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Occidental Hotel/Perry’s Occidental Hotel – Christchurch

Occidental Hotel/Perry’s Occidental Hotel – Christchurch

Built-in 1861 and designed by Samuel Coleridge Farr (1827-1918) at 208 Hereford St, Perry’s Occidental Hotel and livery stables were popular with the wives and families of the members of the nearby 1862 Christchurch Club. The hotel became known as the Occidental in 1889. The house contains thirty-five rooms, including

Undisclosed Innercity Brothel

Undisclosed Innercity Brothel

Auckland City’s rich, lively and ever changing sex industry has seen many characters and guises through the decades. Parlours would open with great frequency, but never seemed to survive long, but for only a small handful of ‘stayers’ that thrived through the years. The Pink Pussycat Club (run by the

Awatere Cemetery, Marlborough.

Awatere Cemetery, Marlborough.

    An old cemetery plot with only two graves, hidden away in forest behind the main cemetery.  

Haunted Auckland’s Aimee does a solo vigil at the Lake House Art Centre – July 23rd, 2022

Haunted Auckland’s Aimee does a solo vigil at the Lake House Art Centre – July 23rd, 2022

July 23rd, 2022, Haunted Auckland returned to one of their favourite local research locations, the Lake House Art Centre in Takapuna. A location that has given the team generous ongoing access to carry on with their paranormal work. Mark, Aimee, and Natasha spent a good five hours together monitoring, observing,

Boaties on the Shore

Boaties on the Shore

Thanks to Aotearoa Abandoned for the heads up on this fascinating location.

Lake House Art Centre – Solo overnighter session – Jan 19th 2024

Lake House Art Centre – Solo overnighter session – Jan 19th 2024

Last night I did a solo overnighter session at the Lake House Art Centre, one of our ongoing research locations. This wasn’t the first overnight stay. The team has spent many nights experimenting and recording here thanks to the generous unlimited access that has been given by management. We’ve been

Unusual sudden battery drainage of all equipment during investigation – Thoughts?

Unusual sudden battery drainage of all equipment during investigation – Thoughts?

Hi all, This is a question aimed more at other researchers / investigators and teams etc, because I know they’ll definitely relate to this, but also, I’m interested in the opinions of others. A reoccurring event that seems to happen at many paranormal investigations, is battery drain. Cameras, torches and

Maitland Gaol – New South Wales, Australia.

Maitland Gaol – New South Wales, Australia.

Maitland Gaol is a former Australian prison located in East Maitland, New South Wales. Its construction was started in 1844 and prisoners first entered the gaol in 1848. By the time of its closure, on 31 January 1998, it had become the longest continually run gaol in Australia. It has

Gef The Talking Mongoose Grafitti Art by Bruce Mahalski – Dunedin

Gef The Talking Mongoose Grafitti Art by Bruce Mahalski – Dunedin

  Recently, whilst travelling down South I went on a bit of a mission to try and find a little known about, secretly hidden and covertly painted piece of graffiti art in Dunedin. It is a painting by prolific local artist Bruce Mahalski. The painting depicts a mysterious character that

Ghost Hunters in the Dark

Ghost Hunters in the Dark

Why do ghost hunters look for ghosts at night with the lights off? Obviously it’s more dramatic, but is there some specific reason or investigative rationale behind it? —S. Pedroncelli A: Nearly every ghost-themed “reality” TV show and film has one or more scenes in which the investigators walk around


