Possession at Werribee Farm

Werribee Park provided a surreal, yet eerie backdrop for what eventuated as the most entertaining, yet most terrifying ordeal for a first time ghost hunter. What started out as an enjoyable evening of new experiences, concluded with a scene that would challenge the most affrighted scripts of the horror genre. 

So here we were, three females embarking on the Werribee Farm 3-hour tour. Myself, one who has investigated the paranormal for a number of decades, accompanied by two first time ghost tour enthusiasts. On entering the park, we drove down a long and dark dirt track. At the end of the track, we made our way along a path to a small bluestone building, where we were met by the hosts for the night. The soft orange moonlight outlined some of the buildings in the distance. Were those the buildings we were exploring? The Park felt like a million miles away, secluded, almost desolate. 

We began our investigation in the blacksmiths shed; it was rather uneventful, nothing out of the ordinary. A little bit of history, a few noises, cold spots and the occasional "did you see that?"

After a little while, we moved onto the stables. It was in here that our, should I call her the "possessed one" first began to share stories and thoughts from the other side. It was in here that she said that she needed to remove her wedding and engagement rings as they were burning her hands. She took them off and passed them rather mindlessly to the other ghost newbie. Was this her mistake? Was it this action that removed her protection, making her vulnerable, allowing her soul to be taken hostage?

So now the story gets interesting. Possessed one, let's call her "Anne" starts sharing thoughts with the group. There is a small girl in here, called Lizzie. She is in a prairie style dress, boots, skipping between here and the blacksmith. She likes "John", who is the blacksmith. She goes on to share many random thoughts which had the hosts googling for validation. From an experienced paranormal investigator's perspective, Anne was showing signs of mediumship, or at the very least, a high level of intuition. It was interesting and appeared quite genuine, but nothing I had not seen hundreds of times before and did not see any cause for alarm. 

We moved from the stables to the caretaker's cottage. It was in here that Anne became quite loud. She stated that John thought we were not safe in the house and that he had to stay in there with us. Anne said that no one should be in the back room on their own. After ensuring to Anne that we were safe and this was a normal type of activity on ghost hunts, we started a silent portal experiment. We were receiving profanities and statements, like "I will punch you in the face" and "chin up".  The hosts had left us and the guests in the cottage on our own, for about thirty minutes. Once we had finished the portal session, Anne went on to give history of the cottage and stated, rather factually, that Sarah lived in the house and she lived with a man, Robert, who had an aggressive temper. Just as Anne said this, the hosts walked in and asked Anne to repeat her statements, to which the hosts validated the stories. 

Interested, but also a little surprised, sceptical and bewildered, we left the cottage to explore the carriage house. Anne found it difficult to enter the carriage house and kept repeating "bad shit happened in there" and that she couldn't go in. Eventually, Anne entered the shed and was immediately drawn to the far left corner. She walked over and stood next to me and said again how much she didn't like this building and she had to leave. It was at this exact time that my camera became activated, taking random shots of a bright yellow-white light. The male host was watching this over my shoulder, confused and intrigued. The female host stated that she was cold and could feel a negative energy. Anne, visibly rattled by her feelings, stormed out of the building while telling everyone rather abruptly, "a gust of cold air just come in front of me" - this is the exact moment that I believe the possession took hold of Anne, albeit unbeknownst to her, to me and to others. 

We began our walk down to the mansion, Anne talked all the way there, commenting on people working in the fields, sitting on the lawns, dancing at a party and playing with the dogs. She talked of children, of workers and of trees. Talking with her, you could easily believe that she was there, living it, seeing it. It seemed so real! At the mansion, she sat alone on the lawns, as if she was watching an event. She looked content sitting on the grass by a tree in the moonlight, happy, yet ever so distant.  

Anne then slowly walked over to us in the laundry, tears swelled in her eyes. Her emotions pouring out as she shared a story of a maid who gave birth to an illegitimate daughter and then proceeded to drown the baby in the trough. Her precise detail of two women washing a white sheet and asking if it was clean enough (that all the blood was out) was fascinating, yet disturbing. To Anne, this was happening in front of her. You could see that she believed it, as if she was watching it, there, now. Guests sat on the edge of the "drowning trough" only to jump up, one by one, due to being touched on the back of the head or because their hair was pulled. They appeared nerved, uncomfortable, and not one of the guests returned to sit once more. Was this the child calling for help?

It was here in the laundry that the owner of the mansion shot himself - was he the one pulling on them? Making them feel uncomfortable? Was he the father of the drowned baby girl? 

We slowly made our way back to the farm homestead. By the time I arrived with Anne and the ghost newbie, the other guests were already in the homestead playing a music box to entice activity. Slowly Anne's demeanour began to rage, she paced, she stomped and eventually yelled out "Why do they keep playing that music ..... just to annoy me!" Anne then placed her hand on her hip and stormed into the homestead. I watched her, she looked over at me and said "What am I doing? I don't even walk like this!", but on she continued, pushed open the door and began yelling at the guests about the music. 

