Tag Archives: australia

Ukategorisert

The Darkness of Slaughter Falls in Mount Coot-tha Forest

Leave a comment
Advertisements

Although found in Sunny Brisbane, Australia, it is said to be a darkness surrounding Slaughter Falls in the Mount Coot-tha Forest. Many violent happenings occurred and many rumors of it being haunted follows. 

At the foot of Queensland’s Mount Coot-tha Mountain and forest, the very name “Slaughter Falls” sends shivers down the spine for a reason. Despite it’s ominous sounding name Slaughter Falls is a very cozy looking wooden picnic area perfect for hiking leading up to a cascading waterfall on the Ithaca Creek in Brisbane through the eucalyptus forest.

Beyond its scenic facade however lies a chilling history more appropriate to its name, marked by a series of macabre events that have etched an indelible mark on this once serene hiking trail.

Read More: Check out all ghost stories from Australia

Slaughter Falls, named after a town clerk JC Slaughter, and not what has happened here, conceals a dark past, a grim reputation that the name nonetheless pointed to its haunted legacy. The whispers of the forest tell tales of murders, suicides, and lingering spirits, prompting one to ponder why this particular spot has become a magnet for such malevolent occurrences.

Slaughter Falls: An area of Mount Coot-tha Mountain and forest in Brisbane in Australia. After a series of bizarre and macabre events, the place has been believed to be haunted.//Source

The forest area is said to be haunted, and many paranormal seekers try to find the answer close to Slaughter Falls. One legend that is very persistent is a report about people seeing the ghost of a woman close to Slaughter Falls wandering about. So let’s have a look at some of the dark history the forest brings with it. 

The Christmas Day Shooting

The ominous chronicles of Slaughter Falls date back to Christmas day in 1925, when the tranquil surroundings close to Slaughter Falls were shattered by a gunshot. A woman, walking innocently along the trail, fell victim to an assailant lurking in the bushes. 

Margaret Francis Sinclaire Donald was picking flowers with her friend when she was shot, and although her friend took her to the hospital and got treated.

Read More: Check out all ghost stories from Haunted Forests 

When apprehended wandering the streets of Toowong, the assailant, 23 year old Patrick Terrence O’Hara provided no motive, claiming an inexplicable force had seized control of him to do what he did. They had no previous relationship and according to the man, he had no plan of doing it until this feeling just came over him. 

What happened that day no one could explain, but it surely was the start of the forest’s more ominous history. 

The Double Suicide

A year later, in 1926, the falls bore witness to a haunting double suicide that left the reasons shrouded in mystery. Two men plunged into the abyss, leaving behind unanswered questions that continue to echo through time.

The two men were both working for the same company but were found separate and no one really knew if the two deaths were connected or more like a horrible coincidence. 

The Murder Suicide at Slaughter Falls

The following year, 1927, unfolded a chilling murder-suicide saga at the falls. A seemingly romantic walk took a ghastly turn when a man, seemingly possessed by a malevolent force, shot his girlfriend before attempting to end his own life with poison. Cecilia Josephine Miller was only 20 years old.

The boyfriend survived, but his subsequent survival offered no solace, as he professed a disturbing lack of recollection. He said it was like darkness just consumed him, a cloud that took over and the next thing he remembered was staring at the dead body of his girlfriend. The locals all thought highly of him, and couldn’t believe that he would do something like this. 

Cecilia’s sister however, claimed she had heard him threaten to kill her if she ever left him. The truth of the matter however was never uncovered as the boyfriend was sent to an asylum and kept claiming that he couldn’t remember it at all. 

The Ghost from the Transmitting Towers

Another ghost said to be haunting Mount Coot-tha is a former workman that worked on the television transmitting towers west of the city. Apparently he fell to his death when the towers were being built. 

A technician that worked on Channel Seven claimed to have seen the workman in overalls walking on the tower in the 1970s, but not many stories about this ghost are reported about in the later years. 

Brisbane Transmitting Towers: Another haunted location on Mount Coot-tha.//Photo by: Angus Veitch/Flickr

Ghost Hole Mine

Also around the old mine that was closed in 1959, you will find ghost stories. The stories are not specific, but are as the rest of the legends, filled with darkness and paranormal experiences like hearing voices and seeing shadows. 

Satanic Rituals

Speculations abound that Slaughter Falls harbored the echoes of Satanic rituals, casting an even darker pall over its reputation. Although as with most whispers of satanism and witchcraft, unsubstantiated.

