stories of Old Ballarat, the murders, fires, deaths and alleged hauntings. They were age appropriate in language and context and very interesting indeed. There were a number of stories that my children really enjoyed and reflected on during the drive home. The first one was that of the old legal office and the lady whose dress caught fire from the flames of the fireplace and then rolled herself on the carpet to extinguish the flames, only to be showered in wine by her friends, which led to a very slow and painful death.

The second one was that of the buildings which had four or so stories built underground to protect settlers from the bitter winters. What was interesting was the glass bricks which formed the roof of the basement, but the pavement of the footpaths. You could only imagine seeing the faint glow coming up from the ground and how eerie that must have appeared.

Craig's Hotel with its architecture, history and hauntings of Room 203, intrigued many, including my eldest son. The story of the poltergeist who lived in the basement of the dumpling house, was also very interesting indeed.

The last stop of the evening was the Old Ballarat Gaol, which is now the University. Here we sat in darkness in the courtyard, where the guide spoke of the gaol's history and the vertical burial of nine prisoners. He shared stories of alleged sightings and ghostly hauntings. It was in this space that our KII meters were active. There was some activity on the steps where we sat and also near the huge oak tree which stood in the corner of the yard.

This last stop brought the tour to a close and all said their farewells.

Was it interesting - very!

Informative - yes!

But if you are expecting to see a ghost, remember they do not appear on demand. I, nor any of my friends or family saw a ghost, apparition or spirit that night, but we did hear tales of hauntings and stories of alleged paranormal activity. There was a perfect mix of stories, humour and 'ghosts', especially when you have young children on the tour.

It was definitely a fun and worthwhile family friendly tour, which got the kids off their devices, exercising and learning some Australian History, whilst keeping them intrigued with just a touch of the dark and ghostly history of Ballarat. .

Mayday Hills Asylum, Beechworth, Victoria, Australia

Last weekend I thought I would try something different. WSPR, a 'professional' paranormal team from Sydney were doing a weekend at the Beechworth Mayday Hills Lunatic Asylum. The weekend was advertised and included two events organised by Asylum Ghost Tours, a ghost tour and a paranormal investigation, with the WSPR team running a paranormal workshop, each night.  Having been to the Asylum a number of times over the past ten years, I was rather looking forward to experiencing the Asylum through a different lens, with possibly new equipment or even learning how others do an extended in-depth investigation.

Learning how to use equipment properly, from paranormal seasoned investigators, was what attracted me to book for the weekend. I have learnt most of my equipment skills through self exploration or from tips I've acquired from guides on tours; so to actually have the opportunity to workshop and develop my skills and knowledge with those who have been doing this for a while, was very appealing. A workshop by definition is "a period of discussion or practical work on a particular subject in which a group of people share their knowledge or experience or a usually a brief intensive educational program for a relatively small group of people that focuses especially on techniques and skills in a particular field". To me, the main key words here are practical work, intensive, techniques and skills. It does not mean, lecture, seminar, sit around or be talked at......but I will discuss that more later.

So both evenings started off with a ghost tour led by one of the Asylum Ghost Tour's guides. Nurse Cait on Friday and Laura on Saturday. Both guides brought their own quirky sense of humour and unique nuances to their presentations and both had different stories to share in each of the buildings, so in no way did it feel repetitive, even though we frequented the same buildings both nights. They both were very personable and knowledgable and I thoroughly enjoyed listening to their stories. Both guides dressed in nurse or matron attire to add an atmosphere of theatrics, but there definitely was no theatrical embellishment.

Once we returned to the foyer, we had a lovely supper as we waited for the highly anticipated workshop, but to my utter disappointment, there was no workshop. The team from Sydney, in simple terms, talked at the group and when they weren't talking, we sat around waiting for all the other Asylum tours to finish up and leave the Asylum, so we could go out and investigate. Once everyone else had vacated the Asylum, we moved into the entrance foyer, where the presenter talked about a personal experience he had had in this location about six months prior and that he had returned to the Asylum to hopefully capture what he had experienced that night.

