My night in Elvira the Haunted Hearse

Hello ghost poetry fans…

Just home from my weekend in Sydney with Allan, the Hearse Whisperer. What a host this guy is!! I had a great time along with eight others cruising Kings Cross, watching every head turn as we drove past in Elvira, the haunted Cadillac. This tour is billed as a “Weird Sydney Ghost and History Tour”, and weird it is!! I’ve done a lot of ghost tours by now and I can safely say that I’ve never been on anything quite like this. Book yourself in by calling 02 9943 0167.

Now for the news you’ve been wanting to hear…. what happened!! Following the tour we took some photos of ourselves and Elvira. Note: the photo in the gallery. There is a shot of Allan and myself and a grey ball of light directly between our outstretched hands. Apparently two psychics have examined this photo and believe it to be the ghost of Tom Lance. But check it out. You judge for yourself.

Following this I bunked down in the back. I am only the second person to have braved the night in this vehicle, the first being a lady in 2005. I pressed record on my audio tape, revved up my handycam for a while and then waited. There really is very little to explore when you’re stuck in a hearse. You basically lie there and hang around, you might take a look over the front to the steering wheel then take a look out the the back, but that’s about it. After that you just lie back down and hang around again.

The night seemed to pass without much of a hitch. Allan had said that the energy might take a while to build up so at around 4am I did another spot of recording. It was very still/quiet outside, not even a breeze at that stage. And while nothing seemed to be happening, I gotta say, it really is a heavy trip being in the same place and lying in the same direction as thousands of dead bodies.
Now I am yet to listen to my audio or watch my video footage but will keep you posted as to what I find. I stumbled out onto the lawn in the morning hoping never to visit a hearse again… not for a while at least … and definitely not while I’m alive.

Check out a couple of pics of Elvira in the photo gallery. And thanks again Allan.

Elvira the Haunted Hearse

Seventh stop in my Ghost Poetry Project is a stay in Elvira, The Haunted Hearse.
Owned and operated by Allan, the hearse whisperer, this 1967 Cadillac was originally used by a funeral home in Pennsylvania and has transported thousands of people to their graves.

Now used as a tour vehicle in Sydney and Canberra it attracts all sorts of passengers from believers to skeptics, psychics and the odd adventurer who wants to sleep in it.

One of the resident ghosts that people are said to encounter is Tom Lance. He may or may not be the one responsible for locking the doors on occasion, for the hot & cold spots in the car, for the drafts of wind or the sudden nausea that sweeps over some passengers. Some people have also reported being poked, stroked and prodded.

So wish me luck as I bunk down in the back. Promises to be the ride of my life.
And check out the link if you’re interested in reading a report of the last person to sleep in it back in 2005

http://www.destinytours.com.au/judy.htm

Richmond/Woorilla

Hello
Just home from the so-called 'haunted' Richmond Bridge. It’s such a beautiful little town. It claims to have the oldest everything: Australia’s oldest prison, bridge, Catholic church… even the first recorded shark attack happened there apparently.

Feel totally exhausted today but I have put a couple of pics in the gallery for you to check out.
The reading at Castlemaine went really well. Just a small crowd but it was a good chance to try out a few of my new ghost-poems and nice to see my friends Francesca and Ross.

I also read the poem which picked up the 2007 Woorilla Poetry Prize. Feel really encouraged by that… it was exciting news. Still pinching myself.

Richmond Bridge/Castlemaine Reading

My sixth stop on the Ghost Poetry project is Richmond Bridge in Tasmania. Spanning the Coal river it is the oldest bridge in Australia, built by convicts who were worked hard by their cruel overseer, George Grover. In March 1832 two convicts surprised Grover from the fog, bashed him with manacled fists and dumped his body over the side. Now when a thick fog sets in they say Grover can be seen climbing back up the pylons.

The second ghost of Richmond Bridge is a friendly ghost-dog and the third is an elderly man who wears a straw boater and walks with a cane. I am staying in the Richmond Arms hotel this coming Friday the 13th in a room which is also said to be haunted. I plan to cross the bridge at midnight, 2 am and 4am. Wish me a foggy night.

Now if you want to hear some Ghost Poetry come to Castlemaine this Sunday 15th. The Castlemaine Readings are becoming legendary and I will be featuring with my friend Francesca Haig. This is my first chance to unleash Ghost Poetry on a live audience, so if you’re in town or need a day-trip up from Melbourne come and say hello. 3pm at The Albion Hotel (on the left as you drive into town from the Calder). There will be music, fine wine and good coffee.

at the old Lunatic Asylum

I am home from Fremantle Arts Centre. Big thanks to the staff there and Jim Cathcart who really went out of his way to support the Ghost Poetry project. Thanks mate. You’re a star.

Things were much as I expected. There were corridors, stairwells and creaky floorboards. I spent the night in the Painting Studio on the first floor where another sighting took place only two months ago. A life-model was posing for artists but started to become agitated. The teacher asked him if he was all right and he said there was a figure of a woman up the back, at the far window, looking at him. Her arms were folded and she apparently said : I know that you can see me.

There have been many reports of this woman, who was admitted to the lunatic asylum following the abduction of her child. She eventually committed suicide by throwing herself from the Painting Studio window. So with that little gem on my mind, I shut the door, snuggled down and waited for the morning to arrive. I did a couple of tours through the building over the course of the evening… and all proved extremely freaky.

Next month I am spending Friday the 13th in Richmond, Tasmania, apparently the most haunted town in Tassie. Special attention will be given to the three ghosts of Richmond Bridge. More details soon.

Fremantle Arts Centre

Stop number five (out of ten) on the Ghost Poetry project is Fremantle Arts Centre.
Built out of local limestone by convicts, Fremantle Arts Centre is a glorious example of gothic architecture and was originally a lunatic asylum. It is said that the building is home to three or ten ghosts… depending on what you read. Some say it is the most haunted place in the Southern Hemisphere and others say it is only the most haunted building in WA. (The Fremantle Prison must surely be a close second if that’s the case.)

Anyway… check out this link for a pic and some more history on the building.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fremantle_Arts_Centre

I will be sleeping on the floor in some corridor at the bottom of some stairwell waiting to meet an apparition who is still searching for her baby. It is believed that when she gave birth her child was taken off her and she subsequently committed suicide by throwing herself from the first floor window.

Hope that’s scary enough for you. I’ll be back soon to tell you how I went.

Home from Monte Cristo

I am home from Monte Cristo after a short but intense stay with Reg and Olive and the ten ghosts that live with them in their splendid Junee mansion. If you're passing through Junee go and stop in. Reg and Olive are perfect hosts, and if you're there for a B&B they treat you like one of the family.
If you're there for a ghost tour you get the works. Reg, decked out all in black, candles flickering in the hallway behind him, opens up the front doors and invites you in. You fill each room, jammed together amongst glorious antiques and beneath the gaze of spooky portraits. (the candlelight makes for perfect atmosphere).

I found each room seemed to have its own personality, along with its own distinct temperature. It's said people often faint on tour, feel nauseous, see apparitions or feel a poking or prodding by an unseen force, among other things.

My night was no exception. The lady standing next to me, although i didn't know it at the time, was experiencing a lot of the above sensations. (She was terrified and called up the mansion the following morning to tell me all about it.)

As i was the only paying guest staying over for the evening i climbed the stairs, closed my guest room door and tried to get some sleep. It wasn't easy.

Now to write some poems about it for the new book. Ghost Poetry is proving to be one hell of a year. I will post some photos of Monte Cristo in the gallery soon.

I will also post some info on Fremantle Arts Centre where i am staying next month... it was once a lunatic asylum.