Spook-tacular suburbs: Australia's most haunted areas revealed

One of NSW’s major regional centres has been identified as the most haunted area in Australia in a new analysis from Ray White.

Released to coincide with Halloween on October 31, Ray White data analyst Atom Go Tian’s ghost hunter’s guide to property reveals Newcastle as the most haunted place in the country, with six spooky locations dotted around the steel city.

The analysis of haunted locations was manually sourced and mapped by ghost hunters.

“When conjuring the haunted, it’s the scary, the run-down, and the deserted that typically capture the mind’s eye,” Mr Go Tian said.

“We like to imagine ghosts and spirits exist in some distant otherworldly realm, yet the reality is they seem to enjoy our company.

“Newcastle-Cooks Hill is the most haunted area in Australia, with six reportedly haunted locations within walking distance of each other: Newcastle Civic Theatre, the old Newcastle Police Station, Royal Newcastle Hospital, Newcastle Courthouse, Miss Porter’s House, and the site of KFC’s first Newcastle branch.

“This concentration likely stems from Newcastle being Australia’s second-oldest city behind Sydney, with much of its historic infrastructure still standing.”

Of the 296 haunted locations documented in the analysis, 72 (24 per cent) fall in the category of hotels, pubs, and restaurants.

Residential properties account for 45 locations (15 per cent).

Mr Go Atom said public infrastructure holds particular appeal for ghost hunters, including roads, bridges, lighthouses and stations, that serve as sites of tragic deaths or mysteries.

Among those is Lemon Tree Passage Road in Raymond Terrace, near Newcastle, which placed fifth on the list.

According to local legend, the stretch is haunted by an apparition of a man who died in a motorcycle accident on Lemon Tree Passage Road in the 1980s.

Legend says the ghost can be seen if drivers are travelling more than 100 kmh at night.

“Lemon Tree Passage Road, famous for its motorcycle ghost lights legend, has become so popular that it inspired a 2014 horror film,” he said.

The abandoned Picton Mushroom Tunnel in regional NSW is among the other haunted infrastructure locations on the list.

Visitors have reported seeing a girl’s apparition in a white dress, hearing the voices of children, and experiencing equipment malfunctions.

Mr Go Tian said that some locations are so comprehensively haunted that entire towns, camps, and islands have earned reputations as the spookiest in Australia.

“Cockatoo Island in Sydney Harbour, Port Arthur in Tasmania, Walhalla in Victoria, and Rottnest Island in Western Australia all fall into this category,” he said.

“Thankfully, most Aussie ghosts tend to stick to their dwellings, making this category a rarity.”

Where do ghosts live?

Examining the country’s most haunted watering holes, Melbourne’s Hotel Windsor is a notable example.

As Australia’s only surviving grand 19th-century city hotel, the 1883-built pub is renowned for its ghost, a woman in a lilac gown, who appears on the grand staircase.

It is believed to be the spirit of Australian opera singer Dame Nellie Melba.

The most haunted residential properties in the country include Monte Cristo Homestead in Junee, NSW, often referred to as Australia’s most haunted house.

Ghost hunters say Mrs Crawley’s ghost still roams the property where she spent her final 23 years in near-total seclusion after her husband’s death.

The homestead has witnessed multiple tragedies, including a maid who fell from the balcony and a stable boy who was burnt alive, earning its reputation as one of the nation’s most actively haunted sites.

After Newcastle, the inner cities of Brisbane and Adelaide follow, each with five haunted locations.

“Both cities’ Town Halls are reportedly haunted, with phantom music, shadow figures, and sounds of non-existent construction curiously common to both,” he said.

“Interestingly, with the exception of Meekatharra in regional WA, these haunted hotspots have house prices at the upper end of the market.

“Newcastle isn’t just the most haunted, it’s also the most expensive on our list, with typical house prices of $11.2 million.

“The range outside of these two spans from $1.46 million in Rockhampton City to $7.95 million in Brisbane City.

“Once again, our ghosts appear to prefer being where we are.

“It’s hard enough competing with each other for housing, apparently, we have the other dimension to worry about as well!”

The house prices listed were sourced through Neoval data in accordance with ABS statistical area levels, representing the geometric mean (rather than the median or average) of each SA2.