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St James Theatre, Wellington11/01/2014Haunted LocationsThe St James Theatre, (previously known as His Majesty’s Theatre, and the Westpac St. James Theatre from 1997–2007) (shortened to “St. James” by locals) is a stage theatre located in the heart of NZ’s capital city, Wellington. The present theatre was designed in 1912 by Australian theatre designer Henry Eli White. The theatre currently faces on to Courtenay Place, the main street of Wellington’s entertainment district, opposite the Reading Cinema complex. The building is number 83. The building is classified as a “Category I” (“places of special or outstanding historical or cultural heritage significance or value”) historic place by the New Zealand Hstoric Places Trust History The St. James has had a long history, with its success in its early years, a near demolition in the 1980s and to its return to the city’s cultural light in the late 1990s. The theatre’s land had been used as a church and volunteer hall prior to it being bought by the famous entertainer John Fuller on 23 December 1899. The St. James was made famous by Fuller, who had also built over 60 other theatres in New Zealand. He revamped the hall in 1903 and named it “His Majesty’s Theatre”, or nicknamed “Fuller’s”. During its use, the hall was host to pantomimes and a Cleopatra act, which involved the first and last import of snakes into New Zealand. However, Opera of any kind was seldom allowed by Fuller, who usually directed any opera show to Wellington’s Opera House down the road. Fuller used the old hall until November 1911, when it was eventually declared a fire hazard and demolished. After this demolition, Fuller vowed the new theatre he was going to build would be the best in New Zealand. Fuller enlisted the help of Henry Eli White, who had already designed other theatres around the country for Fuller. White, fresh from building theatres in Timaru and Auckland, set out to plan the St James. The St James theatre was the first entirely steel frame and reinforced concrete theatre in the world and plans made sure over 650 people could escape the auditorium in the event of a fire. Pillars in the auditorium were also kept at a minimum to allow perfect viewing, and seating was arranged in the arc of a circle to view the stage. The St. James was then adorned with marble pieces, carved face masks and cherubs to be placed on the ceiling and coloured glass. The plaster work was made by William Leslie Morrison, who reinforced the lime plaster with cow hair. Morrison used his grandson as a model for the plaster cherubs and modelled the full-figured seen near the stage after Bacchus and Apollo. The wooden floors of the St. James were made of rimu and jarrah, along with totara for window frames and deal for doors. After the plans had been set, construction began on the theatre in March 1912. To speed progress, White himself designed two electric cranes to lift the in excess of 500 tonnes of steel. In all, the St. James cost £32,000 to build and took 9 months to build. The theatre was officially opened 8pm on Boxing Day, 1912, by the Wellington Mayor, David McLaren. During the new theatre’s first months, it was used primarily to play silent movies. The St. James was changed nine months later to present live performances. However in 1930, after 17 years, it was again converted back to playing both movies and occasional live performances. This was after the St. James’s life long opposition, the Opera House began screening movies. After this change to the “talking films” or “flicks”, on 3 May 1930, His Majesty’s was closed and reopened as the St. James Theatre. Over the years, the St. James was slowly brought back to showing live performances. Many shows were performed at the venue; everything from Shakespeare, to minstrel acts to ballet. After Fuller died, the St. James passed through numerous owners. Decline and restoration After its enormous success over the past decades, in the 1970s, the St. James theatre fell into decline and was effectively closed down. Shows began performing at the Opera House and newer venues such as the Michael Fowler Centre, Downstage and the restored town hall. Rumours of ghosts haunting upper seat levels didn’t help the theatre’s reputation either and soon the theatre was forgotten. On 7 May 1987, the St. James played its last movie, ‘Wanted: Dead or Alive”, to a small group. The site was then declared unpractical and was abandoned. The theatre was nearly demolished in the 1980s and ’90s after the owners placed a destruction order on the plot. However, due to the efforts of an objecting group, the St. James was eventually spared and restored to its former glory. The alarm had been risen after a photographer, Grant Sheehan, was told by the theatre’s curator that the St. James was set to be demolished by the Chase Corporation. For nearly a decade, a wrecking ball sat poised above the theatre, but it was never used after the owners were finally persuaded to save the property. The company looking to build on the site, Chase, were still angered by the result, so a trade-off was made by the committee vouching for the St. James; Chase would be allowed to build a tower in Wellington exceeding current height restrictions if the committee could save the theatre. The offer was highly contested, with some companies near the new tower protesting at its aimed size. The Opera House objected to the St. James’s restoration, saying that the city would not be able to sustain two theatres. In any case, the council rejected the committee’s proposal to allow Chase to build higher. Chase retaliated and immediately asked the council for a demolition permit. However, the council slowed progress on getting the report so the Historical Places Trust could add the St. James to its list. The plan succeeded and a limited protection order was placed over the St. James. Now Chase could only demolish the site with consent from the Trust. Knowing that the protection order would only last for a limited time (in fact only until 31 March 1988), there was a frantic rush to get Chase to sell the building to the council so they could restore it. Fundraising events were commonplace during this time, most asking for