Langhorne Homestead, Altona, Victoria, Australia

The Altona Homestead was built in the 1850's and is situated in Logan Reserve, about 50 metres from the Altona Beach shoreline. Imagine being in the mid 1800's, standing in the bay window staring out to the ocean, watching and waiting for your husband to return, with the sounds of the ocean reminding you of how isolated you are. The flicker of candlelight or moonlight shimmering through the gum trees must have been so eerily peaceful. It is hard to imagine, and even more so, given that the homestead is surrounded by a bustling community, with shops, restaurants, bars and people. But once inside, you blocked the sounds of the outside world and immersed yourself in the artifacts that filled the homestead.

And so the night began …...

We entered the beautiful bluestone and brick homestead into an entrance foyer. To the left was the main bedroom of Sarah Langhorne, to the right, the reception room. Straight ahead is a hallway and a door. Off the hallway were the bathroom, the child's bedroom and a large room (currently used as an office). The door off the foyer, led to the dining room and off this was a small library and through the library was the kitchen, which was the base for the night.

We all met in the kitchen where the two guides gave a five minute introduction and a brief history of the spirits who were alleged to roam the homestead. They went through some equipment they had on offer, which included K2 meters, dousing rods, a spirit box and a set of parabolic earphones. The guides then said we were free to explore the homestead and if we needed their assistance, to just ask.

Great I thought, off to do my own paranormal investigation. I love that!

I teamed up with a friend, who had brought his teenage daughter along for her first extended paranormal investigation, and moved quickly into the main bedroom. This bedroom was alleged to have a number of spirits, including a woman who had died in the bed during childbirth and that of Sarah Langhorne. We set up a video camera, a parascope on the bed, a few K2 meters and a catball on the wash stand. We then invited anyone to come forward. After a few minutes, the parascope lit up and the catball began to respond with what appeared to be intelligent communication. This only lasted about five minutes because the other guests began to talk rather loudly, laughing and moving noisily through the homestead. In reality, we were talking about an entrance foyer with five investigative rooms off it, and 17 people (2 guides and 15 guests) moving through a relatively small area, so noise was always going to be an issue.

We did have a video camera set up in this space, so we are hoping that once that is analysed, there may be some notable evidence from this room.

It would have been beneficial for the guide to talk about investigation etiquette. There were many times throughout the night that you could not investigate due to the noise of some of the guests.

From the bedroom, we moved into the bathroom where it was alleged a man had drowned in the tub. Unfortunately nothing.

From the bathroom, we moved into the child's room next door. They were alleged reports of children playing in this space, so we set up a few trigger items, the camera and the catball. We spent a considerable amount of time in this room, not because of activity, but because there were always people in the reception room and the dining room was a thorough fare through to the base (kitchen) and we had already investigated the bathroom and the main bedroom.

However, we did get some activity in this room. Mostly mild sensations, cool breezes and tinglings and on the second return to this room, my friend felt headachey and the room felt 'different'. We spent over forty-five minutes in this room, in total. One couple had stated that when they were in there, they felt something touch their legs.

By this time we were one and a half hours into the investigation and the house seemed to quieten down. We found out that some of the guests had left the tour. So with a few less people in the house, we moved into the dining room. We set the parascope up on the table and a few triggers elsewhere in the room. We did feel energy in the room, albeit mild, and we did have a few hits on the parascope, but nothing on any of the other devices.

From here, we returned to the main bedroom and tried a few other investigations with the other couple from earlier. We made a circle of energy and invited the spirits to come and communicate with us. The couple commented on cool breezes and being touched in the back whilst the other felt like she was being pulled towards the window. The room felt more charged and there were definite tinglings, but none of the devices were activated.

There was still an hour to go on the tour, and I must admit, we did consider leaving, but we thought, no, let's try somewhere else. So we went down into the office area. This area definitely had a different feel from the rest of the homestead. This may sound funny, but it felt masculine, and we referred to the spirit we encountered as male, whereas everywhere else in the homestead, we had subconsciously referred to the other adult spirits as female. We had some trigger activity on the parascope and the K2 flashed to orange multiple times. There was a dense, heavy feeling. It was probably the most active, besides the experiments in the main bedroom.