Anne came out and blasted "I told them!" It was now that I really looked at Anne, her body language, her stance, her eyes! It was not Anne! I began to approach her, only for her to say "you need to stay away from me!" She began to twitch and now it was blatantly obvious we were dealing with an attachment of some sort. I knew it was time to go, to cleanse her of whatever ghost, demon or entity was channelling through her, or worse, possessing her. The longer we waited, the more control this beast would have. 

Without causing concern or raising demon alarm bells, I enticed Anne to walk with us back to base, deviating past a toilet. Eventually, we made it back to base, where Anne kept talking, switching personalities between Anne and whatever had taken possession of her. By this stage the hosts had finished the tour and were ready to leave. Knowing the sage and cleansing kits were in my car, we had to move outside the property before we could commence the cleanse. 

Fortunately we made it to the entrance of the park and began the cleansing ritual. Anne hissed, growled and swore at us, telling us to f.. off numerous times. Her body language was threatening and aggressive. She moved irrationally, staring us down as she kept her distance. She squatted and grunted, yelled and twitched. Eventually after forty-five minutes of cleansing, Anne sighed, exhausted from the dissonance which lay within. It was then that I knew, he was gone. Although he was gone from Anne's body, he didn't go far. Anne let me know, in no uncertain terms, that he was not happy with me. That he was just over there, just inside the gate, watching, waiting ..... waiting for Anne to walk back inside, so her could devour her being. 

Anne's recollection of the night is exact, at all times she had an awareness of what she was doing, but without control or reason. 

Who would have thought that an innocent ghost tour with new enthusiasts could have such an improbable and unbelievable turn of events. We were able to capture some of the night on video and on watching the event, it is my belief that we came very close to (if not had) a demon possession. Was I scared - no, but I am very mindful of how easy this event happened and how fortunate Anne was to have us there to assist and intervene. Ghost hunting is a serious hobby and is not to be taken lightly. This night has reminded me of that. 

Ghosts of the Town Hall, Coburg, Victoria, Australia

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

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

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

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

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

DARK HAUNTING'S OF COBURG TOWN HALL! - YouTube

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

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

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

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

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

Until next time .....

Night of the Dead at Old Kilmore Gaol, Kilmore

Old Kilmore Gaol is active, very active! Many of my experiences from the Gaol are noteworthy and exciting, but they are usually similar to those that I have already experienced and hence I am rather familiar with them and do not tend to recount them as often as I would like. But last night was different. The energy was different, the feel was different and subsequently some of the activity was different. 

Let's start with the Ouija activity. Ouija, yes that contentious topic of Ouija. For me, I have engaged in many a thousand sessions, and fortunately I can only recall one seriously negative experience. Most sessions are interesting, inspiring and emotionally, but relatively uneventful. But last night's session requires some serious research and investigation. Let me share with you some background information, which is totally related to the events of this recount and may in fact be a key piece of evidence moving forward. You see, Old Kilmore Gaol has a significant number of Pentridge artifacts, including prison doors, cell doors, shanks, razors, documentation of prison records and duty rolls. This particular night, last night, I had spent a considerable amount of time touching, reading the information and flicking through the documentation related to Pentridge, more so than I normally do. Why? No idea! I just did. But on review, was there actually a reason? A force that wanted to connect with me? Who knows?

So let's recount one of last night's Ouija Board Sessions. I will try to be as detailed as possible.

Ouija with Gavin Edwards

Three of us, and two onlookers began a Ouija Session just after 2 am in St Andrew's Presbyterian Church, which is at the back of the Gaol. It wasn't long before our spirit made himself known as Gavin. Gavin went onto share that his father worked in Kilmore and that he (Gavin) had actually been in Gaol. Not the Kilmore Gaol, but Pentridge Gaol! You can see why the information above may in fact be relevant. He went on to say a few things, including that he was 29 years of age when he passed. 

Now this is where the story gets interesting. 

Gavin went on to say that his name was Gavin Edwards and that he had a friend at Pentridge named Eddie. Eddie was 24 years old when he died and that Eddie died at the Gaol, Pentridge Gaol. We asked who Eddie was and he replied "killer". Yes, KILLER!

We asked did Gavin kill Eddie "No".

Did Eddie kill Gavin "No". 

Did Eddie kill other people "Yes". So now we were on to something!

How many people did Eddie kill "3 or 4". 

At this point we still had no idea where this was heading, until one of our onlookers, not on the Ouija, said that he believed he knew who the Eddie was that Gavin was referring to. This was exciting ..... had we actually made contact with a real inmate, one in which we could validate responses. At this point, another guest, a guest on the Ouija, recalled the stories told by tour guides on an investigation of Pentridge. 

