The Ghosts of Railroads Past...

In keeping with my last post, I've been thinking a lot more lately about how much I've enjoyed railroads over the years. They're still my favorite means of transportation, and it's quite sad seeing how rail travel has died out over the years. People might say that the automobile killed streetcars and passenger railroads, but that's not entirely true. They were still very popular when the transit systems were dismantled. It was mainly a change in public mindset brought on by billions of federal dollars spent to build national highways. In nearly every metropolitan city across the nation (and many small towns in between), it was possible just 60 years ago to get almost anywhere via interurban streetcars and trains.

Since the mid-1800s, railroads shaped and formed this land and our cities. The stories of Casey Jones and John Henry are forever remembered in their old folktales. And it's hard to travel anywhere without passing (or crossing over) an old railroad line, if you know where to look. Many of our towns sprang up from railroad lines snaking across the landscape. Sadly, many of them died out when the trains disappeared. In the Cuyahoga Valley alone, I can think of several towns that have disappeared off the map when the Cleveland Terminal & Valley Railway was sold and switched entirely to freight.

Slowly, I'm working on compiling together some of the thousands of old legends and myths associated with the railroads. Eventually, I'll be setting aside part of my website for them, but there's a lot to wade through before I get there. I find railroad ghost stories just as fascinating as the golden age of steam. Just in Ohio, there are dozens of ghosts associated with train wrecks and accidental deaths from the Ashtabula Train Disaster to the tragedy outside Republic, Ohio, or even the specter of Lincoln's Funeral Train. Even one of my first visits to a haunted place as a teenager was train related: the old depot in Galion, Ohio.

All of the hauntings I've heard have involved steam locomotives, oddly enough. I'm sure there are diesel engines behind hauntings out there somewhere, but I'm content to stick with steam. It's a dying technology; if we don't keep teaching generations about operating old steam engines, they'll become mystifying museum relics. Few people who are alive today can operate an old engine. They require skill and finesse you won't find in a simple diesel engine. Perhaps that's why when it comes to historic preservation, I think railroads are so important.

Interestingly enough, we owe much of the current railroad preservation efforts to two men: Lucius Beebe and Charles Clegg. They pioneered railroad pictorial books and started the California State Railroad Museum. Much of our history would be forgotten were it not for these two men. And what's even more interesting is they were a couple. Yes, railroad preservation owes a lot to two gay men. You can still see their private car the Virginia City (complete with its elegant interior that would make Liberace jealous) in California.

Local Ghosts by Rail...

Back around 2004, I was trying to put together a ghost tour on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad. Unfortunately, it wasn't meant to be; there were some issues raised by the fact that it was both true ghost stories and locations in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. I can't blame anyone for the plans being thwarted. There was (and still is) some threat of vandalism within the park system, and inviting people to start exploring the valley for ghosts late at night always carries with it the risk of unscrupulous individuals wreaking havoc on historic places.

But times have changed. Ghosts and hauntings have gained popularity and are seen as a possible source of revenue for many businesses. Slowly, the National Park Service has opened up to the idea of telling ghost stories. They may deny any possible existence of paranormal phenomena, but seeing how popular Gettysburg is with tourists looking for a few ghosts and scares can be an influential power. And now, even the scenic railroad has opened up to otherworldly possibilities.

For anyone looking for something spooky to do this weekend (or during a few other weekends this summer), one option is the new Train to the Paranormal on which visitors can leave Northside Station in Akron for a trip full of ghosts and psychics. On the journey south, guests are accompanied by two mediums—Anne Miller and Helen Mayor—who will offer personal readings to anyone interested. The train stops at North Canton where passengers disembark and board a bus for Canal Fulton. At the Warehouse on the Canal, they will have dinner and drinks in the style of a Victorian wake followed by a ghost walk of the old canal town. The 5 1/2 hour round-tour costs $80 per person and ends back at Northside around 11:00 PM.

