9 Of The Most Haunted Places To Visit In Australia

Here are the most haunted places in Australia to spook yourself silly (or avoid, if you’d rather not).

Eerie noises, unexplained breezes, doors that open without reason. There are many haunted places in Australia where a dark past seemingly carries into the present. From sites of tragic accidents to places that lay witness to mass killings, there are plenty of ghost towns and locations where you can do ghost tours in Australia, or simply visit to see if your hairs stand on end.

1. Princess Theatre, Melbourne, Victoria

Melbourne’s Princess Theatre’s ghost is so prolific a seat is reserved for him on the opening night of performances. In 1887, Frederick Baker, known as ‘Federici’, took a leading role in the opera Faust. In his final scene, Federici fell through an on-stage trapdoor after suffering a heart attack and soon died backstage. Onlookers were none the wiser, assuming it was part of the show. Some even say he came out to take a final bow when the performance ended.

Over subsequent years, there were many reports of strange light flickering in the theatre and a number of people have said they felt something brush past them in an empty corridor. Strangest of all are the reported sightings of Federici himself in the theatre, often at night, where he is reportedly seen to be watching shows and critiquing performances.

the Princess Theatre in Melbourne, Victoria — Princess Theatre is reportedly haunted by its own phantom of the opera named Frederick Baker.

2. Port Arthur, Tasmania

World Heritage-listed Port Arthur served as a convict settlement for almost 50 years, and more than 1000 people died at Port Arthur during this time.

people touring around Port Arthur with lit lanterns — Lanterns brighten up Port Arthur as darkness falls. (Image: Tourism Tasmania & Simon Birch)

A series of unexplained events at the site have been reported since the arrival of free settlers and have been noted by soldiers and other visitors in more recent times. The old punishment cell in particular is known to be a hotspot for unusual activity.

Take a lantern-lit ghost tour at Port Arthur after dark and read about the experience here.

people holding lanterns on a guided ghost tour in Port Arthur — Join the lantern-lit ghost tour at Port Arthur after dark. (Image: Alastair Bett)

3. Aradale Lunatic Asylum, Ararat, Vic

This abandoned lunatic asylum (which we would now more appropriately call a psychiatric unit or mental health hospital) in Ararat is believed to be haunted, with many deaths occurring in the facility during its 126 years of use.

People have reported being pushed and tickled and have heard strange banging noises. Along with patients who died in the facility, the site is also said to be haunted by a former nurse. Ghost tours are offered at Aradale.

4. North Kapunda Hotel, South Australia

The North Kapunda Hotel has a solid reputation for being haunted. Kapunda, a one-hour drive north of Adelaide, was a busy mining town in the early 1800s and the pub opened in 1849 to service the region.

Many stories of crime are linked to the hotel, including a few murders. A ghostly woman, thought to be a sex worker killed in the pub, and a little girl, thought to be her daughter, are said to haunt the halls. Apparently, the ghost of a miner who died after having his leg amputated in the hotel can sometimes be seen cycling along nearby streets.

Ghost Crime Tours offer a ‘paranormal lockin ’ at the hotel, where you’ll be kitted with equipment to try to get a reading on paranormal activity in the building.

the property exterior of North Kapunda Hotel, South Australia — North Kapunda Hotel is one of the most haunted pubs in Australia.

5. Monte Cristo Homestead, Junee, NSW

The Monte Cristo Homestead was constructed by Christopher William Crawley, a farmer whose fortunes changed when he built a hotel near a new railway line in the 1800s. Crawley and his family members lived in the homestead… and some of them also died there. This includes Crawley himself and his wife, both from illness. Apparently neither of them have left the building since.

an old fountain fronting the Monte Cristo Homestead, Junee, NSW — The historic Monte Cristo Homestead is a two-storey late-Victorian-style manor. (Image: Destination NSW)

More tragically, it’s said one of Crawley’s maids threw herself off the balcony (or, was pushed) when she discovered she was pregnant with Crawley’s child. Another of Crawley’s illegitimate children, also born to a maid, is thought to haunt the property too. He’s supposedly joined by a stable boy who burned to death in an arson attack.

cobwebs covering old objects inside Monte Cristo Homestead, Junee, NSW — Creepy cobwebs cover the antiquities of the late Crawley family. (Image: Destination NSW)

