Rural Hideaway – South Auckland

The Trent Farm Photos – Analysis

(This paper was originally published in the proceedings of the 1976 UFO conference of the centre for UFO studies. This version has been modified slightly in April 2000 for this Publication. This is the first of two technical and historical papers on The Trent photo case that were presented to

Sarita, is that you? The intriguing Puhinui Homestead.

In 2010, we began our research and investigation into the almost regular unusual occurrences that have been reported through the years at the grand, and much loved, Puhinui Homestead; nestled in the beautiful surrounds of the Howick Historical Village. ‘’Puhi’’ are the decorative plumes used on Maori war canoes; ‘’Nui’’

PARALYSIS AND THE UFO PHENOMENON

Introduction Recently, in the Australasian Ufologist, I had an article published titled “Waking paralysed:abduction or sleep paralysis?” In this article I pointed out that, to me, quite a few abduction accounts seemed more like attacks of sleep paralysis accompanied by hypnagogic/hypnopompic imagery, than anything extraordinary. While undertaking the research

Prosaic Explanations: The Failure Of UFO Skepticism

Introduction “If I had found even a single case that defied prosaic explanation, I would have rushed to my typewriter (now my PC) to write the most exciting story ever published by Aviation Week & Space Technology Magazine.” -in a letter from Philip J. Klass to Dr. Eugene Mallove Could

Karori Cemetery – Wellington

Karori Cemetery is New Zealand’s second largest burial ground, covering nearly 40 hectares. It was the final resting place of about 83,000 people. Today, it is a wealth of Wellington history and a peaceful place to visit. The cemetery was established in 1891 to replace the overcrowded Bolton Street Cemetery.

I thought I saw a Terror Saur! – Do Prehistoric flying reptiles still exist?

Are there living pterosaurs in Zambia’s swamplands? Those iconic winged reptiles of prehistory known as the pterosaurs died out alongside the last dinosaurs over 60 million years ago…didn’t they? Most mainstream zoologists would say that they did. Then again, most mainstream zoologists have probably never heard of the kongamato, the

The Phantom Canoe on Lake Tarawera

The subject of ghosts and the spirit realm in Maori culture is often considered a tapu subject, yet much of Maori folklore bears mention of ghostly apparitions and supernatural occurrences. One legend surrounding the 1886 eruption Mount Tarawera, is that the disaster was heralded by an apparition of a mysterious

Survivor Man: Bigfoot

Survivor Man: Bigfoot In the words of Survivor Man Les Stroud he is not a big-footer, nor an enthusiast nor is he a witness to a sighting. He is a man who has had some experiences and he now wants answers – The truth. These are in his words

Fort Ballance – Wellington

Fort Ballance is a former coastal artillery battery on Point Gordon on Wellington’s Miramar Peninsula. Built in 1885 following fears of an impending war with Russia, Fort Ballance is one of the best preserved of a string of nineteenth century coastal defences constructed to protect New Zealand from a naval