Realising that we may be talking with a spirit to whom we can validate responses, I quickly asked a guest to record the Ouija Session as we continued the questioning and our investigation. 

Did Eddie kill women "Yes".

Can you spell out how he killed them. Do you know how he killed the women? "AIR". Air?? We were confused, what an odd response! But was it? The person we believed we were communicating with was a mate of Eddie's and did he know that Eddie killed his victims by strangling them to death and sucking from them their last breath of .... you guessed it AIR! 

So we asked Gavin, is it Eddie Leonski, was his surname Leonski, do you know? "Yes".

Was it related to singing or voices "Yes".

We asked Gavin if he knew how old Eddie Leonski was when he passed away and after a bit of a think on the board, Gavin told us 2 and then moved to the 8 and then back to the 4 "24". We quickly googled, and Eddie was in fact 24 years of age! We went on to confirm the age of Eddie was 24. 

We asked Gavin to spell out the name of the Gaol that Eddie was in .... he went on the spell out P E N .... we confirmed it was Pentridge. We asked Gavin if he was in Pentridge Gaol with Eddie "Yes".

It was at this time I made a question blunder and asked Eddie for his second name (I thought I had asked for Gavin's second name), the board went on to spell DEVIL IS HE. I thought I had asked Gavin's surname, but on listening to the video, I had asked for Eddie's name!!

The guest then asked "Does Eddie go by any other name, or did Eddie have a nickname?

Our spirit began to spell out "Brown  ....", it then was clear, he was referring to Eddie Leonski, the Brownout Strangler who was convicted and sentenced to death on July 17, 1942. He went on to be incarcerated at Pentridge Gaol and executed by hanging for murdering the three woman on November 9, the same year. 

Then my phone died ..... we continued the investigation without recording and asked Gavin if he and Eddie shared a cell "No".

Were you friends "Yes".

But then Gavin would call Eddie the "Devil" and "Dog".

I went on to to ask Gavin why he was friends with Eddie if he was the devil and such a dog and he replied "Life".

I asked Gavin did he fear for his life if he was not friends with Eddie "Yes".

Our spirit was polite and cooperative and he expressed interest in talking with us again at a later date. Here's hoping we can pick this conversation up in a month when we are next in Kilmore. 

As an investigator you are always questioning and for me, I am asking ...... have we made contact with Gavin, a gaol inmate and friend of the serial killer, Eddie Leonski, or, and I believe this is a very strong and very valid or ..... did we make contact with the actual Eddie, who has masqueraded as Gavin EDWARDS? Coincidental - maybe, maybe not?

We will never know, but maybe, just maybe, our gaol inmate will pay us a visit again and elaborate more on the stories he shared with us last night. You can watch the small snippet we were able to capture before my phone died. 

Malevolent Storeroom Ghost

We also had a memorable experience in the Old Kitchen where, when trying to communicate with what we believe is a malevolent spirit, one of our investigators, Alle, had her necklace yanked from around her neck which broke the chain and sent the charms to the floor. 

To set the scene, the room is about 4 metres square. Left top wall has a door to the laundry / wash room. The laundry then leads to outside. Alle was standing about a metre in from this doorway. Then opposite mid way on the right wall is a door to the store room. Previous investigations have seen this door open when closed and considerable noises and movements can be heard and seen from within the room. The room has many guests feeling uneasy and threatened. So with that knowledge, we have a heavy slide bolt and we bolt the room locked and only allow guests to investigate in there on our long tours. The store room had been bolted twice already due to being unlocked twice. 

Seven of us came into the space to see the storeroom door unlocked and open once again. Alle went up to the door and bolted it, once again. She pushed, banged and tested the door. We all watched her do this. She then retreated across the room to her space near the door on the opposite side of the room. 

About five minutes after Alle had bolted the door closed is when she had her necklace pulled from her neck. It was forceful and aggressive. We all heard her gasp and saw her neck and face pull forward. Everyone was asking if she was ok and Alle responded with "someone just grabbed my necklace and pulled it, like they yanked it down hard. It's broken". She was visibly in shock with the 'what the hell just happened face".  This was shortly followed by a cold breeze, a gust of air that moved across in front of her and others from the left hand side to the right hand side of the room. This coincided with a distinct urine, sulphur and rotten egg odour which filled the room and then a demonic loud growl could be heard emanating near the store room door. We all turned to the door on the right side of the room, which was bolted shut to the store, to see it unbolt and open half way. This happened before seven witnesses, all of which, smelt the stench, heard the growl and saw the door open! Amazing! We all just sat there speechless. What had we just witnessed? It was obvious he was not happy with Alle bolting the door shut once again!

Interestingly, this is the room that has the Pentridge artefacts and cell doors and also includes an original, authentic executioner's jacket and pants (which are placed on a mannequin in the bottom left corner). Could this jacket actually be the jacket worn by the warden responsible for hanging Eddie Leonski? 