With half an hour to go, we finally got the reception room to ourselves. All night, others had set up camp in the reception room, sitting around on the couches, talking or using the spirit box with the volume up quite high. After a while, that white noise does your head in. It was used quite extensively by guests and guides this tour and it echoed through the homestead. I was surprised, because most of the reading I have done on spirit boxes stated that you should always do a protection 'spell' before using one and then only use it for five to ten minutes at a time, with a closing 'spell' at the end, to ensure spirits go back to whence they came. I do get the attraction of this piece of equipment and I do use mine, but we record the session and unless the whole team is in the one room, we use headphones.

We sat in the reception room and listened to the last of the guests say their goodbyes. We realised everyone else had left the tour, except for us.

Nothing notable happened in the reception room, so we packed up and went to find the guides to say goodnight. At the beginning of the night we were concerned that three hours would not be enough time to do an in-depth paranormal investigation, but it was more than enough, given the low level of activity we experienced.

The guides were lovely and most hospitable, but some of the guests were loud, with a few of them doing an investigation for the first or second time and whom did not understand etiquette. This definitely deterred from our experience, but it was still an enjoyable evening.

As for a paranormal investigation, it was a great one for newbies or children. It was not scary or confronting. The rooms were well furnished and there was no need for a torch. There was a toilet and a well lit kitchen to retreat to if need be. The company provided some great equipment for guests to dabble in and there were enough rooms to practice your investigative skills.

Table Tipping Experience, Moe, Victoria, Australia

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Old Gippstown Gippsland Heritage Park, Moe, Victoria, Australia

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1. 'Out Kitchen' - autoboard writing

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

3. 'Sunny Creek School' - table tipping

Just wow!!!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Knowing that - I will be back!

Ballarat, Victoria, Australia

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Was it interesting - very!

Informative - yes!

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

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

Mayday Hills Asylum, Beechworth, Victoria, Australia

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Undisclosed home, Melbourne, Australia

I want to share with you an experience that happened in my own home. For many years we have heard footsteps and movement upstairs, normally generating from the back corner bedroom, the main bedroom and the hallway joining the two. The hallway does pass other rooms, but there has not been notable experiences in any of those rooms.

The unexplained noises have been frequent and range in intensity. We could all be downstairs and hear noises very clearly upstairs; they were so loud you would be convinced someone was there. When you call out "who is upstairs?", the noises stop. On one occasion one of my older sons was home alone, in that corner bedroom, and he heard someone downstairs in the kitchen. The kitchen is directly below that bedroom. He could hear cupboards and crockery. He assumed we were home and thought nothing of it. Later that afternoon, he came downstairs to find no-one home. He asked me about it later, and I informed him, we had not been home at all since that morning.

But the most definitive experience was last year. Our ducted heating had broke earlier that year. You could not turn it on at all. We had technicians come out who informed us that it was totally broken and it needed replacing. Actually, we had three companies, who all said the same thing. So, on their advice, the heating was turned off at the wall and no longer used.

Well as you can imagine, winters are very cold. We had got use to sleeping with warm pyjamas and lots of doonas and blankets, but one particular week was very, very cold. My son had been complaining for a few days about how cold he was and how he just couldn't get warm. That evening, he had a warm shower and climbed into bed.

He claimed a noise woke him from his sleep. The noise came from just outside his room, where the wall control was. The noise he heard was the ducted heating fan switching on. He looked over to the unit (which was only one metre from his door) and claimed he saw a very small darkish gnome like figure with a round head and pointed hat, reach up and turn the heating on. The heating then came on - the heating, which had not worked for months, came on and was working.

Well, I had been asleep with three doonas in the main bedroom, and naturally I became very warm. I woke sweating and was surprised to feel the air vents blowing hot air. Thinking how was that so, and worried that it may cause a fire as we were told there were issues, I went around to the unit and turned it off.

The next day we talked about it as a family. No person in the family said they had turned it on. We tested the unit, and it did not work, just as it had not worked for the months prior. I explained to everyone the dangers of turning on the unit, just in case it was faulty.

The following night, we went to bed, and you guessed it, about 1 am in the morning, the heating came on again.

Again, we turned it off.  I politely asked whoever was turning the unit on, not to, as it was faulty and broken. The unit has not come on again since that day.

The noises continue,  the voices are still being heard and the gnomes are still roaming the house.

Haunted - I would say definitely!

Old Williamstown City, Victoria

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Old Kilmore Gaol, Kilmore, Victoria, Australia

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

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

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

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

So with a new mindset......

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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