Whatever the true reason behind these meaningless acts of violence, the area is now thought to be haunted by its victims. Could it truly be a darkness that possesses people to do these things? Or is the fact that they are so close together in time a sign about how inspiring and contagious it can be to try and blame it on something like a vague darkness and memory loss?

Slaughter Falls has a dark and disturbing past, but in daylight it is a beautiful and popular place to hike and enjoy nature. But as daylight fades and shadows dance upon the trail, those who venture into the heart of Slaughter Falls may find themselves entangled in the enigma of its haunting secrets, where the past continues to cast a spectral veil over the present.

More like this

Newest Posts

References:

5 “Haunted” Campsites & Hiking Trails in Australia – Novapro Sports Camping Store

Mt Coot-Tha – The Darker Side of Brisbane 

Mount Coot-tha Forest – Wikipedia 

J C Slaughter Falls – Wikipedia 

https://www.chapelhill.homeip.net/FamilyHistory/Other/QueenslandHistory/TheGhostsofQueensland.htm

article, Ukategorisert

The Possession of Letta the Doll

2 Comments
Advertisements

Described as the ‘doll from hell’, Letta the Doll in Australia is the cause of strange things. But although a scary one, the owner will never part with the possessed doll and has today a very strong social media profile and is travelling the country. 

Haunted dolls have long been the subject of fascination and fear throughout time across the globe. These eerie objects made in our image are believed to be inhabited by restless spirits or possess supernatural powers. What is it with dolls, originally made for children to play with that taps into something so scary? With their lifeless eyes and unsettling presence, haunted dolls have captured the imagination of many and have become the stuff of nightmares.

Read also: Check our stories about other haunted dolls like Okiku — The Haunted Doll of Hokkaido, The Haunted Barbie Doll in The Shrine on Pulau Ubin Island or Mandy the Haunted Doll.

Stories of dolls moving on their own, whispering, or causing inexplicable occurrences have been passed down through generations, fueling the belief in their paranormal existence. Whether these accounts are true or merely urban legends, one thing is certain: haunted dolls continue to both terrify and intrigue those who dare to encounter them.

This is the case with the curious Letta the Doll in Australia that have captivated the country on the account of being creepy and allegedly haunted.

The Haunted Story of Letta the Doll

The owner of Letta the Doll, Kerry Walton claims he found the doll under the floor of the porch in an abandoned house in Wagga Wagga in New South Wales, Australia. He was going there for his grandmother’s funeral, and decided to go exploring the neighboring house that always had haunted him when he visited.

The doll is of wood and is child sized with a peculiar face, dressed in green with a long braid. When Walton first saw the doll, he was as terrified as we are when seeing the doll. 

Read also: Check out all of our ghost stories from Australia

That was back in 1972 and Letta the Doll came back to live with Walton and his family in Brisbane were the doll has lived ever since.

The origin of the name Letta the Doll came about when he was transporting it to its new home. When he put the doll in the trunk of his car to drive home, he heard movement and a scream:

“Letta me out,” he heard from the back of his trunk where only the doll was. And ever since then, the doll was called Letta the Doll. And since then, the doll has apparently been the cause of many strange things happening in the home in Queensland. 

Letta The Doll: The doll is a peculiar one, with a grin that will stay with you for a long time. According to the person that found her and so called carer, the doll is haunted by the spirit of a drowned boy. //Photo: Facebook.

Together, Letta the Doll and Kerry Walton have appeared on numerous television shows where he claims there is something paranormal over the doll. He says more than one person has seen the doll move right in front of them. There are also signs of the dolls moving on its own as it left visible marks around the house as well as under the shoes of the doll. 

The children living with the doll were also understandably terrified of the strange new addition to the household, and said they could hear the doll move around. 

The Doll With a Strong Media Profile

You can get the opportunity to meet with the doll, however, there are reports of having nightmares as well as feeling nauseous after an encounter with Letta the Doll. The owner of the doll is traveling around with it when not in their home in Warwick and charges money to get a picture taken. The doll is so famous now, it even has its own facebook account. 

Walton himself has vowed to never get rid of the doll, although he has tried. Once, to get his family out of a financial situation, he tried to sell the doll for 400$. But when it got to him taking the doll out of the car, he physically couldn’t do it, as if a force of some sort was stopping him. 

As well as the Facebook account as a true influencer, Letta the Doll also has gotten an Instagram profile where they post family like pictures like this:

Letta the Doll Possessed by the Restless Spirit of a Drowned Boy

Another claim that Walton has is about the origin of the doll and why this particular object is haunted. He apparently had the doll examined by a professional and found that the doll itself was around 200 years old. And the hair of the doll was made with real human hair allegedly, specifically from Eastern European gypsies. 