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Howick Historical Village: Solo Overnight Sessions – Mark’s night in Johnson’s Cottage (Toy Room)29/03/2018Historic Buildings / InvestigationsThe principle goals of this project were to at first try our luck at ascertaining whether there may or not be some form of residual remnant, or possible paranormal activity present in any of the other houses and buildings with the village; and if so, attempt to either experience or observe first hand, document or record the alleged activity, or find rational explanations to the incidents via recreation or re-occurrence. Whilst we have had some very intriguing occurrences during our research visits to Puhinui Homestead, it may stand to be that this grand old house might be the only venue on the village with a possible haunting. We must keep in mind, the simple fact that, just because a house is old, or historical, doesn’t mean that it is haunted. Also, we need to entertain the possibility that maybe, just maybe, ghosts don’t exist at all. But then, what have people really seen or encountered when they put forward claims of witnessing a possibly paranormal occurrence? They can’t all be crazy, deluded, hallucinating or straight out lying…. can they? Either way, we aren’t going to find any answers to these spooky mysteries if we just sit at our computers accepting everything we are spoon fed by those claiming to be experts. On the same count, we can’t just blindly believe at face value the stories of alleged spooks we are hearing as well. The simple goal – To find out first hand, and for ourselves. As they say nothing ventured, nothing gained. The only way we were going to find out if there was anything existing of paranormal interest, would be to spend time alone in the homes. In near complete peace and quiet, at night. No disturbances, no passers by or road noise to contaminate our data and recordings. Still not an ideal or fully controlled investigation set-up; but a good starting point and better than it being done during the daytime. Activity and sightings in a few of the village houses have been reported from various people through the years; by both patrons and staff. Members of our team have also observed activity and seen things during investigations. Audio equipment has recorded sounds that we have as yet been unable to find suitable explanations for. After we had put in a good six hours of investigation time in the nearby Puhinui Homestead that night, it was around 2am that we all divided up and went our separate ways back to our spooky abodes for the rest of the night / morning. My house of choice this time was Johnson’s Cottage (also known as the Toy Room). Inside is an array of vintage handmade wooden children’s toys on display and for playing with. In one corner, a huge glass display case containing a very detailed and skilfully created diorama of a little town; complete with towns people going about their daily business. There are wooden clowns that wiggle and wobble their way upwards at the tugging of strings, a wooden hand painted toy horse on wheels hangs from the rafters, a dolls house, big old chest of period dress- up clothing, a piano, glass cases of taxidermy animals, toy cars and many artefacts that would have equalled X-Box thrill factor when unwrapped at Christmas time back in the day. I will admit that it had been a long day and I was tired. It was a work day so getting up at 6am meant by 2am next day I was really wanting to just snuggle up in my sleeping bag and get a few hours kip before we were to rise, pack up and head home. I had set up my equipment earlier in the evening, so really all I had to do was plant the tripod mounted Nightshot video camera in one corner and hit the record button. I managed to stay awake for another hour and a half (or thereabouts); chatting away to the empty room ( or any spook resident that may still reside ). I did the usual generic introduction and invited them to come and chat for a bit. I had my phone and still camera beside me so snapped a few random pics as I lay there in between scrolling my Facebook news feed and messages. Also, in place and armed for action were a few atmospheric monitoring devices and motion sensor cameras and lights that would either be triggered by, or data record any sudden changes in temperature, EMF levels, vibration or movement in the room. It must have been a bit around 4am…..ish, when I was suddenly woken by my phone right beside my ear chiming off at a ridiculously and unusually loud volume to alert me on an incoming call. Unusual because I never have it set that loud. Usually just at half way. It was Marlene. She sounded rattled and on edge. Things were happening. ‘’The candle…. on the piano…. just fell over…. like really hard…. it just flew over’’ I talked her through it (as best I could in my hazy, half asleep state) and offered to come and check on her. Though scared and shaking she chose to tough it out and keep going. Totally proud of her for making that decision. Others might have fled in fear. She stood strong and carried on with her investigation. Back at my cottage however, the action wasn’t really as intense as I would have preferred it. A couple of minor incidents of possible interest occurred; one being around 3am ….ish. As I was dozing off, I heard some light shuffling at the front door, like someone was outside. Moments later the door handle creaked (just once) as if someone was trying to open it. I assumed it was one of the team wanting to talk to me. I later thought it was unusual that they hadn’t tried knocking. No one was there when I got up to check. The door was unlocked, so whomever it was could certainly have opened it if they wanted too. At one stage, there was a scratching sound behind me on the wall. It moved up the wall and after a few clumsy sounding bangs and thuds, made its way up into the ceiling. I’m guessing it was a possum. Sounded a bit too heavy to be a rat. I never saw it, but from the sound it was making, I could tell it had claws. The only other incident that ill mention was around 2.45. A wooden sounding ‘’click click’’ clatter that I assumed was a wooden toy adjusting itself on its string cord. Well I assumed that, but in my comatose state of tiredness I wasn’t really in any position to sit up and start getting rational. I just wanted sleeeeeep! All up, a quiet night really; but still great to be back in the Village doing what I love doing. We totally recommend you pack up the family one weekend and make a day of it there. The Howick Historical Village is certainly an interesting and intriguing location to spend time in. Time we are very grateful to the management for generously allowing us and trusting us enough to spend the amount of time researching there we have been fortunate and privileged to have been given. Spooks, or no spooks, its all about the mystery and the journey! Below are some enlargements showing the intricate detail of some of the models in the glass cased diorama in the Johnson’s Cottage [...] Read more...

