| This was by far the best of the ghost tours we did | | | | headstones when I heard my mother's voice from |
| in Tasmania in terms of both the overall experience | | | | behind us saying "I'll just stay here if you don't mind." |
| and the activity encountered.Alan, the guide, is | | | | Now my mother usually loves to wander around |
| passionate about his subject matter both the | | | | cemeteries reading the headstones, so this was |
| paranormal and the historical stories. He really seems | | | | unusual. Then I heard my brother say something like |
| to love what he is doing and that enthusiasm is | | | | "Oh!" when he reached the same point. Talking to him |
| bound to influence the experience. He was extremely | | | | later, he said it was like something had washed over |
| flexible about time, not marching us around the | | | | him, a feeling not dissimilar to what I had felt at |
| locations according to a fixed schedule that would | | | | Highfield. Like walking through a wall of cold water, |
| not be varied regardless of what happened. If it | | | | except it wasn't wet and wasn't precisely cold either. |
| seemed like something was happening or might be | | | | I felt nothing. I was completely fine with wandering |
| about to kick off, he was willing to wait a bit, | | | | around in that cemetery in the middle of the |
| assuming that was what we wanted. Then again, if | | | | night.We left the cemetery at that point so Alan |
| we wanted to get the heck out of location, he was | | | | could tell the associated stories from the side of the |
| ok with that too. What was supposed to be a 1.5 | | | | road where my mother would be able to hear them |
| hour tour ended up being about 2.5 hours (though we | | | | without coming into the place. He'd just started telling |
| did not beat the 3 hour tour he had done recently. | | | | the stories when he noticed that she was in tears. |
| Next time, I might have to try harder. ).The quality | | | | She said she could not explain it, that she just felt |
| of tours seems to be as dependent on the make-up | | | | really sad. We moved up the road a bit and to the |
| of the group you are with (including the tour guide) | | | | other side to put a bit more distance between her |
| as it is on the base activity level of the locations | | | | and it and then continued. I should probably mention |
| visited. We were lucky with this tour in that we were | | | | that by this point we only had one of the 3 torches |
| the only people on it. The other(s) had cancelled at | | | | working. The others had all stopped working along |
| the last moment. While one theory says that more | | | | the way, starting at the gaol, if I remember correctly. |
| people=more energy that the spirits can use to | | | | By the end of the tour this last one was failing |
| manifest, my theory is that the smaller and more | | | | too.Later that evening, after she had calmed down |
| focused the group, the more activity you are likely | | | | somewhat, she was able to tell us what she had |
| to see. Especially on touristy things like ghost | | | | picked up. There was, she said, a man in that |
| tours.Assume, for the rest of this story, that there | | | | cemetery. He was lost. He had been there for a long |
| are bits of history of the area scattered throughout | | | | time. He was looking for something and had been |
| everything we were told. While I absorbed the | | | | looking for it for a long time, but what he was |
| information, I really couldn't tell you now what I was | | | | looking for wasn't there. He knew that, but he |
| told where in a lot of cases. If you want to know | | | | couldn't (or wouldn't) get out of that loop. And he |
| about the history of the area, look it up ... or go to | | | | didn't want our help.The next day my brother and I |
| Richmond and ask Alan about it. The latter will be | | | | went into Richmond Gaol. My mother flatly refused |
| more entertaining.From the point of view of the | | | | to enter the place after her experience the previous |
| paranormal, the tour started with the story some of | | | | night. I was a little uneasy about it myself (which |
| Alan's own experiences living in the town. I love | | | | might say more about what a good job Alan did with |
| hearing first hand the story of people's experiences. | | | | his storytelling than the actual activity level of the |
| Firstly it has a lot more immediacy than the story of | | | | location) but I wasn't letting that stop me and |
| what was experienced by someone you've never | | | | nothing happened while we were in there. Still, I didn't |
| met an indeterminate period of time ago. But perhaps | | | | actually walk into any of the individual men's solitary |
| as importantly, it gives me the opportunity to ask | | | | cells, which is allegedly the most active area. Being |
| questions, both to extract more information and to | | | | somewhat claustrophobic, I chickened out and settled |
| evaluate whether the story I'm being told is complete | | | | for standing outside the doorway of each and looking |
| rot, made up out of whole cloth from a book of old | | | | inside. For some reason that I can't remember now, I |
| stories that the teller picked up in a second-hand | | | | also do not seem to have taken any photos of the |
| bookshop.I asked a lot of questions. In fact, I did | | | | place by daylight. It might have had something to do |
| that through most of the tour. It was a wonder that | | | | with the number of tourists wandering around. I |
| he didn't strangle me by the end of it. It makes it | | | | remember moving out of the first few rooms quickly |
| really hard to tell a story if someone keeps | | | | because we couldn't get near the displays for the |
| interrupting you with questions and comments.I | | | | press of people.While we had been doing this, my |
| assessed his stories about his own experiences as | | | | mother had gone to investigate the bridge by |
| mostly true in essence. There was probably some | | | | daylight. I do not think that any of us gave the story |
| exaggeration or emphasis that comes from the | | | | of the animals not wanting to walk past a particular |
| storyteller aspect of his personality and from telling | | | | point much credence but the very specific nature of |