donations towards the “Save the St. James fund”. Eventually, after hard negotiations the plan to sell and restore the theatre went ahead, due to the theatre’s good aspects and proximity to the city’s hot-spots. Due to the increasing amount of theatre-going public, the Opera House would not be able to support the demand, especially when the Wellington Festival of the Arts arrived. The council finally agreed to allow Chase to plan its tower in Willis Street in return for $7 million to refurbish the theatre; the other option that was not taken was for the government to raise $18 million to purchase and restore the building. However, once again bad luck fell upon the deal, when the financial crash of 1987 struck most companies in New Zealand, including Chase. The building and deal were abandoned once again and time passed with no results. Chase hadn’t secured a tenant for its new tower and the council began to doubt whether it should spend millions on a single theatre. After the finish line for the protection order over the St. James ended, Chase gave their word that the theatre would not be demolished. Eventually, Chase went into liquidation and all its properties were put up for sale. The St. James was put on the market for $7 million, double what Chase had paid for it. The council declined and over the months, the price fell dramatically as Chase saw an absence of offers. The price fell to below what even Chase had paid for the theatre. The council still declined and a massive campaign to save the theatre arose. Eventually on 22 September 1993, the council sought to buy the property and succeeded with their offer of $550,000. The council handed the St. James over to a new St. James Theatre Charitable Trust. Soon it was booked out and live performances were shown frequently. An $18.5 million restoration plan was set out in 1995. However, this was considered worth the risk, as it was estimated the theatre would bring over $3.6 million into the local economy. In 1996, the council gave a $10.7 million contribution towards the restoration plan, in addition to $2.4 million from a Wellington Community Trust grant, $3.5 million from the Lottery Board and over $1 million in donation from the public. The total of around $17.7 million allowed the St. James Trust to confirm they would start restoring the theatre. Current situation Restoration work finished in late 1997. Most of the theatre’s aspects were modified, including the addition of “The Jimmy” a café on the theatre’s ground floor. “The Jimmy” was the nickname given to the St. James Theatre by technicians, thus the name was utilised. The St. James currently holds many shows and a large portion of the New Zealand International Arts Festival. The building also hosts the Royal New Zealand Ballet. Art shows are often held on its second floor, as well as conferences. The theatre was also fitted with an orchestra pit, which is located many stories below the stage’s level. The bank operating in Australia and New Zealand, Westpac until 2007 held the naming rights to St. James, as well as other stadiums, including the Westpac Stadium, also in Wellington. A face-lift of the facade in 2007 included removing the Westpac name from the Brickwork frontage. In July 2011 Positively Wellington Venues, an integration between the Wellington Convention Centre and the St James Theatre Trust, began managing this theatre along with five other venues in the capital city. Reported haunting There have been numerous reports of several spirits or ghosts in the St. James Theatre. One of the most seen ghosts is that of Yuri, a Russian performer who supposedly fell to his death from the flies several metres above the stage. Another account, more widely accepted, says he was pushed by a female named Pasha, also a Russian performer. Yuri has been encountered playing with the lights, especially turning them all back on again once cleaners have left for the night. One projectionist says Yuri saved his life twice. While on stage, the lights went out in the auditorium. While searching for the light switch, he was pushed backwards by what he believed was Yuri. The lights turned back on and the projectionist realised he was only inches from the orchestra pit and if he had not been pushed back, would have fallen in. The second time he says Yuri saved him was when he was on stage with his infant son. He suddenly heard a beam collapse above him. The projectionist insists he was pushed back by Yuri and that his son was “carried” through the air for about 3 metres. Other than Yuri, many other ghosts have been reported in the theatre. The “Wailing Woman” is a frequent apparition who is said to wail throughout the theatre. According to accounts, she was an actress trying to make a comeback. However, she was booed off stage. She later slit her wrists, either at home or in her dressing room. She is also said to be the cause of many of the odd occurrences surrounding lead actresses in plays performed at the St. James; many actresses performing on stage have sprained their ankle, one fell from a ladder, one suddenly caught a cold and was hoarse for her opera part. Another ghost is that of Stan Andrews. He is often heard wheezing around the backstage corridors at night, checking on his ushers. Also, a boy’s choir is said to haunt the auditorium. The choir played their last song at the St. James during World War ll before sailing off on tour. Their ship was never seen again and workers at the theatre often hear their music in the stands. However, when they investigate the sound, it moves to a separate part of the seats. The reason there is so much paranormal activity at the theatre is disputed, although there have been claims that the old choral hall was built on a cemetery or burial ground. This claim however, has never been proved. The paranormal activity of the St. James was investigated in 2005 on the New Zealand television show Ghost Hunt. The three investigators captured paranormal photographs and numerous ‘orbs’ inside the building and the elevator used suddenly began to malfunction which is a common among workers moving instruments from the orchestra pit to the loading bay. The programme also featured other haunted locations around New Zealand. [...] Read more...

