Australian Paranormal Investigation Unit

It’s been a long time old friend….

Some of the team spent last night wandering through the darkness and shadows of Port Arthur, listening to stories and ghostly tales that drifted through the rain.

The night wrapped us in mist, and the rain-soaked ruins seemed to breathe with secrets of their own…

The Mystery of the Mitre Tavern Ghost

Tucked away in Bank Place, Melbourne’s Mitre Tavern is more than just the city’s oldest continuously licensed pub, it’s home to a ghostly legend passed through time, so rooted within its halls, its spectral secret clings like a shadow to stone.

Built in 1837, just two years after Melbourne was founded, this Gothic-style gem is a rare survivor, spared demolition in the 1930s. Now surrounded by modern skyscrapers, it stands out like a relic from another era. But it’s not just its history that lingers.

For decades, staff & patrons have reported strange happenings: glasses moving on their own, cold drafts with no source, a shadowy figure & sightings of a woman in a long white dress, or a cocoon of light.

Many believe it’s Connie Waugh, a dazzling actress, showgirl, car racer, & mistress of Sir Rupert Clarke, Australia’s first baronet’s son & a prominent businessman & MP. Their love affair scandalised early 1900s society & helped dissolve Rupert’s marriage.

Rumours claim Connie either hanged herself at the Tavern after Rupert’s death, as or woman scorned, or, died there during an influenza outbreak. She’s said to wander the halls & balcony, forever waiting. Her picture hangs on the wall of the staircase in the Tavern.

But here’s the twist.

There’s no record of her death. No obituary, no police report, no news reports, nothing. For a woman once splashed across headlines, she simply vanishes after 1926.

Could the ghost be Connie, forever waiting on the balcony for her lover? Or could it be Mrs. Ellen Norah Flannery, a kind-hearted publican & keeper who passed away inside the Tavern in 1914?

One building. One Ghost. Two women & Countless Occurrences.

Keep your eyes out for more post about this story as we try to put the pieces in place of who really haunts the Mitre Tavern…

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We are extremely lucky here in Tasmania to have some truly wonderful & beautiful places to visit. Places that have such rich & deeply layered histories & stories to be discovered.

Dysart House is one of such places. Located in Kempton, in the Midlands of Tasmania, now the home of the Old Kempton Distillery.

We have been doing some research on this beautiful, historic location & enjoying the little treasures we keep coming across.

Just like most places of its kind in the mid-late 1800s, this building had many uses from Hotel & Inn, to Coach House, a place to hold inquests into deaths within the community, a public meeting space, entertainment spaces, private residence & much more. At one point in time it was also a scholastic establishment for young ladies.

And, like a lot of business within the early days of Tasmania, Dysart House (first known as The Greenponds Hotel) was built by a colourful, shady character who was an ex. convict & managed to become a successful businessman after serving his time. That character was Mr. William Henry Ellis.

It is also known to have some resident spirits within it walls & grounds. Over the years, staff & guests alike have experienced a range of occurrences from seeing apparitions, hearing footsteps when no one is around, objects disappearing or moving, appliances turning on, seemingly on their own volition, flashes being seen on security cameras after dark & many more experiences.

If you’re ever in the Kempton area, why not call into our friends at Old Kempton Distillery & try some of their local spirits as well as some of their delicious food & drinks! You can also take part on one of their many tours on site & learn more about its history, distillation & the spirits they create!

Another great book to add to the collection. 👻🏚️🔥

Thanks to 🙌🏼

Kelly’s Steps, Salamanca, (Hobart), Tasmania.

Kelly’s Steps were built in 1840 by adventurer James Kelly. Kelly made a formative living whaling & sealing.

They are quite steep & were cut into the stone cliffs, providing a short cut from the colonial houses in Battery Point to the Warehouses & Dockyards down at Salamanca.

These steps are still full of mystery. Over the years there have been stories that these steps are haunted by spirits, that assaults, murder & prostitution were rampant in the mid-late 1800s to early 1900s & that at night time, these steps were to be avoided unless you wanted to be hassled by drunken workmen & sailors.

There have been reports of shadow people being seen, old wharfie’s ghosts & even allegedly a story of a red ball mysteriously rolling out of the laneway with no one in sight.

But who are these spirits? and, why do they still roam this area giving anyone who is here after the sun goes down, the sense of unease & of being watched?!

They are an incrediblly preserved piece of our history & you always feel like you’ve stepped back in time when walking up/down them.

Have a story of Kelly’s Steps you’d like to share with us? We’d like to hear it - you can either send us a DM or leave your story in the comments for others to read too 👻

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Next on the list was a walk around the Garden district. The Garden district is famous for its impressive southern mansion’s, some of which are quite famous for featuring in multiple movies & TV shows, such as American Horror Story.

Unfortunately a lot of the places of interest are private residences, so access is next to impossible, but the walk around nonetheless was amazing.

After a Tarot card reading on the famous Bourbon Street & a visit to the Marie Laveau Voodoo Shop, we had a Ghost, Voodoo & Vampire night walking tour booked.

Our tour started from the Witches Brew Gallery on Exchange Place, which is only a block over from Bourbon Street.

Now I always take up the opportunity to take part in a local ghost tour in a city I’m visiting, it’s a great way to get to know the history of a city, along with visiting a few of the city’s famous hot spots.

For NOLA, the real hot spot is in fact a whole suburb, named the French Quarter. The oldest part of NOLA.

As stated earlier, the city of New Orleans was founded by the French in 1718, & was founded on reclaimed swamp land along side the famous & ever powerful Mississippi River, in which I have spent along time following. Memphis, Vicksburg, the cities position was chosen due to the river & the proximity to the gulf “entrance” & was a great location for commerce, albeit quite a flawed & tricky location as history has proven over.