Now that just blew my mind! 

Undisclosed location, Central Victoria, Australia "Do actions speak louder than words?"

On the weekend of the 8th and 9th of November, the team headed off to a private location in central country Victoria. An intriguing location, deep within the goldfields and one that we had investigated before. The team were looking forward to a well-deserved and much needed weekend away, as we had just completed back-to-back ghost investigations the weekend prior and the team were emotionally, spiritually and physically exhausted. A private investigation on Halloween followed by a two night, off the charts experience at Moe meant that we were in desperate need of some quality rest and relaxation. 

Well, even the best intentions can go astray. 

As it turned out, two of the team couldn’t make the weekend, so with myself and Alle not there, Matt Amanda and Jacquie had the entire location to themselves…..this blog is a personal recount of their experience and as they rated this investigation in their top ten of all time, it is one very intriguing read. Yes, you read correctly, top ten!! 

Friday night was always going to be a wind down night, it had been a busy couple of weeks and we just wanted to debrief and unwind. We had all experienced personal struggles during the hunt the weekend prior, which for some, left us tired and emotionally drained for days after. So a quiet, relaxing drink with good friends, was what we all were looking forward to. We arrived at 9.30 pm, about two hours after our anticipated arrival time due to all three of us getting lost. Our GPS had taken us off the beaten track and led us on a wild goose chase, so a drink (or two) was definitely on the cards.

As the night turned into morning, we spent many hours laughing, singing and there were even a couple of dances. Two of the team there that weekend had been there before and were rather familiar with the location, the sounds and the layout. This was my first time at this location and I found the place to be warm and comfortable. 

Although we were not officially investigating that Friday night, we did have some devices set up around the room. We did get a few hits on the K2 meter, but we decided not to pursue them any further, as we had planned to just relax and do a thorough in-depth investigation on the Saturday night. It was the perfect night...…with perfect company and a perfect location.

Did our music, singing and dancing rekindle memories and remind the spirits of what this old hotel was like in its hey day? Did our laughing and singing, with not a care in the world, provide the foundations and set the scene for the perfect storm?

The weekend was absolutely freezing and with no modern luxuries like ducted heating, we tended to stay in the front room where we had the wood fire burning, providing us with warmth and comfort. Saturday was just a lazy day; a day where we sat by the fire and just talked. We were so excited to be investigating that night, that we found ourselves talking repeatedly about what we were planning to do. 

It’s funny though, as the day turned into night, the place changed. It was not a bad or dangerous feel, just different. Our senses were definitely alerted and there was a feeling of being watched or followed. Just off the main hallway was the ladies parlour and when Matt and Amanda walked through the space, they both became dizzy in exactly the same place and at exactly the same time. I wasn’t with them when this happened, so they called me in and asked me do a walk through of the space to see if I felt anything.  At exactly the same place in the room where they felt dizzy, I felt cobwebs and the hair on my body stood up. There was definitely something in this room and it definitely was trying to get our attention. 

As is normal practice when we do investigations, we like to introduce ourselves to any potential spirits, with the aim of making the investigation more personable and relaxed. We follow up with a generic question of "if anyone is here that would like to communicate with us, please come forward and make yourself known".  

WELL ...... the floodgates opened and we were taken on the most magical investigation. 

We found we only needed to use basic equipment for this investigation. The spirits appeared to understand how to communicate quite effectively using the K2, Ovilus and the EDI meters. Was this because these were the devices we used with them on our previous encounter, or were they just intelligent spirits who knew how to communicate?

We turned the Ovilus on and to be honest, it did not shut up for the entire investigation, When we downloaded the log for the night, there were 3060 words said through the device.  The Ovilus works through monitoring changes in the electro-magnetic field (EMF). Theories suggest that spirits are able to manipulate these fields to communicate. To reduce any anomalies in the use of this device, we used the Ovilus concurrently with K2 metres and the EDI metre. We were able to validate the interactions by requesting that all metres go off simultaneously, or by asking the spirit to light up just one. All of our requests were met with precision and in a timely manner. 

At times the Ovilus would respond in words which made sense or validated a question that we had asked. For example, we would ask if they were happy and the response would be "am not" or "you are wrong". We were totally blown away!

The Ovilus would give words describing that the spirits were feeling sad or lonely and based on the decades of investigations that we have done, both individually and collectively, we do believe we made intelligent contact with a spirit. 

Our line of questioning led us to believe that we may have made contact with someone that was possibly a slave to a European family. Naturally, we will need to do a bit more digging and research to validate that interaction. 

The other notable and rather interesting observation was that Mrs A from Moe may have possibly joined us that weekend. Her name came through on the Ovilus multiple times and the word "van" was listed at least six times either just before or just after her name. Knowing the history from Moe, we assured her she was safe and that we were happy for her to remain with us until we figure out how to help her. So that story will be continued.......