The Zuiyo-maru carcass19/04/2014Kiwi CryptidsThe Zuiyo-maru carcass is a creature caught by the Japanese fishing trawler Zuiyō Maru off the coast of New Zealand in 1977. The carcass’s peculiar appearance led to speculation that it might be the remains of a sea serpent or prehistoric plesiosaur. Although several scientists insisted it was “not a fish, whale, or any other mammal”, analysis later indicated it was most likely the carcass of a basking shark by comparing the number of sets of amino acids in the muscle tissue. Decomposing basking shark carcasses lose most of the lower head area and the dorsal and caudal fins first, making them resemble a plesiosaur. Discovery On April 25, 1977, the Japanese trawler Zuiyō Maru, sailing east of Christchurch, New Zealand, caught a strange, unknown creature in the trawl. The crew was convinced it was an unidentified animal, but despite the potential biological significance of the curious discovery, the captain, Akira Tanaka, decided to dump the carcass into the ocean again so not to risk spoiling the caught fish. However, before that, some photos and sketches were taken of the creature, nicknamed “Nessie” by the crew, measurements were taken and some samples of skeleton, skin and fins were collected for further analysis by experts in Japan. The discovery resulted in immense commotion and a “plesiosaur-craze” in Japan, and the shipping company ordered all its boats to try to relocate the dumped corpse, but with no apparent success. Description The foul-smelling, decomposing corpse reportedly weighed 1,800 kg and was about 10 m long. According to the crew, the creature had a 1.5-m-long neck, four large, reddish fins, and a tail about 2.0 m long. It lacked a dorsal fin. No internal organs remained, but flesh and fat were somewhat intact. Proposed explanations Plesiosaur Professor Tokio Shikama from Yokohama National University was convinced the remains were of a supposedly extinct plesiosaur. Dr. Fujiro Yasuda from Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology agreed with Shikama, “the photographs show the remains of a prehistoric animal”. However, other scientists were more skeptical. According to Bengt Sjögren, Swedish paleontologist Hans-Christian Bjerring was soon interviewed by Swedish news agency Tidningarnas Telegrambyrå, and said: “If it’s true that the Japanese collected samples of fins and skin, it would be possible to conclude from a microscope what it is. If it would be shown to be a hitherto unknown animal from the sea, it is as big of a sensation as the discovery of the coelacanth in 1938… but there is reason to be suspicious of the claims of plesiosaurs, for example, as the marine environment and fauna changed drastically since the age of the plesiosaurs on earth.” Another Swedish scientist, Ove Persson, was also critical of the plesiosaur interpretation. He recalled other discoveries of similar dead marine creatures resembling plesiosaurs that on closer inspection revealed them to be just decomposed, unusually large sharks. He also added, “The discovery of the coelacanth was not as strange as if a plesiosaur would be discovered. The plesiosaur is much bigger and breathes with lungs. It seems incredible that it would manage to remain hidden.” Basking shark A team of Japanese scientists, Tadayoshi Sasaki and Shigeru Kimura from the Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology, Ikuo Obata from the National Museum of Nature and Science, and Toshio Ikuya from the Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute at the University of Tokyo, jointly concluded, while the identity of the carcass could not be determined with certainty, the carcass was most likely that of a large shark. On July 28, 1977, the Zuiyō Maru carcass was commented upon in the international science magazine New Scientist. A scientist from the Natural History Museum in London had the same opinion as Bjerring and Persson, that the remains were not from a plesiosaur. The decomposition pattern of a basking shark, whose spine and brain case is relatively highly calcified for a cartilaginous fish, can be expected to produce a similar shape to a plesiosaur; the first parts that fall off during decomposition are the lower jaw, the gill area, and the dorsal and caudal fins. Of the view that the carcass was explained as a pleiosaur, Sjögren concluded, “it was the infamous old ‘Stronsay Beast’ that once again haunted like on innumerable other occasions. The scholars in Japan went into the same easy trap as the Scottish naturalists did in the 19th century.” [...] Read more...

Return to Private Residence, New Lynn27/10/2012Private ResidencesThe Haunted Auckland team returned to the New Lynn house for a full overnight investigation, following an intriguing initial investigation which seemed to indicate that the home may quite possibly be actively haunted. This time we came with extra people and additional equipment, including the newest piece in our research arsenal, a 4 x I.R camera DV-R system. The 12 hour session started at 8pm on Friday night and went through till 8am Saturday morning. To the surprise of those that attended, we all managed to stay wide awake and alert the entire time! The team for the 12 hour investigation: Mark, Barbara, Matthew, Heather, Tanya. Kel joined in from 10pm till just after midnight. Weather Conditions on the night – Fine but cloudy. Lunar Cycle: Almost a full moon. Base temperatures in the house on entry at session start – At 8.45pm most of the upstairs rooms were around 18C. The kitchen was slightly warmer at 19C with the bathroom at 17C and the toilet at 16C. The downstairs rooms were cooler with the office/lounge, storeroom and toilet at 6C, the bedroom and end room at 17.5C and the hallway and bathroom / laundry at 15C. Mid way temperature readings – By 12.30am the lounge area upstairs and bathroom were 15C, Susan’s bedroom was 16C, kitchen, Michael’s bedroom and toilet were all 17C. The downstairs office/lounge was 16C, the bathroom laundry was 15C and the bedroom and end room were still both 17C. EMF Readings – There were no big fluctuations over the night. We did discover that there were high readings in Michael’s bedroom, particularly from his digital alarm clock and in the wardrobe! It was via the EMF readings that we were led to find a car battery being charged downstairs as the elevated readings alerted us to the possibility of something happening on the other side of the bedroom wall. Matt – “EMF readings were flat throughout the house apart from expected spikes near power boxes and appliances. A cyclic EMF fluctuation was detected behind the television; however this was determined to be due to the wireless router on the desk.” Second visit opinions Tanya – “There were two parts to the house – the upstairs felt older and the downstairs (basement) was quite cold.” Barbara – “The downstairs area was very neutral, though upstairs had a feeling of ‘something’ being there and / or a build-up of negative residual energy. The upstairs made me feel anxious. Not emotionally, but physically. I got that ‘butterfly’ feeling in my stomach and felt slightly on edge. Something felt not quite