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Auckland Civic Theatre

Auckland Civic Theatre

What lurks behind the curtains at New Zealand’s largest, and most iconic theatre? Find out as the team gets special backstage access to this landmark of Auckland’s cultural history.

A Visit from a Friend

A Visit from a Friend

When I was 13, I lost a friend whom I had known since I was 6. About 6 months after he died a group of friends got together and decided to do a séance and try to talk to him. After a while of letters being pointed at, we believed

Riccarton Racecourse Hotel – Christchurch

Riccarton Racecourse Hotel – Christchurch

The Riccarton Racecourse Hotel is considered to be one of the most haunted places in New Zealand. It is said that the ghost of former licensee Donald Fraser walks the corridors of the hotel looking for his killer. In 1933, Fraser was murdered in the dead of night in his

Brunner Mine Site – West Coast, South Island

Brunner Mine Site – West Coast, South Island

Location Brunner Mine was a coalmine on the banks of the Grey River in an area known as Coal Gorge which is between the towns of Taylorsville and Stillwater and is an 11 km drive from Greymouth. Coal was discovered on the West Coast by Nelson surveyor Thomas Brunner while searching

Whangarei Private Residence

Whangarei Private Residence

The Haunted Auckland team travelled to a small settlement just out of Whangarei to investigate a family’s reports of activity within their home. The area is very old with the road outside the house once having been the main road between Whangarei and Auckland.  The settlement once boasted a courthouse

Waitomo Caves Hotel

Waitomo Caves Hotel

Location & History Waitomo Caves Hotel was first originally called Waitomo House, then in 1905 the Tourist Department bought it & renamed it the Government Hostel. Waitomo Caves Hotel is situated upon a natural high-point in an area of limestone rock honeycombed with natural caves and underground streams. Many of

Giant Moa wasn’t so robust

Giant Moa wasn’t so robust

As reported in the NZHerald – 22nd December 2013 The South Island Giant Moa wasn’t quite as hefty as we had thought. A new study has found its bones were more slender than first believed, which has resulted in a recalculation of the birds’ size. Instead of studying just the

Abandoned farm house – North Shore, Auckland

Abandoned farm house – North Shore, Auckland

Tucked away in Auckland’s North Shore, smothered in dense, overgrown bush native bush and weeds and almost invisible, is this old decaying farm house, sitting abandoned and derelict and typically trashed inside. Thanks to Daniel at Aotearoa Abandoned for the heads up on this fascinating location.  


