9 Most Frightening and Haunted Places in Australia

Updated On: November 08, 2023 by   Ciaran Connolly

Numerous haunted places in Australia are surrounded by mystery and steeped in tragic history. Whether you are a ghost hunter hoping to catch a glimpse of a ghost wandering a haunted hallway or a brave soul hoping to hear strange voices in an old room, you will feel a chill as you visit these spooky locations. 

If you want a spine-chilling experience, go to Picton’s ghost-ridden tunnels. You can also head to Aradale Lunatic Asylum, which has claimed the lives of nearly thirteen hundred inmates, providing ample fodder for ghost stories. Pay a visit to Monte Cristo Homestead and then explore Port Arthur’s mysterious past for a full-fledged “spooktacular” trip.

What are the Most Famous Haunted Places in Australia?

If you are easily frightened, you should reconsider reading this article. This article discusses Australia’s most terrifying locations, ranging from old homesteads to famous Sydney highways. Are you ready?

1. Picton, New South Wales

Picton is known as Australia‘s most haunted town. The city is about 80 kilometres southwest of Sydney. Buildings and railway tunnels add to the historical significance of the town. One of the landmarks in the town is the Redbank Range Railway Tunnel. It is a must-visit for all ghost hunters.

The 0.18 kilometres-long tunnel was dug out of the Picton region’s hills. Several reports of ghosts roaming the tunnel are presumably connected to the number of suicides and murders on the train line. The most famous spirit in the tunnel is that of Emily Bollard; she was killed by a train in the exact location in 1916. People often report seeing Emily’s ghost and hearing frightening voices, crying, and shrieks. 

Another common rumour is that of a girl’s ghost who hanged herself outside the tunnel’s entrance. Besides these ghosts, witnesses have reported seeing other strange phenomena, including lights, wind gusts, and shadows. Picton town is second to none.

2. Aradale Lunatic Asylum, Victoria

Aradale Lunatic was built over 150 years in 1867. It is located about 200 kilometres west of Melbourne and overlooks the regional town of Ararat. It has more than 70 now-demolished structures, with more than 13,000 patients, staff members, and inmates passing away. But do the ghosts still roam around the place?

One of the stories behind the walls of this eerie place is about Gary Webb. He is a career criminal, received a 14-year prison term and was required to reside in Aradale. He was detained at Aradale because he sent letters to the media revealing the inhumane and terrible things he intended to do once he was free. Gary is rumoured to haunt his old room still, shouting for guests to leave and shoving them out the door.

3. Monte Cristo Homestead, New South Wales

Monte Cristo Homestead was built in 1885 by Christopher William Crawley, a prosperous farmer and landowner. It observed Junee from a hilltop in the NSW Riverina region, nearly 470 kilometres from Sydney. Over the years, the homestead has been disturbed by at least ten ghostlike entities. The staff is the beginning of the eerie history of Monte Cristo. 

Over ten ghosts are rumoured to inhabit the Monte Cristo Homestead’s rooms and grounds, many of whom are claimed to be Crawley family members. An infection from a boil on Crawley’s neck caused him to pass away at home at 69. Locals claim that his wife rarely left the house after his death. At 92 years old, she passed away there. Crawley’s ghost now inhabits the room where he passed away. Mrs Crawley is still living there, wandering from room to room and passing judgement on anybody who enters.

Harold was just a young child who was hurt in a tragic accident. The boy survived the collision, but the head injury left him permanently disabled. He was eventually locked up in an asylum after the authorities discovered him bound to his mother’s bed. He passed away at the asylum but still haunts the homestead’s grounds. He announces his presence by clanging shackles.

According to reports, a teenage maid died after falling from the balcony of the second storey. Besides hearing steps pacing the upper balcony in the middle of the night, other claimed events include a medium hit in the head. One of the weird incidents is a little child who experienced different asthma-attack-like incidents despite having no medical history. 

Eerie occurrences do not stop here! Various weird animal incidents and other accounts of presence, footsteps, and voices from boarders, guests, and family members have been reported. Other reports mention strange lights, noises, and full-body apparitions, among other things. Pay a visit to Mont Cristo and enjoy this unique experience.

4. Callan Park

Callan Park is one of those haunted places where you hear the legend before you go there, like any haunted house. Callan Park housed an asylum called the Callan Park Mental Hospital for the Insane (1878–1914). Up until 1994, Callan Park was still in use for patients. So, what about the ghost stories for this place?

According to some claims, the Callan Park Mental Hospital employees assaulted and neglected every patient. Stories say that the bodies were placed in mass graves since the stigma associated with mental illness prevented relatives from claiming them. Nowadays, visitors report feeling sudden cold shifts and getting glimpses of spectral figures on camera. Do you think these figures are for the ghosts of those patients?