right and I had an uneasy feeling of something watching us everywhere upstairs, except Susan’s room. This is interesting as last time I did not like Susan’s room at all, but this time it actually felt quite calm and peaceful. I could have easily just gone to sleep in there. Downstairs seemed to have a neutral feel to it (nothing good or bad).” Kel – “When I first entered the building downstairs, I did not like the feeling. I sensed a very strong vibe and felt quite dizzy and nauseous. I actually felt quite sick at times. I noticed my car was sitting right next to a high voltage power box. When I walked across the road I sensed quite strongly beforehand that there were entities in the house.” Heather – “Peter’s bedroom downstairs was open this time, and you could smell the stale scent of cigarettes, it probably lingered around from the room being locked up and not left open to be aired. The hallway was damp and wet and the downstairs shower looked like you needed a ladder to climb into it! Bowie the Cat Heather – “When Kel arrived she let in their cat Bowie, who became Matthew’s best friend for the night. Bowie seemed quite content to be inside, even with strangers, although he had met a couple of us, on the previous visit. Nothing seemed to bother the cat, he was happy to sleep either on Matt or me, or the couch or the floor next to the couch.” Michael’s Room Barbara – “That was where we did our very successful EVP session. I also had a sense of something being there (as did the lounge and kitchen). It is interesting to note that upon reviewing the DVR footage, Michael’s room was by far the most visited room (apart from the lounge where we were based) with all team members returning to that room again and again.” Tanya – “I would not call myself a ‘sensitive’ but I definitely felt a presence in Michael’s room.” Spirit Communication The team decided to hold an EVP session to try to communicate with whatever might have been in the house. The session lasted for an hour, from 4.43am to 5.42am. We decided to hold the communication session in Michael’s room. The girls lay on the bed whilst Mark monitored the room with the parabolic audio dish. The room was also documented with one I.R camera recording directly to the DV-R and 2 x Audio recorders. We proceeded to ask the usual EVP intro questions. We started to get solid single taps (knocking) immediately after each question. When a tap followed in response to a question we would confirm it, and then double confirm again, just to be sure. The replies were constant, direct and seemingly intelligent and confirmable every time without fail. The selection of EVPs below are just a small handful of some of the possible ‘interaction’ we experienced during this session. The ‘conversation’ gets a little more detailed and accurate, while the knocks become more distinct and louder, the further on it goes. Haunted Auckland · Johnathan Lockley – Part 1 Haunted Auckland · Johnathan Lockley – Part 2 Heather – “It must have been around 2.30ish when I had the feeling/need to go into Michael’s bedroom, so I did, and went in and settled down on the bed. I heard something in the room and called out to see if the others had. The noise happened again and sounded like it was coming from the wardrobe. Mark, Barbara and Tanya came into Michael’s room and we all could hear what sounded like a tapping noise. So we ask the spirit if they would knock / tap once for yes in answer to questions, and it agreed too. I couldn’t believe it was actually happening and thought my imagination was playing tricks on me, but after being there a few hours I had zoned out the aquarium bubbling, the TV humming and the radio clock buzzing and was hearing all sorts of weird things. We took a break and asked the spirit if we came back in would they talk to us again. We were all getting tired including our ghostly friend, hence the break.” Haunted Auckland · Johnathan Lockley – Part 3 Mark – “We noticed that the tapping wasn’t coming from any particular direction and was coming from ‘everywhere’. Behind me, in front of me, high, low, everywhere. It definitely had me stumped! We tried, continually throughout the session, but could not source the sound or its direction. It was an incredible feeling to be honest! We checked out the whole room looking for possible sound sources to explain it, but couldn’t.” Haunted Auckland · Johnathan Lockley – Part 4 Every now and then we would ask again to confirm that we were actually communicating with someone. Every piece of information we received we would confirm, sometimes twice. Everyone in the room was genuinely impressed at what was going on. We could find no explanations for anything we were experiencing. We could hear the usual gurgle of stomachs, clicking of body movements and could all tell the difference. [soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/88792289″ params=”color=000000&auto_play=false&show_artwork=false” width=” 100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /] Within the hour-long session we were ‘told’ that the entity was a young, 13-year-old boy named Jonathan Lockley, this was determined by each letter being individually spelt out. [soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/88792697″ params=”color=000000&auto_play=false&show_artwork=false” width=” 100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /] [soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/88792974″ params=”color=000000&auto_play=false&show_artwork=false” width=” 100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /] [soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/88794209″ params=”color=000000&auto_play=false&show_artwork=false” width=” 100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /] [soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/88794407″ params=”color=000000&auto_play=false&show_artwork=false” width=” 100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /] [soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/88794504″ params=”color=000000&auto_play=false&show_artwork=false” width=” 100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /] [soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/88794642″ params=”color=000000&auto_play=false&show_artwork=false” width=” 100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /] [soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/88794783″ params=”color=000000&auto_play=false&show_artwork=false” width=” 100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /] The following information was also communicated: He had white skin and light brown hair. He had lived and died in the house in the 60s after being very ill. That he could see us sitting in the room and was standing over by the window. He had lived there with his parents. He had a sister. His sister was older. He went to school at New Lynn Primary. Where he was, there were other people there with him. He was not with friends or family, all the people around him were strangers. The room we were in used to be his bedroom. He was not aware of his surroundings or where he was. We got the impression he was watching us over by the window, yet was in