Tell us what you really think – The Solway Firth Spaceman

Another Monday and another entry into “Tell us what you really think” So, this week…Tell us what you really think about… The Solway Firth Spaceman, real life inter-dimensional space visitor or simply a case of mistaken identity? On 23 May 1964, Jim Templeton, a firefighter from Carlisle, Cumberland (now part

West Coast gets UFO fever

Reported in NZHerald – 8th August 2013. UFOs are the talk of the West Coast after reports of one man’s ‘close encounter’ at Rutherglen on Tuesday night. Although no other witnesses have come forward about the sighting; in which Matthew Robert Haisty claims to have come across a UFO parked

The Cryptid in the Sky

On several occasions while walking and driving through thick native and isolated bush around New Zealand, my partner (Kel) and I have encountered a massive bird or bat like creature, swoop down and fly off very quickly. The first encounter was in an isolated reserve on the North Shore

The Tavistock Hotel – Waipukurau

We team up with Core Paranormal from Palmerston North in a joint investigation of the historical Tavistock Hotel in central Hawke’s Bay.

A Painful Lesson Learned in Paranormal Photography, on the USS Hornet

It’s every single paranormal investigators dream to capture, every homeowners unwanted visitor, and every child’s nightmare. The FBA. The full bodied apparition. Some people go their whole lives working to document this exact phenomena with absolutely nothing to show for it but thousands upon thousands of awkward camera angles, shot

Eckfords Maraetai Homestead – Howick Historical Village- Dec 17, 2011 Session 2 ”White Dress”

Audio Anomalies: The following audio anomaly was captured 90 minutes into the investigation, within the Eckfords Maraetai Homestead building. We believe this to be an example of Electronic Voice Phenomenon (EVP) as the voice recorded on the digital recorder was not heard by any of the team members present at

Howick Historical Village: Solo Overnight Sessions – Sam’s night in the old Church.

The team returned to the Howick Historical village for yet again a series of solo investigations – with a slight twist. Previously we had all taken turns (on different nights) doing a full, solo investigation on the largest of the houses “Puhinui house” and had all come away with more

The Texas-sized ‘monster’ bird that created a huge flap back in 1975

The month of January marks the anniversary of one of the strangest creature sagas in the history of Texas… that of Big Bird. We’re not talking about Sesame Street here folks. During the year of the nation’s bicentennial, some 36 years ago, dozens of citizens from San Antonio to the

The Kelpie

Paul Bell was a keen fisherman who I met back in early 2001 and who had a remarkable story to relate of truly monstrous proportions. And when I say “remarkable,” I’m not exaggerating. His summer 1976 encounter, on a pleasant and picturesque stretch of English canal, involved not just one

PUBLIC GHOST HUNT: The Pumphouse Theatre – Feb 27th 2015

Editor's Choice

Angry homesick doll yearns for the Highlands22/02/2020Haunted Objects / Paranormal New ZealandI thought I’d share the story of this little girl that sits in my ‘’haunted items’’ room. I was hoping to return her back to her homeland of Scotland during a recent trip over, donating her to another researcher /haunted item collector over there, where she could hopefully be at peace being back in the country she belongs. However, my plans didn’t work out this time. This one came to me about eight years ago via the Son-in-law of a woman that had passed away. The exchange started with a Facebook message, which extended into an intriguing conversation. The following is a condensed and abbreviated summation of the discussion. I have adjusted some of the punctuation, spelling and grammar in parts but kept it as it had been sent to me. ‘’Hello, I am told that you are happy to accept haunted items. I have a doll here that you might be interested in having and she scares the family and bad things are happening around us. My wife’s mum moved over here from Scotland as she was disabled and unable to look after herself properly. She was not a happy woman. Always angry at herself, all those around her and the world in general. Her disability had caused her to be miserable, depressed and overly negative. Nothing was good enough and everything was something to complain about. She hated living here and was very homesick and missed Scotland terribly, to the point of tears and regular emotional outbursts. Her bitterness and obvious frustration affected those around her. There was a lot of negative emotion and arguing in the house while she was here. We had never fought like that, ever. We were a happy and loving family that never argued and lived an easy-going life. We all got along with no hassles. When she moved over, she lived with us in our house. Everything changed after that. My son had to move rooms and relocate down into the basement as she was stuck in a wheelchair, so could only move around in the main bit of the house which has two bedrooms, of which she took one. The doll I’d like to give you belonged to her and sat on her bedside cabinet while she was living with us. When she passed away, we packed up her belongings into storage boxes and pushed them in the cupboard in the bedroom so Jayden could move back into his room again. After only a couple of nights sleeping back in his room, we noticed a change. Jayden became very irritable and argumentative. He became moody and anti-everything. Complaining about everything and everyone. It was certainly out of character and he knew it too. The weird thing is that he was a normal person while at school and it was only when he came home that he changed his emotions. We knew something was seriously wrong when he jumped up in the middle of the night and punched a hole in his bedroom wall. He had had a nightmare that had caused a lot of fear in him. He said he felt terrified as well as frustration and anger that he was unable to run or fight back from his dream ‘’attacker’’. The night terrors and increasingly angry and violent behaviour carried on for a couple more weeks until one weekend Jayden decided he needed space in his wardrobe to put his books and sports gear, so pulled out this ‘’nanas’’ boxes to put them into the garage. On opening the boxes, he found the doll. What happened next, we don’t know, but he said that he felt dizzy and had apparently fainted, banging his head on a bedside chair. He is sure that all his anger and mood change has something to do with the doll and he is aware that he was not being himself. To us it makes some sense and even though I’m very sceptical about these things, I honestly feel the family needs to be rid of this doll. We all agree that he was acting the same as her when she was alive. Is it possible that there is a connection? Let me know if you would like the doll and it’s yours. We will throw it away if you don’t want it. Thanks for your time Name withheld “ I’ve currently got the doll sitting on a shelf next to other dolls I’ve “adopted’’. My plan is to eventually give her a new home back over in Scotland where she belongs. I kind of get the feeling she’d be way happier and more at peace over there. Do any of our readers / followers have a similar doll? She is made of bisque; hand painted, with individual head, body, arms and legs, all separate and connected inside with a string. No markings. UPDATE: The doll was taken back to Scotland and handed over to Liam Shand of Highland Paranormal on November 14th 2022, during a special talk night, featuring Haunted Auckland founder, Mark Wallbank. We wish her well and hope she enjoys her life back home where she belongs. [...] Read more...