Canal Fulton is a lovely (and spooky) little place, full of many ghostly tales. I have been there several times, both to investigate the Warehouse and take Sherri Brake's tour. I've been on a few investigations with Sherri over the past decade and highly recommend her Haunted Heartland Tours. I have also worked with Anne Miller and her daughter, Brenda Brand, on a few investigations (all four of us investigated a few places in the valley together back in September 2005 for the Akron Beacon Journal) and find them both delightful people. Undoubtedly, this is one railroad trip worth taking.

Hopefully, one of these days I'll give another go at an event tied in with Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad. I have a few ideas kicking around inside my head as we speak, but they'll require plenty of planning and cooperation with a few businesses. But until that time, at least you can enjoy a few ghost hunts dreamed up by other creative people.

The Never-Ending Forgotten History of the Valley...

After a lot of debate, I decided to bring back the Haunted Cuyahoga section of my website. Yes, a lot of my old research (and some rescued documents from Jaite Mill) were turned over to Jeri Holland of Cuyahoga Valley Paranormal about a year ago. I'm still leaving much of the valley's hauntings in her experienced hands. Still, there's so much I've wanted to write about... and so many corrections to make from the old information I had posted. Most of the old pages hadn't been updated since the time when I started looking for ghosts in the Cuyahoga Valley around 1999. Sadly, a lot of that information was total speculation; a lot of research over the years changed what is real from what is urban legend.

In September, Jeri's book Haunted Akron: Ghosts of the Rubber City will be published by The History Press. In it are a few stories from the valley in the southern part within Akron city limits. Since we both feel passionate about history and tossed tons of researched material back and forth over the last few months, we've both been excited by all the new discoveries in both bizarre local history and haunted places. There was the murder of a mixed-race man in a long-since-vanished town, a gruesome suicide at an old canal lock, and a haunted pond in Green Township. But when I scoured old maps and newspaper articles sent to me by Jeri and pinpointed the real location of the "haunted River Styx railroad bridge," you can't imagine how excited we both were.

And there's so much more to tell about; so much so that Jeri is already planning a second Haunted Akron book. At the same time, we're working together to get a early start on teaming up as co-authors for a book on ghosts in the Cuyahoga Valley tentatively planned for The History Press next year. I'm slowly adding some new discoveries to my site, though a lot of it will remain hidden until the book eventually is written and released (though I may share some stories at library talks before then). It's hard to keep all these stories to myself. I've always know that the Cuyahoga Valley has had some wild tales in its past; I ever expected the list to keep growing.

While not all stories involve ghosts directly, there are plenty of downright creepy sites to see. Along Riverview Road, I found the site of a fatal shooting by an "insane," drunken husband. Near a old canal lock, there are apple trees growing which are likely the offspring of trees planted by French traders in the 1600s. And, of course, one tale is a particular favorite of mine: the railroad station along the Valley Railway built on top of an old Irish cemetery! Yes, the bodies are still there... and I'm pretty sure that no one--not even the National Park Service--realizes it.

Hopefully before the heat of summer dies down, I'll have a chance to check out some of these places and (perhaps) have an investigation or two. This is the one thing I've missed the most: being the first person to look for ghosts in certain locations for many decades. Back when I started exploring the valley, it was like that. As some spots have become extremely popular, it took the fun and excitement out of investigating. I've never been crazy about going places that hundreds or thousands of would-be ghost busters trample to death. I like being unique, and in finding these new places that haven't been exhausted to death is the best way to do that.

Back to Local Ghosts...

Another year is rushing by. Though I've felt like my life has been quite boring lately, it hasn't been entirely without amusement and productivity. Most of my writing time has involved PowerPoint shows for libraries (I'm expecting to do several this fall on various places, including the Cuyahoga Valley) and helping with a book. Haunted Akron—written by long-time investigator and former arch enemy Jeri Holland (it's a long story, but we used to fight over the valley many years ago)—will be released this fall as part of the "Haunted America" series by The History Press. I've been helping with research and acting as contributing editor, making sure it's as free of errors as possible and polished before submission. I can tell you now; if you know about haunted places in Akron, you'll find plenty of surprises in this book.