| the story multiple times a week. I'd love to sit down | | | | it and precise identification of the location begged |
| with him over a couple of beers (or a nice pot of tea | | | | personal investigation and experimentation. She |
| as the case may be) and exchange stories in a more | | | | reports that every time she reached the particular |
| leisurely fashion.Anyway, before we moved off, he | | | | point, she felt violently ill. The first time this |
| handed out torches and explained the two rules. Rule | | | | happened, she thought it was a result of suggestion |
| 1: Don't shine the torches into people's homes and | | | | and continued over the bridge, crossed the road and |
| Rule 2: Don't get run over. Note: No lanterns. Torches. | | | | came back on the other side where she felt fine. She |
| Like normal people.On to Richmond bridge. Lots of | | | | repeated this process 3 or 4 times in total, with |
| stories about that place. I'm not going to go into | | | | identical results each time.After leaving the gaol, and |
| most of them here. The relevant one, for later in this | | | | without hearing about the above experience, my |
| story, is that there is a point on one side of the | | | | brother and I went straight down to investigate the |
| bridge that animals will not walk past where, allegedly, | | | | same story about the bridge. We walked separately |
| the body of a convict is entombed in the stonework | | | | and slowly to the indicated spot, paying attention to |
| of the bridge under that point. Not much in the way | | | | any unusual sensations that might come up as we |
| of activity on the night. I felt uneasy underneath the | | | | approached. We stopped at the indicated spot and |
| bridge but that could have been as much because | | | | compared results. My brother's initial impression was |
| there was a black opening next to me that fell away | | | | that there might be something there but it wasn't |
| to the river and I couldn't see what was down | | | | particularly active or particularly strong. I had noticed |
| there... or what was coming up from there as | | | | that, when I got within about 4' of the indicated |
| anything paranormal. Photos of the bridge show a | | | | spot, I started to develop a slight headache which |
| few orb-like anomalies, but I am calling most of them | | | | cleared once I had moved beyond the spot. The |
| water vapour (riverbank, overcast evening, humidity | | | | actual spot where the body is entombed is not, |
| around 65%, rained later) or insects.Up to Richmond | | | | however, directly below the footpath. It is a couple |
| Gaol. A great place, if you measure it in terms of | | | | of feet out onto the road according to the story. |
| suffering and so on that could well lead to hauntings. | | | | Bearing Rule 2 in mind, we waited until the traffic |
| Unfortunately, you can't get into it at night. Alan has | | | | cleared and no cars were in sight for as far down |
| tried to get permission to take tours in there at | | | | the road as we could see, and then we stepped |
| night, but without success so far. I'm pretty sure he | | | | simultaneously out onto a spot about 2' out onto the |
| doesn't intend to stop trying. We were standing | | | | road."Oh!" I said in a most eloquent manner whilst |
| there when I became aware that I was feeling dizzy. | | | | looking (I'm sure) like someone had hit me over the |
| Now for me, feeling dizzy is the most often the | | | | back of the head with a housebrick.When we |
| result of one of two things. Either my blood pressure | | | | stepped onto that spot, I experienced what felt like |
| has rapidly dropped or there is a lot of energy | | | | a rush of energy coming up out of the road. We |
| moving around me. Standing in a room with 20 people | | | | looked at each other and stepped back onto the |
| practising reiki simultaneously, for example, has been | | | | footpath. Standing in the middle of the road looking |
| known to induce a similar feeling. Given the nature of | | | | dumbstruck seemed like a stupid idea and a clear |
| the location, I decided it was better to err on the | | | | breach of Rule 2.Each of us then stepped separately |
| side of caution. I had been standing facing the wall of | | | | onto (and back off) the active spot. There was still |
| the gaol, but moved to stand side on to it instead so | | | | something there when we entered the area |
| that I would not be face on to anything coming out | | | | separately but it was nowhere near as definitive as |
| of there. Then I suggested to my guides that now | | | | when we stepped onto it together. Photo taking |
| might be the time for them to step in to protect me | | | | followed, for reference if nothing else as I fully |
| from anything negative, harmful or hurtful, if they | | | | expected to see nothing odd in daylight |
| didn't mind. Within 30 seconds, the dizziness | | | | photos.Revisited the cemetery. My mother stayed in |
| disappeared and did not return. I can't say that I felt | | | | the car. My brother walked over into it to see what |
| any emotion or threat attached to the dizziness, I | | | | he could feel. I got out of the car to take photos but |
| just felt dizzy.Caught one interesting light anomaly | | | | stayed near it to be somewhere in the middle in case |
| there. It was significantly brighter than anything else | | | | either of them needed help. My brother didn't pick |
| caught on camera that night, seems to be located in | | | | anything up. My mother said that all she knew was |
| a position that does not have anything reflective to | | | | that we weren't meant to be there. (It was ok for |
| cause it and, when viewed closely, seems to have a | | | | other people to be there, just not us.) As usual, I felt |
| halo effect. However, it is certainly possible that it is | | | | nothing out of the ordinary but then I wasn't feeling |
| a raindrop. Because it is taken outside, I can't | | | | all that receptive given the previous night's |
| discount that possibility.On to the Congregational | | | | events.You may use part or all of this article on your |
| Cemetery. We were going to walk into it. In fact, | | | | blog, forum or website provided that the statement |
| Alan and I were already near the first of the | | | | and link below remains active and intact. |