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Project Puhinui: Session Four – Puhinui House, Howick Historical Village
Project Puhinui: Session Four – Puhinui House, Howick Historical Village30/04/2016Historic Buildings / Investigations / Project PuhinuiSession Four: 30th April 2016 – Solo Overnight vigil by Lisa Ward. I thought it was a nice old house, very representative of the 1800s. I loved the Veranda. I went in treating it as an ordinary ‘un-haunted’ house and thought that I would just see if anything happened to convince me otherwise. The house was fairly big. Downstairs consisted of a large living area, a dinning room with small office in an alcove. At the back of the house were modern toilets, the kitchen and parlour and a small porch area leading to the back door. If you continued to walk down the corridor this narrowed and ended in the small maid’s bed room. A big staircase led to the upstairs hall way. Off the hallway were the main bedroom, a child’s bedroom, a more modern looking sewing room, a room full of pictured and other junk, a small room with mannequins and a room full of filing cabinets. The house didn’t feel uncomfortable in anyway when I first arrived. The only room that I thought seemed a bit creepy was the maid’s room. I think this may just have been related to the fact that the room was at the end of a dark narrow corridor. The bed was arranged as if someone had been sleeping in it. The master bed room also made me feel a little bit uncomfortable, but again I think this may have been related to hearing reports that the mirror had swung on its own accord. I arrived for my solo vigil at Puhinui house at around 7 pm. It was still night, calm and cloudy with a temperature of around 16ºC. Mark met me by the house. I was impressed with the beautiful façade of the 19th century house. I’ve always loved verandas and this house had a large veranda at the front. The inside of the house was no less impressive. A beautiful staircase and stained glass window confronted you as you walked through the door. Mark took the time show me around the rooms explaining some of the history of the place and some of the stories from previous investigations. The house was sizeable and I imagined back in the day (mid 1800s) it must have been a beautiful house to live in and not so large that it wasn’t homely. The house felt fairly normal on arrival. I didn’t feel any change of emotion as I walked around. We spent some time setting up the DVR cameras. These were placed at the bottom of the staircase, looking up the stairwell, in the hallway at the top of the stairs, in the room containing filing cabinets and a metal bin and in the main living room. At the top of the stairs I also placed a toy stuffed dog on a chair as a trigger object but this hadn’t moved by the morning. Mark left me around 8.30 pm and I was alone to soak up the atmosphere. I wandered around the house again getting a feel for the place. I’d planned first to go around taking photographs to document the house. After this, I planned to set up the voice recorders. Footsteps Around 9 pm, I started taking photos around the living room, trying to capture some of the memorabilia. I was busy taking photographs of a badly taxidermied tiger when I suddenly heard loud footsteps walking down the corridor outside of the living room. I would describe them as low heels on a hard or wooden floor, someone walking quite quickly or with a purpose. There were around 6 to 8 footsteps. The footsteps sounded like they were going down the corridor past the toilets and away from the living room. As I was stood by the door by this corridor I moved quickly to see if I could see someone, but there was no-one there. I took a photo to see if I could capture anything, but nothing was captured. The incident freaked me out a bit, I think I was even shaking a bit and couldn’t believe what I’d just heard. At the same time it was exciting as this is what investigation is about, having these experiences. I knew no-one was in the house; I’d previously walked right through the house with Mark and we’d even checked the back door was locked. Mark had long gone about 15 to 20 minutes before. As I moved around the house, I felt a little nervous. The areas where I felt most uneasy were upstairs, particularly the master bedroom. I found I didn’t want to really go into the room. Downstairs, walking through the kitchen made me really shudder and I didn’t want to be in there. I felt an overwhelming feeling of being watched and intruding. I even felt this in the kitchen in the morning when it was lighter, so it wasn’t just the darkness that was making me feel uncomfortable. I didn’t really like the maid’s room, but this was at the end of a creepy looking corridor, so I don’t think that helped. At around 4.30 am I woke up and felt like someone was pressing a single finger hard on the top of my head, it was quite painful. I also suddenly felt like someone had lifted and pulled my duvet back, and I knew I hadn’t moved! I sat up quickly but didn’t see anything. I felt like I just wanted to get out of the house at that point. DVR cameras were placed at the bottom of the staircase, looking up the stairwell, in the hallway at the top of the stairs, in the room containing filing cabinets and a metal bin and in the main living room. At the top of the stairs I also placed a toy stuffed dog on a chair as a trigger object but this hadn’t moved by the morning. The living room the video did capture me reacting to the footstep noise, although I’m only just in the shot. Voice recorders were placed on first step of the staircase and on the table in the upstairs hallway.   