There will likely be a sequel, hopefully within a year. There were so many hauntings in the Akron Metropolitan area that there wasn't enough time to thoroughly research them all and still meet the deadline. Some well-known ghost stories were left out due to time restraints, but other forgotten stories have been brought to light for the first time in a century. Then there's the surprise twist to an old story covered by many people over the years. Every paranormal investigator who has waited for a ghost train to appear at a certain bridge in northeast Ohio has been looking in the wrong place. Luckily, that legend has finally been told correctly in Haunted Akron. I'm looking forward to investigating the real haunted bridge this summer with Jeri and a few other friends.

Aside from the sequel, Jeri and I are teaming together for a new Haunted Cuyahoga book (likely to be named "Ghosts of the Cuyahoga Valley")slated for next fall, published by The History Press as well. I've enjoyed working with Jeri the past few years. We both feel passionate about history and love to dig up old stories from books and newspaper archives. This time, the Cuyahoga Valley will be covered in-depth and accurately. I'll be dusting off my old research from my old book, correcting errors and including many more tales recently uncovered along with stories meant to go in the unfinished sequel. I am looking forward to the chance at working with The History Press. Well, officially working with them this time.

Since Jeri has a bad case of stage fright, I'll be helping out with talks at libraries and events dealing with ghosts of Akron this fall. My talk at Cuyahoga Falls Library on Australian hauntings will kick things off on July 5 at 6:30 PM. From that time on, I'll be heading into my usual busy autumn filled with ghosts and goblins. I have some other plans in store as well, but I'll save the details until they happen. I really do need to get back to work on seeking out those bizarre, unusual ghost stories I do love to find. But for now, I have much more work to do.

A New Year and Old Spooks...

A new year is finally underway. Anyone else dealing with that post-holiday depression? For me it's that coupled with post-vacation depression where you realize where you were a few weeks ago and the reality of being back home. Added together with those all-too-common feelings of regret, worry, guilt, and other emotions still lingering from Australia it's a tough transition back to normality and my return to university study. I don't need to tell anyone out there who has been to college how that can be, or the challenges of sorting through financial aid. 

The clock is ticking away with my library talk on Australia's ghosts and I'm slowly piecing together what I'll cover. One thing has struck me as I delve into the many, MANY ghost stories from the nation: I managed to see more allegedly-haunted places than I previously thought! There are quite a few landmarks with hidden legends and dark histories to tell. Even iconic symbols of Sydney often carry supernatural undercurrents which most tourists never know. And then there's the cemeteries. Well, what used to be cemeteries. 

I did mention Rookwood last year and Old Sydney Burial Ground which once occupied the land where Sydney Town Hall stands today. I did, however, fudge slightly on the re-interment. There was another cemetery created before Rookwood within Sydney city limits before the bodies were moved to both the Necropolis and another graveyard. It too became the site of another Sydney landmark building. Of course, I didn't find out until after being there. Every year millions of people pass through the very ground where some say bodies and coffins still remain. I will say that it did feel slightly creepy for an unexplainable reason when I was there. As for the identity of this location, I'll wait until after I discuss it at Cuyahoga Falls Library to mention it here. 

Honestly I could spend two hours talking about ghosts and legends of Sydney itself. We so rarely hear about haunted Australia in the United States that it's amazing to discover the number of stories floating around, often unspoken. Australians aren't quite as ghost crazy as Americans. Few places have reached the legendary status of comparable buildings in the states. Still, there are a few well-known haunted places across the country: Monte Cristo Homestead, Quarantine Station, Port Arthur, Maitland Gaol, and a few others. On Thursday night SciFi Australia aired three episodes of Ghost Hunters International featuring Aussie paranormal hot spots. I've only been to one of them since my trip didn't include Tasmania. 