We all felt like we were seeing shadows moving around the hotel. We kept seeing things in our peripheral vision, but it was not until we all simultaneously gasped on the sight of seeing a shadow move into the front bar area. What are the changes of three separate people imagining the same shadow, in the same location at exactly the same time......very unlikely I would imagine. Our minds were blown!

As the night progressed, the spirits seemed content to answer questions by moving the K2 meter to red and the EDI meter to blue. In conjunction with other device activation, vibrations were picked up on the EDI meter and we experienced 5° temperature drops. The ladies lounge, where we had previously felt dizzy, was now a haven for spirit communication.  

As Saturday turned into Sunday, Amanda was becoming more and more concerned about a shadow man that she had seen. He was making her feel rather unsettled and a little uneasy. Was this the same shadow person that we had all seen earlier that evening?

We decided to have a break and regenerate. We were chatting casually about Amanda’s concerns when all of a sudden the Ovilus says "Alone soon bed". What the? As you can imagine, this did not sit well with Amanda who was becoming increasingly tired and was a little nervous about retreating alone to the bedrooms and the back of the property. With her emotions on high alert, she decided to sleep in the lounge room on the couch whilst we continued our investigations.

To be honest, I was feeling really excited, but also a little bit scared (and at times a little bit more than a little). The property has a long central corridor or hallway with a myriad of rooms leading off to the right and to the left. I kept getting disoriented and naturally, the toilets were miles away from where we were investigating. So it was a long walk to the other end of the property each time I needed to visit the ladies room.

Matt and I continued to investigate in the ladies lounge with varying energy levels and interactions from the spirits. We  set up the MelMetre, which is one of my favourites due to the authenticity of the device. The alleged spirits were making the MelMetre spike to 6.5 on call, which left us rather impressed. 

So just to give you a bit of an understanding of where we are in the property. There is the front, with a large central corridor. Starting at the front, there is the front bar to the right which leads into a ballroom. To the left is the lounge and dining rooms, where Amanda is asleep on the couch. You walk down the hall about five metres and there is a heavy wooden door. Through the door is a hallway off to the left and a doorway on the right which leads to the ladies lounge. Off the ladies lounge, further right is the Cobb and Co quarters, a hallway and the coolroom. 

So, Matt and I were sitting at the table in the ladies room doing our investigation, when all of a sudden the door that was closed (due to Amanda being asleep) starts to open ….. of course the door is creaking as it opens. We are talking movie worthy creaking noises! This damn door just starts to creep open .... and ever so slowly.

Matt quickly shone his torch onto the door as we totally expected to see Amanda walking through,, but no ..... no Amanda! The door just opened about a meter on its own! Yes, on its own! Needless to say my heart jumped out of my chest and Matt was on toilet duty for the rest of the night as I was too unnerved to walk the long corridor on my own. So what had come through the door? Was it the shadow man once more?

So feeling a bit creeped out, we chose to regroup and set up the SLS Kinnect (stickman) camera and see what came through on this device. We moved into the bar area and immediately picked up a small figure sitting on the bar. We instantly thought it was a child which the Ovilus immediately confirmed by saying “little”, followed by the name David. 

Intrigued, we decided to investigate this further. We continued to scan the room and it was not long before the child took off and a huge spirit appeared on the device. He was so tall. He just stood there, leaning casually against the mantle over the fireplace. I can only assume he was looking at us. He moved between the mantle and the bar, just leaning or at times, tapping his foot.  I have attached a picture below so you can see how big he was. We did a quick scan of the ballroom and the ladies lounge, but the device only indicated that spirits were socialising in the front bar area. The Ovilus continued to generate words and in the early hours of the morning, my name started coming through this Ovilus, which was rather amusing. Saying Matt or Matthew proved too hard though and made a joke that the word “saint" was close enough. 

So after investigating the front bar, I had an overwhelming sensation to point stickman out through a front window towards the main street. It's the early hours of the morning, in an abandoned old hotel, in pretty much a ghost town. I do not know what I expected to see in the darkness, but low and behold, there were two characters out the front,  that we can only describe as possibly drunk . It was rather hilarious as they were on the ground and looked like they were trying to get up..... rather unsuccessfully I might add. 

As our batteries drained we once again found ourselves in the lounge where the fire was still roaring and Amanda was sleeping peacefully.

Our basic devices were still on and we were still having conversations through the MelMetre, K2 and the Ovilus. We then noticed the word "monument" had come up a number of times on the Ovilus, so with a quick google search of the local area, we found that a monument had been erected only 750 metres from the hotel. We asked the spirits if they needed us to go and see the monument. Instantly they responded with strong red K2 hits. So being good paranormal investigators who love a bit of mystery, off we went (on foot and at 2.00 am in the morning) to find this monument.