The group (well WSPR) set up some trigger items in the projection room upstairs, including motion sensors, video camera and a few toys, like balls, marbles and a chess set. WSPR asked the group to take as many photos as they could to determine base line data and when we returned after the paranormal investigation, we would revisit the space, collect footage and analyse the evidence. This never happened. Once we returned, a few hours later, we were rather hastily escorted out the door.

So once all the items were placed in the projection room, Adrian, the Asylum Tour Guide, gave a brief history of the spirits, tricksters and poltergeists, they claimed to haunt the foyer, namely Tommy and Ralph.  The lights were turned off and we sat and we listened and we waited.....and waited.....and waited. Nothing happened.

We then divided into two groups. One group moved off with WSPR's Craig and the Asylum Tour Guide, Adrian. The other group was with WSPR's Richie and Mel and the Tour Guide, Will. I was in Craig's group. He stated that he was very keen to try and capture 'slender man', the alleged frequently sighted ghost of Grevilia, the male infirmary.  The group, eager to start exploring, headed off to Grevilia. I walked around the space trying to get a 'feel' for the building, but nothing. We set up a laser grid, some KIIs and a parascope. Adrian shared some very intriguing stories of the building, but it was not long before focus was shifted to an alleged sighting of a full body apparition. Naturally the whole group moved to this space to hopefully see something. We all stood there in complete darkness until Craig says in a very agitated voice, 'get a light on me, get a light on me'. Once the torch was on him, Craig alleged that the zipper of his vest had been pulled down by a spirit. No-one else saw or felt anything and there was no other 'activity'. As a good paranormal investigator you are always trying to debunk and question any activity. Often when you flex and place your arms and chest out, you can force zippers down on your jackets, especially if they are tight fitting. Maybe this is what happened?

From here the groups swapped guides and my group, now with Richie, Mel and Will, moved into the Bull Pit. The Bull Pit is a ward for 10 to 25 year old male inpatients. We moved as a group up into the top hallway, an area reported to be very high in activity, with evidence suggesting that many guests have been scratched or have felt threatened. Will placed a few parascopes down the hall and an ovilus on the window sill. The only two words on the ovilus were rust and water. Any significance? Not that we could work out. Now if you have read any of my previous blogs, this is the space where I saw the orb of what I thought was a young boy move down the hallway and play with the parascopes, so, as you can imagine, I was rather excited to see if I could reconnect with the boy, or maybe place some balls for him to play with or move. Maybe set up a video camera or a full spectrum camera, maybe the parascopes and a motion sensor. But to be honest, I did not feel comfortable to do my own thing, so I just stood and waited, like all the others.

Nothing was really happening until one person on the tour appeared to be a trance in the doorway at the end of the hallway before the toilets. Other guests claimed they tried to move him, but he was rigid and stuck to the floor. Once he was pulled from the doorway, he tried to run, but was held back by a guide. He collapsed to the floor and was struggling to breath. Am I sceptical - very. This guest and a few others then went outside. About four of us were left and we moved through that doorway into the bathrooms. I was trying to sense any denseness or tingling. Nothing. One man, claimed to have a headache, another claimed their zip was undone, but for me, nothing.

By this time, it was 3.00 am and we moved back to the foyer and said our goodbyes. We were reconvening at 7.30 pm that night and I was looking forward to hopefully a more active evening.

So, we came together again on the Saturday evening. Ten guests had been at the Asylum the previous night and were excited to investigate some new areas of the buildings. A team member from WSPR grabbed us as soon as he saw us and stated 'as soon as you get back from the ghost tour, I will grab you guys and we will head off and get right into it'. Fantastic, seven hours of full on investigations.

After the wonderful ghost tour, led by Laura, we returned at around 9.00 pm for supper. At 10.00 pm, WSPR called us into the Bijou Theatre, for what I thought would be the Saturday night workshop, but I was mistaken. It was another hour of being talked at. After about 30 minutes I looked around the room and at least half of the guests were asleep, including staff from WSPR. Personally, I was bored and had to desperately fight from going to sleep myself. The talk finished up about 11.15 pm and we were told 'as soon as the last tour is back, we will get started'.