I did manage to watch all three episodes of GHI from Season 2 shown on Foxtel last night. While I often cringe at most of what I see on these shows the history and places can be entertaining. And for that reason, it was interesting. If you take away the bad EVPs, cold spots, and pitch black investigating it's not all bad. I can't quite bring myself to become as obsessed with these shows as some people can be. I love learning about new haunted places but I could do without a lot of the theatrics and suspense. But it was nice getting a visual tour of a few sights. When I eventually get back to Australia I'm hoping to see more of them for myself. A souvenir or two wouldn't be bad either. I can put them on my bookshelf next to the Q Station mug.

While I'm not sure if I'll get back to Australia before 2012, I will probably write here and there about some of the country's ghostly legends. It's still a fascinating country with a rich, dark history. And given that the novel I'm starting to work on again is set in a rather scenic region of the land down under it will always be on my mind. Yet there's a lot more to explore this year. I have places from my book to see and research, more gay and lesbian ghosts to discover, and new cities that deserve a bit of exploration. I have no doubt this will be another year of travel opportunities. And hopefully every place I see will unveil its darker, more mysterious sides when I have the chance to see them.

Queer Paranormal Road Trip: Brickfield Hill Bed & Breakfast

I had every intention of discussing at least one haunting in Sydney while I was visiting in the first few days of December. Due to limited internet, that never happened. And with the realization that three days hardly was enough time to cover my list of places to see I regretfully never paid a visit to Brickfield Hill Bed & Breakfast Inn (originally my first choice of accommodations but it was booked solid by the time my trip was finalized). I hope to remedy this next time I'm in Australia and still intend on devoting a fair amount of time on it in the next LGBT ghost book.

As Sydney sprang up from the wild landscape of New South Wales in the late 18th Century, a need for more permanent buildings arose. The earliest brickmakers, among them Londoner James Bloodworth, took advantage of clay deposits in the region and began producing bricks in earnest in a village which came to be known (obviously) as Brickfield. Today it is part of a popular restaurant and entertainment area named Surrey Hills. Here you will find the heart of Sydney's gay and lesbian life on nearby Oxford Street. And in a row of historic Victorian townhouses along Riley Street is a small but beautiful gay-owned inn called Brickfield Hill Bed & Breakfast.

The four-store terrace dates back to 1885 when it was built as a boarding house for Lydia King. Traces of this past were unearthed during restoration work by present owners Ivano and David. The four guest rooms are beautifully decorated with antiquities and simple elegance. Yet this is not without the modern conveniences, including free wireless internet and LCD televisions complete with DVD player. Surprisingly, given how expensive Sydney can be, they are very affordable and far less expensive than any hotel room you can find. But a hotel won't provide the same historic surroundings... or rumors of a ghost.

Both Ivano and David are staunch skeptics when it comes to ghosts and spirits. That hasn't stopped guests from reporting unusual experiences while staying at Brickfield. People have reported hearing fabric rustling and catching a glimpse of "a tall woman walking in a long black sateen dress" at the inn, most often on the stairs outside the dining room and or the upstairs landing. Even the innkeepers have heard footsteps on the stairs on more than one occasion while the building was empty yet they dismiss it as likely sound coming from the adjacent rowhouses. This cannot explain why a number of overnight guests have come out of their suites in the morning to ask what "the maid" was doing in their room in the middle of the night. There is no maid on staff, although this and the woman in black could be the same individual.

Perhaps Mrs. King is still keeping watch over her boarders from beyond the grave. Or maybe it's dark cast shadows in a creaky old Victorian, mixed with the excitement of a different city and too much Carlton's, which fuel the imagination. Whichever you choose to believe the question might be answered after spending the night—or an extended weekend holiday—in a room there. Even if you don't get a visit from "the maid" you can be sure to find plenty of spirits at the nearby Oxford Hotel or Colombian Hotel. Just remember that tipping in Australia is often included in the price (and the bartenders are better paid than in the states) so there's no need to fumble for a $1 coin.

The Hidden Heart of Hauntings...