Following the footstep event, I set up voice recorders, one on the bottom of the stairs and the other on a table in the hallway upstairs. I then took some pictures around the house. At 9.30, still feeling a little nervous, I decided to have some quiet time in the living room. I sat on my make shift bed and did a bit of meditation to calm my nerves, but as the evening progressed on, I couldn’t easily shake the feeling of unease. As I moved around the house, I felt a little nervous. The areas where I felt most uneasy were upstairs, particularly the master bedroom. I found I didn’t want to really go into the room. Downstairs, walking through the kitchen made me really shudder and I didn’t want to be in there. I felt an overwhelming feeling of being watched and intruding. I even felt this in the kitchen in the morning when it was lighter, so it wasn’t just the darkness that was making me feel uncomfortable. I didn’t really like the maid’s room, but this was at the end of a creepy looking corridor, so I don’t think that helped.   At 9.45 pm I decided to do a communication session. I sat on the lower stairs. I asked if Serita was there. I asked lots of questions about the house and who was there, whether they owned the house or had worked there. I asked for names. I asked whether they minded all the people who had stayed overnight recently. I picked up what sounded like male and female voices. I hear what I think sounds like the following: Male voice saying “yes” Male voice saying something like “Bullshit” A female voice shouting “Aunt” (however this was picked up while I was still in the living room before I even started the EVP session) Female voice saying ‘tomorrow’ A female voice that replies “yes” when I ask “perhaps you like the company” referring to people staying overnight in the house. Two loud bangs which don’t sound like normal house noises, these are very distinct and clear, but I couldn’t work out the direction they were coming from as I had my headphones on. At around 10.00 pm I moved upstairs and sat in the hallway and did a second EVP session. I’ve still to go through this file in more detail. At around 10.15 pm I decided to turn off all the upstairs and then downstairs lights so that I didn’t draw the attention of anyone outside that there was someone in the house. Loud bang around 3 am. Male voice (English accent) at 6 am (ish0) saying what sounds like “in front” I then went back to the living area and tried a ghost box session. I asked some more questions and during the session I said my name and asked whoever was there to repeat it. I thought I heard my name. I also asked whoever was there to tell me what colour jumper I was wearing. I thought I heard a clear ‘pink’ and this was repeated a second time (as I was wearing a pinkish jumper), but I accept it was probably voice pareidolia and my mind wanting to hear those responses. It would be interesting to ask someone else in the team who didn’t know what I was wearing as to whether they hear a colour after I ask the question. Other than that, the ghost box didn’t yield anything exciting. From 10.30 pm onwards I decided to have more quiet time and leave the voice recorders to do their work. I sat reading, looking at Facebook, sending a few messages and trying to read a scientific paper I’d been asked to review. I did find the silence a little oppressive. I couldn’t shake the sense of unease and just felt like I wasn’t alone or I was being watched. I put the feeling down to my own imagination and kept telling myself to keep a calm mind and that fear is all in the mind. At 11.45 I decided to check that the voice recorders were still running. I changed the batteries on the voice recorder on the stairs. Around midnight I decided to pack in and get some sleep. I woke several times during the night and lay there listening for any sounds. It was quiet each time. At around 4.30 am I woke up and felt like someone was pressing a single finger hard on the top of my head, it was quite painful. I also suddenly felt like someone had lifted and pulled my duvet back, and I knew I hadn’t moved! I sat up quickly but didn’t see anything. I felt like I just wanted to get out of the house at that point. I managed to eventually get back to sleep and my alarm went off at 6.00 am. It was still dark outside, but I decided to get up and start packing up so I could leave by 7.00 am. I started to take my stuff out to the car and it was nice to be outside of the house. I spent a few minutes looking at the house and found that I just really didn’t want to go back in. I braced myself and went back. I worked my way around disconnecting the DVR cameras and switching off voice recorders and packing away all the equipment. Once, I’d got everything back in the car I decided to take more pictures inside as the light was coming in. I also walked around the back of the house and took more pictures. At around 7.00 am, I was out of there! I’ve listened to the voice recordings left running over night. There are a couple of loud bangs around 3 am, other than that it was quiet until around 6 am. I can hear myself downstairs starting to pack up, but I hear what sounds like a male voice close to the upstairs voice recorder saying what sounds like “In front” It sounds like an English accent to me. Although I found it hard at times to be in the house, I’m pleased I had the experience to do the solo vigil. It does make it a lot easier to interpret sounds on the voice recorder and during the EVPs. You can be more certain it’s not noise contamination from someone else. Is the house haunted? I think there is something there but as to what it is I’m not sure. With the footsteps and voices picked up on EVP, some of it could be put down to residual energy, if there even is such a thing. Mark had also heard similar footsteps to me and comparing notes in the same area of the house. I seemed to get a clear “yes” in answer to a question during an EVP session, so perhaps there is intelligent energy there. This could also be concluded from the torch throwing event