The monument was to recognise soldiers that served in the wars from the local town. We thought best to wake Amanda and tell her of our plans, of which she looked at us with crazy eyes and went back to sleep. 

So, off we went, walking up the main street at two am, on this cold, windy and drizzly night. A few hundred metres up the road I did question why the hell we didn't drive? We had a good laugh and an even bigger laugh when the Ovilus said the word "puddle", to be shortly followed by Matt stepping in a large puddle.... he really must learn to heed warnings from the spiritual world. 

We arrived at the monument, took a quick photo or two and walked back to defrost our frozen bodies by the warm fire. 

Looking at the photo we searched for any matched names that had come through the Ovilus. Given that the monument only had initials plus surnames we were anticipating any success. But then we see the name Bright on the monument. Bright had come through the Ovilus ten times prior to us taking that walk. We then asked if the spirit Bright was with us. The K2 went to red and the MelMeter spiked, we knew we were on the right track.

On investigations, time can slip away and before you know it, the sun is dawning. It was 5.30 am and time for us to retire to our beds. It had been one huge night and our adrenalin was flowing and our minds racing. 

Were the spirits finally happy to tell someone their story? What had we unearthed? Who was this shadow man? So many questions still to be answered....so many stories still to be told. 

As my mind began to settle and sleep started to take over, I heard a thump in the distance, what was that sound, was it a door? The floorboards in the hallway began to creak and I could hear little ticking noises. I got up and turned on my light and looked around.....but nothing. I politely said that we will talk again soon but they were not welcome in my room as it was time to sleep…. and for the first time in my life, this investigator slept with her light on!

With all that happened that weekend, with all that we saw, heard and felt, we are ready and will be armed for our next investigation in this amazing hotel. 

Amazing, right?

All I can say is, I can not wait to go back to this phenomenal location and learn more about who or what roams there. Is the shadow man the same one my son saw on our first visit there. Who are these spirits....so many questions that need to be explored. 

Oh and by the way, the monument of Adam and Mary Gleisner which was desecrated and then removed, has been repaired and returned to the cemetery - another mystery right there!

Using a plasma dome for paranormal investigating

Paranormal Theory suggests that spirits need energy in order to manifest or communicate with the living. In many investigations, attempts to raise energy levels result in investigators, myself included, opening themselves up by giving permission for spirits to use their personal energy. Now this may be convenient at the time, but it is not ideal, as by opening yourself up and giving permission for spirits to take from you, you may find yourself with an outcome that you would rather not wish for.

To avoid any unwanted attachments, it is possible to raise energy levels using a scientific approach. The first is by using an EMF pump, but another way, is to use a plasma dome or ball.

So, could a child's novelty toy be used to investigate the paranormal? Well, the answer is yes ..... definitely.

The plasma dome is a clear glass sphere that is filled with a mixture of various noble gases, but mainly neon, and with a high-voltage electrode at the centre of the sphere. When the voltage is applied (power plugged in or from batteries), a plasma is formed within the sphere. The plasma filaments extend from the electrode to the outer glass sphere, which is an insulator, giving the appearance of beams of coloured light. When this occurs, a radio frequency is emitted which may interfere with other devices, resulting in readings, or in the paranormal world, false positives.

I would suggest doing a few simple experiments to understand the capacity and strength of your plasma ball before you start using it for investigations.

Working out the dome's radius of effect

• Place your plasma dome in the middle of a table or room. Turn you plasma ball on. 
• Place a K2 meter next to the plasma dome, you should be receiving orange to red hits on your K2, depending on the strength of the ball. 
• Slowly slide the K2 away from the plasma dome until you have a solid green hit. Measure this distance (this is your radius of effect)
• Trial your radius of effect by moving the K2 meter around the circumference of an imaginary circle (where the dome is the centre of the circle), to ensure you are accurate with your radius of effect. 
• Randomly move your K2 meter in and out of the circle to validate the level of emission. In other words, move it closer to the dome until you get orange and red hits and then back away from the dome until the meter is green. Once you have validated the radius of effect, use this as a reference when investigating and do not place any other devices within that radius, as you need to ensure that the radio frequency emitted does not interfere with any of your other devices. 

Also, a good understanding of how conduction works is vital in getting the best out of your plasma dome. If you place your right hand on the plasma dome and then your left hand on the K2 meter, you should be able to conduct the electricity through your body, which will be shown by a reading on the K2 meter. This is important to note, just in case you touch the dome and then move close to or pick up your K2 meter.

How to use the dome in an investigation

There are a number of ways to use a plasma dome in an investigation. The one that I find most valuable is to use the dome in conjunction with an Electronic Voice Phenomena Recorder (EVP). By placing the EVP near the dome, entities may use the dome's energy and the emitted radio frequencies to manipulate the frequency to communicate with us. The EVP can register a wider pitch range, from 7 Hz to 50,000 Hz, whereas average human hearing will only register sounds from approximately 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz. This range obviously changes based on age, exposure and ear damage. What this means is, the EVP may pick up sounds and voices that the human ear can not. 