Yikes! I've let a whole week pass by. Well, not intentionally. And not just from gearing up for the trip. I've been doing a lot of research and digging up interesting things. The only problem is they haven't involved Australia or ghosts. Yes, it might be strange to believe but I actually have other less morbid interests. That's one thing I have in mind for my trip as well: balancing spooky places with everything else I want to see. And I think it's necessary. Focusing on dead people and spirits all the time isn't healthy for anyone.

In fact, only a handful of people get into the paranormal for some valiant pursuit to answer the age-old question of what happens after death or to scientifically prove or disprove the existence of what we refer to as ghosts. Many hunt for spirits as a form of adventure and excitement, perhaps even to feel like they're actually in a horror movie, or (as the recent trend goes) as a popularity/status symbol. Though I started out long before it was the "in" thing to do, I figured out what my main motivation was. History.

Ghost stories keep our history alive (both literally and ironically). How many murders would be forgotten by the majority of people were it not for a haunted house? How many sad, fascinating stories would have died out centuries ago without those ghostly legends being passed on from person to person? Yes, there are plenty of tales which are not complete truths, yet even urban legends and iconic ghost stories are based upon a certain amount of fact. Sometimes the paranormal folklore can even lead to unsolved murders or other mysteries. They're a part of nearly every culture on earth. Through the dead, obscure forgotten history lives on.

If there were no true stories, no historical foundation, behind misty human forms and footsteps in abandoned mansions nearly all the appeal would disappear for me. I say "nearly" because well, I do like the bizarre, creepy, and mysterious so obviously it would still pique my curiosity. But I would be like so many other people and treat ghosts as a thrill to have once every Halloween. Ghosts would have all the fascination of a magician's trick. They'd be like thunderstorms; something I love to watch but won't go out of my way to try to find one.

With history, there is always something to be learned. I know plenty of people who treat the past as something to be learned in school from a book then brushed aside, yet it's so much more than that. It can be tangible in the form of artifacts and antiques yet relative to time and place shifting drastically in story as you move from place to place and see it from other people's viewpoints. It's full of amazing achievements and horrible deeds. In many ways, humankind is unchanging through the centuries. People fight wars over beliefs, politicians are corrupt, drama is entertainment, and the rich have power over the commoners. It's astounding that we, as people living in the 21st century, see our lives as so drastically different from past societies, such as ancient Rome. But strip away the gadgets, the clothing, the architecture and look at the people and you'll see a mirror image.

Much of what we know is the past as filtered through propoganda. Just listen to schoolchildren learning about Thanksgiving and you'll see what I mean. Those poor, helpless Pilgrims striving for freedom and good will daring to cross an ocean and harmoniously mingling with Native Americans, it all culminating in a great feast of two different people who lived happily ever after. That's how we'd like to remember it but it isn't the whole truth. And that is often the key with ghost stories. They're renegade historical truths cloaked in the supernatural. They tell us the sides of history we want to keep buried. Pure truth, like a disembodied spirit, terrifies and haunts. We would rather wake up from the nightmare than discover it could be real.

Death by the Acre...

Two weeks ago I wrote about Sydney's first cemetery beneath present-day Sydney Town Hall. At that time I mentioned that a number of bodies exhumed were re-interred at Rookwood Necropolis. The interesting thing about this cemetery is it's the largest multicultural burial ground not only in Australia but in all the Southern Hemisphere. In the three square kilometers (over one square mile) of grounds approximately one million souls have met their final rest. Though some may not be so peaceful. Rookwood is also said to be the most haunted cemetery in the world.

An ideal spot for a new cemetery at Haslem's Creek (now Lidcombe) was chosen in 1862. The 200 acres were far enough away from Sydney as not to worry about encroachment (or so they believed). By 1879 the government needed to purchase an additional 577 acres to make more room. Originally a railway led to the cemetery for funerals but that ceased in 1948 after automobile funerals won out in popularity. Four of the five stations were demolished, with the last one being sold to Reverend Buckle in 1951 who dismantled it and reconstructed the depot as All Saints Church of England in Canberra's suburb of Ainslie. Yet many buildings remain, including a dozen chapels, three florist shops, and two cafes. It's practically an entire city for the dead.