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The Haunch of Venison, Salisbury’s oldest and most haunted pub – UK
The Haunch of Venison, Salisbury’s oldest and most haunted pub – UK12/07/2018Haunted Locations / UK Cemeteries / United KingdomOn my way to visit Stonehenge in July 2018, I stopped off in the ancient City of Salisbury and took the opportunity to visit one of the oldest and most haunted pubs in the city. The Haunch of Venison is a very unique pub; the atmosphere is thick and heavy when you walk in.  You can feel the years of history, and as you sip your beautiful English pint of real ale, you know you are part of 700 years of people doing exactly the same thing; you become part of that history too. The pub has featured in CAMRA’s (Campaign for real ale), good beer guides over many years. The beer is certainly wonderful there. The History The first record of the Haunch of Venison is circa 1320. At this time, the building wasn’t a pub, but was used to house craftsman that were working on the Cathedral spire. The building may have then been used as a brothel for a time after this.               To the right as you enter the pub is the ladies snugalso know at the “Horsebox”. The “Horsebox” is said to have been used by Winston Churchill and Dwight Eisenhower during the planning of D-Day landings back in 1944. The panelled bar counter has a pewter top, one of only six in the entire country. Also above the bar is a rare wooden carved elevated arch with seven origin gravity-fed spirit taps fitted in 1909, for which only five remain in the country.  The marble tiles on the pub floor originate from the Cathedrals’ Chorister area and were fitted when the heating system was changed in the Choristers. There are no dispensers on the counter and hand pumps are affixed to the bar back-fitting, which also has drawers, apparently also very rare. There are reputedly secret doors, with a hidden bar accessible only through and underground staircase, and a trap door in the floor which leads into a tunnel which in turn leads to St Thomas Becket church located behind the pub. The hauntings The Haunch of Venison is probably most famous for its mummified hand. At the top of the first set of stairs under the fireplace is a former bread oven. This bread oven houses a smoke preserved mummified hand. The original hand was found in the fireplace when the building was being remodeled. At that time it was placed in the oven on display. The hand has been stolen a few times over the years the last time being in 2010, however it has always been returned.  I believe the hand which sits securely behind bars in the oven may now be a replica due to the thefts. The story behind the hand is that that it is from an 18th century demented whist player who had it chopped off for cheating. He is now thought to roam the pub looking for his hand. His presence is often accompanied by the smell of freshly turned earth. He is believed to be responsible, open and closing doors, hiding objects, moving glasses across tables, turning on and off taps and electrical items.  Numerous people have reported seeing the man and the manageress of the pub, who lived on the top floor, is reported to have awoken in the night to see a ghostly man standing by her bed with his arms crossed. Another ghost seen wandering the pub is that of a black haired woman, wearing a long white Victorian dress. She is believed to be looking for her son whom she sent on an errand to the pub to buy some bottles of drink, he then vanished never to be seen again.  The smell of roses often accompanies her presence. Church of St Thomas Becket Behind the pub is the church of St Thomas Becket, a grade I listed Church which was originally built in 1220, then rebuilt in 1450. It’s well known for its “Doom” mural which was completed in 1475. In the front of church sites the graveyard which is known to be haunted by a grey lady who wanders amongst the graves. She has also reputedly been seen walking up the alleyway at the side of the pub. The Church tower can be seen from the second floor of the pub. Whilst having dinner, I enjoyed sitting and watching the two wooden figures (“jacks”) which sit under the clock face on the bell tower. At each quarter hour, the figures rotate and simulate hitting the balls with the halberd that they each hold. It was really charming. The bells are actually hit by a hammer that sits behind them. The Jacks represent men in 16th century armour and the original installation dates from 1581. The Jacks were replaced in the late 17th to early 18th century. [...] Read more...
Maori legend of man-eating bird is true
Maori legend of man-eating bird is true17/09/2009Cryptozoology News / Kiwi CryptidsCreature that features in New Zealand folklore really existed, scientists say By Paul Rodgers A Maori legend about a giant, man-eating bird has been confirmed by scientists. Te Hokioi was a huge black-and-white predator with a red crest and yellow-green tinged wingtips, in an account given to Sir George Gray, an early governor of New Zealand. It was said to be named after its cry and to have “raced the hawk to the heavens”. Scientists now think the stories handed down by word of mouth and depicted in rock drawings refer to Haast’s eagle, a raptor that became extinct just 500 years ago, shows their study in The Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. Haast’s eagle (Harpagornis moorei) was discovered in swamp deposits by Sir Julius von Haast in the 1870s. But it was at first thought to be