So to fill in time, I took some dousing rods, a KII meter, went up to the stage with another investigator and just talked to a spirit that is alleged to play on the stage, named Annie. We asked her to come dance on centre stage, nothing. We mentioned that we had lost an orange ball, one of the triggers from the projection room, and maybe if she had taken it to play with, that she might return the ball to us. We sat there talking to Annie, or maybe just to ourselves, for 10 or so minutes.

It was not until about midnight, we moved into the foyer where Will shared a quick story that had just happened in the back administration area, of a possible doppelgänger sighting of Laura. Very interesting indeed!

We then moved on to a repeat of the night before.  This was disappointing as there were so many 'last nighters', and I for one, wanted to experience something different. For another hour we sat and tried to capture evidence of Tommy, Ralph and the projection room. But again, nothing.

Then, just before 1.00 am, an orange ball came down the stairs from the projection room and was thrown across the room and landed on the floor of the foyer. This was rather exciting, did anyone have an explanation, no. Were there CCTV cameras on that stair case, yes. So I guess, the owners of the tour company will get to investigate that activity and try and debunk and see what happened. Was this the same orange ball that had gone missing from the projection room, or the orange ball I had asked Annie to return, possibly.

By this time it was after 1.00 am, five and a half hours after we arrived and we were yet to do anything new. We divided into two groups. The 'newbies' and the 'last nighters'. The newbies headed back to Grevilia, the third time that weekend, to try and capture 'slender man'. The 'last nighters', along with Richie, Mel and Will, headed to the maniacal ward for women. We were upstairs and not a lot was happening, but I was sensing heaviness, a feeling that the spirits felt threatened and that they did not like the men being there. As no one else in the group was talking, I expressed this. As I did, I felt a real sense of empathy and was hearing distressing  'ahhhh, ahhhh' sounds in my head. I felt like females were being restrained and mistreated. I said this to the group and tried to show what I was seeing and hearing. WSPR suggested a role play and as no-one in the group was uncomfortable with that, WSPR proceeded to role play in a very aggressive manner, more like a prison warden, as opposed to a nurse. At that point, I developed an unbearable pain in my stomach. I am usually not one to feel pain, but I was almost doubled over with cramps in my stomach. When I told the group, another investigator said she had felt it too. WSPR did state that sometimes these are the types of investigations they do, where they have to push to get a reaction. It made me really sad to think they may have been treated that way. I did not like the aggression and it was interesting when walking back, that Will, the Asylum Tour Guide, said to me 'we don't normally do investigations like that, we are more passive'. Will might use the word passive, I would say respectful.

From there we moved to the laundry where nothing was really noted. A few hits on a Ghost Meter Pro, but no real active conversation. From there we moved to the downstairs area of the women's maniacal ward. I had not been in there before and was rather intrigued. Although nothing of significance was noted by myself, a guest claimed that a spirit took her earring. Do I believe it, no I don't.

I did get a feeling of some young girl spirits in this area and would not be surprised if we found out that families or young children had lived there with their mothers in the later years.

We returned to the foyer to swap guides. My group was now with Craig and Laura. The group were keen to explore a new area and Laura suggested the upstairs pharmacy. Eager to see another new part of the Asylum, we headed upstairs. Laura placed a KII on the servery and my parascope on the window sill in the kitchen. By this time, many guests were falling asleep and even snoring. No one was really actively engaging, so Laura and I tried to make contact with 'Bobby', a young boy spirit in the kitchen. We had a few minor hits on the KII, but with no real activity, we moved on to, you guessed it, Grevilia.

We were in Grevilia for about 30 minutes and nothing was really noted. There were four of us on the far 'slender man' corridor and we did get a few KII hits and the feeling of cold in one room, but again, nothing major. We would have liked to stay longer and see if there was any depth to these feelings, but the group was keen to go down to the cellar.