Private Residence, Titirangi13/01/2012Private ResidencesA bedroom in our client’s Titirangi home gives people nightmares and the sensation of being watched… Location: This investigation took place in a private residence in the Auckland suburb of Titirangi. Specific details of the location and the current occupants of the home have been omitted or censored in this report to maintain their privacy. History: 1750 – Titirangi is the historical site of a battle in 1750 between the Waiohua and Ngati Whatua tribes during which thousands were killed, but there’s no way of knowing whether it was in the vicinity of this property. 1944 – Site of the current house on was on the rural section of a property approximately located at as determined from a 1944 map of Titirangi. Prior to 1960, older properties on did not necessarily have street numbers, making it difficult to determine who occupied the land from Electoral Rolls. There is no reference to any addresses in prior to 1975 Electoral Roll. Presumably this means the land for the street had not been subdivided yet. It was likely an area of bush south of properties on , and following an existing creek bed draining north. Both and the street leading into it were likely subdivided at the same time around 1974. No reference to any occupiers of the property in the 1975 Electoral Roll, however some addresses in are occupied at this time. 1978 – Property is listed as occupied by . The original owner became an NZ citizen in 1977, was born in Fiji. They would appear to be the original occupiers first house on the property. They do not appear on the Electoral Roll prior to 1978. 1981 – Property was still occupied by the original occupants. We have ascertained the original occupants are still living, but moved out of the house some time after 1981. Situation: The allegedly haunted location is the teenage daughter’s bedroom. The daughter has complained often about finding it very difficult to sleep in the room, suffers nightmares and often has the overwhelming feeling of someone being in the room watching her. Her boyfriend refuses to stay over at night as he too has bad nightmares when sleeping in the room. As do her other friends that would stay over. One of their cats is terrified of the room and will not go anywhere near it. As a result the girl refuses to sleep at home now. With school restarting, the mother is desperate to get her daughter feeling comfortable and back sleeping in her own bedroom again. According to the mother, the rest of the house is fine and doesn’t show any of the bedrooms strange symptoms. Investigation: On arrival the team were shown around the house, told of its history and lead into the bedroom. Due to the limited space available to us, the investigation was restricted in what equipment we could use and our movements, but we did manage a thorough EMF sweep, ran 3 digital audio recorders, a static IR video camera and two digital cameras to document the surroundings. Our sensitive, Kel, picked up on a few atmospheric changes which were also felt by Barbara. At one point both women sitting on the daughter’s bed claimed to feel the bed moving or vibrating. Kel also tried communications, as she was picking up on an entity. The answers she received were that the entity was a man, that he was not related to the daughter, did not live in the house and when asked “Why are you here?”, allegedly answered “Watching “. Kel was unable to get a name for us. We went around outside the house and found a large electrical power meter box right outside the girl’s bedroom window, positioned on the outside wall, directly behind where her head would be when sleeping. This meter was the main supply to the other flats in the building. The large, multi level house had been divided up into individual flats. The house the mother and daughter live in is an extension added onto the right side of the house. Evidence: No photographic or video anomalies were detected upon reviewing the standard and infra-red camera footage taken during this investigation. No audio anomalies or Electronic Voice Phenomena (E.V.P.) were detected upon reviewing the digital audio recordings taken during this investigation. No unusual data was recorded. Conclusion: In conclusion, whilst our sensitive had picked up on a possible entity, we were unable to specifically document this audibly or visually. Therefore we aren’t able to use this as solid conclusive evidence and proof of a domestic haunting. The power meter box positioned on the exterior wall of the daughter’s bedroom, adjacent to the head of the bed, may explain the nightmares and the uncomfortable feelings of being watched, due to the amount of electromagnetic activity given off, which as been known to have adverse effects upon those who are sensitive to Electro-Magnetic Fields. The team felt this may have been a possible contributing factor to some of the experiences reported in this house. [...] Read more...