a scavenger because its bill was similar to a vulture’s with hoods over its nostrils to stop flesh blocking its air passages as it rooted around inside carcasses. But a re-examination of skeletons using modern technology, including CAT scans, by researchers at Canterbury Museum in Christchurch and the University of New South Wales in Australia showed it had a strong enough pelvis to support a killing blow as it dived at speeds of up to 80kph. With a wingspan of up to three metres and weighing 18kg, the female was twice as big as the largest living eagle, the Steller’s sea eagle. And the bird’s talons were as big as a tiger’s claws. “It was certainly capable of swooping down and taking a child,” said Paul Scofield, the curator of vertebrate zoology at the Canterbury Museum. “They had the ability to not only strike with their talons but to close the talons and put them through quite solid objects such as a pelvis. It was designed as a killing machine.” Its main prey would have been moa, flightless birds which grew to as much as 250kg and 2.5 metres tall. “In some fossil sites, moa bones have been found with signs of eagle predation,” Dr Scofield said. New Zealand has no native land mammals because it became isolated from other continents in the Cretaceous, more than 65 million years ago. As a result, birds filled niches usually populated by large mammals such as deer and cattle. “Haast’s eagle wasn’t just the equivalent of a giant predatory bird,” said Dr Scofield. “It was the equivalent of a lion.” The eagle is thought to have died out after the arrival, 1,000 years ago, of humans, who exterminated the giant moa. The latest study shows it was a recent immigrant to the islands, related to the little eagle (Aquila morphnoides) an Australian bird weighing less than 1kg. Remains of Haast’s eagles are rare because there never were many. They lived only on New Zealand’s South Island, with probably not more than 1,000 breeding pairs at any one time. http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/maori-legend-of-maneating-bird-is-true-1786867.html [...] Read more...
The Dunedin Dog boy
The Dunedin Dog boy08/08/2019Kiwi Cryptids / Urban LegendsIf you ever find yourself around the Halfway Bush area of Dunedin, you might just be unfortunate enough to stumble across a short but menacing, upright standing dog creature; with ”glowing animal eyes”, scurrying and making a hissing sound through the bush and watching passers by. The Dunedin Dog Boy has been known to leap out of the bushes and chase people down the street, biting at their heels, as would an over protective (or just plain savage) dog. Some have said it has the facial features of a cat, but also somewhat human-like in its appearance. Some that have seen it say it stands on it’s two hind legs, whilst others have reported it as being on all fours. This urban legend is quite rare and only cautiously whispered about in hushed tones in local circles of the area. Local youths play games of ”dare” to see who can spend the longest time in the bush without fleeing.  If you have encountered this mysterious creature, or have heard stories of the Dunedin Dog Boy, we would be interested to hear about it as the information we have thus far is limited and vague. [...] Read more...
The Palace Hotel
The Palace Hotel03/08/2012Haunted Locations / Hotels and BusinessesAt the recommendation of the local residents in Te Aroha, the team investigates potential hauntings at this iconic local pub and hotel. History & Background Situated in the very heart of this historic Waikato township, the Palace Hotel is on the corner of Whitaker Street and Kenrick Street, and is close to the famous Te Aroha Mineral Spas. A historic hotel, it offers twelve affordable guest rooms, a sports bar, gaming lounge, and a family restaurant. Some locals claim this hotel in Te Aroha is haunted by a spirit known as “Harry the Maori”. A “clairvoyant” visitor stayed in a room in which a young man had passed away. She knew nothing of the death previous to going in there. Next morning, when asked if she’d seen “Harry” in the night, she answered “Yes, but his name isn’t Harry, its Jimmy and it wasn’t in that room, he died in the room next door!” A chair in the men’s toilet has been reported to move of its own accord. The owners say that the atmosphere there generally feels positive. Since the Haunted Auckland team were in Te Aroha for the night investigating a nearby hotel, we thought we’d pay a visit and spent some time researching another allegedly haunted property whilst there.   Investigation Members of the Haunted Auckland team (Mark, Barbara, Karen along with Phoenix, who is Karen’s 7-year-old son) visited the hotel on a wintry, rainy night. The group conducted a Class 1 Investigation of all the hotels levels, inside and out. Haunted Auckland were given a warm and friendly welcome to the Palace Hotel by owner Bruce Austin. Bruce was very helpful and was fantastic as our informative tour guide. He generously gave the team a run down on the Palace Hotel’s history, showed us the entire building (inside and out) and gave us access to all levels. The bar was closing as we arrived, and it was a dark, gloomy and drizzly night, although not cold. On entering the building, the team agreed that it felt very much like a normal, everyday pub premises. It wasn’t until we ventured behind the scenes and beyond the typical traditional pub surroundings and decor and headed down into the basement and up into the higher levels, that you started to feel that there might actually be something there and that maybe the stories could just possibly be true.   