By this time it was close on 4.00 am and the entire group moved down into the cellar. We divided into two groups of 10 and moved into the cells. I was in the cell with the tour guide Will. The WSPR team was predominantly out in the open area. This by far was my first real experience of the weekend.

I was standing there in a circle with Will leading conversation. I started to experience real heaviness in my feet and they were absolutely aching in pain. I said this out loud to the group and then the people to my left, right and Will, all stated they were having the same sensation. We welcomed the spirits into our space and at this point, I began to tingle from my feet. The sensations moved through my body and right up to my shoulders. It was intense. Just at that point, the man to my left said that he could see a very tall figure standing over me, right in my face. At that exact moment, I felt a very strong presence and pressure again my chest, it felt exactly like someone had come up and was standing chest to chest with me. It lasted about 30 seconds and then subsided.

We finished up the circle and both groups were moved out into the main area. We were sitting around the perimeter and Craig was pacing the room. He paced for about a minute before he walked off into the cell area, followed by Richie and a tour guest. Richie then came out and told us all to leave the cellar immediately as something had affected Craig and he was not himself. Will packed up and led the group out of the cellar, rather hastily.

When we returned to the foyer, Craig and Richie alleged that Craig had been scratched and punched and that the tour had to be cut short because Craig 'was not himself', implying something had attached themselves to him. The WSPR team then stated that they had tried to leave the cellar, after Craig, and the door slammed shut and they could not open the door and Richie was yelling to let him out and telling the spirit to stay 'down in the cellar with the granite'.

Well, by this time it was 5.00 am and nearly time to leave.

So to sum up the weekend, I loved Cait, Laura, Adrian and Will, the Asylum Tour Guides. They are personal, knowledgeable, engaging and respectful. Would I do future tours with them, absolutely!

As for the WSPR team and the paranormal workshops - let's say I am a little disappointed. I did not learn anything new or get to play with any equipment. We didn't get to analyse the projection room footage, not even time to go back and see if any of the trigger items had moved. To be honest I felt like the WSPR team was ill prepared. Craig did state that he had let his guard down during the weekend and was not in the right head space, which resulted in him being attacked in the cellar. He claimed that by not being 100%, the spirits took advantage of his vulnerability and 'stuff got crazy'. Do I believe that.....I honestly do not know.

To possibly have three 'attachments', two zipper un-dressings, a full body apparition, a doppelgänger sighting, a missing earring, a scratch, a punch, as well as a missing and then reappearing ball, all in just two nights, is difficult for anyone, sceptic or not, to believe. I can only comment on what I saw, felt and heard.

It was obvious that the WSPR team investigate very differently to me, and that is ok and everyone is entitled to do what works for them. Did I enjoy the weekend - without a doubt. Did I enjoy seeing how other investigators explore the paranormal - absolutely!

As for the multitude of experiences that people claimed to have had happen to them last weekend, maybe you will just have to go and book a tour and find out for yourself.

Old Williamstown City, Victoria

Throughout the years we had heard positive reports about the Old Williamstown City Ghost Tour, so we thought it was about time we headed on over to see if the tour lived up to the stories.

The first thing we noticed was that the tour was open to eight years and over, so already we knew it would be more of an historical theatrical story telling tour, than a ghost tour. Now, don't get me wrong, they can still be valuable and interesting, as long as the guide knows their history. The tour began at the information centre and within minutes you knew that the guide's knowledge of the area and the history was thorough, researched and credible.

As we meandered through laneways and past heritage listed buildings, we would stop to take pictures and hear stories of the sailors, the ladies of the night, and the man who gambled away his wife and children, and then out of guilt and desperation, plummeted to his death outside the Royal Hotel. We walked the streets until we reached the Titanic Theatre Restaurant. The buildings are beautiful and the history amazing, but up until this point, there had not been any notable ghost activities and no-one in my group had really sensed anything that warranted further investigation.

We then stopped outside a half built wheat mill, which had also been the site of a mass burial. This building had jail like bars that led to a dark underground storage pit. It was empty and eerie, but as we did not go inside and just viewed it from the road, interesting was all that it was.