Some of the oldest sections of the cemetery are overgrown with abundant indigenous plants as well as many various horticultural specimens. The Friends of Rookwood Inc. offers a variety of historical tours covering some famous and fascinating people buried throughout the cemetery. And undoubtedly one of the most interesting people you will find among the headstones is William Davenport.

The Davenport brothers, Ira and William, were highly acclaimed in their time as Spiritualist mediums. Born in Buffalo, New York the duo toured the United States for 10 years and met a great deal of skepticism from Houdini and others intent on exposing their magician's tricks as fraud. At the age of 36, William passed away from Tuberculosis on July 1, 1877 at the Oxford Hotel in Sydney. Ira returned to the US until his death in 1911 at which time he was buried in Mayville, New York.

As far as wandering souls are concerned, there is some debate about how haunted the cemetery really is. And we don't just mean last year's horny Satanist. If you ask tour guide Robyn Hawes she'll tell you there are no ghosts at Rookwood. Yet for decades haunting rumors have persisted. Allegedly both visitors and employees have experienced paranormal phenomena in Rookwood. Perhaps it's caused by a lonely convict of Davenport himself making one last appearance to better his reputation? Or is it just that pesky belief that all cemeteries must be haunted? Either way it's worth a visit just for the old Victorian headstones.

True News is Stranger than Fiction...

It's been a while since I've reported on a few of the weird goings-on around the globe. Luckily it's been a great year for the bizarreness of humanity. Here are just a few stories that fell through the cracks (including a few from Oceania) found inside the Sydney Morning Herald.

Just Looking for a Ghouled Time...

In Durack, Northern Territory a woman named Jennifer Mills-Young has been the victim of what many Australians have labeled a "randy poltergeist." The ghost, given the name Kevin, attacked Jennifer, a mother of two, in her bed while alone in the house, grabbing her wrist and trying to drag her out of bed. "I yelled at Kevin that he was not welcome in my bedroom and that he couldn't come into bed with me. I told him to f--- off and to close the door behind him," Jennifer told a reporter for The Northern Territory News. "A moment later I saw how the bedroom door was closed."  Jason King, a Sydney-based paranormal investigator, has offered his services to help the woman, who was and still remains very skeptical of the paranormal.

Feasting on Misfortune...

There's something rotten in Wellington, New Zealand. Is isn't the corpses. And thanks to an unidentified man it isn't the funeral banquets either. A well-dressed man in his 40s made several stops at Harbour City Funeral Home and similar businesses in the eastern suburbs between March and April to dine on the banquets and take some extra to go. According to the Dominion Post he was stopped after a week by funeral director Danny Langstraat and his staff who felt he had crossed the line. Mentally ill or just looking for a free lunch? We may never know.

A Very Unlucky Number...

People may chalk up the superstitions surrounding the number 13 to coincidence, but one teenager in Suffolk, England may disagree. Friday August 13th proved to be a shocking day for the 13-year-old boy who was attending an air show when a thunderstorm rolled in. A lightning strike hit the boy and two other crowd members at 13:13. "Lightning strikes can cause cardiac arrest," said a St Johns Ambulance volunteer at the event, "but when our volunteers arrived, the boy was conscious and breathing." He was taken to a nearby hospital and treated for burns on his shoulder.

Rook to Alpha Centauri...

Could aliens pose concerns of national security leaks? Possibly in Russia. State Duma deputy Andrei Lebedev wrote to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in May asking for a full investigation into the alleged alien abduction of multi-millionaire businessman Kirsan Ilyumzhinov on September 18, 1997. On that date, Kirsan reported that a cylindrical craft piloted by "human-like creatures in yellow spacesuits" landed on his balcony and whisked him away to "some kind of star" in an effort to prove the existence of UFOs. Lebedev was concerned that the aliens may have urged him to divulge state secrets to them and asked for proper protocol to be followed when a high-profile figure is abducted. But they might be overreacting a little. Kirsan happens to be the head of the World Chess Federation. Perhaps they just wanted a few pointers in exchange for a tour of the universe?