Cromwell Kilwinning Lodge / Lake Dunstan – Cromwell27/11/2015Haunted LocationsCromwell Cromwell is a town in Central Otago in the Otago region of New Zealand. It is situated between State Highway 6 (linking to Wanaka, 50 km north, and Queenstown, 60 km west) and State Highway 8 leading to the Lindis Pass, 75 km northeast, and Alexandra, 33 km south. The road to Alexandra winds through the Cromwell Gorge. A point near Cromwell lies 119 kilometres from the sea, the farthest from the sea anywhere in New Zealand. A prominent feature surrounding much of the town is the man-made Lake Dunstan. Cromwell also has the newly constructed Highlands Motorsport Park. Nearby settlements are at Bannockburn, Lowburn, Tarras, and Ripponvale. Cromwell was originally known as “The Junction”, being at the confluence of the Clutha and Kawarau Rivers. In 1862, gold was discovered below the Junction by two miners, Hartley and Reilly. Once the word of a gold strike was out, there was an influx of several thousand miners to the area. As gold ran out, Cromwell became the service centre for an extensive farming and stone fruit growing area. It has a strategic location between the Lindis and the Haast passes, and acts as a hub between the towns of Wanaka, Queenstown and Alexandra. The former is commemorated with the giant sculpture of stone fruit which stands outside the northern end of the town. Cromwell lay at the confluence of the Clutha River and Kawarau River, which was noted for the difference between the colours of the waters of the two rivers and also for the historic bridge at the convergence of the two. Since the construction of the Clyde Dam and the filling of Lake Dunstan in the early 1990s the river confluence was drowned, as was the old town centre. The decision to build Clyde Dam and use Cromwell as the accommodation base brought many changes to the town. Approximately one-third of the town was rebuilt on higher ground. The changes included the doubling of the residential area, relocation of the old town centre (now called “Old Cromwell Town”), upgrading of services, and the provision of modern educational and sports facilities, and a new bridge. The relocated town centre, or “The Mall,” now houses the main retail, service and civic buildings in Cromwell. Several of the old buildings of the town which escaped the flooding have been retained as a historic precinct close to the shore of the Kawarau. The town was named after Oliver Cromwell and, as well as “The Junction”, the town was previously known as “The Point” and “Kawarau”. The future of Cromwell is in farming, horticulture, viticulture, and tourism. Cromwell is nicknamed the “Fruit Bowl of the South”. The Cromwell Kilwinning Lodge No. 98 The Cromwell Kilwinning Lodge No. 98 was founded in 1869 for the Freemasons of Cromwell, with the Lodge building constructed in 1900. The Lodge is a small but impressive building, constructed of local stone set in the old part of Cromwell, immediately adjoining ‘Old Cromwell Town’ which is the surviving section of the largely flooded historic Cromwell business district. The Lodge has provided a meeting place for its members for over 105 years. Through the years there have been stories of small but unusually bright lights, seen floating around the lodge and over the lake surface; usually in a spiralling fashion, sometimes in small groups of up to five lights at a time, (it has been theorised that perhaps this is some manner of spirit activity from those that drowned when the town was flooded) Also, a mysterious, shrouded black figure is seen from time to time, standing beside the lodge. These occurrences are said to always be at night and when the lodge and neighbouring historical village town centre is closed and deserted. [...] Read more...