Being a street tour, we also encountered locals who would walk or drive past beeping or yelling "Boo" or "Ghosts". We were obviously their entertainment for the evening.

From here we moved over to the Timeball Tower. This is the building where most of the reports we had heard were about. When the heavy door opened for the first time, there were definite hits on the KII meter and as we entered the underground bunker style ground floor, you could feel the thick energy. Inside lay a small three metre square bluestone room with an attic style ladder leading up to the floors above. This was the first 'ghost investigation' part of the tour. The lights were turned off and the guide asked if anything was present to make a noise. Some guests said they heard footsteps, others claimed to see an orb on the floor above, but for me, nothing. I did put the KII on the stairs and this did have one or two hits, but the room was small and had significant electrical equipment in it, so I am skeptical.

From the tower we walked along the Main Street and through a few more alleys and around to the morgue. The morgue was one room of about seven by three metres. It was bluestone with lime wash walls. Here we stood in the dark and listened to the history of the morgue. The guide produced dousing rods which did not produce any definitive responses and we used the KIIs and the laser grid. A few guests said they felt something tug on them or they felt a cold hand or breeze, but with over twenty guests, quite a bit of noise and with only a few minutes in each of the locations, it is very difficult to confirm experiences.

On the way back to the car, after an interesting, but not overly active evening, we stopped at the first lane way we had visited. We decided to do a short investigation of the space and did have definitive KII hits and some experiences of cold hands, arms, dizziness and tingling sensations. We only stayed about ten minutes, but it was the most active part of the evening, albeit, on our own and after the tour.

Would I return, not on an official tour, but it was a fun night and a great way to spend a Saturday evening.

Old Kilmore Gaol, Kilmore, Victoria, Australia

This weekend began the start of the year's investigations. I spent most of the Summer looking for new areas to explore and came across a group who were doing an investigation of the Old Kilmore Gaol. I had never been there and was rather excited about spending seven hours exploring the Gaol. I arrived just on 8.00 pm to be greeted by a rather small group, which was great as I always prefer to investigate in smaller groups as the areas tend to stay a little more quiet and intimate.

Once inside, the organisers took us into the main area, known as the rock room. Here they showed us through some of their paranormal equipment; KIIs, a cat ball (similar to a parascope or touch pad), full spectrum cameras, spirit boxes, temperature detectors, laser grids and an ovilus. They had a new device called a stickman camera. This allegedly picks up spirit energy and projects a stick figure on a screen. I will do some reading on the credibility of this device and how this works, but it was rather interesting.

Our first investigation was in the yard area. A relatively small yard, similar to those at Pentridge Gaol. We placed some KIIs around and a laser grid, but nothing. This yard connected to a second similar sized yard which had two storage areas built on the far wall. After about ten minutes, myself and another investigator, Rod, sat in the space. Rod was in one corner with a KII and I was about half way along the back wall. We placed a KII and the cat ball in the middle of the yard, and waited. After a few minutes both devices lit up. At this time the organiser came into the space and the activity ceased. I sensed a young teenage boy, but it was very brief and only for a short moment.

We moved back to the rock room. Let me intervene here. Most investigations I have been on that are run by companies, tend to lead you around the space. Take you into an area, share brief history or encounters and then let you explore. This company did not do that. It was rather awkward waiting around while they talked and had breaks. I was very unsure of what was going on. I had not been in the space before, did not know where things were and did not want to show disrespect by walking off on my own. Eventually I asked them to take me to another space. It was at this time they said we are free to wander the Gaol and do our own investigations. I wish they had said that at first, instead of me getting frustrated for two hours thinking it was a poorly organised event. The guides did not have much to share about the history or what rooms were used for, so essentially, it was a very raw investigation not influenced by what "should" be happening, which is fine. I just wish I had known that in the first place.

So with a new mindset......