To Sleep, Perchance to Dream...

Normally I don't dream very often. If I do, I don't remember it at all. Once every several months I'll wake up recalling a dream. Yet for the past two nights in a row I've experienced a plethora of dreams all night long which I recall much of in the morning. These have been quite varied, from strange bedfellows to odd happenings and yes, even a few frighteningly ghost-themed ones. In fact, dreaming seems to be an Aussie connection of mine. Four years ago, I visited a university campus in my dreams (and hopefully I'll see if the exact place does exist in December) to find my friend Joel. Almost a year later, I had a dream of Joel visiting me to tell me about a visit to the United States. It was only after telling him about it I learned that at the time I was sleeping he was discussing a summer stay in the states working as a camp counselor.

There are many different theories of dreams and possible meanings behind them. Some appear to look into the past, others foretell of future events. And some are so bizarre they can only be chalked up to the mind dumping out a ton of random thoughts and images in a heap of insanity. Psychologists have tried to explain the meanings behind symbols found within dreams. Famed psychologist Carl Jung and French sociologist Émile Durkheim even theorized that some dreams (and creative thought) could be the result of tapping into some "collective unconsciousness" shared by all of humanity. But for Australian Aborigines there was something more sacred behind it.

What the native peoples of Australia refer to as "Dreamtime" isn't solely a sleep state of being. It encompasses a range of beliefs and experiences from the creation of the world ("The Dreaming") to future events. To them, the past, present, and future coexist. Time is eternal; its layers all happening simultaneously. They believe we can all access this time both through real experiences and dreams or waking visions. To experience a dream about a visiting ancestor was an opportunity to learn something they wanted to pass along to us. All dreams were a profound and meaningful experience.

To better understand why dreams were so revered, it's important to understand what Aborigines believe about the time when we sleep. During the night when we rest, they feel that our souls leave the body (what we would call an out of body experience or OBE) and enter the Dreamtime. Here we mingle with all time, past and future, and encounters can range from communications with the dead to the prophetic. According to Aboriginal beliefs an eternal part of every person existed before being born and continued to exist after the death of their physical body.

This made their view of death slightly different from ours. There was a period of mourning for the loss of a tribal member during which they would inflict wounds on themselves with clubs, shells, and rocks. At which time the wounds healed the mourning period would reach an end. The spirit of the deceased would go to "sky camp" but the dead could return, either through a real-life encounter or dream, to cause harm or warn of danger. While they held views similar to what we consider to be ghosts, these experiences were often quite different. That's not to say that ghost stories aren't part of their culture. There most certainly are tales of spirits and haunted places where few would dare to enter.

Ghostly encounters are believed by many in modern times to be mere hallucinations and dreams mistaken for reality. Yet the line between real vision and dreamed illusion remains difficult to discern. Is everything we dream pure fiction and coincidence? The millennia-old culture of the Aboriginals didn't think so. While we may never agree on the origins of precognitive thought, past life memories, and strange encounters with ghostly phenomena the mind is capable of some remarkable things. For all we know our everyday experiences are the dreams. Who can say what we might wake up to discover.

A Celebrated Murder...

Not everyone in Australia believes in ghosts. Yet spirits certainly are a part of the history and culture across the nation. Just listening to the bush ballad Waltzing Matilda shows one clear example. Said to have been based on a true story, the song ends with the swagman's ghost still haunting the billabong (purported to be Combo Waterhole in Queensland). But there is an iconic true ghost story well-known among Aussies. It's celebrated every year in this month with a festival.

Frederick Fisher was a former convict turned farmer in the early 19th century trying to turn around his life in Campbelltown outside of Sydney. In 1826 he had another brush with the law following a knife incident. Anticipating a long return to prison, he gave his neighbor William George Worral power of attorney. Luckily for Fisher the trial went better than expected and he was released with a light sentence. On June 17 Fisher mysteriously vanished. When questioned, Worral told the townspeople that Fisher had left him everything and sailed to England to make a fresh start. Suspicions arose almost immediately.