another place. (Perhaps a parallel place or time?) Wherever he was, he wasn’t happy and didn’t like being there. He was desperate to leave. He was sad, scared, missing his sister and didn’t know where she was. He has no friends where he is. He liked to watch T.V at night when It was on. He goes into the kitchen and lounge, but said he didn’t go downstairs because he has been told not to. His parents had told him not to go downstairs. He wanted help getting away from wherever he was. He was happy with us being there, liked us and thought we were funny. On us asking if he could see the home owners when they are there, he said ‘Yes‘. He liked spending time with Peter and wanted to be friends. He liked the Michael and could see him when he sleeps in the room. He was wanting to be friends with everyone in the house and enjoyed being around them. We asked if it was he who rings the doorbell. We received no answer to this question, so couldn’t confirm. We asked ’Jonathan’ to go out into the lounge and touch Matthew who was monitoring the DVR system. He said ‘Yes’ and disappeared for a short while. After a moment, ’he’ returned to ’chat’ with us. We asked if he liked Matthew and received ‘No’. On asking whether Matthew would be welcome to join us, we received a negative. We found we constantly had to question ourselves. There were no random knocks outside of these questions, only in ‘reply’ to the questions. At times Mark claimed to be picking up loud buzzing sounds at the moments we were getting replies. A couple of times we heard ceiling, bed creaks and floor board noises, but discounted these as being normal house movement. Also during the EVP session: Tanya thought she had seen a face beside her at the window. Barbara reacted to having felt ‘something’ touch her leg. Soon after, Barbara felt her sock being pulled off. We asked if that was Jonathan, he said ‘yes’. (Seems this kid has a good sense of humour!) Mark reacted to seeing a dark fast-moving shadow move behind him to his left. ‘Jonathan’ then disappeared and we heard no more. After the session, as we were commenting on how incredible it was that we might have captured possible communications for a whole 30 minutes (This is how long it felt), it became clear to us that it had actually been a whole hour! Barbara – “We seemed to receive intelligent responses to our questions with a knocking. Was the highlight of my night! We went to the house in New Lynn looking for evidence of a suspected haunting and I think we may have got it. The team held a very good EVP session which seems to indicate that a spirit (or spirits) there was able to communicate intelligently by answering questions by tapping for responses. These were in no way just random noises as at times when the group is talking among themselves there is no tapping to be heard.” Heather – “When we went back in, we decided to ask if we could get a name from this spirit and ended up spelling out Jonathan Lockley who went to New Lynn Primary School, and died at 13 years of age. He had an older sister and they had lived in the house with their parents during the 1960’s. I have called the Primary School a couple of times asking for details about Jonathan and if he did go to the school. As we don’t have an actual year he was there, it will probably take a while for them to search their enrolment records. I did offer to go to the school and look for myself, but they said there was no need to. Maybe if we get a chance to go back to the house we might be able to make contact and see if we can get a year Jonathan was at school, or at least his birthday. Although this ‘ghost’ could have been playing tricks with us. We might end up contacting someone else? What seemed to be a short period of time talking to Jonathan in the second session, it was over an hour we spent with him. We all were starting to tire again and the tapping was getting lighter, so we decided to stop. All of this was recorded on two audio recorders. A copy of the full 59 minute recording is available on request for any groups or individuals who wish to perform additional analysis. Personal Experiences and Sensations Mark – “I spent some time, by myself, lying on the Susan’s bed. I had the audio recorder going in an attempt to have a few staple questions answered. I was lying on my back with both my arms up behind my head, my camera ready at my side. About 10 minutes into the session, I jumped up in fright, as I felt the exact sensation of long hair slowly being dragged along my arm. I leapt up and started clicking off photos. Nothing was caught on camera or audio. The I.R DV-R camera aimed into the room captured me leaping up, but wasn’t angled enough to see my arms or upper half. It was like a woman had leaned over me, moved from left to right, slowly draping her long hair across my arms. It was an amazing experience. I could feel all the long hairs running through my arm hairs!” Barbara – “I had a sense of something being upstairs, particularly in Michael’s room, but can’t say what it was. Personally I suspect that someone/thing was watching us and was playing games.” Kel – “In the kitchen, I felt a presence and asked “What is your name?” I receive a name, Surley. I then asked “Is this your first name?” I received “No” I asked “Is this your surname?” the entity replied “Yes” I psychically asked “Can you show me what you look like?” I received a picture of a young guy with blonde hair. Unfortunately I cannot use any of this as conclusive evidence as it was not able to be documented, still, interesting all the same. I then lost connection. I tried singing to see if I could reconnect. Unfortunately nothing happened. Later, while sitting on the floor in Michael’s room I felt a presence of a small dog, quite close to me. I closed my eyes and saw a little bit clearly that this dog had wings. In the downstairs lounge I felt a presence. I tried to communicate with the entity. Unfortunately there was no response. I was feeling quite dizzy and nauseous. In Peter’s room I felt a presence of a young male and he was lying on the bed. I did try to communicate with the entity. Barbara went to get her Camera, while I stayed down stairs in the bedroom. I thought I saw a dark figure go past the door in the Hall way. I decided to try to see if singing would help to communicate with the entity.” Matt – “During the “quiet time” from 2:30am to 3:30am while sitting on the couch directly opposite the television, I felt the couch “pop” as if a weight had been lifted or placed onto the couch next to me and the springs had adjusted. I had not moved for some time and no one had been sitting next to me for at least the previous 15-30 minutes so I cannot directly explain what caused the couch springs to shift. I likened the feel to a cat jumping up on the couch; however the only cat present was at my feet and had not moved at all. I was not present in Michael’s bedroom during the extended E.V.P. session when the knocking communication occurred, however I was moving around the lounge for the latter part of that session. I did not notice any creaking or knocking noises at the time.” Trigger Tests Whilst downstairs in the Peter’s