In 1763, Spain took control of New Orleans, but not long after in 1788, the great fire of New Orleans all but wiped out the now, French quarter. A year later, St. Louis Cemetery #1 was built, followed by another substantial fire in 1794.

In 1801, France again regained power of the city prior to it being sold to The United States in the Louisiana purchase in 1803.

So even with the name of “French quarters” much of the architecture is in fact, Spanish.

3 of the hotspots of interest for me was;

* The story of Zack and Addie, which takes place when hurricane Katrina happened. Very interest read, it’s quite a dark & recent story.
* The Andrew Jackson Hotel
& finally but not least,
* LaLaurie mansion, which is one of the darkest story’s in history & is the story behind AHS - the Coven TV show.

Although our time in the city was short, we will be revisiting in the near future with the hope of securing a few locations to investigate.

- Aiden

Last September I was fortunate enough to visit New Orleans for the first time, now this isn’t my first time to the region of Louisiana as I had previously visited St Francisville in 2016, to spend the night at the Myrtle’s plantation which proved to be one of the most active paranormal nights in my investigating career.

My biggest draw to the US had never been the big lights of LA or New York but instead, the south.

From the creation of Blues music which is the root for all the music I enjoy “Rock-Metal” to Elvis history & even as far left field as VooDoo, then of course it’s dark history.

The South really has it all.

Our time in NOLA “New Orleans Louisiana”, was to be spent doing the normal tourist attractions, which for NOLA happens to be everything to do with paranormal, VooDoo & Vampires!

We took a day tour of St Louis Cemetery #1, probably one of the most iconic cemetery’s in the world. This cemetery is iconic not solely to who resides in it, but due to its construction.

NOLA was essentially built on top of a swamp by the French, meaning a very high water table making normal burial not possible. So instead of the traditional 9ft under, all remains are placed into an above ground crypt.

Due to the climate of NOLA, hot, high humidity & more hot, a body in a concrete crypt only takes a year to decompose essentially to ash.

After 1 year & 1 day the Crypt is open & the “ash” is pushed to the back of the crypt & down to a “pit” by a 10 foot pole, which is where the phrase “wouldn’t touch it with a 10 foot pole” comes from.

One of the more notable residents in this cemetery is Marie Laveau, also known as the Voodoo Queen of NOLA.

Nicholas cage also once owned a crypt here.

The final scene from Easyrider was also shot here.

The biggest take away for me at this cemetery is that NOLA heat is no joke, especially when you are surrounded closely by concrete structures.

- Aiden

Stay Tuned for Pt.2

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Some of the team recently took a trip up to Kempton, Midlands, Tasmania, for a day trip to explore the sights & try some of the local spirits!

Meet beautiful Dysart House, which proudly & elegantly sits on Main Street in the historic village of Kempton (originally Greenponds).

A former Coaching Inn, Dysart House was built in 1842 by Master Stonemason Andrew Bell for William Henry Ellis, an ex-convict embezzler turned Inn Keeper.

This elegant 2 storey Georgian Style Homestead boasted 22 rooms including dining rooms, living room, bedrooms, drawing room, library, large kitchen, store room, cellar under the kitchen, court yard, coach house, stables able to hold 22 horses & caretaker’s quarters. It also has sandstone fireplaces & sandstone flagged floors.

Ellis had a successful coaching business which ran between Hobart, terminating at The Greenponds Hotel. Travellers would rest here on their journey between Hobart & Launceston.

Dysart House is rich in history & folklore. Originally known as Greenponds Hotel, it lived its initial chapters as most Inns & Hotels of this time did, as a residence, public house & Inn. It was known at some time as The Commercial Inn, became a scholastic establishment for young ladies for over a decade after 1860, then a private residence from the 1880s on. Now it lives its current chapter as home of The Old Kempton Distillery.

Ellis ran his businesses, including The Greenponds Store, located across the road from the Inn, until his death in 1860. He was buried in the nearby cemetery.

We’re no strangers to some of the resident spirits within Kempton, having previously investigated Huntington Tavern & through studying some of its history, Kempton definitely has its fair share of haunted locations, including Dysart House!

Dysart has a few residents still remaining after their time here. A Lady in Red, is said to be seen walking from the kitchen to the old slaughter room only to disappear. Footsteps have been heard when no one is around, objects moved, the old piano in the hallway has been heard playing (even when no piano was there!), appliances turn on by themselves & many more occurrence have been experienced over the years!

Follow Old Kempton Distillery who are open daily (see site for details) & experience this amazing site for yourself on one of their tours, grab some great food & enjoy some of their spirits! (you may also encounter their forever residents as well!) 👻

Also, check out Kempton Ghost Tour for local tours around Kempton!

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Info:
Old Kempton Distillery
https://www.oldkemptondistillery.com.au/cellar-door/

On the Convict Trail:
http://ontheconvicttrail.blogspot.com/2015/12/dysart-house.html?m=1

Urban.com.au
https://www.urban.com.au/news/dysart-house-kempton-tasmania-listed-at-1-5-million

“The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion that stands at the cradle of true art and true science.” - Albert Einstein

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Who doesn’t love a surprise find?!

Sometimes when researching for cases, you come across information in the most unintentional of places!

A couple of months ago, randomly found an old, tattered book from 1928, in a book store, not thinking about it’s possible contents, but tonight, stumbled across a listing of deaths by cause and locations…

absolute gold when trying to find probable correlation for hauntings and in who it could possibly be that’s continuing to reside in a location.

Who else love researching locations they’re investigating?

Do you find research benefits your investigations?

Let us know in the comments 👇🏼👍🏼👻

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