From the rock room, we moved into the Knight Room. This was a large billiard/dining area with some pictures and mirrors on the wall. There was a double wood door at the back leading to a yard and a side door leading into quarters. The room felt heavy, although the ceilings were at least five to six meters high. After about twenty minutes, the cat ball lit up near the back door. It was interacting on demand by flashing for yes and staying dark for no. The stickman camera also picked up a stickman at the exact same space as the ball. This interaction continued for a while before the energy moved to under the table. I could sense a small child of about three or four years of age. Once everyone had left, Rod and I went up and calmed the child who appeared a little unsure of all the people staring at him. This child then followed us out of the room. Rod felt the energy and a cold sensation on his hand. He felt as if a small child was holding his hand as he walked from the space. This energy then stayed with us for the majority of the night, often settling between us or just in front of our legs, but very close, just like young children do now when they are unsure or a little insecure.

From here we moved into the Warden's room. There were a few minor tingling sensations, but nothing worth noting.

After the Warden's room, we moved into the only cell which was accessible in the Gaol. To be honest, I found it difficult to imagine where the other cells would be, as we did not have access to the back part of the Gaol. I believe the cell we were in was like a holding cell or remand cell. It was larger than most cells I have seen of that era and given it was at the front of the Gaol near the administration area, lends me to believe it was not traditional long term cell. On the first investigation there was no interaction, but we did return to this cell later and had quite a lot of activity.

Next we moved onto the administration space of three inter-connecting rooms. In the last room we placed the cat ball and KII in the corner of the room. There were several hits on both devices, and the cat ball when touched by humans, would light from orange, red to blue in a sequence in one direction. The energy was playing with the device for at least five minutes. The organisers videoed the activity and took photos with their full spectrum cameras. I sensed that it was the same child who had followed us from the Knight Room. I asked the spirit to see if it could do something different with the lights, and on demand, it would only light up the red and blue lights and then only the orange and blue or it would make the lights go in a different direction and the spirit could even make only the front or back half of the lights work. No matter what I did, I could not get the ball to interact this way with me. It was amazing and very exciting. We then marked the spot on the floor and placed the ball down. We then wandered into the other rooms and asked the spirit to continue playing with the ball and see if they could roll or move it. After a few minutes, I caught a flash of light out of the corner of my eye and returned to the room. The ball had moved about one centimetre away from the marker and was on a different angle. I have no doubt in my mind that this was moved. The ball has little panels of light, shaped like a soccer ball and the ball sits on the floor on one of the flat sides, it is not actually round. So to move it, you have to exert force. At this point, we also noticed the door move as if someone had ran behind it to hide. Was this the child hiding from us?

Once outside, Rod, believed he continued to see lights and shadows through the windows back into the space where we thought the child was hiding. We walked back over to the door entrance only to be met with a very strong energy. It was heavy and dense and my legs and face were tingling all over. It almost felt like it was blocking our entry. We thanked them and explained that we meant them no harm and we were leaving now. We did not return to that space again for the evening.

We were now four hours into the investigation, so we stopped the investigation for a little bit of supper. After supper I engaged in two activities that I have never ever done, which was very exciting. The first was auto-drawing. A Texta was on a device which would draw on a whiteboard type surface. There were four of us sitting around a table with the lightest of touch on the square counter which was balancing the pen. If you pushed hard, the counter tipped towards you, so everyone needed to use the same pressure to balance the counter. I was barely touching it and was using lighter than feather touch. Rod said he was doing the same. The pen moved straight off in my direction. This happened at least three times. So we changed seats to see if it would still come to me. It did. I changed to a third seat, and it happened again. At this point we asked it to draw a circle. It did. A triangle, it did. But then it went on to draw a star over and over again. I took my fingers off the counter and it returned to the centre of the board and did not move. It was very weird. We then cleaned the board and asked if any other spirit was present to come through and draw. Rod said that he had a tingling sensation, similar to what he had felt with the young spirit. The pen then went on to draw what I believe was a smiley face. I have attached the image below. I believe this was the four year old who had been with us earlier and he was drawing a picture of his mummy. KII activity later in the evening had strong hits for the questions around this drawing. I am still skeptical of the auto-draw, but I also know how lightly I was touching the counter and how strong the movement of the pen was. I can't explain it. As it was being drawn, the order of drawing was firstly the face round and round, then the eyes, followed by the smile and lastly the hair. The same order a young child would draw. Note that the pen can't be taken off the board, so lines are connected. I think you can definitely see the face, body, eyes, mouth and hair.