A second method is asking any spirit entities to come and touch the plasma dome. As when a human touches the dome's outer shell, the coloured beam would form an arc from the centre electrode to the point of contact. In theory, this should work if a spirit entity touches the dome or pulls energy from it. 

If an arc is visible and you have your dome situated within the validated radius of effect, then you can begin to eliminate or debunk possible causes of the arc. In this circumstance, the arc may be related to paranormal phenomenon and as an investigator you would begin to request that any entities touch the dome on the left, and then on the right or on one side for a yes, and another for a no. If the dome responds positively, then you may have a possible spirit communicating with you. 

Whenever you are investigating with a new piece of equipment, ensure you practice with the device before you take it out with you. Learn how it works, how it responds and how it interacts with you and any other devices or equipment you may use. 

Use the dome in conjunction with an EVP, K2s (or any EMF meter), an ovilus and a video camera for best results. 

From my experience the dome works best when young spirits are present or in one where voices or growls are often heard. 

Good luck with this fun, cheap addition to your investigation kit. 

To Ouija or not to Ouija - Ouija Board Session at the Old Kilmore Gaol, Kilmore, Victoria

I find it very interesting when you investigate the same location a number of times, especially when you are exploring it with someone new or even someone who has never investigated that particular location before. You try hard not to let recent experiences influence your current investigation and not to overshare activity in a particular area, but then again, those past experiences and insights are what helps to build the story that you are piecing together and often it is the past activity that you rely on to validate responses or to identify with whom you are communicating.

If I know that I will be investigating the same location a number of times, I will often employ old school techniques like scrying, trigger items, pendulum work or Ouija, mixed with the more contemporary approaches to investigations, like the use of electronic devices or recording equipment. This way, I can ensure I do not become bored with the investigation and are using multiple sources to build an evidence base to validate any activity experienced.

Now, everyone has a different opinion on Ouija Boards and many of these opinions are based on very little evidence or experience and are formed based on the myths told by the overly exaggerated story-tellers. When I ask people why the think Ouijas are demonic or bad .... nearly all of the responses are simply ....NOOOO they are not good. I follow up asking if they have actually ever undertaken a Ouija Board session and the answer is unanimously .... NO, never .... and I never want to!

So where have these opinions formed..... they have formed on the basis of stories passed down through others. Through social media, through parents, through exaggerated stories of friends who know friends who once did a Ouija, through the whispers and innuendo, the gossip and the hear say.

But......

A Ouija Board is no different to any other form of spirit communication, whether it be a pendulum, a K2 meter, an ovilus, a set of dowsing rods, or even when you say to a spirit....I give you permission to use my energy ..... all of these methods give permission to the spirit world to come forth and make themselves known, to communicate to the living who reside in the physical world. So do these people who have such strong demonic opinions of Ouija Boards have the same views regarding holding a K2 meter, or using a pendulum, or even holding their hands out and inviting a spirit to touch them.

No! Why?

Because many people have not been educated on what they are about.

I personally do not have an issue with using the board. I researched them, learnt how to use them properly, how to open and close a board session and how to stay in control. Being in control is the key, being strong, assertive and respectful.

So, let me walk you through this amazing Ouija session at the Old Kilmore Gaol.

It was well after one in the morning and a lady, who was rather sensitive to the spirit world and her young adult son wanted to engage in a Ouija session. So I, along with another lead investigator took the two guests to the cell area. We set up the Ouija and opened a session.

Not long into the session, a spirit contact was made. The spirit continued to respond to this lady, stating that it was here to talk with her. The spirit spelt out her name, her age along with that of the lady, all of which resonated accurately with this guest. Now, I had never met this guest before that night, so unless she was saying things were accurate, when in fact they were not, or had lied about her name and that of her children, then I would say this was a pretty authentic experience.

The main storyline of the session was that a relative had passed and there were financial concerns over inheritance and divorce. The session gave guidance to this guest and clarity on actions. It was clear and concise.

But.....at one point the spirit whom we believe had come with the guest dropped out and you could feel a very strong presence enter the cell.

Quickly the Board shifted energy and the spirit made it clear it wanted to speak with the young male adult who was engaging in the Ouija session. We asked the spirit if he knew this young man. No .... was his response. We then asked the spirit why he wanted to speak with him? His response was of a sexual nature.

Knowing this was a gaol for men and homosexual behaviours were not uncommon, we quickly asserted to the spirit that this was not the intention of the session and that the young man was not interested nor consenting to any of that behaviour and he was to immediately leave the location.

The planchette moved to goodbye.

The Board stayed silent for a few minutes until the energy lifted again and it felt like the female was back to communicate with our guest.

