Spooky spots in Melbourne: Three haunted buildings to visit

MELBOURNE is full of amazing buildings but some of these architectural wonders have a dark past within them. Trinity College Foundation Studies students Coco Chen, Coco Huang, Nancy Lan and Gloria Xiao present three haunted places in Melbourne to you.

Wander around Melbourne’s streets long enough and you’ll easily find an inspiring city full of surprises. Among these surprises are the city’s many buildings. Apart from the classic Victorian houses, historical and new buildings you can find within the CBD alone, there are far more out of the ordinary architectures that contain a sordid history.

Therefore, we list three of these haunted places just to satisfy your curious and give you a different cognitions about Melbourne.

Old Melbourne Gaol
337 Russel St, Melbourne

Photo: Coco Chen

If you’re the type of person who’s keen on ghost stories, the Old Melbourne Gaol is must-visit destination.

Built in the mid 1800s, the Old Melbourne Gaol was home to many dangerous criminals. Among these criminals was one of Australia’s most notorious bush rangers, Ned Kelly who was hung in the Gaol, along with 133 other people, between 1842 and 1929.

Nowadays, the Gaol is open to the public and is even the site of RMIT student events. But if you are looking to get your spook on, the Old Melbourne Gaol hosts three nightly tours: “Ghosts? What Ghosts!”, “Hangman’s Night Tour” and “A Night in the Watch House”.

Please note that those tours may be accompanied by weird and sudden sounds and you’ll probably be creeped out by some of the narrow and small rooms. Those younger than 16 years aren’t advised to join these tours, as well as those with heart conditions and claustrophobia.

For more information about booking a tour, visit Old Melbourne Gaol’s official website. 

Aradale Lunatic Asylum
Girdlestone St, Ararat

Formerly the Ararat Lunatic Asylum, the Aradale Lunatic Asylum is the biggest abandoned asylum in Australia. Opened in 1865, at its peak the asylum would be able to house 900 people yearly but most of its patients were treated in controversial fashion. As such, it can be said that many supernatural events can be experienced at the asylum with one of its wards, J Ward, perhaps being the most infamous.

Tours at the asylum are conducted each Sunday and Wednesday at 11.00am and 2.00pm. Extra tours are organised for public holiday weekends. However, tours at J Ward differ. J Ward tours normally take about an hour at multiple times throughout the week. Bookings can be made for groups of ten or more.

For more information on the Aradale Lunatic Asylum or J Ward, visit the official website.

The Haunted Bookshop
15 McKillop St, Melbourne

Photo: Coco Chen

Though not a strictly haunted location, The Haunted Bookshop is home to a large and mysterious library of creepy literature.

Located at McKillop St, Melbourne,  you can enjoy a wide range of books on witchcraft, vampires and all sorts of magic. The whole bookshop is filled with a sense of mystery and all the decorations and music in the small space help to create the atmosphere of a haunted place. If you want to have a weekend of a little difference, go and have a ghost tour yourself.

More on The Haunted Bookshop can be found at its official website. 

Other creepy tours in Melbourne

If simply visiting some of Melbourne’s haunted grounds aren’t enough, events group Lantern Ghost Tours run tours for those looking to get their scare on. So if you want to know more about other spooky places or want to scare your friends, find a date that suits you and see if you’re brave enough to visit these scary places.

So the next time you walk past some of Melbourne’s famous (or infamous, depending on your perspective) buildings, consider their history and wonder if what you’re passing by is actually haunted by ghosts from the past. We dare you to have an unforgettable adventure…

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This story was produced by Media and Communication students at Trinity College Foundation Studies as part of Meld’s community newsroom collaboration. Education institutions, student clubs/societies and community groups interested in being involved can get in touch with us via meld@meldmagazine.com.au.