Waitomo Caves Hotel17/03/2012Haunted Locations / Hotels and BusinessesLocation & History Waitomo Caves Hotel was first originally called Waitomo House, then in 1905 the Tourist Department bought it & renamed it the Government Hostel. Waitomo Caves Hotel is situated upon a natural high-point in an area of limestone rock honeycombed with natural caves and underground streams. Many of these caves are regarded as Tapu (sacred) by the local Maori and are said to be inhabited by Taniwha, guardian or predator beings that live in deep pools in rivers, dark caves, or in the sea, and Patupaiarehe, who according to Maori folklore are pale-skinned spirit beings that live in deep forests and mountaintops in New Zealand and who are said to lure people to their doom with ethereal flute music and singing. The Maori have historically used the caves as a burial ground. The Maori occupation of the land dates back to 1350, with 2 massive battles fought in the area, as well as localised skirmishes between tribes. This area was also the site of the battles between the Maori King Movement (Kingitanga) and the British Army. Waitomo Caves Hotel is built on the site of a British Fort, that was used during the these battles, due to its defensible position, and foreboding slopes. A legend of the Maori princess dates from the Kingitanga versus Britain era. The daughter of a high-ranking Maori chief became enamoured with a British soldier, and one evening, while making her way up to the fort for a romantic rendezvous with the solider, she was mistaken for a warrior by one of the British sentries and was shot dead. Her spirit is said to haunt the Victorian wing of the hotel which houses the Honeymoon Suite. She has also been reputed to taking up residence in a particular hotel attic, and her moaning can be heard coming from this area. The story of the Ghost of Room 14 relates to the tale of the Maori Princess. A young male guest at the hotel, felt what is reputed to be her spirit passing through him, and after telling the tale to several guests staying at the time, he retired to his room and committed suicide. He is said now to wander the corridors as well. Hanging is commonly said to be his method of choice, however, in Room 14, it is said to that the bath has been seen dripping with blood. The adjacent Room 12 is also said to be frequented by the princess, with moving lights reported in the en-suite bathroom and guests having bed sheets pulled away and toes tickled during the night. The ghost of Cat Alley is attributed to an accident that happened in the 1930s. Cat Alley is a cluster of small rooms and corridor, which catered to the workers and maids. It connected these rooms to the kitchen and restaurant. One night, a boy (one of the maids boys that was smuggled in at night) was skipping through the kitchen and knocked over a pot of boiling water, that burned him so badly he died. The staff have been calling him Daniel. He is said to be heard giggling, skipping and children often complain about being followed by a weird boy. Room 12a (a common hotel euphemism to avoid rooms and floors numbered 13) is reputed to be a hotbed of activity, with footprints forming on talcum powder spilt on the ground and objects being moved about. Room 25 is an area the staff don’t like to go to, with reports of bad feelings, screams and further movement of objects. This room is said to be associated with a former staff member or Matron who is said to still try to keep order in the hotel’s Art Deco wing. Investigation The Haunted Auckland and Strange Occurrences teams had rooms booked within close proximity of one another in the Art Deco wing of the Waitomo Caves Hotel. Matthew in Room 12, Barbara and her husband Stu in Room 12a, Kris and Emily in Room 14 and Mark, James and Patrick sharing Room 18. Team members Kris and Emily arrived the evening before other team members, at 11:15p.m, and were greeted by Jazz, the concierge, whom Emily interviewed regarding the paranormal events he had experienced while working in the hotel. Being of Maori ancestry, he passed all this activity off as just “stuff that happens”, and as nothing unusual. He said that it was a “part of the land” in the Waikato, considering its history. They made their way to Room 14, in the Art Deco wing of the hotel. Upon entry of the wing, Kris claims he was “taken by a sudden rush of energy to the head, and everything went a rusty colour. I wasn’t light-headed or anything, and then everything went into a film negative like effect. Whether that was associated with anything spiritual, or whether that I was just tired, I have no idea”. Over the period of the night, there felt like there was a lot of activity in the room in general. Kris comments “I heard sounds of wind being disturbed, as if a bird with very soft wings was flying around the room.” The other members of the teams started arriving at the hotel around mid afternoon the following day. After unpacking and settling in to our rooms we all started a loose exploration of the hotel, to generally get our bearings, get a feel for the place and to sort out the places we would investigate later on that night. Kris comments on his visit into Room 25: “At a spot, in the middle of the room and at the foot of the left most bed, I felt a massive sinking sensation. Like when you go over a bump in the road, and leaves your heart in your mouth. It felt very different in there to other parts of the hotel. This was my first feeling of dread in the place. Until then, we had felt embraced. This felt uncomfortable, more in that room, than the bathroom, and definitely more in that area of the room.” Kris also reported above average EMF fields in this area. “The next place we visited was the under renovation wing in the art deco block. I felt drawn to the last room on the right down the main corridor. This was another area that gave me the willies. Of all the other rooms in this wing, this was the one that made me feel the weirdest, and the bathroom here most of all. It felt like we weren’t welcome here, and that I was interrupting somebody’s peace and quiet.” A little later in the Room 25 suite, (1st floor, large “suicide” room, 2 smaller rooms adjacent, corridor with arched windows at both ends), James and Mark spent about 30 – 40 minutes doing an EVP session, as the room was going to be occupied later so could not be investigated that night. Whilst doing an EVP session in a storage room in Cat Alley, Barbara and Patrick hear an odd scratching movement which seemed to be in reply to one of their questions. A quick search around and outside the room reveals nothing. Within minutes after, they then capture a what appeared to be a EVP of a man’s voice on their audio recorder. The teams adjourned to a local cafe/bar for dinner at around 6.30pm, returning to the hotel after sunset to begin the night-time investigation. Evidence Photograph #1: Light Anomaly The above photograph was taken by our investigator Kris in the hotel dining room, looking back towards the lobby. A light anomaly can be seen on main stairway through the glass doors. There was some debate within the team over whether the anomaly is positioned on the stairs themselves, or whether it is simply a