5. Fremantle Arts Centre, Western Australia

Fremantle Arts Centre was founded in 1964 and is a world heritage site. Do you know the dark side of this centre? It was initially built by convicts, served as a hospital for mentally ill convicts and settlers, and was named Fremantle Lunatic Asylum. Hundreds of patients were in crowded quarters suffering from alcoholism to sunstroke. People were forced to live in deplorable conditions because they were all criminally mentally ill. As a result, terrible incidents happened due to the increased patient numbers.

One of these incidents included a patient who killed a woman called Mrs Clifford, and another patient committed suicide. People reported seeing another phantom woman who is thought to be the ghost of a woman who was taken in after her daughter was abducted. After her horrific experience, the poor woman suffered from psychiatric problems. She committed suicide by leaping from a first-floor window. In this room, people report hearing a young child’s voice.

6. Princess Theatre, Melbourne, Victoria

No matter where in the globe it is, every theatre over a century old, claim to have a theatre ghost, and there is always a tale to support such rumours. For Melbourne, the most well-known spirit is named Federici Midway. He travelled to Australia to participate in numerous operettas and operas throughout the 1880s.

As Federici Midway finished his final lyrics, a trapdoor dropped him gradually into the space beneath the stage. He passed away after a heart attack, and one of his fellows witnessed his death. The creepy part was that everyone in attendance, including the actors, insisted he had genuinely appeared onstage for the curtain call and taken his bows alongside the other cast members.

7. Fremantle Prison, Western Australia

Fremantle Prison, established in the middle of the 19th century, is one of the biggest jails that prisoners constructed. The prisoners at Fremantle were initially typically good-character, short-sentenced inmates. Later, in the 20th century, most inmates serving lengthy sentences at this jail were violent offenders. Executions were only permitted in Fremantle Prison in Western Australia. 

Murderer Jimmy Long was the first to be hung at Fremantle Prison in 1889, and serial killer Eric Edgar Cooke was the last. Visitors who take pictures with the gallows frequently find that they appear to be headless when they subsequently review their photos, and there have been reports of creaking keychains, voices and footsteps coming from nowhere.

Another harrowing story is about Martha Rendell’s murder of her new husband’s son and his two daughters. She received a death sentence for her guilt. Staff members and visitors claim to have seen a woman’s face in the prison chapel windows after she was hung in 1909.

8. Port Arthur, Tasmania

Port Arthur is situated on the Tasman Peninsula, 97 kilometres southeast of Hobart, the state capital of Tasmania, Australia. It is one of Australia’s best-preserved penal settlements. At the end of the 1700s, Britain started sending their convicts to Port Arthur. They had a very harsh lifestyle; barely any returned to Britain. It is also said that most convicts were sent for petty crimes like theft. It was not only adults sent to prison but also children.

In 1996, one of the darkest moments in more recent Australian history unfolded when there was a mass shooting at Port Arthur. It sadly took the lives of 35 people and so many more injured. It was also a death sentence for many people; many suffered and died in this area.

Many paranormal activities have been reported in Port Arthur spread over the entire site. People claimed to hear disembodied voices and other noises that they could not explain. Besides, others claimed to be attacked physically by the unseen. 

The asylum is said to be haunted by an elderly lady, and a little girl commonly sighted there. People are said to be touched and scratched by the unseen in the separate prison.

A lot of spirits are said to linger in this place. One of these spirits that have been cited dramatically is of a blue lady who was believed to have lived back in Port Arthur in the 1800s. It is said that she lost a baby during childbirth, and she kept searching for her lost child. Besides, people reported witnessing a group of children around the grounds, usually playing, and suddenly disappearing in thin air.

9. Adelaide Arcade, South Australia

Adelaide Arcade is Australia’s oldest indoor shopping mall and the first in South Australia. Many people who work and visit the place say that it is haunted. It has witnessed terrible deaths for a shopping destination since it opened in 1885. So, it certainly has seen its share of tragedy.

The keeper of the Arcade, Francis Cluney, perished in a terrible accident in 1887. The machinery in the engine room had mangled his body. Francis’ death’s underlying reason is still unknown. Several security officers and store employees have reported seeing his spirit numerous times.

In 1902, Sydney Byron, who was just three years old, died from gas inhalation. Some people claimed to have seen a little boy standing close by before disappearing in thin air. Additionally, children have been heard ominously playing within the deserted mall.

Ghost stories are alive and well in Australia, giving you the creepy feeling that you are not alone and sending chills down your spine. Whether you believe in the paranormal, tales of haunted places make any journey more enjoyable. Which haunted place did you choose to start with?