HAUNTED LAUNCESTON Most of the people in this state have heard of at least one ghost tale from this city of Launceston. There are a small volume of ghostly and strange happenings, some of which can be heard on the Launceston ghost tours, other tales can be found in the newspaper (past/present), also books of history matter, as well as the local library we do not know
Exactly how many tales there are, but we will explore as many as we can and hopefully we will have footage
To prove how haunted Launceston really is…. and now a brief description of Haunted Launceston….
View Haunted Launceston in a larger map
The Princess Theatre
The ghostly happenings are:
1…Mysterious scratching sounds
2…Sudden drop in temperature
3…Music playing from a piano (no-one is seen playing the piano)
4…An apparition of a man (maybe its Max Oldaker spirit)
5…Heavy footsteps have also been heard
Max’s spirit is said to still resides at the Theatre, he was an actor (a promising one at that)
Born 1907
Died 1972
When max past away, paranormal incidents started happening…. could this be max, performing one more time? There are a number of ghosts that reside in side the wall of the theatre… in fact there’s meant to be seven all up.
The Princess Square
(A place where the damned were hanged)
The ghostly happenings are:
No1…Not a lot has happened here only the sound of rope creaking. (Well that’s what they say).
No2…The sound of a male sighing can be heard late at night.
Two bush rangers who were caught for murder, the to were hung in front of a large public crowd, it became a spectacle as people stayed the night before to get a good spot to watch the hanging, people had food and wine, laughing and enjoying themselves before show. There was over 1000 in attendance…. this was the first and last hanging ever to take place in the square.
Clay was also taken out to make bricks, this left a large hole that became an unattractive sight, and they started to fill up the hole with dead animals…. then dirt…. 100’s if not 1000’s of animal carcasses are under this soil meters below the surface. What we recently found out is a few human remains are still there.
Duck Reach Power Station
The ghostly happenings are:
1…An apparition of a man sitting on a large rock, who disappears when approached.
2…Faint sounds of machinery in operating (considering it’s almost an empty shell now!)
The Basin
The ghostly happenings are:
No 1…the sound of a man screaming
No 2…a man who is seen walking up to the bridge then vanish into the dark
A story told to me when I was in my late teens was of a man who was distraught after finding his wife with another man, he came to the basin climbed the highest part of the cataract walk and jumped off onto the rocks below. This was meant to happen in the mid 1800’s no actual dates have been passed on to us.
The Old Courts
Another place where people were hung, and a cell that had a reputation of haunted activity, the place now is a T.A.F.E collage.
A woman of a violent nature was found dead in her cell, her spirit was said to haunt there, those who entered the cell, would beg to be placed in another cell.
Regular floggings from the cat o nine tails and also hangings took place. There was supposed to be a tunnel, which leads to the hang courts…those who walked the tunnel, would know their time was up. The tunnel has said to collapse due to neglect and age.
Carr Villa Cemetery…
The ghostly happenings are:
No1…The sound of screaming can be heard
No2…Footsteps
No3…Disappearing figure’s when approached
No4…The feeling of being watched
No5…Misty, streaky lights moving through headstones (near the large row of pine trees)
No6…Growling and hissing sounds are sometimes heard.
But lets face it some cemeteries were meant to have spirits roaming the grounds but we are unsure if any really do roam with in the grounds. Some people have claimed to see a little boy sitting on the gate near the open church; we have yet to see the spirit ourselves.
Entally House (just outside of Launceston)
The ghostly happenings are:
No 1…a force has been felt on the stairs, it stops people in their tracks
No 2…Cold spots, which appear from nowhere, even when there are no drafts blowing through
No 3…the sound of a wheelbarrow on cobblestone
No 4… The apparition of a servant is seen but only to women on the main hall staircase.
No 5… The children’s room has a feeling to some people of discomfort and having them leave the area quickly.
Ghost of St. Leonard’s
The ghostly happenings are:
No 1…Seen and heard but invisible footsteps moving about.
This tale is a very sad one as a young aboriginal boy was captured and tormented by some cruel bastards and the poor young lad was set on fire and was burnt alive… this is no way for anyone one to suffer or perish from, it’s a heinous crime and act to match… no wonder the soul is restless.
The Waverley caves
The ghostly happenings are:
No 1…the sound of a child sobbing
The Old Tavern on George Street
The ghostly happenings are:
Before I start this little cottage could have a book dedicated to the ghostly things that have happened there.
No 1…a lady in white has been seen on a number of occasions, watching from a window
No 2…Items moved and sometimes broken
No 3…Phone that dial numbers by unseen hands
No 4…Loud knockings
No5…The sound of a violent bar brawl was once heard, but nothing was moved or out of place
And a numbers of small incident’s, but sadly the place is gone and a modern building is erected over the site of the old cottage, though has the ghostly sighting and activity ceased? We would like to know…
The place was used as a private residence, a small chapel and a rowdy brothel.
The Haunted Pubs…
The Ghostly Happenings are:
No 1…Okeefe’s had a spectral figure of a girl that they called “Sarah” has been seen through out the pub and lights flicker and a number of small things. She seems to be a harmless soul.
No 2…The Royal Oak, has had a small number of happen, especially the cellar, which host’s a male ghost (this is where you start your Launceston ghost tour) those who encounter him, are automatically are aware of his presence…possible name for ghost “Cyril”
No 3…Irish Murphy’s, this pub was supposed to be an old gaol, where vicious men were held awaiting trial. There was a story about the old place, it had to do with a cell door that sounded like it was being opened, but of course the cell door remained shut.
No 4… The Lonnie, it recently came to our ears that some strange going’s on has been happening inside the hotel, usually when staff are closing up for the night. No actual reported accounts but we hope in time there may be.