The Palace Hotel03/08/2012Haunted Locations / Hotels and BusinessesAt the recommendation of the local residents in Te Aroha, the team investigates potential hauntings at this iconic local pub and hotel. History & Background Situated in the very heart of this historic Waikato township, the Palace Hotel is on the corner of Whitaker Street and Kenrick Street, and is close to the famous Te Aroha Mineral Spas. A historic hotel, it offers twelve affordable guest rooms, a sports bar, gaming lounge, and a family restaurant. Some locals claim this hotel in Te Aroha is haunted by a spirit known as “Harry the Maori”. A “clairvoyant” visitor stayed in a room in which a young man had passed away. She knew nothing of the death previous to going in there. Next morning, when asked if she’d seen “Harry” in the night, she answered “Yes, but his name isn’t Harry, its Jimmy and it wasn’t in that room, he died in the room next door!” A chair in the men’s toilet has been reported to move of its own accord. The owners say that the atmosphere there generally feels positive. Since the Haunted Auckland team were in Te Aroha for the night investigating a nearby hotel, we thought we’d pay a visit and spent some time researching another allegedly haunted property whilst there. Investigation Members of the Haunted Auckland team (Mark, Barbara, Karen along with Phoenix, who is Karen’s 7-year-old son) visited the hotel on a wintry, rainy night. The group conducted a Class 1 Investigation of all the hotels levels, inside and out. Haunted Auckland were given a warm and friendly welcome to the Palace Hotel by owner Bruce Austin. Bruce was very helpful and was fantastic as our informative tour guide. He generously gave the team a run down on the Palace Hotel’s history, showed us the entire building (inside and out) and gave us access to all levels. The bar was closing as we arrived, and it was a dark, gloomy and drizzly night, although not cold. On entering the building, the team agreed that it felt very much like a normal, everyday pub premises. It wasn’t until we ventured behind the scenes and beyond the typical traditional pub surroundings and decor and headed down into the basement and up into the higher levels, that you started to feel that there might actually be something there and that maybe the stories could just possibly be true. Observations & Evidence Mark reported that he definitely felt rather uneasy roaming around the halls of the Palace Hotel – although he said that it could have been partly down to the dim, night-time lighting or maybe the sound of rain outside. Both Karen and Barbara are “sensitives” and both had personal, possibly paranormal experiences at the Palace Hotel. Upon reaching the landing at the top of the staircase leading towards the bedrooms, Barbara announced that she heard a man’s voice and says that she felt a presence in this area. Barbara explains “As our group ascended the stairs to the landing area of the guest accommodation I heard a man exclaim and call to us “Hey you!”. There was however no-one there! The area had a sense of a male presence and I do believe that someone was sitting in one of the chairs in the landing. This presence faded however after a few minutes and I could no longer sense him there.” Barbara reports that she didn’t feel anything in any of the hotel’s bedrooms, but would have liked to have visited the allegedly haunted bedroom (which was, unfortunately, occupied that night). After investigating the bedrooms and while heading back to the staircase, Karen stopped at a place on the landing between the corridors. She said that she felt ‘strange’ in a certain spot and, standing there for a while, she added that the area made her feel jittery and ‘nervous’. Barbara, Mark & Karen returned downstairs. Whilst there, and with no knowledge of any of the above, Karen’s son, Phoenix, expressed an interest to go upstairs and see the bedrooms. Karen returned upstairs with Phoenix and showed him around the bedrooms, to which he gave no reaction. When back down the corridor, Phoenix went ahead and spontaneously stopped in almost exactly the same place that Karen had. He announced that he felt ‘weird’ and ‘freaked’ standing there, that he could ‘feel the energy’ of that particular spot – but moving around the area he also said that places just a short distance away felt absolutely normal to him. Phoenix described the feeling he had as being “like his stomach had dropped” and seems to have sensed a presence. The team did not identify any E.V.Ps (Electronic Voice Phenomena) on the audio recordings made during the investigation and no unusual activity was captured on any photos or videos. Conclusions The team all agreed that due to time constraints and the spontaneous nature of the investigation, that although it was a rather brief session, we all felt that there was a certain vibe about the Palace Hotel which suggested there might just be something behind the stories and that they possibly aren’t all just urban legend. Haunted Auckland is keen to spend a night in the hotel. This would give further opportunity for EVP sessions, trigger tests, and audio/video recordings in empty rooms to hopefully identify some of the strange activity that has been reported through the years. It is felt at this point is that any entities that may reside at the Palace Hotel, would be purely residual in nature and are just going through their repeat playback routines. Team members didn’t report that ‘being watched’ feeling (with only Barbara reporting feeling a presence at one point on the landing), but did report unusual feelings of emotions, and a sense of heaviness in the atmosphere upstairs, which seemed to be focused mostly at certain points in the hallways. The reactions by both Karen and her son, at differing moments at the same spot at an intersecting hallway is something which the team found intriguing. It has been hypothesized that it was as if there was an unusual increase or change in energy field in the area that caused an identical spontaneous reaction. This is just a theory of course, but definitely an area of the building which would warrant some further investigation and in-depth analysis. [...] Read more...

Lake House Art Centre – Session Oct 30th 202230/10/2022Investigations / Lake House Arts CentreFor this one, joining us were three young paranormalists, that showed great potential. On the quieter, more relaxed investigations when we are short a team member or two, we can sometimes add an extra person to the mix, for those genuinely interested and who would like to give it a go. [...] Read more...

Helensville Museum Event03/09/2022Haunted Auckland Events / Haunted Locations / Historic BuildingsSaturday night’s public event at the Helensville Museum was great fun. The light rain that decided to join in for a bit didn’t dampen the spirits at all (see what I did there?) and the night flowed well, with those in attendance really getting into the moment. Good to hear a couple of people saying how this had inspired them to do their own research and are keen to start investigating for themselves. We heard there were a few interesting moments too. From gadget activations, synched-up temperature /EMF spikes, unusual battery drain, touchings, and the odd shadow or ”person” seen, or sensed. Thanks to all that came and supported the Helensville Museum and many thanks to the museum management for supporting us in our ongoing research, by giving the team access. Here are a few photos from the night. There are a small few missing from the group photo that had to leave before we got to take the shot. Please feel free to tag yourselves in them. Bring on the next one! [...] Read more...