Observations & Evidence Mark reported that he definitely felt rather uneasy roaming around the halls of the Palace Hotel – although he said that it could have been partly down to the dim, night-time lighting or maybe the sound of rain outside. Both Karen and Barbara are “sensitives” and both had personal, possibly paranormal experiences at the Palace Hotel. Upon reaching the landing at the top of the staircase leading towards the bedrooms, Barbara announced that she heard a man’s voice and says that she felt a presence in this area. Barbara explains “As our group ascended the stairs to the landing area of the guest accommodation I heard a man exclaim and call to us “Hey you!”. There was however no-one there! The area had a sense of a male presence and I do believe that someone was sitting in one of the chairs in the landing. This presence faded however after a few minutes and I could no longer sense him there.” Barbara reports that she didn’t feel anything in any of the hotel’s bedrooms, but would have liked to have visited the allegedly haunted bedroom (which was, unfortunately, occupied that night). After investigating the bedrooms and while heading back to the staircase, Karen stopped at a place on the landing between the corridors. She said that she felt ‘strange’ in a certain spot and, standing there for a while, she added that the area made her feel jittery and ‘nervous’. Barbara, Mark & Karen returned downstairs. Whilst there, and with no knowledge of any of the above, Karen’s son, Phoenix, expressed an interest to go upstairs and see the bedrooms. Karen returned upstairs with Phoenix and showed him around the bedrooms, to which he gave no reaction. When back down the corridor, Phoenix went ahead and spontaneously stopped in almost exactly the same place that Karen had. He announced that he felt ‘weird’ and ‘freaked’ standing there, that he could ‘feel the energy’ of that particular spot – but moving around the area he also said that places just a short distance away felt absolutely normal to him. Phoenix described the feeling he had as being “like his stomach had dropped” and seems to have sensed a presence. The team did not identify any E.V.Ps (Electronic Voice Phenomena) on the audio recordings made during the investigation and no unusual activity was captured on any photos or videos.     Conclusions The team all agreed that due to time constraints and the spontaneous nature of the investigation, that although it was a rather brief session, we all felt that there was a certain vibe about the Palace Hotel which suggested there might just be something behind the stories and that they possibly aren’t all just urban legend. Haunted Auckland is keen to spend a night in the hotel. This would give further opportunity for EVP sessions, trigger tests, and audio/video recordings in empty rooms to hopefully identify some of the strange activity that has been reported through the years. It is felt at this point is that any entities that may reside at the Palace Hotel, would be purely residual in nature and are just going through their repeat playback routines. Team members didn’t report that ‘being watched’ feeling (with only Barbara reporting feeling a presence at one point on the landing), but did report unusual feelings of emotions, and a sense of heaviness in the atmosphere upstairs, which seemed to be focused mostly at certain points in the hallways. The reactions by both Karen and her son, at differing moments at the same spot at an intersecting hallway is something which the team found intriguing. It has been hypothesized that it was as if there was an unusual increase or change in energy field in the area that caused an identical spontaneous reaction. This is just a theory of course, but definitely an area of the building which would warrant some further investigation and in-depth analysis. [...] Read more...
Hall House – Glasgow, Kentucky. U.S
Hall House – Glasgow, Kentucky. U.S19/08/2022America / International Paranormal / InvestigationsHall House Hall house is a double-storied brick house located in Glasgow, Kentucky in the USA, built in 1852. During the American Civil war, it was used by the Union army as headquarters for a while. The house was also the local doctors and also used as a hospital during the civil war.   As such, the house had a number of people pass away as it served as doctors and a temporary hospital. In the late 1980s, the house was renovated and converted into a Bed & breakfast. Our Experience In August 2022 we stayed three nights at the house.   The house room we stayed in was that of Doctor Hall.   The owner advised us that the house has several ghosts and has even been visited by mediums who claim there are up to eight entities present. On the last night of our stay, at about 4 am, my partner heard what she thought was someone moving around outside our room.   It sounded like someone walking around on the wooden floor in the area by the stairs outside of our room door.   The following morning at breakfast, the B&B owner asked if we experienced the resident ghost which is often heard outside our room at night.   We said we did and were surprised that we were asked this question given our experience the previous night.   We also checked with other guests staying in the room next to ours to see if they were moving about the house during the night – which they were not.   There was nobody else staying in the house that night so the cause of the noise is unexplained.   While this is far from conclusive proof that the house is haunted, it is an interesting experience and a recommended place to visit for anyone interested in the paranormal. Ghosts aside, this is a really nice historic B&B with a great host and is very comfortable and recommended if you are ever in the area. Link to the Hall Place B&B https://www.tripadvisor.co.nz/Hotel_Review-g39445-d622988-Reviews-Hall_Place_B_B-Glasgow_Kentucky.html [...] Read more...