Charmers Church
The Ghostly Happenings are:
No 1…there is a figure of a woman that floats around the church.
No 2…a white mist has been seen moving around the steeple
St John’s Church
The Ghostly Happenings are:
No1…a ghostly apparition of a lady has been seen inside and out of the church, her burial plague is in the church basement.
Franklin House
The Ghostly Happenings are:
No 1…a boy has been seen sitting on the stairs crying, those who don’t see him are over come with sadness. The young child is said to be a student who died at the hands of Mr. William Keeler Hawkes, who was a cruel and unfeeling towards his students.
The Franklin House was once called “The Hollies”
We did an investigation there last February and even though it has a long past and interesting history, we only captured two pieces of phenomena and that was of a young boy crying for his mum and the other was when Mike was asking a question about their time in this place and the response was… I hate you for asking that question. We do declare that Franklin House is not haunted or even has general activity, a beautiful place with great history but sadly no ghosties.
Morton House
The surgeons house, talks of experimenting, medical experiments, some what torturest ones, were preformed on the homeless, the insane, anyone that wouldn’t be missed.
Then it later became a place for psychotics, where the insane and mad would be housed…. but this is just a rumor. In fact it was a hospital, and it was the first hospital to use anesthesia.
Dr William .R. Pugh & Dr James Grant were the two to try it in operation use.
The Ghostly Happenings are:
No 1…Screams of torture have been heard coming from the room where some were thrown in and left to die
No 2…some people have been over come with a feeling of pressure against their chest and a feeling of uneasiness almost fear.
This house has been claimed to be Launceston’s most haunted building
Esk View Terraces
The paranormal happenings have been kept tight lipped; only known ghost is of a child who leaves a feeling of malevolence in the air.
Catacombs
Under the town clock is a selection of catacombs, which stretch out over 5 miles, what the catacombs used for is hard to say, plus whether this is true remains a mystery…. some have claimed to have been in them, not that long ago.
The Punchbowl Reserve
There is a picnic reserve call Punchbowl reserve and it has had stories coming out of there foe years. Now these stories can be classed as urban myths.
The Toilets
Held the most gruesome story, of a young girl walking home one night 1965 through the grounds, after being at a party, her home was on the other side of the grounds, she was walking past the old toilets, when a man attacked her, dragging her into the toilets, where he rape and violently murdered the girl at 1.38am, he was never captured and no record of any murder taking place here.
But some say on dark nights, when there’s no moon, and the air is cold…. if walk past where the toilets once were at 1.38am, you are meant to be violently grabbed on the arm, followed by a woman screaming in agony.
The Fort
There was a three tire fort, from the bottom to the top it was 10 meters, a young boy of the age 7 was walking along the wooden hand rail on the top level, when it gave way, the young boy fell to the ground, landing on his neck and head, killing him instantly, the sickening thud could be heard around the reserve.
If you stand here on dusk you are meant to hear a loud thud
The Swings
Legend has it a little girl age 4 was on the swing, she was being pushed by her older sister, who was always jealous of her young sister, she pushed her sister hard and fast that the young girl fell out cracking her skull on the ground, she managed to stand up, when her older sister pushed the swing into her, the force was powerful enough to kill her.
The Headless Bike Rider
Supposedly on the 11 month, 11 day, 11 hour pm, 11 minute, a form of a bike rider with no head is seen moving down the hill towards the bottom of the reserve, it moves at great speed, once it gets to the bottom, over the old bridge, a loud sickening thud is heard.
Around 1970 a male was riding his bike home; he took a short cut through the reserve. At the bridge someone had tied fishing line across the bridge, the unsuspecting rider meet his fate, at the hands of the fishing line. Though I have been up here many times and on that exact time and date and I have never heard or seen anything…. these stories have become urban legends, a lot of people have heard the stories, but are they true…. we think not…unfortunately.
Ghost Sightings around Launceston and other Unexplainable Incidents
Between the fire station and the new car park is a smaller car park, someone wrote into the Examiner stating that they had seem a misty form moving around… then disappearing.
Have you seen the ghost in Princess Square hiding behind a tree near the statue of William Pugh, the ghost has been sighted a few times but some pass it off as someone playing a game or being dam creepy?
There is a tale of a spirit standing on the Tamar Bridge… who is it and what are they doing there.
Ever walked down a lane way called Hooker’s Lane and have you ever felt like you were being watched… maybe you are? It the general feeling most have when they walk down the lane, we have never talked to anyone who has had strange moments in the lane… so it could all be just speculation at the moment.
During the mid 90’s a cluster of witnesses saw strange hovering lights over the basin and city centre, the lights were orange, sometimes the blinked and other times the disappeared into the night’s sky… This was a gag that was pulled on Launceston and even ufologist around Tasmania, some one or small group started letting helium balloons with assorted lights attached off around Launceston causing people to think that the city or state was being watched by alien visitors, for months you would over hear people talking about these strange lights hovering in the night sky… I guess you can say it was our little war of the worlds.
New Year Eve around 9.30pm did any one see the hovering red light in the west of Riverside (a suburb of Launceston) that lingered in the air for over 45 seconds. We were watching the electrical storm that was coming over and out of a cloud this red light appeared, we thought at first it was a plane… but it hovered, maybe a helicopter but it stayed in one place, fire works as a lot was going off that night but its brightness lasted 45 seconds… maybe it was a flare but it never showed itself coming up ways and there was no arch in its movements. We remained baffled as it disappeared just as quickly as it appeared.
Shadows have been seen moving around in the area of the Old Scottish Cemetery (on High Street) they either follow or move away from people when near, are they the restless souls of those once disturbed?
Copyright Team Strigois Unnatural 2010