Massey Homestead, Mangere. Auckland11/04/2014Historic Buildings / InvestigationsThe Massey Homestead is an imposing historic building set in extensive gardens on Massey Road, Mangere East. It was for some years the home of William Ferguson Massey, who was Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1912 to 1925. This is a brief history of the homestead, its ownership by the Massey family, its purchase by Manukau City Council, and its development as community and cultural centre. In 1849 or 1850 the landowner and former missionary William Fairburn sold 220 acres of rural land on Mangere Road to the timber dealer Daniel Lynch. About 1853 Lynch built an ornate two-storeyed red brick and timber homestead on his estate in what is now Mangere East. The homestead was designed in the English colonial style with Regency details. Native timber was used extensively but its red bricks and slates were brought from Melbourne. Lynch’s two-storeyed homestead was one of the most notable and substantial brick houses in South Auckland and in May 1869 he offered it for use as a hunting lodge when Prince Alfred, the Duke of Edinburgh, and his shooting party passed through Mangere during his New Zealand visit. Lynch retained his Mangere estate until 1890 when it is said that financial difficulties forced him to sell his land. Two hundred and nine acres were bought by two speculators, William Francis Buckland, an Auckland solicitor, and John Roberts, a gentleman from Dunedin. On 29 September 1890 Buckland and Roberts sold 16 acres, 2 roods and 38 perches (about 6.8 hectares) of their land, including the homestead, to Mangere farmer William Ferguson Massey. Massey was looking for a new, less flammable house because his former wooden farmhouse in central Mangere had just burnt down. The homestead and surrounding land cost Massey £600. He immediately arranged a £500 mortgage from Buckland and Roberts with interest at 6 percent per annum paid quarterly. William Massey William Massey entered Parliament as the member for Waitemata in 1894, but was elected to Franklin in 1896, so in later years his family called the homestead ‘Franklynne’. Massey was Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1912 until his death in 1925. During this time, he lived in Wellington much of the time, but his family and guests continued to live in the homestead. Early during the Massey family’s residency in the house, part of the verandah was removed and a curved portico with four ‘classical’ columns was added to provide shelter over the front entrance. Over the years the family made other minor changes; having the western upstairs balcony weather-boarded and the floor of the lower balcony concreted. Inside, imitation graining was applied to kauri panelling and mouldings throughout the house and the natural oak wardrobes were painted. Massey’s son Frank also added the garages beside the house and the gardener’s shed behind it. According to local legend Franklynne had a narrow escape during the 1913 General Strike when Auckland watersiders, aggrieved at Massey’s role in combating the strike, marched on the homestead threatening to burn it down. A quick-thinking visitor, Mr Feist, who was staying at the house with his family, managed to convince the men that the brick house would be too difficult to burn and that setting fire to the barn sheltering Massey’s steam traction engine would only ensure him a generous insurance payout. After William Massey’s death the homestead and land passed to his widow, Dame Christina Allen Massey. On 21 April 1926 Dame Christina sold the Auckland Education Board a parcel of land behind the house where the Mangere East Primary School was built. On 10 March 1927 she surrendered more land for the dedication of Ferguson and William streets, and between 17 May 1927 and 6 December 1928 she sold a further 15 allotments of land to various couples who purchased residential sections along those streets. Finally on 7 December 1928 Dame Christina transferred the homestead and remaining land to her son, Frank George Massey, who moved into the homestead with his wife and children. Dame Christina herself continued to live at the homestead until her death in 1932. Frank and his wife Dora liked gardening, and the development of the attractive gardens at the homestead dates from the 1930s. The mature pohutukawa and puriri trees to the northeast of the homestead had already grown during William Massey’s lifetime, but the other large native trees on its front lawn were planted by Dora and Frank during the 1930s. Dora planted flower gardens in front of the homestead. She and Frank laid out the homestead’s main drive, running from the wrought iron gates on Massey Road, and planted the gardens along both its borders. Dora had a low brick wall built backing the gardens along the drive and this enhances their attractiveness when viewed from the lawn. Dora and Frank also created a lawn tennis court in front of the house. After Dora Massey died in 1954 a group of her gardening friends decided to form the Franklynne Gardening Club in memory of her enthusiasm and the beautiful gardens she had created at the homestead. Frank stayed on in the homestead with his daughter Anne, a lawyer. During the 1950s Mangere East was still a village and the homestead retained a partly rural outlook. Change was coming, however, and in the 1960s large-scale subdivision began in the area. On 9 May 1967 Manukau City Council took a triangular, sail-shaped piece of land measuring 1 acre and 9.1 perches (about 0.42 of a hectare) extending from the western corner of the Yates Road boundary to the Massey Road boundary of the property. This was gazetted for street widening, but it seems no agreement could be reached on a satisfactory plan and the proposed scheme fell into abeyance, with the council retaining ownership of this land. The next development came in 1973 when Manukau City Council proposed classifying the Massey Homestead as a place of historic interest in its district scheme. This narrowed Frank’s options if he ever did wish to sell the property. He decided to specify in his will that Manukau City Council would have the first option to buy the homestead and its gardens. After Frank died in 1975, his daughter Anne and son Allan negotiated with the council, who agreed to buy the homestead and gardens for the benefit of the people of Manukau. In late 1976 the council offered to buy the homestead and surrounding 3 acres, 2 roods and 16.7 perches (about 1.45 hectares) for $100,000. This proposal was subject to the Massey family agreeing to a district scheme change whereby the council could subdivide and sell sections on the Yates Road boundary of the property. The Masseys accepted the council’s offer and on 20 October 1977 Manukau City Council paid a deposit of $10,000 for the property. The final instalment was paid on 29 June 1978. The council’s property manager had previously agreed that Anne Massey could remain as the homestead’s tenant until her new home unit in nearby William Street was ready, and on 30 September 1978 she moved out of the homestead. Manukau City Council now amalgamated the newly acquired land with that previously taken for street widening, so it now owned a total of 1.82 hectares around the homestead. The entire block was now resurveyed and subdivided. A large section was subdivided off behind the homestead, where Lambie Court pensioner village was built. A further four residential sections were subdivided on the corner of Yates Road. Another 618-square metre section on Yates Road was set aside as the homestead’s rear entrance and car park. After these changes were made, the homestead itself was left with a park-like garden measuring 9208 square metres on a total area of 9826 square metres (or 0.9826 of a hectare). Manukau City Council intended to use the homestead as a community and cultural centre. Council staff thought the garages, which are connected to the main house by an existing covered walkway, could be renovated as studios for community groups and resident artists. Council gardeners maintained the attractive gardens in front of the house. The gardeners also planted some small trees, shrubs and ground covers. The tennis court in front of the homestead was asphalted and developed for community use. On 20 September 1980, on the first day of the inaugural Festival of Mangere, Council formally opened the Mangere Community and Cultural Centre, consisting of the Massey Homestead itself and the Metro Theatre across the road. On the day, painting, pottery, photographic and historical displays were exhibited inside the homestead while outside players dressed in 1930s-style costumes played games of ‘period tennis’ on the tennis court. ‘Blam Blam Blam’ Street Theatre actors also performed under the trees in the grounds of the homestead. During the 1980s and early 1990s many community groups used the Massey Homestead and it housed some significant cultural, artistic, photographic and historical exhibitions. However by the 1990s council staff were aware the homestead was “structurally past its best.” The homestead’s internal framing and upper-floor joists needed strengthening if more than 10 people were to meet upstairs at any one time. So in 1994 restrictions were placed on the use of the upper rooms. While money was available to reinforce the structure, staff realised the heritage homestead could still be damaged if it was continuously used as a venue for active performances. At the same time a management review for Manukau City Council’s Arts Services had shown Mangere’s arts groups wanted to have a service that would resource them out in the community, rather than to have to travel to a centre for their artistic recreation. Therefore in 1997 the council’s arts service moved out of the Massey Homestead to a new Mangere Town Centre gallery, from which they could operate an outreach operation. The homestead was closed for a few years, during which time the building was reinforced and Manukau City Council unsuccessfully sought commercial tenants. By 2005 the council conceded finding appropriate tenants was virtually impossible and let several small community organisations back into the homestead. However, at the time of writing in 2010, the homestead has once again been closed for maintenance. The tennis court, thought to obstruct a clear view of the homestead from the road, has recently been removed. Nonetheless the Massey Homestead’s grounds are still used by the community. For instance, during ‘Summer Sounds in the Park’ events in March 2010, when Oceania Storm, Banda Latina, Allegro and Cydel and the Groovehouse performed. It is thought that William Massey still resides within the walls and makes himself known to staff and people visiting, from time to time. The activity reports are rare but there have been claims of moving shadows, items moving around the rooms and voices through the years. Before entering the building as the team were waiting outside for the security guard to arrive Amy, Barbara and Kimberley were all unnerved to see what appeared to be a white dog, just sitting there in the darkness, silent, seemingly ‘staring them down’. Being cautious not to aggravate the situation the 3 backed away. At this time the security guard pulled up to let us in. On turning back, the dog had disappeared. No one saw it leave, causing the girls to doubt what they had actually seen and whether it was even a dog they had been seeing. Weather conditions: Cloudy and humid. No wind. Luna cycle: The Moon was in its first quarter. Building Description: – The Building is an imposing two story historic building consisting of red brick and timber. – The house was designed as English colonial style with regency details. – The red brick was imported from Melbourne. – The building is about 164 years old. – There appeared to be a dining room, Lounge, Parlour room, kitchen, bathroom and one other room down stairs, there also was a cupboard under the stairs that had an entry hatch that lead to under the floor boards. – There were two sets of stair cases leading upstairs. There was one bathroom, and office (may have been a bedroom at one stage), a store room, Master bedroom (with added covered sunroom, that was being used as a storage space.) Another office with a small round desk with a lot of childrens toys and couch in the room and another office that had two desks and a round table in the centre (That is the room that might have been two rooms at one stage.) There appeared to be an attic upstairs but we were unable to get up there as we had no ladder. First