room, noticing all the Rock / Metal memorabilia, an electric guitar and other Rock music related items, Barbara and Kel tried gaining a reaction via a ‘trigger’ action of singing a rousing Rock rendition of the children’s nursery rhyme ‘Miss Polly had a Dolly‘. Though it was highly amusing to Mark, who was also in the room, nothing happened. Barbara traced around the remote for the DV-R system and left it at the top of the stairs. It did not move. Also, a notebook was left folded back on the lid of the container for the DV-R system. At one stage during the night we asked if anything was there and if it could move something. In front of everyone, the notebook opened and fell to the floor. It was agreed that this was possibly due to the way it was folded back, but it did seem at the time to be dead on cue in response to us asking if whatever was there could let us know. Conclusions Barbara – “I thought it went well. We went to the house looking for evidence of a suspected haunting and I think we may have got it. I was a little disappointed that we didn’t get more evidence but then I suppose that a one hour EVP session is not to be sneezed at! I thought we worked well as a team and that we did manage to cover most areas and do most of what needed to be done. I was really pleased with the first run of the DV-R system. I think that this house is haunted by at least one intelligent spirit. From the stories the family has told I suspect that there may be more than one and that perhaps Michael attracts spirits to him (and his home and family). I tend to believe it when Michael says that his deceased friend sometimes is in the house but that there is also something else there which tries to make them believe that it is the ghost of Michael’s friend. Michael seems to be a gifted psychic and would have a good idea of what different do and how they feel. I suspect that the “boy” we got during our EVP session may not have been who he says he is and may have been a spirit who was telling us this in order to gain our trust. I also think that spirits may be attracted to this house not only by Michael but also as the house seems to have some residual energy in the upstairs areas. I feel as though something bad has happened there or possibly a series of bad happenings which have built up or layered the residual negative energy in the areas of the house most effected. The layout of the house would not help this as I suspect that energy gets trapped in that upstairs area.” Tanya – “I feel it was a very successful investigation. Would love to go back and investigate more in-depth and try find out more about this ‘Jonathan” person. I think we covered the house pretty well. I think there might be residual, but definitely intelligent. Especially in Michael’s bedroom, as we were able to interact with some form of energy. “ Matthew – “I couldn’t find any records of the “Jonathan Lockley” who communicated during the E.V.P. session, or any Lockleys associated with the address or neighbouring properties based on Electoral Roll records up to 1981. Generally it went well, definitely some good evidence from the E.V.P. session. While I did not personally witness any activity that I would class as definitively paranormal, the results of the E.V.P. session in Michael’s bedroom are compelling and the location closely matches the “hot spot” where the clients claim most of the activity is taking place. The interaction via knocks would indicate an intelligent haunting, although there is some difficulty backing up the details given by the entity with historical records. While I am not spiritual or religious personally, some of the entity’s responses and the fact that the entity claims to be a child makes me concerned it may be pandering to our expectations a little, similar to the actions of a so-called “demonic entity”, however it’s difficult to say either way without further replicating the results.” Kel – “I did receive a last name Surley, a date of 1949 and the word ‘Depression’, though not knowing if whether this meant a depression in 1949, or if the entity was itself depressed, I felt that there were a lot of entities including an animal in the house I listened to Barbara’s EVP of the little boy communicating by knocking out his name. My findings are inconclusive if the place is haunted or not but there seemed to be many entities, including an animal there.” Heather – I think there is a lot more to the house than even the Michael knows. The house seems to be disjointed with the way the toilet is away from the bathroom and the bedroom in the middle of the two. Not much fun to go to the loo if you have to pass Michael during the night. I get the feeling that Michael’s room should be at the end where the toilet is with a door to the bedroom from the kitchen, with the toilet being next to the bathroom, like most houses? I get the impression that the house was moved there and then uplifted and put on a basement of concrete. Maori affairs and state housing did move homes around during the 50’s and 60’s and there are no other state housing/Maori affairs houses in the street. All in all it was my first all-nighter and was extremely interesting and exciting, which opened my mind to wanting to know more. “ Mark – “Well it was a very interesting session to say the least. I consider myself an open-minded skeptic who has had experiences but still ‘sits on the fence’. After this night I feel I have experienced something valuable that has now altered my perceptions on the paranormal world. I am more confident now than before, that the path I am treading is a true and valid one and the ‘seeing is believing’ phrase really meant something this time around! Whether or not we actually did ‘speak’ to an entity called Jonathan is still unknown. Even now, I have doubts, as the all too familiar and annoying ‘too good to be true’ debate goes on in my mind. All I do know is that if all the knocking in response to our questions was just coincidence, natural occurrence or misidentification and the ‘hair’ incident in the Susan’s room was just nerves or skin sensitivity, then it sure fooled this open-minded skeptic! One thing I felt very sure of in my mind is that whatever it is that is residing alongside this family isn’t harmful or negative. If it is, I certainly didn’t feel it. In fact, I saw it more as being youthful and friendly, but lonely and in need of friendship. Another thing that can’t be disregarded is the quality and quantity of all the stories of activity through the years, some of it regularly occurring and ongoing. It seemed blindingly obvious that there is something going on in the house that the usual ‘Electromagnetic field’ or ‘rusty plumbing’ culprits couldn’t be accused of this time, and it wasn’t just in the mind of one person, but physically shared by and affecting, the entire family.” A big thank you to the family for trusting us and allowing us into their home to investigate the activity overnight. We really do appreciate it and hope we have answered a few of your questions and maybe shed a little light onto some of the things you have all been experiencing through the years. [...] Read more...