Worral was arrested on September 17 on suspicion of murder yet no body could be found. One night in October a wealthy farmer named John Farley (or James Hurley in other story versions) was heading home from Patrick's Inn and encountered a terrifying sight on the Queen Street bridge. The ghost of Fred Fisher sat on the rail and pointed in the direction or Worral's land beside a creek separating Worral's and Fisher's properties. Terrified, Farley raced home and soon told authorities about the disturbing encounter. On October 25 two local boys reported seeing blood stains on Worral's fence. Police called in an Aboriginal tracker named Gilbert and soon discovered Fisher's body exactly where the ghost had been pointing.

The trial began on February 2, 1827. During the proceedings Worral was found guilty. At the gallows three days later Worral confessed but claimed it was a case of mistaken identity (he thought Fisher was a horse in his wheat crop) yet no one believed him. But that was not the end of Fisher's ghost. Hauntings blamed on Fisher are abound in Campbelltown. Today, the stream where the body was discovered is renamed Fisher's Ghost Creek. Since 1826 the ghostly image if Fisher has been seen numerous times at the bridge on Queen Street. He has also made appearances at the nearby Town Hall Theatre, said to have been built at the site of Worral's homestead.

Today Campbelltown celebrates its infamous ghostly celebrity every year in November with the Festival of Fisher's Ghost. The event dating back to 1956 includes a parade, street fair, six-day carnival, and immense display of fireworks. This year's celebration started on November 4th and runs through the 14th. See the website for complete details. And if you happen to be around Sydney be sure to take some time to join in on the festivities. While you might see many Halloween-style ghosts parading down the street, one of them might be Fisher himself. It's believed that he visits the festival every year, after all...

(Map courtesy Campbelltown City Council)

Forgotten Dead of the Big Smoke...

I still remember taking the Haunted Walk in Ottawa, Canada last year. It was a great experience and chance to learn about the hidden history of the city. One of the more interesting parts was exploring the city's earliest cemeteries. The first was a military site on Barrack's Hill, now referred to as Parliament Hill. That area now traversed by Sparks Street became a huge cemetery. You wouldn't know it today. All traces are covered by roads, buildings, and sidewalks. Yet construction work still unearths the occasional grave site and bones. Surely Sydney wouldn't be the same, right?

Not exactly. You won't find Old Sydney Burial Ground on any modern map. Many Sydneysiders walk right past it every day without giving it any notice. It dates back to 1792 and is situated at the southwest corner of George and Druitt Streets. Today the spot is better known as Sydney Town Hall.

The cemetery was in use until it was filled to capacity in 1820 and by 1840 had become a health hazard and unsightly place due to the haphazard burial techniques in clay soil. Interestingly enough the site was never consecrated or officially announced as a cemetery and it never had a trustee. No official records were kept though in 1845 it was estimated that some 2000 souls (both free citizens and convicts) were buried in these two acres of land.

As early as 1842 there was talk of removing the bodies and building a town hall. It wasn't until April 4, 1868 that the first foundation stone was laid on the new building. At the same time, the long process of exhumation began. Most graves were badly deteriorated. The bones and headstones that were uncovered were moved to  the Church of England cemetery at what is now Rookwood Necropolis. Unfortunately for these early dead people of Sydney's history many were left in the ground beneath the growing building.

Since 1871 when the Town Hall was being completed bones and headstone fragments have been routinely unearthed at the site. Even as recently as 2007 grave sites have been discovered and excavated. Of course, this isn't the only place in Australia hiding an old cemetery. There's Cathedral Park in Newcastle, Victoria Market in Melbourne, Canberra's Lake Burley-Griffin, and several others. While the dead have been forgotten and neglected they don't always rest in peace. It's no wonder that there are rumors that the ghosts of Sydney's former residents haunt Town Hall to this very day.