impressions: Kimberley – Upon entering the building we were hit with a smell that reminded you of an old building. I got a feeling of calm and warmth, but on entering the upstairs master bedroom and the office with the table in the middle and lots of children’s toys there was heaviness in those rooms. I still felt like it was a calm environment. There was no change of emotion or mood while entering the building. We were still able to have a laugh and be jovial. But it did feel as though we were being watched at times. We started with a walk through with all the lights on, and we were ‘taking in’ the building and all of its rooms. Getting used to the sounds that the building made and taking photos and base line readings in all the different rooms of the house. The rooms that stood out to me was the upstairs master bedroom, the room with the small round table and lots of children’s toys and the larger office room upstairs with the two desks and the round table in the middle. Barbara – A Lovely old building that had been really well renovated to the point that it didn’t appear to be old. Once we moved out of the front reception room and board room however the condition of the house became more original (although had still been very well maintained and slight renovations had been done, including modern bathrooms, toilet facilities and kitchen). Some of the rooms seemingly had not been used for a while as cobwebs hung down from the ceilings and sometimes brushed against us as we walked around. In these unused rooms there was also a musty odour. The house also looks a lot bigger from the outside so I was surprised that there was not more to it the first time we walked through. In a couple of rooms I got a feeling of pressure in my ears but I did not get any emotional feelings in the house (besides just loving it because it’s a historical building). We also noticed that some of the rooms smelt old and musty or of ‘cat urine’. Amy – “old. but well-used”, was my first impression. Certainly dated but you could tell the people now were using the building to the best advantage for their particular needs. I actually thought it would be a nice place to hold a wedding reception or other such special event! I like the fact it is a well-used place which I think made me feel comfortable and relaxed when walking around it. No eerie sensations like I had at Kingseat. I loved all the little stairwells and the layout of the rooms. It was easy to imagine how the rooms would have been used when it was still the homestead of the Massey family. Mark – It’s a ‘busy’ building that obviously has many people working and communing daily within its many rooms. There’s a real ‘life’ in there though. Lots of caring, teaching and community spirit evident all around. To me it felt like a happy and productive, yet peaceful place to be. A place of support, learning and compassion. Experiences: Mark – I went outside to take photos of the front of the building. The lights were on in the home. As I got into position, I saw a shadow who I thought was either Barbara or Kimberley standing in a top floor, left hand window. I couldn’t see any features, just a dark person form looking out the window. I didn’t want them in my shot so waited until they moved from the window. The ‘person’ then moved out of sight and the lights turned off immediately as this happened. I wanted the front window lights on for my shot, so quickly leapt a few meters closer to the house, yelled up to whoever had left the room to please turn the lights back on in that room. This was a matter of about 4 seconds from when the lights went off. No one answered me. I yelled out again. Still no answer. After a couple of minutes, Kimberley who had heard me yelling out, came to see what I wanted. She claimed it wasn’t her that had been in that room at the time and the others in the team had been in a whole different part of the building at the time. I am now kicking myself, that I didn’t take any photos whilst the shadow person was standing there! I only have the after- photo I took about 4 seconds after the ‘person’ left the window. Kimberley – The only thing I saw was in the larger upstairs office (the one with two desks and a small round table). Amy was sitting at the desk on the left hand side in the corner. I was sitting at the round table facing the wall opposite the table and Barbara was sitting across from me on the round table. I saw a shadow against the wall, of an arm and a hand with five fingers. At first I didn’t react to it as I thought it was one of our arms and hands. However when I looked over to Amy she had her hands in her pockets and when I asked whether she had moved her arms she said ‘no they had been in her pockets the entire time’. Then I looked at Barbara and she was holding the spirit box with both hands. So I tried to recreate the shadow and was only able to do it by standing next to Barbara and placing my arm and hand just over her head. There were no trees outside the window or anything else that may have cast a shadow similar to an arm and hand. Also in the same room earlier in the evening I felt a rather large gust of wind it was so strong in fact that it blew some of my hair back. At first I thought it was Mark walking passed me but as we tried to recreate it he was not able to do it. However on closer inspection there did appear to be a breeze coming from underneath the door, which might explain it. Barbara – The “Rest Home” room was very interesting. We referred to the room by that name because it was a large room with comfy chairs which had been placed in front of the windows and it smelt old and musty. I had a sense of something being there and I think that most of our group also felt that way. I thought that the Childrens Office beside it also felt as if there was a presence. The Large Office across the hallway from these rooms didn’t have the same eerie feeling but that was where Kimberley saw a shadow hand on the wall and we got reasonable results from the spirit box there. While Kimberley, Amy and I were in the large upstairs office trying a communication session with the spirit box Kimberley saw a large shadow of a hand reach out on the wall. When we tried to recreate what she had seen we discovered that the hand had actually been over my head as I was holding the spirit box. Amy – The Master Bedroom stood out to me the most. This is the one where my imagination decided to run away from me with the idea of something coming out of the double wardrobes at the end of the room! But that was based on nothing more than too many horror novels and movies, and not anything I heard or saw in the homestead. Energy Fluctuations: As usual, a full room by room, periodic EMF and temperature sweep was done at intervals throughout the night. EMF (Electro Magnetic Field) levels throughout the location were pretty flat in all rooms. Only exceptions being near the power meter box I the kitchen which was giving off an unusually high, ‘off the scale’ field reading. Temperature fluctuations: Kimberley – The only cold spot that I felt was at the end of the investigation at almost midnight, where I had become very cold all of a sudden, my skin had become icy. However we did not record the temperature then. But throughout the night the temperature remained the same. Mark – I did experience a few brief, icy cold ‘whips’ of breeze around my neck. Once whilst ascending a thin wooden stairwell and another on entering one of the closed rooms upstairs. At the time i dismissed it as random breezes, but there werent any open doors or windows I could see. Possible odd air movement perhaps? Undecided. Trigger objects: A communication session was attempted in a children’s upstairs Toy / Play room. As a trigger object, we used one of the toys and asked if anyone would like to play with it. Also set up was a blue glowstick . This was to be knocked over or moved if ‘anyone’ wanted or was able to do so, to give us a sign of their presence. Ghost Box A “Ghost Box” originally named the “Frank’s Box” was created in 2002 by EVP enthusiast Frank Sumption for supposed real-time communication with the dead, Sumption claims he received his design instructions from the spirit world. The device is described as a combination white noise generator and AM radio receiver modified to sweep back and forth through the AM band selecting split-second snippets of sound. Critics of the device say its effect is subjective and incapable of being replicated, and since it relies on radio noise, any meaningful response a user gets is purely coincidental, or simply the result of pareidolia. However we have been trialing a box within our EVP communication sessions in the interest of open minded-ness and practical experimentation. Summary: Mark saw a figure in the front window which turned out to be none of the team, the same figure also appears to have turned out the light. Kimberley saw the shadow of a hand on the wall in the same room and I do appear to have captured very faint responses during EVP sessions in the house. Unfortunately we were unable to actually capture any of this as photographic evidence and the audio was barely audible so also cannot be considered as positive evidence. Amy – I didn’t really feel or see anything, although I was in rooms with Kimberley on a couple of occasions when she saw things (like a hand/shadow moving on the wall) but I remained blissfully unaware of anything! I got slightly jittery about different noises by the end of the night, but I think I was tired and they were probably normal sounds associated with an old house settling. I enjoyed it, and think it went really well – we seemed to have a lot of time for completing things without feeling rushed, re time etc. I Feel the second floor was worthy of more investigating, whilst the 1st floor didn’t seem to have any potential – but that is gut instinct and not based on anything else I must stress. We did a few EVP sessions as a whole group and also one in the old master bedroom with just myself and Kimberley. I didn’t ask any questions myself but others did and there were occasional knocks etc. These could have been in response to the questions, but I didn’t feel there was enough evidence to prove this as they could have also been just normal ‘old house’ noises. Personally I didn’t walk away from the Massey Homestead feeling like I had seen/felt/heard anything that provided evidence that it was haunted. Might be wrong of course – and I certainly didn’t hear or see anything that others in the group heard and saw, apart from the occasion knock which I still put down to the house settling. It was a great few hours spent in the homestead, and lovely to see an old building being used so productively by the community. This feeling of warmth and current occupation certainly added to my own relaxed feeling when we were doing the investigation. Enjoyed spending a few hours getting to know other’s in the group a bit better and found it interesting that some members of the group saw/heard a lot of activity whilst I honestly didn’t see or hear anything out of the ordinary. Might be a case of me not being quite so in-tune with paranormal activity though!! Mark – I really enjoyed my time in this building. It was a quiet, peaceful and cool , clear night which helped in making perfect invesigation conditions. The smallish team this time worked very well together on documenting the surroundings and experimenting with various techniques. I personally didnt see, hear or notice anything within my time there which would lead me to believe that the Massey Homestead is haunted, though it would certainly be nice to think that William Massey still resided there and was looking over his old abode, seeing how it has developed through the years and the positive and community caring way it is being utilised to this day. I think he’d be very pleased indeed. The team took hundreds of photos of the full interior and exterior of the homestead. Plus about 6 hours of audio and around 3 hours video using standard and IR nightshot cameras. Communication attempts were conducted and audio recorded. A few unusual moments occurred during our time there that we could not explain, though we unfortunately were unable to properly document these occurrences as definite evidence. A big thank you to the Massey Homestead for the pleasure and honour of allowing us unaided afterhours access to this beautiful and iconic prestigious South Auckland property. Acknowledgement and a big thank you to Christopher Paxton, who’s fascinating written history we have reproduced here. [...] Read more...