On further examination in some way or another, he found that the doll was haunted by a restless spirit of a drowned boy. The doll is supposedly possessed with the spirit of this boy, and in some variation of the origin of the doll, it was the gypsies that placed the soul of the boy inside the doll. And according to Walton, he thinks the drowning is the reason why it always rains when they go traveling for their shows. 

More like this

Newest Posts

References

https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/annabelle-real-life-haunted-dolls/

World’s most haunted doll lives in Warwick | The Courier Mail

Ukategorisert

Fisher’s Ghost Haunting Campbelltown

Leave a comment
Advertisements

The haunting of Fisher’s Ghost, a farmer in Australia, is one of the countries most famous ghost stories. It is based on the true events and a murder that happened in Campbelltown in the 1800s. And allegedly, the ghost came back from the afterlife to try to help people catch his killer.

The legend of the farmer Frederick Fisher is one of the most popular ghost stories in Australia and comes from Campbelltown in New South Wales. Today it has grown into a suburb of Sydney, but back in the 1800s the place was mainly for farmers of cattle and sheep. Even to this day the town is most known for the famous ghost story of Fisher’s ghost and Fisher’s Ghost Creek runs through Campbelltown’s parks.

Read Also: Check out all our ghost stories from Australia.

Since the 1950s, there have even been a festival named after Fisher’s Ghost that are hosted every year in his honor to show good spirit and community. The Fisher’s Ghost festival includes a parade through Queen Street, Fisher’s Ghost Art Award, Fun Run, Street Fair, Carnival, Craft Exhibition, music, competitions, fireworks and the Miss Princess Quest. All in the honor of the towns greatest murder mystery were one local murdered his neighbour.

Fisher’s Ghost Bridge: Several of the places in Campbelltown in Australia is named after the ghost story of Fisher’s Ghost. Here is a photo from circa 1945.

But what really happened that day Fisher’s ghost returned from the dead to try to reveal what really happened to him the day he had disappeared?

The Disappearance of Frederick Fisher

From his staring, or wild rolling, eye.
Now, stout was the heart of Falconis, and bold ;
Nor weak superstition dwelt there ;
And hideous that object must be to behold,
That could daunt his fierce spirit, his blood curdle cold,
Or stamp on his cheek palid fear.
And, hideous, in sooth, was the object that scared
And turned him from homeward that night;
In shuddering amazement his hearers all stared,
Whilst, with half-lessened terror, Falconis declared
He had met with a murder’d man’s Sprite.
– The Sprite of the Creek

On a calm night on June 17th in 1826, the local farmer Frederick Fisher left his house in Campbelltown and never returned. No one knew were he had gone as he was just going out on a few errands that day. Without a trace he was vanished and no one managed to find out why and how he had disappeared.

Fisher was originally from London and was sentenced to go to Australia after forging bank notes in England. His thieving days was not over for him, even after he was sentenced to 14 years in Australia, and he ended up in prison again. It was not long since he had gotten out of prison again before he disappeared. His friend and neighbour George Worrall kept saying that Fisher had just returned to his native country.

Fisher’s Suspicious Friend and Neighbour

Four months went by and with no news about Fisher and what might have happened to him other than what Worrall claimed. Before going to prison, Fisher had given Worrall power of attorney over his farm and belongings until he got out again. Worrall said that Fisher had given him his property to keep forever and said that Fisher intended to stay in England and never return to Australia.

Worrall himself had also been sent to Australia on a prison sentence because of theft. And like Fisher, it seemed like his criminal days was not over. The police arrested Worrall that September because they suspected he had something to do with his disappearance after he had started to sell Fisher’s belongings. Worrall claimed his innocent and said it was 4 other people that had something to do with it who were also arrested.

The Encounter with Fisher’s Ghost

Then, one day a local man bursted into the Campbelltown hotel called Patricks Inn. The man was pale and shook to his bone. He couldn’t believe what he had just witnessed as it was simply out of this world and would change everything.

The local man was named John Farley and he told everyone in the hotel with a shaking voice, that he had just met Frederick Fisher, the one that had been missing without a trace for many months. The problem was that, he was not alive. Not anymore. It was Fisher’s ghost and was back to get his death known to everyone.

Meeting at the Fence: What really happened that night along the country road? Fisher’s Ghost allegedly appeared and showed were his body was buried and helped solve the mystery. What really happened that summer has been up for debate ever since.

According to John Farley’s testimony, Fisher’s ghost had sat on a fence along the way were the local man had walked past on his way home. Fisher’s ghost had pointed on a paddock beyond the creek as if trying to show Farley something. Then Fisher’s ghost had vanished right before the eyes in front of the shaken man.