These are just a few of the ghosts said to roam the property and you can try to feel their icy presence for yourself on a ghost tour at Monte Cristo.

an elegant but haunted manor at Monte Cristo Homestead, Junee, NSW — Step inside the spooky elegant manor at Monte Cristo Homestead. (Image: Destination NSW)

6. Fremantle Arts Centre, Perth, Western Australia

The building now known as the Fremantle Arts Centre was built by convicts in the 1860s as an asylum for those suffering from mental illness and ‘poor’ women. Patients were treated more like prisoners and the facility became overcrowded, as it was deemed a ‘solution’ to deal with people suffering from a range of conditions, including menopause and sunstroke.

the gothic heritage building exterior at Fremantle Arts Centre in Perth, Western Australia — Fremantle Arts Centre is housed in a gothic heritage building in Perth, Western Australia.

The death of a woman at the hand of a violent inmate sparked the closure of the facility, and it was then used to house soldiers during WWII. This is when reports started of strange banging, whispering and crying at night. Staff who later came to work in the arts centre have reported sudden changes in temperature, thought to be the work of ghosts.

the exterior of Fremantle Arts Centre — Step back in time to the dark history of Fremantle Arts Centre.

7. National Film and Sound Archive, Canberra, ACT

Today, the National Film and Sound Archive (NFSA) celebrates and protects Australia’s audiovisual heritage, but, in a previous life, it was an anatomical institute. The building has housed many skeletons and other human and animal specimens, including Phar Lap’s heart and Ned Kelly’s skull.

the entrance of National Film and Sound Archive, Canberra, ACT — NFSA preserves Australia’s vibrant audiovisual culture. (Image: National Film and Sound Archive)

As a result, many ghost hunters say it’s one of the most haunted places in Australia. In particular, the ghost of the founder and first director of the former Australian Institute of Anatomy, Sir Colin MacKenzie, is known to loiter in the halls on occasion. His ashes are housed in a wall behind a plaque that recognises him, so, whether in ghost form or not, he’s literally in the building.

The NFSA sometimes runs ghost tours, check the events page for details.

a ghost tour with cryptonaturalist Tim the Yowie Man — Experience an unnerving ghost tour with Tim the Yowie Man at NFSA. (Image: National Film and Sound Archive Ghost Tour)

8. Devil’s Pool, Babinda Boulders, Queensland

Devil’s Pool near Babinda in North Queensland is a stunningly beautiful place, but not all those who have been lured into its rainforest fringed, turquoise waters have come out alive. A notoriously dangerous swimming hole, 17 people have died here, mostly young men.

According to Aboriginal legend, a lovestruck woman named Oolana threw herself into the waters after being separated from her lover, Dyga, who, in a Romeo and Juliet-style tale, was from a different tribe.

Her spirit is believed to have never left the pool, and it’s said she now coaxes men in to join her in death. Some people have also reported unexplained crying in the area, thought to be Oolana crying out for Dyga.

the Devil's Pool in Babinda Boulders, Queensland — Devil’s Pool is the said culprit behind tragic deaths in Babinda Creek.

9. Mushroom Tunnel, Picton, NSW

Picton, 90 minutes southwest of Sydney, is sometimes described as the most haunted town in Australia. When it was founded in 1821, the town was named Stonequarry, and its best-known landmark is the Mushroom Tunnel, formally known as the Redbank Range Railway Tunnel. It’s in this tunnel that a number of people have died – either accidentally or by suicide.

the dark entrance of Picton Mushroom Tunnel — Many visitors hear the eerie sounds of a steam train coming from the Picton Mushroom Tunnel.

The ghost of Emily Bollard, who was killed by a train in 1916, is perhaps the most famous. She is thought to be the white flowing figure of a woman with no face, who has reportedly been sighted on a number of occasions.

Elsewhere around Picton, a matron is said to haunt the old maternity ward; a young boy and girl and a bearded man are said to haunt the Wollondilly Shire Hall; and the jukebox at the Imperial Hotel has been known to fire up on its own, even when unplugged.

Organised ghost tours no longer run in Picton, but you can show up and try to see or feel the departed for yourself.

a woman standing at Mushroom Tunnel, Picton, NSW — Rumour has it that Mushroom Tunnel is cursed by a young woman.

Abandoned mills and forgotten paper plants are finding second lives – and helping redefine a city long underestimated.

