A brief look at some haunted houses in New Zealand
Jessica Macfarlane (November 1, 2019)
In a preface to the 2019 conference, and with the opening event being held at Riccarton House, a supposed haunted house, we thought we'd have a quick look at some of the reputed most-haunted houses in New Zealand, and check out some of the reasons why people think the places really are haunted.
While it's probably fair to say that we all love a good ghost story, and most of us probably enjoyed the Ghostbusters movies (or at least the first one), it's a different tale when people that you interact with everyday, like your co-workers, profess true belief in ghosts. Just as concerning, are the real stories of the real harm done during so-called ‘exorcisms', where the victim is denied the real mental health care they so desperately need.
Interestingly, a quick and dirty internet search for ‘how many people believe in ghosts' produce surprisingly large, and mostly American-centric, figures of somewhere between 47% and 57%, although that doesn't seem surprising in a country where a majority population percentage professes a belief of some sort in Christianity (anywhere between around 60% to 80%, dependent upon the source). [1]
Just to clarify, religion usually refers to a system of beliefs usually surrounding and involving a god or gods.
Paranormal, though, refers to beliefs not upheld by science, and covers everything from belief in ghosts to telepathy, spiritualism and the pseudosciences of ghost hunting, cryptozoology, and UFOlogy. [2]
Spirituality is a bit of a broader term, meaning connecting with something beyond our human selves.
A 1991 study showed around 50% of Kiwis expressed belief in telepathy, precognition, and life after death. Over 30% also expressed belief in clairvoyance, astrology, biorhythms, body auras, astral projection, flying saucers or UFOs, psychic healing, and ghosts. [3]
Attempting to find the places in New Zealand which are said to be haunted poses a few problems. A bit of internet digging shows many reports of many places. However, these all seem to have the same small set of sources in common, and the large majority of those are references to low-quality TV shows and poor journalism where anecdotes seem to be unquestioningly reprinted and restated.
Distilling the big list down to just a few where there seems to be many people saying the ghosts are real, we arrive at a very small list of the most popular. In no particular order:
Larnach Castle, Dunedin
A mock castle, on the eastern Dunedin peninsular, out of the city centre. The ‘ghost' is supposed to be that of William Larnach, who committed suicide in 1894.
Proof of ghosts:
During a storm, a gale blew down the chimney in 1994 in the middle of a theatrical play, sending white soot through the air, and heavy rain and hail fell on the tin roof. Staff also claim to have been touched on the back of their necks, being pushed, hearing heavy objects moved and hearing footsteps late at night and witnessing doors opening on their own.
Our opinion:
Yawn. Considering it's a guest house, the late-night noises and footsteps really aren't impressive at all. As far as the staff claiming to be pushed, etc, we really don't know what happened, but it seems that late-night fatigue and tiredness is more likely the real cause.
Lake Alice Hospital, Manawatu
A former mental hospital in Manawatu. Not unsurprisingly for a hospital, there were patient deaths over the years. There were also numerous historic abuse allegations, so it may well have been a scary place for real.
Proof of ghosts:
Staff felt cold, and thought someone was touching them. A former nurse reported: “There are a lot of spirits in the place, I felt chilled. My friend, who's psychic, picked up on things. She felt spirits were still roaming round”. Other staff said they heard an old-fashioned telephone ringing sound where there was no telephone. [4] Staff have also reportedly heard voices, and surgical equipment moved without human interaction. [5]
Our opinion:
A draughty old hospital, and staff that got the shivers late at night and heard things? Rational explanations for everything. Yawn again. The psychic? Well, we need only mention that the multi-million dollar Nobel Prize and honours for what would be an incredible new field of physics still remains unclaimed.
A similar sort of story is repeated with similar anecdotes at Kingseat Hospital, Auckland, except that it now hosts a scary ‘theme park' called ‘Spookers'. [5]
Riccarton Racecourse Hotel, Christchurch
In 1933, former licensee Donald Fraser was murdered in the dead of night in his bedroom, where his wife was sleeping, by two blasts from a double-barrelled shotgun.
Proof of ghosts:
It is said that the ghost of Fraser walks the corridors of the hotel looking for his killer… And that seems to be about the extent of the proof. Oh, and doors are said to open and close by themselves.[6]
Our opinion:
More yawns. We can find no first-hand accounts of any ghost sightings, only third hand at best. Even if there were a first-hand account, it would still be only a story, not a proof. We should also remember that it's not unknown for people to exaggerate or fill-in gaps to justify many things, consciously or sub-consciously.
Chateau Hotel, Tongariro National Park
Built in 1929, it is an old hotel, which became an asylum, then became a hotel again. A nurse called Charlotte died in one of the rooms.
Proof of ghosts:
Fires stutter in their fireplaces, and curtains moving as if blown by a strong breeze, despite no breeze being felt.
Our opinion:
Draughty old buildings seem to be coming up a lot. Yawn.
Lastly, Riccarton House, Christchurch
A grand Victorian/Edwardian homestead built in three stages – 1856, 1874 and 1900 – for Canterbury's pioneering Deans family.
Proof of ghosts:
The TV series ‘Ghost Hunt' did an investigation in 2006, where the crew encountered creaky floorboards, squeaky hinges, spooky music, staged scares and screams, cold air in closed rooms at night, an outside door that moved by itself in a breeze, scary night-vision shots of faces, and beeping from fake electronic equipment. [7]
Our opinion:
What more proof could anyone want! We're almost too scared to go to the conference opener at Riccarton House on Friday 29th November 2019, from 6pm. But, we will brace ourselves, and brave the terrors of the house from hell, and the ghost of Jane Deans.
See you there!
Google search for “how many people believe in ghosts”, 18 Aug 2019