Whangarei Residence12/10/2013Private ResidencesThe team road-tripped its way up country to Whangarei, the northernmost city in New Zealand, at the request of a frustrated young couple living in a home that appears to be having much regular, ongoing activity. From being touched and scratched, electrical appliances being tampered with and the fridge door opening by itself. They have had feelings of being taken over and have witnessed objects fly across the room. An incident of the whole house suddenly becoming pitch black dark as they sat inside, when it was daylight outside. The couple reported apparitions and claimed to have recorded their own EVPs. They claim to have seen a man standing in the wardrobe in the back room, a feeling of being watched in the shower, Sam is having dreams about people who seem to be haunting the house, Sam is seeing flashes of light around the house, the cat is being taken over by unknown forces and they had also taken many photographs which they feel show possible spirit activity. Details about the couple: Age: Late 20’s. Both non-religious. Both suffer from mental and physiological illness. From a history of Depression, anxiety, ADD and A.D.H.D to G.O.R.D (Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease) and Marfan’s Syndrome. Both have a history of abuse. One is allergic to most medications, even pain relief and suffers an eating disorder. Both of the clients appeared to have a long history of unusual experiences, relating tales of spirits attached to them, premonitions, as well as the activity in the house. Leading up to our investigation, we asked the couple to keep a log of all the activity as it happened. We were also given 13 hours of video footage they had recorded over the weeks leading up to our visit. The following is the log of their experiences: 20th September – Me and Ants were lying in bed. Would’ve been early hours of the morning. I was on my back, had my head tilted towards Ant’s, and felt something run down the side of my head. I didn’t really think anything of it as it only lasted a couple of seconds and thought it might have been a huge spider, so I carried on doing what I was doing. About 10 seconds later, it happened again, going down the side of my head. I was getting a bit worried. Then, about another 10 seconds later, I was looking up at the ceiling and it started from the top of my head going back. I absolutely s–t myself! It felt like someone was walking their fingers down my head! 23rd September – Early hours of the morning. Ants and I were in bed. We were facing each other. I happened to look behind him and saw a face lightly glow behind him. 30th September – Around 10 pm. Ants got scratched up his arm the same night around 4 or 5 in the morning. I woke to Ants convulsing. I then had a vision of me being strangled. A voice spoke through Ants saying “Painters must die, Ants must die.” Later, Ants come to and said he had had a nightmare of being strangled and had died. He has recently been painting the spare room and back porch. 1st October – Not sure of time. Was early hours of the morning. Heard four banging noises about 5 seconds apart, coming from the kitchen. 3rd October – 5 pm. No lights were on. Curtains open. Was pure daylight and there was ‘darkness’ flickering. The whole lounge flickered and went dark for a couple of seconds. Could hear a surge when it happened. There was nothing that could have gone past to cause the dark flickering. It was as if it were dark and the lights were on and the lights flickered, but during the day. 5th October – Around 6 pm. Went to Church. Just before we walked in, I started getting really anxious and almost had a massive panic attack. Started calming down half way into the service. Had a lady praying for me. She was quite close to my face. I didn’t move, but felt something lunge out of me and I felt something attack her. Though not physically. Later that night I saw half a figure in my laptop screen. A little bit later, saw a couple of black orbs go past. 6th October – Not too sure what time it was. The cat door was locked and we heard it open. The cat freaked out. When we had a look, the cat door was unlocked. 7th October – Ants had a dream that we were at a hotel. We were standing on the balcony. I walked up to him and pushed him off. He woke up in the morning with a sore tail bone. Later on, he said it wasn’t me and that it was someone pretending to be me. 8th October – Around the evening. My cat was sitting on her pedestal. She jumped down in a hurry, and hid in the hallway cupboard absolutely petrified. 10th October – Around evening. The front door closed by itself. Early hours of the morning, there was a loud stomp coming from the lounge. A couple of hours later, there was a tapping sound outside the bedroom door. I had a dream that I was able to see a man. His head only. In quite a bit of detail. I don’t know who this man is. In my dream, his name was Greg. There was also a TV that was either recording in in the kitchen, or was playing back. There was someone in the kitchen. Whoever it was, I was kinda scared of them. I couldn’t really see who they were though. 10th October – Around 4 or 5. There was a random noise. Ants went to have a look and the fridge door was wide open. 11th October – 12.02am. Lights off, curtains shut. Ants sitting next to me, with laptop on my lap. Saw 2 white flashes of light on wall on the right. Looked like a light on the lounge wall, then the 2nd flash on the wall next to bedroom door. Couldn’t have been cars. The lights were in the wrong position to be car lights. The car would have to travel toward the house on a angle and that is impossible. Ants saw it too. 11th October – Around 2.45 am. My cat was lying on me. She jumped off for no apparent reason. She almost levitated off me. She looked upset and distraught as to what happened. 11th October – Around 1.30pm. Was brushing my teeth at the hand basin, leaning forward a little and lost my balance and started to fall backwards. Around 6.30pm. Ants is cooking dinner. He had turned the oven onto 180. When he returned the oven was now on 150. He turned it back up again, sat down to let it cook. Went back to check on it and it had turned back down to 150 and also turned off at the wall. 12th October – 3.55 pm. We pulled into the driveway. Ants saw a blonde haired girl standing in the spare bedroom window. The curtains in the hallway had been pulled off. It wasn’t like that when we left and as far as we both knew, the cat was outside. After we got home, Ants fixed the curtain. I went into the lounge and my cat was sitting in the box. We gave her some pats and she jumped down. Then, about 10 seconds later, she ran back into her box. She looked scared. Investigation It was a cool night. it rained very lightly on and off most of the night. After a pre-investigation dinner and planning session, the team headed to the location, arriving at 8pm. Noted on pre-entry – Outside the property, along the fence line of the corner of a main road and a side street, were two large green power boxes. EMF readings from this were off the scale when the meter was held up to a meter away from the boxes. The rented house in one of Whangarei’s many scattered suburbs, Maunu, seemed very normal and unassuming on entry. The property was originally registered in December 1935 and has had 13 owners. Our clients rent the property from the current owner who purchased it November 2012. Property was on the intersection of a main road and side road and got a lot of traffic for the region. Spare bedroom felt a little clammy and damp, however that was a known issue with that room. Insulation had recently been installed in the ceiling. It is just down the road from the main Whangarei Base Hospital. The house was undergoing renovation. The bathroom appears to be new and the house had recently had insulation installed all around. There was also painting in progress. Outside, a separate garage on the back of the section which was accessed by going outside through the back door. It was a cool night, it rained very lightly on and off most of the night. There was very little wind. The title documents gave a list of former owners, however there was no information to say whether anyone had died on the property. None of the names were familiar to our clients apart from the property’s current owner. Team members at this investigation – Mark, Barbara, Matthew and Jessie. Home first impressions Barbara – The house was an older home (probably about 1930s) and had the same floor plan as the first house I owned! (Interesting as that also had a ghost attached to it!!) The house was cosy and warm and had a well lived in feel to it. Jessie – It was a very neat and tidy house. Its actually felt quite inviting and comfortable. Matthew – The house seemed typical of the era. Not a lot of furnishings or possessions. Nothing that stood out as being strange or unusual. The spare room seemed oddly vacant, however it was being repainted. It generally felt like that room was being avoided. Temperature Fluctuations – There were quite big differences in temperatures around the house. This was due to poorly fitted insulation and drafts coming through closed doors and windows. The temperature varied from 15 degrees (right in front of the front door, which obviously let a lot of cold air in underneath it) to 19 degrees in the lounge. The team set up a 4 camera DVR system to record the whole investigation. Camera 1 – Master Bedroom Camera 2 – Lounge Camera 3 – Hallway Camera 4 – Spare Room 4 static video cameras surveying kitchen, lounge (second view), spare room (second view) and laundry / bathroom. A full inside and outside photographic sweep was done to cover all areas, including the outside garage, under the house and inside the ceiling cavity. Full EMF (Electromagnetic field) scans of interior and exterior taken at intervals. Temperature readings taken at intervals. Communication sessions were attempted. Upon reviewing our video and audio footage there are a couple of anomalies which are at this time unexplained. Jessie – At one point Barbara and I were walking out of the Master bedroom back into the hallway. Barbara went first and I followed a few footsteps behind. As I went to walk out of the doorway, I felt a “woosh” of air go over the top of my head. Starting from directly over my eyebrows, as if a sheet was being pulled over it. I immediately said “oh!” and walked back into the room to see if I could get it to do it again. I walked through the door at the same angle and speed as before and could not get it to do it again. Barbara then told me not to tell her what I felt and she tried retracing my steps to see if she could get the same thing happen to her. We both walked in and out of the bedroom several times and she was not able to feel anything whilst I was able to feel it once or twice more in the multiple times I tried it. Communication session Barbara – We were holding a communication session when I thought I heard a click beside me (toward the wardrobe area). I commented on it at the time and Jess said she thought that the sound had been her stomach. A couple of minutes later I heard the sound again but this time it was unmistakable and sounded like a camera had just been used beside me. No-one was there and no cameras had been used at that time. Sam said that Ants had also sometimes heard a sound like that and had thought it was coming from her phone but at the time this happened her phone was in the lounge. Everyone in the room heard the sound and had thought it was one of us taking a photo taking a photo but it wasn’t. The sound was picked up on my audio recorder. Also, during this session, Sam was taken over by a “spirit” during the communications