during Mark’s vigil. The EVP words captured are generally quite random rather than responses to questions, making it seem like there are energies still living in the house carrying out their lives; with male and female voices captured, it seems as if there is more than one energy there. I’ve wondered if it’s some kind of time loop replaying over. I never felt like I was in any danger in the house, but as mentioned I often felt uneasy and nervous at times. It was unbelievably quiet at times and the darkness of the house seemed quite brooding particularly in the wee small hours. As described above, there were some areas of the house which made me feel more uncomfortable than others. It’s certainly and interesting house from a paranormal perspective. I think we could do a lot more research there and I don’t think it will disappoint. Audio Anomalies These are two loud bangs heard during an EVP session around 10 pm. They came from within the house, but I wasn’t sure of the direction as I had headphones on. I caught what sounds like a male voice saying ‘in front’ or ‘it’s Francis’ early in the morning around 6 am. You can also hear me downstairs moving around as I was starting to pack away my gear This is a voice caught while the voice recorder was on the steps just prior to me starting an EVP session around 10 pm. I was in the living room at the time. It sounds like a ladies voice shouting “aunt” This was a ladies voice captured during my EVP session around 10 pm. I asked perhaps you like the company referring to the recent HA people staying overnight… I can hear a faint but clear “yes” to my question [...] Read more...
Monte Cristo homestead
Monte Cristo homestead30/03/2014Haunted LocationsMonte Cristo homestead was the country’s most haunted home. And it doesn’t seem to have fazed them – they still live there. Reginald’s nephew and his wife once visited Monte Cristo and were looking for the loo late one night. A young woman dressed in white appeared before them, whispered “Don’t worry, it will be all right” and vanished. Olive once found dead and mutilated cats in the kitchen. Visiting children inexplicably throw tantrums around the staircase, where a child once died. There are phantom footsteps, strange apparitions and haunting noises. It’s little wonder the home’s ghost tours are booked out months in advance.   Monte Christo Homestead is a historic Australian property located in the town of Junee, New South Wales. Constructed by local pioneer Christopher William Crawley in 1885, it is a double-story late-Victorian manor standing on a hill overlooking the town. The Crawley family remained in residence until 1948. The house then stood empty under the care of several caretakers until 1963 when it was purchased by Reg and Olive Ryan, who restored it to its current condition. It operates as a museum, antique store and tourist attraction. Monte Cristo is claimed to be Australia’s most haunted house, with reports of ghostly figures, strange lights, invisible forcefields, phantom sounds and animal mutilations. These are attributed to several tragic incidents in the property’s past including the murder of a caretaker in 1961 and the imprisonment of a mentally impaired man for many years in the dairy. During the Crawleys’ occupation a young child is said to have been fatally dropped down the stairs, a maid to have fallen from the balcony, and a stable boy to have been burnt to death. Monte Cristo’s reputation is well known within Australia, thanks partially to several television shows including segments on the property. These include the current-affairs show Big Country in 1977, the travel show Getaway in 1992, the paranormal based game/reality show Scream Test in 2000, and Ghost Hunters International 14 January 2010. [...] Read more...
Undisclosed Innercity Brothel
Undisclosed Innercity Brothel10/11/2013Hotels and Businesses / InvestigationsAuckland 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 ‘King of K Rd’ or strip club magnate, Rainton Hastie, who opened his first strip club, the Pink Pussycat, on Auckland’s Karangahape Rd in 1963 and passed away in 1995), The recently deceased Las Vegas and Famous Floras, The (still alive) Pelican Club all becoming legendary in status and leaders in this highly competitive industry. (Worth mentioning, though this isn’t the location that the team investigated….) In 2003, the iconic Pink Pussycat Club sign was carried off its K’Rd property, ending the strip joint’s 40-year presence in the red light district. The club had been closed for years, but during its two-decade heyday it was almost synonymous with Auckland’s growing sex industry. Ian Hastings, former head of Auckland police’s vice squad, rated it as the first big strip club in Auckland. The red light areas in Auckland City have stayed quite constant through the decades. From the Lower Queen St end of ‘seedy’ Fort St up to the buzzing mini metropolis of K’Rd. A few parlours started up around the smaller surrounding suburbs to cater to those wanting a thrill closer to home. Prostitution in Auckland Prior to 2003, indoor prostitution in New Zealand was governed by the Massage Parlours Act 1978, which allowed brothels to operate in the guise of massage parlours. However, the act defined massage parlours as public places, so laws against soliciting in a public place applied to workers in parlours, and they were sometimes raided and entrapped by police posing as clients. Workers in the parlours were also required to provide their names and addresses to the police. Advertising the sale of sex (“soliciting”), running a brothel, and living off the earnings of prostitution were illegal. These laws were changed by the Prostitution Reform Act, passed in June 2003. The decriminalisation of brothels, escort agencies and soliciting, and the substitution of a minimal regulatory model created