reflection in the glass doors. Photographs taken from other angles did not provide any evidence to back up the reflection theory, so we have included this photograph as being unexplained. Photograph #2: Wardrobe Mist This photograph, taken by our investigator Matthew, shows what appears to be a mist inside a wardrobe in one of the unused rooms in the wing of the hotel undergoing renovations. Some stickers on the walls indicated that this may have previously been a child’s bedroom. Below is a contrast-enhanced copy of the photograph which shows the mist in more detail. A possible alternate explanation for this anomaly is light bleeding on the camera sensor from the over-exposed areas of the image. Photograph #3: Broken Necklace This photograph shows a cross belonging to our investigator Barbara who stayed in Room 12a. Barbara woke in the morning to discover her necklace had broken and immediately took a photograph of it to document as evidence. Barbara is certain the necklace was in one piece when she placed it on the table, and that it must have somehow broken overnight. E.V.P. #1: Cat Alley Voice [soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/45574016%3Fsecret_token%3Ds-gAOu0″ params=”color=000000&auto_play=false&show_artwork=false” width=” 100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /] The odd voice in the above recording was captured during an E.V.P. session conducted by Barbara from Haunted Auckland and Patrick from Strange Occurrences in a storage room near Cat Alley. An out-of-place, gruff male voice is heard 2.5 seconds into the recording, as well as several other instances where there appears to be a third person talking over top, or in the background. The recorder was stationary for the whole EVP session (shown in the photograph to the left). E.V.P. #2: Room 12 [soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/45381031%3Fsecret_token%3Ds-0VfK7″ params=”color=000000&auto_play=false&show_artwork=false” width=” 100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /] The recording above was made in Room 12 by our investigator Matthew while he was alone in the room. A whispering female voice can be heard at around 15.5 seconds, saying 3 syllables. The team could not reach a clear consensus as to what is being said so we leave it up to the listener to draw their own conclusions. All audio samples and images can be downloaded via the links above. We invite independent analysis and welcome any opinions from other paranormal investigation groups or the general public. Feel free to get in touch with us via our contact page. Personal Experiences: Replication of Room 1 Light Anomaly Note: The above image is not photographic evidence of the paranormal. This image is an artistic representation of a light anomaly experienced by our investigator Matthew during an E.V.P. session in Room 1. The team had attempted to book Room 1, due to the history of activity associated with the room (one such event is documented in Spooked: Exploring The Paranormal In New Zealand by James Gilberd), however the room was being used as accommodations for the hotel manager. The light anomaly appeared as a circular orb in the doorway to the en-suite bathroom where, at exactly the same moment, another investigator Kris who was sitting in the en-suite experienced an energy passing through this torso via his back. Nothing unusual appeared on our photographs or audio during this time. Rattled While alone in the renovation wing, Patrick from Strange Occurrences experienced what he described as a knocking on the window of the 2nd room on the left as you enter the wing. While further investigation showed that the window was loose and could easily be rattled by a breeze, there was no significant breeze that evening, and force of the knocking was rather unsettling to Patrick. Predatory Energies Kris also felt sensations in the renovation wing “This was really scary. I ran out of the area 3 times in a very manly fashion indeed. I saw shadows moving around the stairwell and a general ominous feeling all-round. I do admit that when I start freaking out, more stuff seems to happen. It is like there are some predatory energies that can tell when you are scared, and feed off that. Seeing as that is a common trait in animals, I don’t think this is too far fetched an idea.” Victorian Stairwell Presence After briefly leaving Room 1 to fetch a Tri-field Meter, James states “I decided to use the stairs in the old part of the hotel to get back down there, and had a rather strange feeling while descending, from about the mid-level landing to the bottom, into the corridor. I felt there was something present, watching me, but I saw nothing. It felt a bit like walking back into the past. There was no one else present at this point, as our group was still in Room 1 and Richard was elsewhere.” Movement On The Stairs Patrick had earlier reported seeing a dark streak move left to right across the landing by the first set of doors (top of stairs that lead down to Frederick Mace Restaurant): “This time, each time I looked toward this area, I thought I could see some kind of movement, either near or behind the table lamp, or in the shadow area in the middle of the corridor. I was alternating my view, looking down the corridor to the left (back toward the main landing above the entrance foyer, Room 12a) and down the corridor to the right (there’s about a 45 degree angle between these two corridors, Rm 18 is at the angle). Each time I looked to the right, I thought I saw movement. I took a number of photos. I saw no movement in the other direction, even though the architecture and lighting conditions were very similar (glass doors at the end, table lamps down the hallway).” Conclusion After reviewing the two groups’ files of around 2000 photographs, 20 something hours of audio and over 10 hours of static video footage, we were unable to document any conclusive evidence to prove the existence of a ghost, or ghosts present within the walls of the Waitomo Caves Hotel. Both Haunted Auckland and Strange Occurrences team members did notice a few unusual sensations during the physical investigation. However, this does not necessarily mean that the hotel is haunted, as we were unable to capture anything definitive, at this investigation. Staff and visitors to this wonderful old hotel have been witness to many incidents and experiences through the years. It is likely at the very least, that the hotel does contain some residual phenomena, considering the amount of visitors staying there and the activities that have taken place within its walls through the decades. The two teams had a great time investigating the hotel and we highly recommend going there to stay if you’re ever passing through. It’s a wonderful piece of history with such mystique and character and an underlying sense of retro style and luxury. The staff was friendly, helpful and very welcoming which made the whole experience extremely pleasant, relaxed and very refreshing. We hope to visit the Waitomo Caves Hotel again soon and would like to extend our thanks, gratitude and best wishes to all there. The Waitomo Caves Hotel is, in our opinion, worthy of further investigation. [...] Read more...