The session continued for a few more minutes until the guest was satisfied she has gained all she needed to know.

We closed the Board down and left respectfully and peacefully.

It was so interesting to feel how one spirit just vanished, while a strong, dominant spirit took over the Board. It is so important to be assertive and in control and confront what is presenting itself to you when you are undertaking a Ouija session. And if in the off chance that you feel you are not, then close the Board down immediately.

J-Ward Asylum for the Criminally Insane (Ghost Tour)

Saturday night we were hosted by Lantern Ghost Tours at J-Ward Asylum for the Criminally Insane, and let me tell you, it was absolutely awesome.

This night and the blog has been broken into two posts - one for the Ghost Tour and one for the Investigation. Why? Simple. The amount of activity to write would warrant a short story!

So let's start with Part 1: The Ghost Tour

The night began with brief introductions and a walk around the museum style entrance foyer, which housed interesting artefacts from both J-Ward and Aradale Asylums.  Everything from arts and crafts, to syringes and electric shock therapy apparatus.

Our hosts Natasha and Richard gave us a brief run through and then after about fifteen minutes, the group moved into the newest building, the West Wing. The West Wing was where medical patients who were less threatening and more stable were accommodated. There were approximately ten single cells off a long hallway. Here we stopped for about twenty minutes as we attempted to connect with the matron who regularly patrolled this hallway. We had several hits on the K2 meters and I (and other guests) felt tingles through the lower part of my legs.

At the far end of the hallway and off to the left was the shower block. This block lay twenty metres from the West Wing through a caged walkway and to the right of the hallway was the entrance to the main cell block. The cell block was a double story building with approximately twelve cells on each floor. The ground floor had a refurbished chapel and although the stories were interesting, no activity was noted. The cells have images and stories on display regarding notorious inmates and they are well worth the read. We moved upstairs to the gallows, where we were informed that J-Ward was the site for three hangings, before descending back down to the ground level and moving outside to the exercise yard area. Originally there were four separately fenced yards, where as now, one fence stands separating the Pool and Arts and Craft building from the rest of the yard space. The yard is pretty much untouched with original fences, tables, benches and gazebo. The dreariness, the lack of colour, nature or life, is unnervingly apparent.

The guide Natasha, moved us over to one corner of the yard where three plaques were attached to the bluestone walls at approximately waist height. These plaques were dedicated to the men whose bodies stood buried deep into the wall. Notice I use the word 'stood'. These men were not laid to rest. Instead they were buried standing up, never to rest, facing north, so never to see a sunrise or sunset, embalmed in lime and encased between the bluestone layers. It was also at this point, the smoothness of the bluestone was pointed out to us. Patients would come to the yard and to this wall which basked in the suns rays. They would rub their straight jacket buckles against the warm bluestone bricks, heating the metal buckles and in turn, heat their jackets and warming their cold bodies. Over time, the rough exterior of the bluestone had worn down to a surface, smooth as porcelain.

We then moved through a small gate in the wall which connected to a separate yard. A set of external circular stairs led us down to an underground cavern ..... the original kitchen. In this kitchen it was alleged there were up to five spirits haunting the dark and dreary abode. Three children, a German cook and the Governor. The Governor who died on the steps to the bathroom and then fell in the doorway where he took his last breath.

Here we had a number of K2 hits and a few people claimed that their hands were touched or their hair was played with. Off the kitchen was a hallway and a stone staircase .... cold, dark, ominous and heavy. No writing or words could explain this space, so I have included the image. It was one of the most terrifying spaces I have ever seen.

We returned to investigate this space later in the evening and captured video and electronic voice phenomena of potential demonic entities and I have shared those experiencs in Part 2: The Investigation.

From here we moved up the stairs which led back to the museum foyer, where we gathered for a documentary and interview by Mike Willisee in the 1970's. Seeing real patients, pacing, swaying and lying in the yard ..... waiting their lives away, was just so very sad and I was totally overwhelmed with empathy, sorrow, heartache and disgust, all at the same time.

One particular patient George, who believed he was the Queen's brother, spoke candidly about the murders he committed, his life and his 'eye for an eye', where he engaged in self-mutilation and gauged his own eye from its very socket. Due to George being such a threat to others, he was caged in his own private yard for safety. His peering face through the bars was spine-tingling.

To see someone so mentally ill and the life he had ..... I just can't explain it. It was just so very, very  sad.

Criminally insane patients who castrated themselves, amputated every finger and toe from their own bodies, or even those who had autism, were committed to a life in the Asylum. What I find hard to fathom is this type of treatment and facility was active into the 1990's - just thirty years ago. Unbelievable!

After supper of pizza and drinks, we moved onto our individual investigation.....now this is where it gets interesting and leads to Part 2 of the blog.

Would I return to J-Ward for another tour and investigation - well, I have already booked for one in the new year! Need I say more....

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!