Just 15 years ago, Federal Mills was a very different place. Once among the most significant industrial sites in Victoria, the historic woollen mill was one of a dozen that operated in Geelong at the industry’s peak in the mid-20th century, helping the city earn its title as ‘wool centre of the world’. But by the 1960s global competition and the rise of synthetic fabrics led to the slow decline of the industry, and Federal Mills finally shuttered its doors in 2001. Within a few years, the abandoned North Geelong grounds had become makeshift pastoral land, with cows and goats grazing among the overgrown grass between the empty red-brick warehouses. It was a forgotten pocket of the city, all but two klicks from the bustle of the CBD.

Geelong cellar door wine bar — Geelong has shed its industrial identity to become an innovative urban hub with reimagined heritage spaces. (Image: Ash Hughes)

Federal Mills: from forgotten factory to creative precinct

Today, the century-old complex stands reborn. The distinctive sawtooth-roof buildings have been sensitively restored. An old silo is splashed with a bright floral mural, landscapers have transformed the grounds, and the precinct is once again alive with activity. More than 1000 people work across 50-plus businesses here. It’s so busy, in fact, that on a sunny Thursday morning in the thick of winter, it’s hard to find a car park. The high ceilings, open-plan design, and large multi-paned windows – revolutionary features for factories of their time – have again become a drawcard.

Paddock Bakery andPatisserie — Paddock Bakery and Patisserie is housed within the historic wool factory. (Image: Gallant Lee)

At Paddock , one of the precinct’s newer tenants, weaving looms and dye vats have been replaced by a wood-fired brick oven and heavy-duty mixers. Open since April 2024, the bakery looks right at home here; the building’s industrial shell is softened by ivy climbing its steel frames, and sunlight streams through the tall windows. Outside, among the white cedar trees, families at picnic benches linger over dippy eggs and bagels, while white-collar workers pass in and out, single-origin coffee and crème brûlée doughnuts in hand.

Geelong: Australia’s only UNESCO City of Design

Paddock Bakery can be found at Federal Mills. (Image: Gallant Lee)

“A lot of people are now seeing the merit of investing in Geelong,” says Paul Traynor, the head of Hamilton Hospitality Group, which redeveloped Federal Mills. A city once shunned as Sleepy Hollow, and spurned for its industrial, working-class roots and ‘rust belt’ image, Geelong has long since reclaimed its ‘Pivot City’ title, having reinvented itself as an affordable, lifestyle-driven satellite city, and a post-COVID migration hotspot.

And the numbers stand testament to the change. In March 2025, and for the first time in its history, Greater Geelong became Australia’s most popular regional town for internal migration, overtaking Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. Current forecasts suggest Geelong will continue to outpace many other Australian cities and towns, with jobs growing at double the rate of the population.

Tourism is booming, too. The 2023-24 financial year was Geelong and The Bellarine region’s busiest on record, with 6.4 million visitors making it one of the fastest-growing destinations in the country. It’s not hard to see why: beyond the city’s prime positioning at the doorstep of the Great Ocean Road, Geelong’s tenacity and cultural ambition stands out.

As Australia’s only UNESCO City of Design, Geelong is swiftly shaking off its industrial past to become a model for urban renewal, innovation, sustainability and creative communities. The signs are everywhere, from the revitalisation of the city’s waterfront, and the landmark design of the Geelong Library and Heritage Centre and Geelong Arts Centre, to the growing network of local designers, architects and artists, and the burgeoning roster of festivals and events. That’s not even mentioning the adaptive reuse of storied old industrial buildings – from Federal Mills, to Little Creatures’ brewery ‘village’ housed within a 1920s textile mill – or the city’s flourishing food and wine scene.

The rise of a food and wine destination

Restaurant 1915 is housed within a restored former boiler house. (Image: Harry Pope/Two Palms)

Traynor credits now-closed local restaurant Igni, which opened in 2016, as the turning point for Geelong’s hospo industry. “[Aaron Turner, Igni’s chef-patron] was probably the first guy, with all due respect, to raise the bar food-wise for Geelong,” he says. “People now treat it really seriously, and there’s clearly a market for it.” While Igni is gone, Turner now helms a string of other notable Geelong venues, including The Hot Chicken Project and Tacos y Liquor, all within the buzzy, street art-speckled laneways of the CBD’s Little Malop Street Precinct. Many others have also popped up in Igni’s wake, including Federal Mills’ own restaurant, 1915 . Housed within the cavernous boiler house, 1915’s interior is dramatic: soaring, vaulted ceilings with timber beams, exposed brick, a huge arched window. The share plates echo the space’s bold character, playing with contrast and texture, with dishes such as a compressed watermelon tataki, the sweet, juicy squares tempered by salty strands of fried leeks, and charred, smoky snow peas dusted with saganaki on a nutty bed of romesco.