From here we went over to the Warden's Room again where one of the guides was working with a black mirror. Again, something I have never done. During my experience, Rod and Ash went back to the Knight's Room where they said they heard the young child playing and when they asked the spirit where he was hiding, they heard the word "here". There was knocking and a lot of activity in the space and remembering, this was the space where we picked up the young energy earlier in the evening.

Back to the mirror, my experience was rather uneventful, but I can not say the same for Rod's. Rod and Ash returned from the Knight's Room just as I was finishing up. I had sensed the young child standing next to me watching Rod sitting staring into the mirror. Had Rod brought him back with him again? I put a KII meter next to Rod and then gave permission for the child to go over and sit with Rod. Within seconds the meter lit up and Rod had tingling sensations, as if the child was sitting on his knee. It was at this exact time, the guide took pictures using a spectrum camera of the black mirror and you can see the image of a small boy's face. They are going to email the picture to me. We also asked the boy to blow out the candle, and on command, the wick would almost extinguish. It looked exactly like you would expect if a young child tried to blow out a candle. This candle was in a glass, in a very still room. There was absolutely no outside influences that would make the candle flicker and almost extinguish. It was a very special moment.

Ash, another investigator was next in the black mirror, so we let her be and Rod and I returned to the cell. Here we noticed a video camera and voice recorder had been set up and were recording. We entered, placed a KII and cat ball at the far end of the cell and then sat on the bed. After about five minutes, we felt energy move past our legs and a few seconds later both devices had activity. I sensed a young boy of about 12 years old. He interacted quite easily with us for a few minutes. At this time,  Ash and one of the guides came into the cell. All four of us felt a different, very strong energy enter the room. Our legs were tingling and the air was dense. Within moments, Rod, the guide and I had a very strong whiff of stale cigarette smoke which came from the back of the room and then less than thirty seconds later Rod and I, who were both sitting on the bed, felt the bed move back and forth two or three times, a short pause and then another two or three motions. It really felt like someone had climbed onto the bed and was settling down. We both hopped off the bed and apologised and said we would leave them for the night to sleep. It was like the child was playing in there and then an adult had come in, shooed him out, had a cigarette and went to bed. It was strong, definitive and felt by both myself and Rod.

At the end of the night, we returned to the Knight's Room to return the child and to see if there was any more activity. It was a buzz with KII meters going off in every location and the cat ball in the middle of the table. It was highly active. I was sitting on one side of the room and Ash was sitting directly opposite me on the other side of the room. After about ten minutes, I could see a very dense royal blue orb. It was not circular like usual, but more like a flat stretched out cloud, mist like shape. It was a very deep royal blue colour. I asked Ash if she was sensing anything and she said she was cold and tingly. I then asked the orb to move across the table and light up the ball and come to me. It did. I explained the movement of the orb to the group and as it moved across the table saying to the group that it was coming close to the cat ball now and sure enough, the ball lit up. As it passed the members of the group they all said they could feel it. I asked if anyone else could see the orb and one lady Amanda said yes, and described the colour exactly the same as I was seeing. The room was very energised.

The Gaol itself for the investigation is very small. Two yards, two small storage rooms, a Knight's Room, Wardens Rooms, one cell, administration room and a rock room. There was considerable activity on the night, but I was sensing it was from the same three spirits. A young three to four year old boy who we named Mikey, as each time we used that name, the KII meter would spike, his twelve year old brother and an older male. It was hard to gauge whether there were prison spirits or guards present, but I do believe the two children were intelligent spirits and able to communicate using the devices. There felt like a lot of residual energy was around, especially in the Knight's Room.

The young boy is very playful, curious and appears to be happy. I sensed he liked the company and having visitors, so I do hope that people continue to visit him. It is definitely worth a visit!