and found herself replying to the questions and comments the investigators were asking. She looked genuinely confused about what was happening and was unable to stop herself at the time, but was aware that she had done it. Extremely high EMF levels were detected in an area of the laundry / bathroom. This was soon debunked as being the air vent fan and associated wiring inside the ceiling which also ran down the inside wall. Midway through the investigation Mark decided to search the ceiling cavity to look for any signs of rats, possums or any other vermin that might be living up there and moving around. Ants climbed up into the ceiling with a torch and camera. Almost immediately he yelled out that he had just seen a face, a “spirit” figure of a man. He was instructed to snap off as many photos as he could, which he did. On reviewing the photos, there was nothing resembling what he had claimed to have seen. As a trigger test, Barbara leant two cards up against each other and invited anyone/thing present to knock them over, but they remained standing for the whole investigation. At the end of the night Jess and Barbara conducted an Energetic Clearing of the area to attempt to remove any negative energies from the home. Post Investigation After the investigation we asked the couple to keep a log of any activity that might happen during the days following our departure. It seemed the visitors were not deterred by the group’s presence. Sunday 13 October – early hours of the morning. Both Ants and I saw a flash coming from the bedroom. We both looked over at the same time. So it wasn’t that only one of us saw it, we both did. Around 4 am, was cuddled into Ants. Had my back to the wall and I felt something playing with my hair. I put my head under the blanket and it stopped. I told ants that someone was playing with my hair. He told them to stop. They kept going. I told them to stop, twice I think. Ants was firm with them and told them to leave. I tried making a deal with them, that the only way I would communicate, is through electrical devices. I don’t think he agreed. A little while later, I was almost asleep. I could hear voices, but couldn’t make out what they were saying. I had the blanket pulled up around my neck and I felt it pull off my shoulder a little and felt pressure going around the side of my neck. As if someone was trying to strangle me. I tried calling to Ants to wake him up. I yelled to leave me alone and they released. Ended up sleeping with the light on. Monday 14th October, 12.40am – Had my hand on the mouse pad of my laptop and the tip of my index finger went kinda tingly and my finger slowly lifted up. I had no control of my finger. Well, I could’ve, but was letting them control it. They then slowly let my finger back down onto the mouse pad. Was a weird sensation, but kinda cool at the same time. About 10 mins later, the tap dripped. It normally does, but it wasn’t the normal dribble sound it would normally make. Monday 14th October, around 11pm – Ants saw my cat. Only problem, my cat was outside!! Half an hour later, I saw a white flash by the opening that separates the kitchen and lounge. About 10 mins later I had a black dot appear right in front of my left eye. Wednesday 16th October, around 9pm – Laptop was sitting on my lap and it started lightly rocking up and down. Did that about 6 or so times until I put it on the ground, in case they threw it. Saturday 19th October, around midnight – There was feedback through the amp. It wasn’t the fridge turning on or off. It was a different noise to when the fridge turns itself on and off. It happened a few times that night. Sunday, 27th October, around 9 am – Was at aunty and uncle’s place. I was sitting at the end of the table. Had Ants on my left and my cousin on my right. In the corner of my eye I saw something black drop from behind my cousin. Almost down to the ground. I looked at Ants and he had seen it too. Tuesday, 29th October, around 8 or 9 pm- Heard feedback through the amp and then heard footsteps running down the hallway. Thursday, 31st October – I turned the shower on and walked out of the bathroom to take my hair tie out of my hair and take my ring and necklace off. I heard something fall or get thrown in the shower. I walked in and saw that my razor had fallen off the soap dish. 1st / 2nd November – Early hours of the morning. I had a random dream / nightmare. I saw Ants face. It was transforming into something else. Something else was coming through him and it wasn’t exactly a nice feeling watching this happen. I also dreamt I attempted to strangle Ant’s ex. Saturday 2nd November – Was on Skype with a mate from Australia. He left to go to the shop for 5 mins. After he left, there was static feedback. So I got my phone and recorded it and asked questions. I don’t know if I got any reply back. Monday 4th November – Was on Skype with Ant’s brother. We left it running while we went out. When we left, the back garage door was padlocked and the front garage door was shut. I used the remote to close it. When we returned, I opened the garage as we entered the driveway. We noticed that the back garage door was now wide open. The padlock was sitting on the toolbox on the back bench. Nothing had been taken. Got inside and Ant’s brother was still on Skype. He said that he saw something inside and that they were still there. I took pictures of the area he said he saw something. still cant work out how the garage door unlocked and opened itself. Tuesday 5th November – Had gotten up in the morning and walked into the lounge. The inspirational note I had pinned on the wall was on the ground. The pin had been pulled out too. There were no windows open as we don’t sleep with them open. Wednesday 6th November – 6.45ish pm. We were both sitting on the couch. I’m sitting on Ant’s left side. Ants felt something rub his right shoulder, then squeeze it. Thursday 7th November – Around 11 pm. My cat was at the front door and let out a loud cry. I hadn’t heard her cry like that before. Was a creepy, scary cry. We both jumped up and she was looking through the cat door. I looked through the cat door and couldn’t see anything. So I placed the BB gun in front of the door. Nothing happened till I was in the bathroom going to the toilet. Was around 1am. My cat come into the bathroom too and then she went to the bucket under the window and randomly started growling. Then took off out of the bathroom. I went into the lounge after I had finished and she was on her cat pedestal. I was patting her, reassuring her. She was staring over my head at something. It was a hard stare, as if something was there. Tuesday 12th November – Around 1 am. Was laying in bed. Bedside lamp was on. We were both facing the wardrobe. I was looking over Ant’s shoulder and the wardrobe had suddenly “warped” itself for a second and there was a slight colour change of the door, or in front of the door. I know it wasn’t my head playing with me. Was only the wardrobe door that did it. Wednesday 13th November – Around 2am. Both Ants and I heard a voice come through the Amp. Was talking for about 5 or so seconds, then stopped. They started talking again about 5 min later, for about the same amount of time. Later that night, we were laying in bed. I felt something playing with my hair, so I put my head under the blanket and it stopped. Not sure how long after, I wasn’t asleep. But I had my eyes closed. I felt someone put their hand over my eyes. Wasn’t Ants, he was asleep. He also had his back to me and he didn’t move. Otherwise I would’ve felt him. Thursday 14th November – My cat has been acting really strange. She’s been hiding in a place where she doesn’t normally hide. Something in the house has spooked her. Summary Sleep talking, headlights from vehicles, dampness, power surges, natural skin elasticity and general over-imagination could explain a number of the events reported by the clients. Several of the reported light anomalies in photographs taken by the clients were debunked as reflections off of polished floors and wall hangings. The odd cyclic hum on the clients recorded video footage was debunked as being sounds generated by the camera as it wrote data to it’s internal hard drive, and did not appear on any of the recordings obtained on our own equipment. The videos, photographs and journals provided by the clients did prove useful for documenting the occurrences however. Barbara – I thought the investigation went quite well. It was a shame that we didn’t see or feel any real activity although the people who lived in the house both had personal experiences while we were there. We did all hear an odd camera click during that session but apart from that the audio recordings had nothing of interest. Upon reviewing the DVR footage there is a strange light anomaly which appears fleetingly on the wall behind where Sam was sitting while we were having our communication session. It looks almost face-like and is only there for a second or so. Jessie – I felt very comfortable at the house. Although i did get that odd, “someone is watching me” feeling in the bathroom where Mark noticed the very high EMF fields. It definitely gave me the Heebie Jeebies a couple of times. Everywhere else in the house however felt very “normal”. I did have an audio recorder running throughout the night. I had it placed in the wardrobe in the back room where the tenants said they had seen and felt a presence. There was a party going on in the community hall across the road from the house and this provided a lot of noise contamination. Car doors could be heard opening and shutting and people holding conversations. There was even drunken singing heard at one point. The level of contamination led me to discount any audio captured on my audio recorder. I think the investigation went OK. There was only one experience that I had and it did not come with any feelings of fear. The house did not feel haunted at all while we were there. I thought this was odd as during our investigation both of the occupants of the home had personal experiences but I were not able to sense anything and the group was not able to document any real activity. I think most of what they are experiencing can be explained in one way or another but not by calling it a haunting. At this stage I cannot say whether the house is haunted or not. Mark – The team spent many hours reviewing the video and audio we had recorded whilst conducting the investigation. We also had the arduous task of further reviewing 13 more hours of video footage the couple had given to us. However, at this point in time I have not seen anything that would lead me to believe the home is haunted or couldn’t be explained away by natural circumstances. This of course does not mean that their home isn’t haunted, just that in our time there we weren’t able to document any conclusive evidence or data to back up their stories. We have recommended the clients keep on recording for themselves and stay in touch with Haunted Auckland. Matthew – Given it was a small house, with four investigators plus the clients present, it was difficult to get a real feel for the atmosphere of the property. From a sceptical standpoint I feel the clients may have been influenced by paranormal-themed film and television and may be attributing commonplace events to supernatural causes. It is difficult to come to a solid conclusion in on this case. The reported events were very subjective and appeared to be centred around the clients themselves rather than the property. I feel that even if the clients moved to another location the activity would follow them. In cases like this it is difficult to separate what is in the mind from what is in the environment. [...] Read more...