worldwide interest; New Zealand prostitution laws are now some of the most liberal in the world. Although prior to 2003 New Zealand had several laws meant to suppress prostitution, during the last decades of the 20th century, there had been a high degree of toleration of sex work in practice. Nevertheless, police continued to raid brothels, streets, and private residences of sex workers right up to the day before the Prostitution Reform Bill was passed by Parliament. The Massage Parlours Act effectively allowed indoor commercial sex under a facade. Prostitutes advertised their services as ‘escorts’ and brothels advertised themselves as ‘massage parlours’. Workers in massage parlours were required to be registered with the police from the time the Massage Parlours Act 1978 came into force. Haunted Auckland was requested to investigate and cleanse an Auckland inner city brothel before it’s reopening by new owners. Some pretty thorough renovations were underway as the opening night deadline loomed. Many people have mentioned the building to be haunted including the NZPC (New Zealand Prostitutes Collective), the bartender from the bar downstairs and some of the working girls there, current and previous. Due to some of the ‘older’ working girls’ dislike for working in the building with is present ‘haunted vibe’, as well as the owner’s discomfort, the Haunted Auckland team were asked to do an investigation and subsequent cleansing of the brothel so it felt better, in time for their grand re-opening. The History The three level building has a long history. It’s believed that the current owners are the fifth set of owners to be running a brothel from this property. They told us of rumoured deaths of one of the working girls in an upstairs room and the demise of a man in one of the rooms now being used by the business. The basement level of the building is currently being run as a bar, the main level the brothel and the upper level is being refurbished into apartments. It is known that at one time the building was used as a boarding house (or lodge) and it is rumoured that the premises was originally a factory (perhaps manufacturing nails). Reported Activity The smell of smoke and whiskey inside the building (smelled mainly by women), in the bar area, hallway and Room 2. A locked door to the upper level being found ajar, the owner made certain to lock it but it was found ajar again the next day. The owner’s mother dreamed of the building before she had ever seen it. Loud noises coming from empty areas. Lights going out for no reason on more than one occasion with an electrician having difficulty finding reason why and not being able to repair them. Different people feeling strange or sensing a presence particularly in and around one of the rooms. One of the owners went home one day feeling a strong sense of anger that was out of character for her, then ‘came to her senses’ thirty minutes later. Some working girls dislike working in the building due to the occurrences and due to who they refer to as ‘an angry man’ in there. The Investigation Haunted Team for this Investigation – Mark, Barbara, Kris, Kel and Jacalyn. Weather Conditions – Light rain periodically throughout the evening. Lunar Cycle – Day before first quarter The Haunted Auckland team conducted a Class 2 investigation of the premises. A complete room-by-room E.M.F (Electromagnetic Field) and temperature reading sweep of the building was conducted and logged at three stages throughout the night. The team interviewed the owners and others who had been at the venue, took hundreds of photos and hours of video, as well as trialling the use of a ‘spirit box’ and doing numerous trigger tests. The entire investigation was audio and video recorded by two members of the team and hours of additional audio was recorded during communication sessions, where members of the Haunted Auckland team attempted to capture E.V.Ps (Electronic Voice Phenomenon) during communication sessions. The teams’ initial views on entering the premises were varied: Barbara – It was a shock to leave the bar area and walk into the corridor which lead to rooms as the walls in that area were bright red. It felt as if there was something / someone there watching us. It felt quite creepy to me. At times I could feel a sadness which was not mine.   Jacalyn – I had a slight sense of apprehension when looking up the corridor towards the rooms, which I found strange.   Mark – The building does have a somewhat eerie feeling on entry, but I put it down to the place just being empty and under construction with renovations. There was the smell of paint and the place was darkened due to the lights not being in use.   Kel – When I first entered the brothel I felt a very strong vibe there. There were a lot of entities there. I had to leave the bar area as I felt quite sick and I felt I was being watched   Kris – Feeling wise, I got nothing I couldn’t explain, apart from a feeling of unease when I first went in and an  empathy to those that have worked there in the past.   