The Pink Lady of Greencastle13/01/2014HauntingsGuy Winters is a man who had had few paranormal experiences in his life. That is until one fateful evening when a few of his friends rocked up at his house and convinced him to go ‘spooking’…. His friends had just been to the ruin of the O’Hare Mansion in Greencastle Indiana, and had had several unexplainable experiences. Guy, upon reflecting on his own experience, decided it sounded like a intriguing way to spend an evening. Guy Winters and his friends descended upon the old mansion. Built in the 1800’s the triple bricked multi story home was built by the O’Hare family and several generations of their descendants had called it home. The building out of use for several decades is surrounded by a unkempt tree hedge line and is only accessible via a gated driveway. Permission was sought from the owners as Guys friends had spent several occasions on the property searching out the resident spirits. That night all present had experiences of a potentially paranormal kind. Many had seen a apparition pass through a hallway and ‘ghostly mist/vapour’ was recorded on video camera. Guy took many photos of the building that night including the upstairs floors where he was the only one game enough to venture. Guy remembers a eerie, almost sick feeling as he took several of the shots and a strange pulsing in his head. After Guy had his photos developed he was shocked to find several ghostly images. The apparitions were not visible at the time the photos were taken but are clear to see. A gold lady was visible in the lower floor bay window. A heavily translucent figure in pink is seen in the back doorway. But most impressive is ‘The Pink Lady’ who was captured on three consecutive frames in one of the second floor bedroom windows. Between each photo the figure has moved and three different poses are caught. On analysis the images are in fact present on the negatives and no evidence of tampering has been found. Guy took the photos to a local TV station who ran a quick piece on the pictures and the events. It was through this that Guy was able to meet one of the descendants of the O’Hare family. The lady, named ‘Mary’, took along several family photos to her meeting with Guy. Mary was able to recognise her mother, Irene O’Hare, as being ‘The Pink Lady’. The window the image was captured in was her mothers bedroom window. She also believed the lady in pink seen in the back door to be her aunty Vera O’Hare. No one is sure who the gold apparition is but a mystery is always something good to preserve. Guy and his photos appeared on several television shows and documentaries including ‘Worlds Scariest Ghosts Caught on Tape’ and ‘My Ghost Story’. Although the O’Hare Mansion was demolished by the owner of the land it was built on (for another corn field or to keep out ghost hunters and thrill seekers) Guy believes he can still feel the presence of Irene O’Hare every time he drives past the area. What do you think? Were the O’Hare sisters still present within the building? Or is it something else either mundane or more mysterious? [...] Read more...

Undisclosed Location, Airport Oaks15/02/2013Hotels and BusinessesThe team was called in to check out this warehouse building in Mangere, that has staff constantly on edge with eerie feelings, a mysterious entity seen on security cameras, lights turning on and other sensations of general spookiness. History Haunted Auckland were called to look into this Mangere based business due to incidents of odd activity, sightings, feelings of unease and an overall sensation from staff members, that something wasn’t right. The building was built about 20 years ago by and was first used by a Freight Service. This was used by them until about 2007. Before this, it was farmland, previous to that, it was Maori land. Since the original freight company moved out, it has had various tenants. Staff told us a story about how a security camera had shown that one night the lights in the office had been turned on and a figure was seen moving around inside the lit building. The strange thing was that the alarms were not set off and no-one ever admitted to going into the office that night. Investigation Investigators on the night – Mark, Barbara and Heather. Weather Conditions on the night – Warm and windy. Luna Cycle – Half moon. The area was a large second floor office space. Once on the second floor there was a short hallway with a small Staff Room / Kitchen to the right with toilets situated on the left and opposite the staff room. There was a small group of offices beside the toilets which were locked most of the time. The hallway then turned right and opened out into a large office space which was lined with windows. To one side these windows overlooked the car park and road whilst the other side looked over a huge warehouse which was full to the ceiling with pallets of toilet paper. At the far end of the large office space were three offices. One was situated on the left of the room and the others were side-by-side at the end of the room. An exit door separated the two offices from the single one. There were large holes in the ceiling where tiles had been moved or were missing completely. Some of these holes exposed air conditioning hoses and electrical wiring. We entered the office and set up equipment including audio recorders, EMF meters, Thermometer, static infrared and standard video cameras, hand-held cameras, laser grid and various other data gathering gadgets. Throughout the session the team noticed odd temperature fluctuations. We noted there were a large number glass panelled windows down one side of the office block we were in. This would’ve explained a constant temperature reading, but the levels rose and fell in short seemingly random moments. Short icy ‘blasts’ of wind were felt in parts of the building at times. Two of Heather’s work colleagues came in while we were there and gave us access another main office. Here you could feel the difference in atmosphere of the offices. We were told that on the security cameras last year the lights had been switched on and off but there was no one in the office. Also there was a shadow that walked past the windows of the warehouse on the security camera. As for the exact day and time it happened they are not sure and it’s possible that the recording has now been taped over. Heather – “Having worked in the building before in what is now the empty part of the office, I had always felt uncomfortable working in the area closest to the small offices at the end of the large office. The company is now in the smaller offices on the left as you come up the stairs. The place was stuffy and musky from not being used. The offices at the back of the larger office were cooler than the rest of the place. The left office at one time housed communications. This had a weird atmosphere to it. The weirdest room was where the computers and servers use to be, in the left hand room. I use to sit by the window overlooking the warehouse and always felt uneasy sitting there. One of the ladies I work with mentioned that she had felt something in the communications office, and was relieved when they moved to the other end of the office.” Mark – “A few times during the night I felt a sharp, whip-like icy breeze swipe the back of my neck. There was no air conditioning, Heat pumps, open windows or open doors in the area that would have explained that one away.” Barbara – “The temperature in the investigation area did seem to fluctuate quite a lot. I noticed that in the main big office area it seemed to be much warmer at one stage and when I went to the top of the stairwell (just after Mark had seen the shadow) I felt that my back and the backs of my legs were much hotter than the rest of me. I was feeling hotspots. The temperature seemed to be fluctuating