“Pioneers in the field…. Leading the way with Paranormal Research in New Zealand” – Connor Biddle, Paranormal Encounters.

“I have much respect for the level of study Mark and his team have put into the paranormal phenomenon through the years. His work is interesting and very well researched.” – Murray Bott, U.F.O Researcher & NZ’s MUFON representative.

”Refreshing to see solid and innovative investigation work, done with passion and honesty. Haunted Auckland stand out in the crowd and dont fit any typical mould. This is a very good thing”. – Paranormal Review newsletter

Paranormal New Zealand is a Paranormal Investigation and Research group based in Auckland, New Zealand. It is also an extensive and much-viewed resource site covering all that is paranormal and mysterious in New Zealand and beyond.

Whether you’ve been aware of Mark Wallbank’s research work since the 1980s, attended his early 90s discussion events, received the twice-yearly newsletters, subscribed to his popular mid-2000s online blog BizarreNZ, followed the H.A team since 2010, attended our public events and talks, or just recently discovered us; WELCOME and thanks for joining in the fun, learning, and adventures.

We are a dedicated group of paranormal researchers, all having one thing in common – a passion and drive to find out as much as humanly possible about the mysterious and unknown field that is the Paranormal, as well as documenting New Zealand’s historical buildings and landmarks in their current state.

Paranormal (păr′ə-nôr′məl) adjective.
Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as beyond normal experience or scientific explanation. The term “paranormal” has existed in the English language since at least 1920. The word consists of two parts: “para” and “normal”. The definition implies that the scientific explanation of the world around us is “normal” and anything that is above, beyond, or contrary to that is “para”.

We’re always learning new things, so hope to pass that knowledge on to you all so that you might learn as we do, in this crazy but fascinating world of the paranormal.

Our primary reason for existing as a team is to experience first-hand and document any perceived paranormal activity so that we may learn to better understand the phenomena and the misconceptions surrounding it. Our aim as a research team is to study these phenomena as closely as possible to form more educated opinions via experimentation, documentation, and simply being present at the moment to record and respond accordingly to it and wherever it may lead us.

Firstly a few things you should know about Paranormal NZ (Formerly Haunted Auckland). We are a small Auckland based team of friendly, dedicated, well seasoned and enthusiastic researchers; intelligent, honest, compassionate and possess critically thinking (yet wide open) minds.

The team has a great mix of beliefs, skills, qualifications, and differing levels of knowledge and experience within the paranormal. This combination creates a balanced and accepting vibe within the team. We’re all learning from each other and sharing approaches, thoughts and ideas together, that, as individuals, we might not have considered previously.

We’re also very good listeners.

We work closely with Property Managers, local Councils and Historical organisations to help preserve local histories, bring further awareness and raise funds by running public events.

In our time, the team has successfully raised many (much needed) thousands of dollars, to assist with the upkeep and general running of these wonderful historic locations. Something we are very proud of.

We are also very proud to have worked alongside and assist both the NZ Police and NZ Fire Services with our work.

Paranormal NZ has it’s roots deep and strong. Going back to 1984, with a team (Auckland Ghost Hunting Group) formed by founder, Mark Wallbank; making them NZ’s longest running Paranormal field-research entity.

Team Evolution Timeline

1984 – Auckland Ghost Hunting Group

Independent / Solo Research

2003 – 2010 – BizarreNZ

2010 – 2023 – Haunted Auckland

Changed team name to Paranormal New Zealand in 2023

What we aren’t:

We aren’t Ghost Busters, Ghost Hunters, Exorcists, Mediums, Clairvoyants or Psychics and we don’t do clearings, blessings or rid homes of alleged demons. We don’t do prayers, rituals, or bring in any religious elements to our work. We aren’t mental health experts or sleep disorder professionals, though we do work closely with mental health professionals.

