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!

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!

Chirnside Homestead, Melbourne, Australia

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

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

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

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

Lunatic Asylum, Beechworth, Victoria

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Great night with genuine experiences and connections.

Until next time!