Otira Tunnel Ghost30/05/2017Haunted Locations / Hauntings / Locations of Interest / True Ghost Stories / Urban LegendsI heard an intriguing story while doing the Transalpine Rail trip between Christchurch and Greymouth recently. The onboard commentary tells of a ghost who is sometimes seen on the Old Coach Road. Apparently the male ghost walks with his swag along the road beside the tracks. It is considered that the man was a Scotsman who was one of the workers killed during the construction of the 8.5km Otira Tunnel. He is always seen travelling east on the Old Coach Road and is thought to be trying to get to reach Littleton so he can catch a ship home. The Old Coach Road was once a Cobb & Co coach track and can still be seen running alongside the railway tracks for part of the Transalpine rail journey. Various people have reportedly spotted the ghost on the road between Arthurs Pass, Bealey and Cass over the years. [...] Read more...

Howick Historical Village: Solo Overnight Sessions – Sam’s night in the old Church.29/03/2018Historic Buildings / InvestigationsThe 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 questions than answers afterwards and we could all agree that the building did require further investigation. We decided on splitting the investigation into two parts. The first half: In the earlier hours of the evening the team set up cameras and equipment throughout Puhinui house and conducted communication sessions in various rooms for a few hours before leaving Marlene to Investigate Puhinui for the rest of the night by herself and heading off to the second half of the investigation: A solo investigation of one of the other Buildings in the village – I chose to investigate and spend the night in the Church. The team arrived at Puhinui house around 7:30pm, with enough sunlight left to unload our cars and make a base out of the living room before It got dark. Even though we were all aware that this would be Marlene’s introduction to the solo investigations at Puhinui, as a team we were all determined to set up still cameras on tripods and Wireless DVR cameras throughout the building, knowing from experience that many of the sounds and potential activity during our own solo investigations happened off camera, so we did our best to capture as many angles as possible. After finishing up in Puhinui house the team left Marlene to her devices and we all went our separate ways and spent the remainder of the night/morning in the building of our choice within the village. I had picked the Old Church near the school at the furthest end of the village. There’s not much to the Church really, it’s rather small in size with no more than 10 rows of pews on either side, a small organ in the left hand corner and a pulpit in the right hand corner. To be fair this wasn’t the first time I had visited or Investigated the church, I was familiar with it through school trips as a child and I’d even attended weddings there as I believe it can be hired out (or at least used to be available) and in terms of investigating we have visited the Church on numerous occasions during public investigations, and I have to be honest I’ve never felt really felt that it was haunted at all. It had it’s usual old building creaks and groans but nothing beyond that. A solo investigation in the Church however, was a new experience and I have to judge my impressions and reactions accordingly. As I walked up the path to the white picket fence surrounding the Church – sea shell and gravel crunching under foot with each step, giving away my position and disturbing the ducks in the nearby pond. I open the gate and take a step into the church boundary, and as if out of nowhere a loud “clunk” rattled the iron roof of the church followed by a devilish growl coming from the tall tree that towered above. And then another “clunk” this time hitting the picket fence behind me and followed by a rustling of branches coming from one of the opposite trees. I was pretty sure I counted at least three of them, I could hear them but I couldn’t see them….but they could obviously see me and they were the most territorial Possums that I’ve ever encountered and they made it known that I was in their space by pelting me with twigs and acorns…..well at least that’s what I’m assuming they were throwing so either way it was probably just as well that they didn’t have very good aim. Now, one of the more commonly asked questions we get asked by fans and followers on Facebook is “Do you ever get scared?” And as much as I’d like to say that I don’t get scared it’s actually far from the truth – in fact I challenge anyone to not be scared by the unexpected “jump scare”, no one is immune, especially when distracted by feral (possibly rabid – who knows?) critters. So as I open the doors to the Church I happen to trigger the sensor that automatically plays organ music with many voices singing hymns in the background. I jumped a little, I may have even said a few hail Marys and full disclosure we did laugh earlier on in the night when the same thing happened to Mark in the smaller pre-school building. I guess we can thank Karma for that one but in my defence it was completely dark and I hadn’t found the light switch yet – and it was a solo investigation so I wasn’t expecting any other voices. Once settled I lay my sleeping bag and pillow down the aisle in between the pews, and set up cameras to record for a solo communications session. I switched out the lights and sat in one of the pews, camera rolling, audio recorder rolling and headphones on amplifying every sound. It was deathly quiet throughout the remainder of the night, again only normal building sounds were the most consistent noises. At one point I thought I did hear shuffling behind me as If someone was walking down the aisle but I’ve since dismissed the sound as being trees blowing in the wind outside. I was startled again for a second time during the communication session as I sat back in the pew it let out an almighty cracking sound (amplified greatly by the headphones) I said a few words that probably shouldn’t have been said in a church and continued the rest of the session without the headphones. There were no abnormal spikes in EMF from celsensor or the Para-pod that had been placed at opposite ends of the church and temperatures remained as expected throughout the night. It wasn’t long before 3am rolled around so I decided to turn in for the night, an unusual feeling at first sleeping in the aisle but it wasn’t long before tiredness took over and nothing else mattered. Or at least I thought. 