We travel that spooky road, between sceptic and believer. We are happy to sit right in amongst it all and take the research wherever it may lead us.

While we are sceptical and doubtful of certain cases and ideas, we have seen and experienced enough in our time to realise that dedication to the research is definitely a worthwhile cause. Instead of blindly believing (or disbelieving), or just accepting what we are told is true and real, we prefer to seek out the answers ourselves through first-hand, “boots on the ground” investigation. Experimentation, observation and documentation. We don’t have all the answers and we don’t consider ourselves experts.

We don’t make bold claims we can’t back up with evidence or reliable data.

The team prides itself in being quite a bit different from other paranormal investigation teams out there. We tend to stay away from the mainstream gadget fads.

Research time in locations is valuable and a privilege, so wasting it on pointless flashy boxes that offer no accurate data in return or are vague and open to interpretation (as well as mis-interpretation) is counter-productive and a poorly used opportunity. Thinking outside of the ‘’box’’ confinements of the popular T.V and social media- lead mainstream is something, the team sees as important if the field is to move forward and gain any serious credibility or traction within scientific or even academic circles.

The team utilises a combination of old-school thinking and techniques, coupled with a modern way of thinking. Simple and stripped back yet embracing current technology to work though theories and ideas that may find their way into our research. We don’t make claims we can’t back up with evidence or reliable data.

We pride ourselves in keeping it real. No faking evidence or embellishing of facts. If nothing happened, nothing happened.

Why we don’t offer Clearings and Banishings

We decided many years ago to stop offering clearings and cleansings, as the more we learned, the more unethical (even damaging) we could see it was on a few levels.
We wanted to experience and observe these ”beings” and learn about them. Learn from them directly, if such a thing is possible.
To hopefully interact and document as much as we could of it to advance the study of the paranormal.

If the theories on spirits are correct, then clearing, or ”banishing” becomes nothing more than a punishment, torture, an eviction from a home, or even a death. Death to a person (possibly living in an alternative dimension we are yet to even understand or comprehend), that has as much right to exist as ourselves.
Until ghosts, spirits, negative energies, and demons have been sufficiently verified to actually exist, (to which they as yet haven’t, outside of belief, possible misinterpretation, and superstition) it would be unethical to assume a position of knowledge and superiority enough to think we have rights that far outweigh theirs. That we may enter their home and try to evict or eradicate them as if they were cockroaches or some other household pest.

It’s about respect, understanding and compassion; on both sides.

What we are, is “real world” researchers. Learning by doing. If we don’t know something, we say so.

We don’t charge anything for what we do. The opportunity to investigate a location and hopefully further our research is its own great reward.

We follow the Scientific Method as closely as we are able to; though it’s not always easy to create a fully controlled environment and the fact that true paranormal activity is sporadic and very rare means we don’t always have a lot to go on. Still, we do our best with what we have to work with at the time and go wherever it takes us.

We go to where the stories come from in order to see for ourselves. We talk to the people involved to get their sides to the occurrences.

Our conclusions are never really final and we find multiple return visits yield the best results; so have built up trusting relationships with quite a few locations within the historical communities in this country.

Our clean and respected reputation within historical circles is something the team prides itself on, as it has grown over the last decade and is based on well over 200 investigation sessions within that time.

For a full listing of References & testimonials, please visit our TESTIMONIALS page on this website.

Exploration – Observation – Experimentation – Documentation … Ultimately leading to Interaction, Understanding and Conclusion.

KEEPING IT REAL

Please check out our website and don’t hesitate to make contact if you have any queries or would like to know more about what we do.

We’re always happy to talk about spooks!

Through the years the team have investigated:

Auckland

Auckland Civic Theatre
North Head
The Auckland Town Hall
St James theatre
Victoria Theatre
The Howick Historical Village
The Smith & Caugheys building
Kinder House
Lopdell House
The Pumphouse Theatre
The Bluestone Room
Fort Takapuna
Massey Homestead
The Hard To Find Bookshop
Hollywood Cinema
Avondale Town Hall
Spookers
Alberton House
Bell House
Theatreworks
Carrington (Unitec)
The Queens Ferry Tavern
Regent Theatre
Ewelme Cottage
Laishly House
Onehunga Blockhouse
Puhoi Centennial Hall
Kingseat Hospital
Puhinui Homestead
The Kentish Hotel
AUSA Building
Helensville Museum
Waiuku Museum
Lake House Art Centre
Molloy’s Antique Centre
Whatipu Caves
Capitol Theatre
Gibbons Homestead
Manukau Cruising Club

Wellington

Dixon Street Basement
Private Residence
Inverlochy House

Northland

Dargaville Central Hotel

Coromandel

The Junction Hotel
Mount Moehau
Bella Street Pumphouse

Waikato

Hawkes Bay

Central North Island

Chateau Tongariro Hotel Jubilee Pavillion – Marton

Northern South Island

Trout Hotel

West Coast and Central South Island

Seaview Asylum
Otira Stagecoach Hotel

Canterbury

The Old Shipping Office (Akaroa)

Otago

Cardrona Hotel
Vulcan Hotel (St Bathans)

Dunedin

Seacliff Asylum
Chalet Backpackers
Globe Theatre
Chicks Hotel
Dunback Inn
Leviathan Hotel
Larnach Castle

United Kingdom

The Drovers Inn – Scotland
Traquair House – Innerleithen
Ancient Ram Inn – Wooton-Under-Edge
30 East Drive – Pontefract
Boleskine House – Scotland
Ballachulish Hotel – Glencoe
Chillingham Castle
The Golden Fleece – York
Bunchrew House – Scotland
Oswald House – Kirkcaldy
The Skirrid Inn – Abergavenny
Halston Hall – Carlisle
Airth Castle
Dalhousie Castle
Barcaldine Castle – Oban
The Witchery – Edinburgh
Edinburgh Vaults – Scotland
Touchwood House – Scotland
Greyfriars Kirkyard – Scotland
The Hellfire Club – Ireland
Ostrich Inn – Slough
Caynton Caves – Shropshire
Four Crosses Inn – Staffordshire
Torwood House – Scotland
Dalhousie Castle – Scotland
Windhouse – Yell, Shetland
Swan Hotel – Wooton-on-Edge
Weston Hall – Staffordshire
Clava Cairns – Inverness, Scotland
The Queen’s Head Hotel – Troutbeck
Haunted Antiques Paranormal Research Centre – Hinkley
Lumley Castle – County Durham

Australia

YHA [Katoomba]

Hartley Village [NSW]

Quarantine Station [Manly]

The Russell Hotel [Sydney]

Maitland Gaol [NSW]

Kilmore Gaol [Melbourne]

Aradale Lunatic Asylum [Melbourne]

Hawaii

Kaniakapupu Palace Ruins – Nuúanu Pali – Manoa – Oahu Cemetery – Kaneana Cave (Makua Cave)

Norfolk Island

New Gaol – The Crank Mill – Bloody Bridge

Cryptozoological Field Research

YOWIE RESEARCH: Blue Mountains [ Australia] – Kanangra Ranges [Australia] – Blue Mountains Exploration: Research Area – Bullaburra [Australia]

MOEHAU RESEARCH: Coromandel Ranges [New Zealand] – Urerewa Ranges [New Zealand]

LAKE MONSTER RESEARCH: Loch Ness [Scotland]

… as well as many private home visits around Auckland and surrounding towns and extensive investigation and exploration internationally.

Some of the services and experience we have on offer:

Research and Investigation of buildings, historical locations and businesses

Photo & video analysis

Photographic enhancements

General paranormal consultation

Historical Research

Conferences / Public speaking

Educational talks & fundraising for historical locations

Media interviews