Fisher’s Ghost and How he Helped Catching his Murderer

First, the tale Farley told to everyone in Patricks Inn was disregarded as just a fanciful tale, but soon, rumours about the sudden disappearance of the farmer and the mystical appearance of Fisher’s ghost got people even more suspicious.

Read also: Check also out these ghost stories were the ghost helped catch their own killer like The Red Barn Murder and the Ghost in the Dreams and The Greenbrier Ghost that Went to Court.

The man who had seen Fisher’s ghost was a wealthy and respected man in the local community. So the police decided they would investigate his claims after enough rumours and retellings had occurred and stirred up enough fuss. They went to the place the guy pointed out, but the officer found nothing by himself. They then got an Aboriginal tracker living in Liverpool, Australia to help them who managed to locate something when they tested the water in the area.

‘White fellow’s fat here!’, the tracker told the officers and to their big surprise, they found the body of Fisher, stashed away, out of sight, buried by the side of the creek. He had never left Australia, and had certainly never left his farm to his good friend and neighbor either.

The Murderer of Fisher was Caught

George Worrall, Fishers neighbour and his close friend was already under suspicion before the body was found as he had started selling Fishers property and told everyone Fisher had gone to England. They thought that Worrall had killed him when Fisher tried to get his farm back after getting out of prison. Worrall admitted to burying him there when the body was found and was hanged in early 1827. He never admitted to actually murdering him.

Fisher could finally rest in peace as he was finally buried in the cemetery at St. Peter’s Anglican Church in the town by his brother Henry.

Iconic Ghost Story: Ever since the murder happened, the story has been retold in poems, short stories, operas and movies. Here is an illustration by British scientist John Henry “Professor” Pepper, who in 1879 created the theatrical production “Fisher’s Ghost”.

So what was the deal with the ghost that suddenly appeared in the murder mystery? There are several theories as to why Farley talked about a ghost and knew were Fisher was buried. One is that he may have known something about where Fisher’s body was buried. Could he have been in on the murder? The details are hazy at this point and this has never been confirmed one way or the other. In fact, the whole story about Farley could be just a story made up after the murder.

Today the official police and court records don’t mention the ghost story at all and some think that the ghost part of this story first came about in the 1832 from James Riley named ‘The Sprite of the Creek’.

Fisher’s Ghost still Haunting Campbelltown

Another theory is of course that Farley did in fact walk past the creek and saw Fisher’s ghost sitting there as he pointed out exactly where he was buried and it helped to solve his murder.

Who can know for sure today exactly what happened? At least Fisher’s ghost found peace in the end after being found and buried properly, not in a shallow grave by the creek. Or did he really find peace? Some reports says Fisher’s ghost still haunts the hotel, to this day. Some even claim that the ghost never really left, and he is still haunting the town.

It is also said that Fisher’s ghost haunts Campbelltown Town Hall, which is built on land where Fred Fisher and George Worrall’s land crossed.

More like this

Newest Posts

References

Fisher’s ghost – Wikipedia 

Campbelltown, New South Wales – Wikipedia 

The Sprite of the Creek | The Dictionary of Sydney

The Legend of Fisher’s Ghost — Campbelltown  

Fishers Ghost Creek | The Dictionary of Sydney 

article, folklore, Monster

Bunyip in the Billabongs

Leave a comment
Advertisements

G’day mates! The Bunyip in the Billabongs of the wild from Australia is a mythical creature rumored to be living in the lakes and swamps in the untamed Australian wilderness. What was the swamp creature that scared them all? Or rather, what is it?

As the white settlers started to take land in the 1840 and 1850 in Australia, they started to observe something they didn’t think they would. Particularly near the southeast colonies like Victoria, New South Wales they heard unknown cries in the night, found strange bones and started taking notes of the new surroundings. But what was this newly discovered animal? This is something modern day cryptozoologists still debates, even to this day and age.’

Read Also: Check out all of the ghost stories from Australia on the Moonmausoleum.

Most written down sightings we know of from the creature comes from 1840 and 1850, when there were a collective hysteria almost and hunt for this strange creature in this strange country. Perhaps this strange creature that the white settlers saw wasn’t as “newly discovered” as the settlers claimed it to be as there were many local stories from the native Aboriginal Australians.

Proof of the Monster: The much debated skull from the alleged Bunyip that is said to roam in the Australian swamps or Billabongs. Back in the early days of European settlement, the creature was thought of a native animal of Australia. Photo: Henry Dowling, John Murray January 1847 /wikimedia

As the European settlers found skulls they didn’t know the origin off and displayed them in museums for people to behold the strange creatures of the new world, writing sensationalist news articles about the animal and the dangers it posed for humans wandering in the wild, the native aboriginals had a different story to tell about the Bunyip that had haunted the Billabongs long before any Europeans set foot on the ground.