between normal (most of the time) and hot (a few times). I probably would have to say the large office area was of the most interest to me. That was where I had a sense on something being and that was where we had some of our equipment indicate possible activity. Also the little hallway which ran off it was where a small shadow was seen. I did see a sparkly light towards the far end of the large room and Mark saw a shadow in the hallway leading into it. I had a sense of something being in the large room at times but I don’t think it was ever human, like it was on a different level. I had a sense of something being in the whole area we were in (including Heather’s office, hallway, kitchen and stairwell) I don’t think it was with us the whole time and that it came and went. I don’t have a name as I suspect that this energy was not human.” As a trigger test Barbara set up a torch on the table in the kitchen and asked if it could be rolled over the table. Barbara – “I stayed and conducted an EVP session for a short time then left a recorder and the torch on the table. A plastic bag was also on the table and it was suggested that if anything was there it could move the torch or crinkle the bag.” The team conducted numerous EVP attempts during the night. On reviewing the audio, nothing stood out as being strange. Hundreds of photos were taken, hours of audio and video evidence. We had some promising responses at times with our meters and sensors indicating a change in environment, though, unfortunately the moments were random, short and far between. Barbara reported seeing a “twinkle” in one area in the middle of the room later in the evening but was unable to capture this on camera. Mark reported seeing a black shadow in the hallway so I set up my infra-red camera to watch the area. Mark – “As I was walking across the room, from left to right, I looked over to the short hallway leading into the room. I fleetingly saw a very short shadow peek out from the wall. It was only about 2 feet tall. I responded to this by rushing to the area, initially assuming that I had seen something like a black cat sticking its head out of a door in the hallway. It was when I got to the place it had happened, I noticed there was no door at all. It was a flat straight and plain wall with no doors. Usually if I see a shadow, its at the corner of my eye, so can possibly be put down to a visual reflection distortion caused by a cornea. This time was different, as I had looked up with head turned, looking straight at the hall with both eyes focussed. I was unable to find a suitable explanation at the time.” It was around that time that Barbara also reported a shadow following her in that area. The group was unsuccessful at coming up with an explanation for that either. Conclusions Barbara – “I didn’t have a sense of anything being there initially. However I do think that there was something that visited us at times during the investigation. It was a bit of a strange one. It was quite difficult as it was basically one large room. However we did seem to get some activity although it did seem to come and go. Whatever was there seemed intelligent enough to follow instructions after it set my stud finder off. I think we did pretty well actually. Probably would have been a good place to have the DV-R system set up as we literally could have had all areas covered. I thought the area had a very neutral feeling to it most of the time. Occasionally I had a sense of something being there but I don’t know if it was a human spirit. It felt more like an energy or charge in the air. During our investigation we had possible indicators that there may be been some form of spirit or energy present. My Stud finder (which I was trialling) seemed to pick up energy which was strong enough to, at times, make the machine flash and beep. (This would normally indicate a strong source of electrical energy nearby.) Whatever was causing this to happen did seem to sometimes be doing this in response to our questions. I sensed that there may be some sort of spirit or energy there and that it moves around (the whole building possibly). I think it may be intelligent mainly due to the possible responses to our requests and questions.” Heather – “There was a feeling of someone being there, but not sure why or from which era. Still hope to find out more info about the history of the area, but there’s not much has been recorded. The place was creepy and still is. Since discovering the “shadow” from the lunch room, I have since seen it during the day (afternoon) when I was leaving to go home. A work colleague who sits at the back of our office and can see directly out the door is keeping a look out for it. And even walking around it during the day makes me feel uncomfortable. The staff there are very interested in what we do and what we have discovered. The boss has felt things herself and has mentioned that it might be good if we were to arrange a cleansing for the whole top floor.” Mark – “Whilst I did see a short shadow briefly, had a few interesting meter responses to our EVP questioning, felt numerous icy air movements and our meters detected fluctuations in atmospheric conditions in the building, I personally don’t find this conclusive evidence enough to label the building ‘haunted’. I noticed EMF readings would rise in areas where the roofing tiles had been removed and wiring was dangling down. Perhaps this would explain some of the uneasy feelings from those working an 8 hour day there? More time spent in the building could shed more light into what the staff are seeing and feeling.” [...] Read more...

Cryptozoologist Scott Mardis passes31/07/2021America / Cryptozoology / Cryptozoology News / International Paranormal / Kiwi CryptidsVery sad waking to the news that a good friend and valued Crypto-researcher has passed away. Respected aquatic cryptid researcher Scott Mardis passed away suddenly of an infection yesterday. He was such a great and knowledgeable guy. Selfless and without ego. He called things as he saw them and let the research findings lead the way. His research approach was honest and with much focus. He loved the little details. His work on lake creatures such as Lake Champlain’s ‘’Champ’’, ‘’Nessie’’ the Loch Ness Monster, Canada’s ‘’Ogopogo’’ and others, is extensive and untiring. We chatted weekly about recent findings and the things he was doing. Things he was planning, as well as the ‘’dream’’ things he’d love to plan, if he had the time and finances. Sometimes he’d see me online and just ask how my week had been. Scott had much praise and respect for our Paranormal and Crypto- based work over here and even sent me a reference quote to go in our website’s testimonials page. He had dreams of heading over here one day to investigate some of our own mysterious lake creatures. This was fuelled by his keen interest in the famous ‘’Zuiyo-Maru Monster’’, caught by the Japanese fishing trawler Zuiyō Maru off the coast of New Zealand in 1977. The carcass’s peculiar appearance led to speculation that it might be the remains of a sea serpent or prehistoric plesiosaur, though many put it down to being just a decaying Basking Shark. We had the hopes of meeting up in a year or two when I’m planning on getting back over his way. Rest in peace, my friend. You have been an inspiration. Scott’s You Tube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQkTIzBfJpmXmRw8NFEdvTA/videos Our ‘’Outside the Box’’ chat https://youtu.be/fxpnuaL8uP8 [...] 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 many locations; Nationally and Internationally.

Some sessions we could only gain access for a few hours; others a full night or more.

Some have been ongoing for a number of years. A few, for over a decade and are still ongoing.

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