The Poltergeist of McMinns Drive
The Poltergeist of McMinns Drive15/01/2014Haunted LocationsOver a five month period, knives, broken glass, lids, bottles and many other objects were thrown about in a house at Humpty Doo, NT, Australia. The picture above shows an assortment of the objects, collected after being hurled by an apparent poltergeist. The story became big news, and many investigators attempted to solve the case.  One theory was that the spirit of a man who was still living was responsible. Another was that it was the spirit of a recently deceased friend. The ‘Humpty Doo Poltergeist’ We  have taken a good look at buildings that have been haunted by the  spirits of people long past, but can a house be haunted by the spirit of  someone who is still alive? For five months in 1998, a small  collection of family and friends were terrified by events that took  place in their rented bungalow, in the town of Humpty Doo, 40kms  south-east of Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia.    The ‘Humpty Doo Poltergeist’, as it became known, was at the time one  of the most well reported cases of a haunting in Australia. News crews,  journalists, investigators and priests all entered the house with a  skeptical mindset, but the events that took place around them swayed  their beliefs. Unfortunately, as was the case with UK’s  ‘Enfield Poltergeist’ some twenty years earlier, this ‘spirit’ did not  like to be caught on film. Only a few pieces of evidence were gathered  on tape as they took place, the spirit preferring to act when the  cameras were facing away, or had been turned off completely. Sometimes,  as would seem is the case with such events, electrical gear would  malfunction, making the attempt to capture evidence even more  frustrating. The activity was generally limited to acts of  physical force, regardless of how it was manifested. Objects would be  thrown around the house at all times of the day. Knives, broken glass,  lids, bottles and other objects would be aimed at the occupants,  visitors and generally cast all about the place. (later,  investigations found that thrown objects when viewed through a thermal  camera had an evenly distributed heat signature that proved to be hotter  than their surroundings. No finger mark traces or palm print heat  signatures could be found) At one stage gravel and shells were  said to rain in through the ceiling. One of the more intriguing forms of  activity were words found around the house, spelt out with ‘scrabble  tiles’. Fire, Car, Skin, TV, No Cameras etc could be found spelt out in  seemingly random places. The Activity Gets Violent, Theories… After  the symbol of a trident and a cross had been found, made of pebbles in  the drive, the occupants called for priests to come and cleanse the  home. The priests (of two different denominations) did not go  unscathed. Bibles were ripped from their hands, to be found afterwards  missing pages, one of the priests arms was forcefully pulled behind his  back, pinning him in a kneeling position, and a .44 Magnum bullet  slammed into a table as one priest was praying. The owner of  the house tried to get the occupants evicted, on the grounds they were  destroying the house. The judge saw in favour of the occupants, they  were not damaging the house, but rather an unseen force was. However,  less than a month after the ruling, the occupants had had enough and  moved out. The building was renovated and the ghost was no more. So what was happening here? Who or what could be causing the disturbances? Two  months before the activity started a friend of the family had died in a  car accident, burnt to death as the paint thinner he was transporting  exploded. His name was Troy, Troy also being a name spelt by the  scrabble letters. Five  years earlier, the person who had been living in   the house had been  evicted by the bank. For twenty years he had lived   in the McMinns Drive  Bungalow, and he was not happy to be forced out.   He stated that it was  his own spirit, his own energy, manifesting in   anger while he slept. Fake, Fraud… a Hoax? It should be noted  that in one piece of televised evidence from the  house, that the  reflected image of someone throwing an object was  spotted. When  questioned, one of the residents owned up saying they were  desperate  for people to believe them. Is it possible that all the  events that  occurred could have been hoaxed? Many  claim it  would be impossible, and would have to refute the testimonies  of  reporters, investigators, priests and anyone else who had witnessed  the  events that took place over those five months in 1998. Ashley Hall [...] 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.

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

Wellington

Northland

                                                                    Dargaville Central Hotel

Coromandel

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

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