Mark noted a few slight temperature fluctuations, mainly in the two rooms that the owners had mentioned that others had noted paranormal activity around Mark – If I had to pick one room as being the more ‘different’ than the others, I would say Room 2. Mainly due to the temperature fluctuations being higher and changing faster than the other rooms. EMF – (Electromagnetic Field) Readings were pretty flat throughout the place. There were no major fluctuations, spikes or out of the ordinary readings within the EMF readings the team took. The only spikes being around the room heat pumps and in the bar area around the fridges, which is common. TEMPERATURES IN THE BUILDING There were definite temperature fluctuations between rooms, though there were also many wall sized mirrors in the rooms, heat pumps (some of which were operating) and various open windows and air vents around the building. Room temps were noted at 9.30pm and 11pm. Note the change in levels, which could have been due to a few factors – Us being there in the rooms (body heat), the natural drop in temperature outside as it got later, the room heat pumps adjusting themselves, the wind / air coming through air vents and toilet windows, a breeze surge as the front entrance door was opened and closed as people moved around. Room 1 – 19.0 / 20.8 Storage Room – 20.9 Toilets beside storage – 20.7 Room 2 – 18.9 / 19.2 Room 3 – 20.9 / 20.8 Team Base Room – 20.7 / 20.8 Room 4 – 20.7 / 20.1 Hallway – 20.8 / 19.9 Room 5 – 18.7 / 19.3 Room 6 – 20.5 / 20.4 Room 7 – 20.8 to 20.7 / 20.7 Hallway – 19.9 / 19.7 Kitchen / Bar – 19.5 / 19.6 After the investigation the team members spent many hours or reviewing, combing through their photos, videos and audio recordings, however we found nothing worthy of mention. The lack of useable audio was partly due to the music from the club below being heard throughout the entire building and therefore was present in most of our recordings. The spirit box was used during some of the communication sessions. A good possible E.V.P recording was captured in one of the rooms where workers had complained that they felt uncomfortable. In this recording, a question is asked whilst a ‘ghost box’ is playing. Immediately after, there seems to be answer, “yes’. When responded with a “what?”, from the team member, it is further replied with a repeat, “yes”. We are trialling a Ghostbox, or Frank’s box, in the name of open minded-ness and working out hypotheses to hopefully find answers. Many investigators swear by them, many dismiss them as rubbish, so we decided to incorporate one into certain areas of our research to see first hand for ourselves whether there is anything valid in their usage. Whether anything received is just random radio sounds or something more, we aim to find out in due time. [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/116887941″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=true&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”80″ iframe=”false” /] In the same room, a trigger test was also done using playing cards, which were balanced together.  They were set up so they wouldn’t fall easily and when a team member tested the trigger by walking past them closely more than once and then literally jumping up and down, the cards did not fall.  However they fell twice while they were unobserved and three team members were sitting quietly in the room. Unfortunately when we tried to capture what was happening on video the cards remained standing and did so for the rest of the investigation. This is of interest as we did initially question if there was a possibility that the cards had fallen due to the vibration of the music that could be heard throughout the building, but as they then remained standing for several hours after this incident it seems that that explanation is unlikely. In Conclusion During our session there we were able to explain and debunk the issue of cigarette smoke being smelled from time to time. This was also smelled by the team throughout the night as the club patrons downstairs sat in the designated smoking area located directly below the brothel’s toilet window and the smoke wafted upwards. There is also tenant living upstairs, who Mark heard twice walking around during our session. There was the definite creak of walking weight overhead. Mark even briefly met the guy as he was being shown up there by the owner. This could explain some of the noises heard overhead at night. There is also an emergency back stairwell through a locked door which leads down to the bottom club’s emergency back exit. Kris and Mark spent some time taking photographs down in the stairwell. Whilst down there they could easily hear people moving around next door in heels on wooden floorboards and the club’s music being played. Barbara – I cannot definitely say that the premises is haunted but personally suspect that there may be an intelligent haunting there due to an EVP recording captured on the ‘spirit box’ and the trigger test being set off. I would have liked more time to investigate further.   Kel – My findings are inconclusive as to whether the place is haunted or not due to the fact there is residual energy there and I did not witness anything unusual   Kris – Nothing worth sharing, also found EMF to be reasonably constant.   Jacalyn – Given the history of the building, two alleged deaths and what the property has been used for I think there is a chance that the place is haunted even if there wasn’t a lot captured. I think it’s more likely for it be residual but I also feel there is a chance of something more intelligent being there as well.   Mark – I didn’t really feel anything odd in the building at any time during the night. There were a few slight temperature fluctuations, mainly in the two rooms that the owners had mentioned had been reported as having activity, rooms 2 and 5. These two rooms were colder than the others and the temps seemed to fluctuate rather quickly as they were being taken down. I would like more details about the deaths that have occurred in the past there and the strange activity that has apparently happened since, mainly in rooms 2. It was an ok investigation, though we were limited to the amount of controlled investigation we could put in action as there is another club downstairs. Cigarette smoke was wafting up and entering through the toilet windows from the downstairs club designated smoking area. Another disruptive factor was the below club’s music being audible through the building. This made trying for recorded EVP captures near impossible. I personally feel that there is more to the story than we were able to uncover on that