The Evil Spirit in Aboriginal Mythology

The creature is part of traditional Aboriginal beliefs and stories throughout Australia, while its name varies according to tribal nomenclature, it sometimes comes up in their mythology and stories.

The mere word, Bunyip, is today most often translated as devil or evil spirit in the “Down Under”. The stories of the Bunyip varies widely from region to region. The tales of this strange and mythical swamp creature was told before the white settlers came, but what happened to the mythology and folklore of the native aboriginals is an atrocity, and they got their whole culture and way of life wiped away for centuries, at some times, forever.

So who really knows the true origins of the Bunyip today? When the white settlers came they mixed their own folklore into the mix, especially of the Irish mythological monster, Púca. Still, the ones keeping the tales of the Bunyip alive today is the local legends that have been passed down for a long time.

A monster from the lakes: Drawing of the Australian Bunyip coming up from the swamps, rivers and lakes in hunt for food. The creature has been a part of the aboriginal mythology long before the European settlers arrived in the country. The illustration is from 1935/Wikimedia.

One of the origin stories of the legend claims that the monster was once a man whose name was Bunyip. He was banished by the good spirit Biami. This is what drove the man to become an evil spirit that lured his fellow tribesmen into the waters to eat them.

Other stories of the creatures think that it is the remembrance of some sort of extinct animal that used to live on the land, but now only exists in myths and legends. Perhaps it could even be seals that lost their way and ended up in the inland rivers. There are many theories today, but no one has really managed to claimed to have cracked the code.

The Roaring Screams of the Bunyip from the Billabongs

Most of the accounts describes the creature like a sea spirit, river monster or something of a dog or a seal. However, descriptions varies and it also described with feathers, or like a starfish.

What most agree on though is its amphibious traits, swimming in lakes, billabongs, rivers and other forms of inland waters. The creature it is described as highly dangerous if a human gets in its way. While most aboriginal myths claims they are a nocturnal being, feeding on crayfish, there are also so many legends, claiming it to pray on humans as well, especially small children and women.

Read Also: check out the story about The Jersey Devil in the Pine Barrens New Jersey or The Legend of the Mothman for more haunting stories about monsters in the wild.

Although sightings of the creature are said to be rare, the sound of the monster is the most told about legend and how many have claimed to recognize its existence. The Bunyip supposedly makes a booming and roaring scream from the billabongs and swamps, sending shivers to everyone that are unfortunate enough to hear it. Children was told to never go swimming so not to be taken by the Bunyip and the creature has now become a part of the cautionary tale for them.

The Case of the Burrawang Bunyip

It is not like the tales of the Bunyip disappeared as the aboriginal myths were silenced and the white settlers got a better understanding for the wild and foreign country they found themselves in. So far up to modern times, accounts of the Bunyip has been reported across the country. Even in the 1960s, there was tales about the swamp monster, lurking in the deep south murky swamps.

A Hunger for Humans: In many on the reconts of the creature, the monster can be dangerous for humans. Macfarlane, J. 1 October 1890/wikimedia

This is the case of Burrawang, a highland village south-west from Sydney in the southern highland in New South Wales. With a permanent population of around 300 today, Burrawang is truly a quaint Aussie village from an older time. A number of the cottages and churches in the area date back to colonial times and hints at how it would had been back when the European settlers first arrived.

Below the village of Burrawang there is a large swamp that is the home of many rare creatures, and locals claim they’ve heard the sounds from the Bunyip.

There are also a tale of railway workers running away from the monstrous sounds coming from the swamps when they were working there in the 1930s, breathing new life into the legend.

The Burrawang locals heard the roaring sounds from their local Bunyip, all up until they built a dam in 1974, and the sounds disappeared. Why? Did they push the wildlife away and in that, the Bunyip as well? Perhaps it was only something else making the sounds. But what? That is something the modern world perhaps is too late to figure out.

Even today, the monster enthusiast comes to Burrawang in search for the strange creature no one really know exists, but many claims to have heard, bellowing from the depths of the swamps.

More like this

Latest posts

References:

– https://www.britannica.com/topic/bunyip,

– https://www.australiangeographic.com.au/blogs/tim-the-yowie-man/2020/03/the-case-of-the-roaring-bunyip/

Bunyips: Australia’s Folklore of Fear by Robert Holden, Nicholas Holden