5am (Facebook message) Marlene: Know you are usually the first one up, if so please come over and save me from this torture. Sam: Did you manage to get any sleep Marlene: Nothing!!! Sam: What’s happening over there? Lots of noises going on upstairs? Marlene: U have no idea! And I watched a candle fall down piano Marlene: My nerves are shot to shitt Sam: I bet. Do you need someone to come over? Marlene: If you are up, yes please Marlene: or anyone that is up! Sam: Ok I’ll be over shortly Marlene: Thank U Sam: Ok….so I’m locked in the church. I’m trying to get out but the door wont open. Marlene: Ok I am coming Sam: I think It needs the Key Marlene: Only Mark has the Key Sam: Yep *laugh* Marlene: Shit, ok, still coming ** Sam (to group message) : If anyone happens to have the key…I’m kinda locked in the church and can’t get out. I’m too proper to do a wee in the corner Sam (to group message): It’s ok, I used my Macguyver skills and an old JBHifi voucher to break free. ** So I manage to finally get out of the church after about 15 minutes of trying and as promised there was Marlene outside waiting looking a little bit tired and a lot shaken from her night in Puhinui. We walked back to Puhinui where I made us both a coffee and we sat outside on the veranda and talked about her night until the sun came up and the rest of the team eventually woke. During this time on the veranda our conversation was interrupted by a very loud scratching coming from inside the wall behind me, it started from underneath the floor and made its way up to the ceiling. I inspected the wall from inside the house (dining room wall) and could hear the same sound. I filmed part of the sound for reference and concluded that it was likely rats inside the wall – feeling that this was important to note and consider for any sounds that may be heard in any of our investigations in this house. There was one part of our conversation that stuck with me, and it was when Marlene told me that she was confident right up until the team left, and then the atmosphere in Puhinui changed very quickly. One of my biggest areas of interest since joining the group is how fear and anxiety could play a bigger part in what we experience and how we perceive things in general. Is it possible that we could have added to Marlene’s expectations by telling her about our own experiences during our solo investigations in that house – transferring our impressions of what we believe happened on to her, how much did the power of suggestion play on Marlene’s experience, or any of our own experiences beforehand for that matter. But How do we measure that? How do we measure how much fear, anxiety, adrenaline etc play a part in what we may claim to be a paranormal experience? Is it worth while measuring heart rate? Which would mean being strapped up to something a bit more thorough than just a fitbit for the duration of the night and comparing the results against a timeline of experiences. No doubt there will be a spike at the point of being frightened, but I’d be more interested to see any changes in heart rate leading up to that point – much like in the movies when the music changes leading up to a jump scare, you know it’s coming but you don’t know when. If there is an expectation of activity that could happen in a certain room and your anxiety builds until something does happen, be it big or small it’s enough to get anyone thinking irrationally if you’re already on your way to working yourself up. It was an interesting night, so I don’t regret anything that we did or didn’t do. I think we used our time wisely. There are many more buildings in the village that we didn’t spend the night in, so given the opportunity again it would be interesting to try another building out for the night. [...] 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 the home of Haunted Auckland, a Paranormal Investigation and Research group.

Whether you’ve been aware of Mark Wallbank’s research work since the 1980s, attended his early 90s discussion events, received the quarterly newsletters, subscribed to his popular mid-2000s online blog BizarreNZ, followed the Haunted Auckland team since 2010, 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 Haunted Auckland. We’re a small Auckland based team of friendly, dedicated, well seasoned and enthusiastic researchers with differing levels of experience, knowledge, skills and expertise. Our investigators are intelligent, honest, compassionate and possess critically thinking (yet wide open) minds. 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.

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

What we aren’t:

We aren’t Ghost Busters, Ghost Hunters, Exorcists, Mediums, Clairvoyants or Psychics and we don’t do clearings, blessings or the ridding 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 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

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
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

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 [Oahu]

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