The Woolstore , one of The Hamilton Group’s most recent hospo projects, opened in February. It occupies a century-old riverside warehouse and exudes a more sultry, fine dining ambience. Much like Federal Mills, the blueprint was to preserve the original brickwork, tallowwood flooring and nods to the building’s former life. That same careful consideration extends to the well-versed, affable waitstaff as well as the kitchen. Head chef Eli Grubb is turning out an eclectic mix of ambitious and indulgent mod Oz dishes that deliver: strikingly tender skewers of chicken tsukune, infused with hints of smoke from the parrilla grill, and glazed with a moreish, sweet gochujang ‘jam’; nduja arancini fragrant with hints of aniseed and the earthy lick of sunny saffron aioli; and golden squares of potato pavé, adorned with tiny turrets of crème fraîche, crisp-fried saltbush leaves, and Avruga caviar, to name but a few stand-out dishes.

Woolstore menu — Woolstore’s menu is designed for sharing.

Breathing new life into historic spaces

On the city’s fringe, hidden down a winding side road with little fanfare, lies a long-dormant site that’s being gently revived. Built from locally quarried bluestone and brick, and dating back to the 1870s, the complex of original tin-roofed mill buildings is lush with greenery and backs onto the Barwon River and Buckley Falls; the audible rush of water provides a soothing soundtrack. Fyansford Paper Mill is one of few complexes of its time to survive intact. It feels steeped in history and spellbindingly rustic.

“We were looking for an old industrial place that had some charm and romance to it,” explains Sam Vogel, the owner, director and winemaker at Provenance Wines which moved here in 2018. When he first viewed the building with his former co-owner, it was in such a state of disrepair that the tradie tenant occupying the space had built a shed within it to escape the leaking roof and freezing winter temperatures. “To say it was run down would be an understatement,” he notes. “There was ivy growing through the place; the windows were all smashed. It was a classic Grand Designs project.”

Provenance Wines moved to Fyansford Paper Mill in 2018. (Image: Cameron Murray Photography)

The team has since invested more than a million dollars into their new home. Where paper processing machinery once sat, wine barrels are now stacked. Vaulted cathedral ceilings are strung with festoon lights, and hidden in plain sight lies a shadowy mural by local street artist de rigueur Rone – one of only three permanent works by the artist.

While the award-winning, cool-climate pinot noir, riesling and chardonnay naturally remain a key draw at Provenance, the winery’s restaurant is a destination in itself. Impressed already by whipsmart service, I devour one of the most cleverly curated and faultlessly executed degustations I’ve had in some time. It’s all prepared in a kitchen that is proudly zero-waste, and committed to providing seasonal, ethical and locally sourced meat and produce under head chef Nate McIver. Think free-range venison served rare with a syrupy red wine jus and a half-moon of neon-orange kosho, shokupan with a deeply savoury duck fat jus (a modern Japanese take on bread and drippings), and a golden potato cake adorned with a colourful confetti of dehydrated nasturtiums and tomato powder, and planted atop a sea urchin emulsion.

handcrafted pieces — Bell’s handcrafted functional pieces on display.

The complex is home to a coterie of independent businesses, including a gallery, a jeweller, and its latest tenant, ceramicist Elizabeth Bell, drawn here by the building’s “soul”. “There’s so much potential for these buildings to have new life breathed into them,” says Bell, whose studio is housed within the old pump room. “Even people in Geelong don’t know we’re here,” she says. “It’s definitely a destination, but I like that. It has a really calming atmosphere.”

A Melbourne transplant, Bell now feels at home in Geelong, which offers something Melbourne didn’t. “If this business was in Melbourne I don’t think it would’ve been as successful,” she notes. “It’s very collaborative in Geelong, and I don’t think you get that as much in Melbourne; you’re a bit more in it for yourself. Here it’s about community over competition.”

9 of the most haunted places to visit in Australia