night, though, at this stage I do not feel that this place is haunted. Over the years there have been many stories about this premises being haunted. The owners of nearby businesses have also heard the stories from the staff and patrons of the brothel so it has a well-known history in the area. The team are interested to know more about the building. The whole building has a history, some dark, some neutral. We have heard of potentially paranormal activity from other business owners using this building, so we are keen to dig further historically and investigate some of the other parts of this building as well. There have been a good number of people that have claimed to have experienced activity within the building through the years, so the team feel they can’t all be discounted as being misidentification, human error or simple urban legend Although Haunted Auckland was not able to document any photographic or video evidence during our visit, we did capture one possible EVP. For a more controlled environment we would need to ensure the whole building was person and power free. Totally closed and vacant whilst we carried out an investigation. Haunted Auckland would like to thank the owners for inviting us into their premises and wish them all the best for the future in their business venture. [...] Read more...
Occidental Hotel/Perry’s Occidental Hotel – Christchurch
Occidental Hotel/Perry’s Occidental Hotel – Christchurch30/06/2022Haunted Locations / Paranormal New ZealandBuilt-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 the large dining room, a commercial room, and several private sitting rooms. It is handsomely furnished throughout, and every attention is paid to the comfort and convenience of guests. There were stories that the 35-room hotel in the middle of town was haunted by the ghost of Jane Jollie, the wife of Captain Francis Jollie of Peel Forest, who died while a guest at the hotel in 1869. Renowned author Janet Frame was a housemaid/waitress at the Occidental in 1947. By 1998 it turned into a backpackers hotel and soon after started to become very run-down. It closed in August 2006. The Occidental Hotel was demolished in 2011. [...] Read more...
Carrington Hotel, Katoomba. Australia
Carrington Hotel, Katoomba. Australia29/05/2016Haunted LocationsThe Carrington Hotel, built in 1880 and nestled in the beautiful Blue Mountains township of Katoomba has a few spooky secrets of its own. [...] Read more...
Private Residence, Howick
Private Residence, Howick24/04/2012Private ResidencesAn expecting couple calls the team to investigate their Howick home where light anomalies, uneasy feelings and unusual behaviour from pets has them concerned they may not be the only ones inhabiting the property. Background Richard contacted the Haunted Auckland team via the website. He and his wife, Mina, have been living in their house for about six years. He reported instances of feeling uneasy, disturbed sleep, creaking & other noises in the house and a sensation of being watched. Richard also recently saw a small bright light appear behind his wife while he was speaking with her on Skype, which moved across the ceiling for around three seconds before disappearing. He told of a tendency for their animals, a cat and two dogs, to stare up at the lounge ceiling (always at the same spot) and act as if they were watching something. One of the dogs had become shut in the nursery on more than one occasion and had also been seen to be barking toward the door for no apparent reason. Richard and Mina’s baby was due in three weeks’ time and he was keen for the activity to be investigated – and the property cleared if necessary. Investigation We attended the property on 24th April and carried out a short investigation session over a period of three hours. On arrival, the team spent time speaking with Richard and Mina to get a full understanding of their experiences to date, before being shown around the house and commencing the investigation. Evidence EMF readings were taken throughout the property, which were all within the normal range expected for a domestic residence. T here was no evidence that EMF was a contributing issue to this case. The team attempted to recreate by various means the light seen on Skype, but were unable to create a convincing reproduction of the small, bright light which Richard described. It is possible that the light may have been an artefact of the Skype transmission, or the result of an insect – but Haunted Auckland is unable to provide a definitive explanation for this phenomenon. The team did not identify any Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVPs) on the audio recordings made during the investigation and no unusual activity was captured on the video recorders left in place. Mark and Lisa felt that a possible explanation to the dogs’ constant preoccupation with a certain spot on the ceiling, might be due to rodents or pests living in the ceiling space between the top and bottom floors. However, we could not verify or confirm this hypothesis at the time. An investigation was performed on the nursery door, which could not be pushed open from the outside when properly closed. The door would, however, swing towards a closed position naturally and from there could easily be accidentally pushed shut onto the latch by an animal. It has been hypothesised by Lisa that because the same dog is getting shut in, that perhaps it is able to gain entry by pawing at the doorknob. Further investigation would be required to discover whether or not this was indeed the case. Sensitives Barbara and Karen felt that the master bedroom seemed much colder than the other rooms upstairs. In fact, this was not the case, and a temperature reading showed that the room was physically as warm, or warmer, than the other bedrooms. They both also noted an unusual sensation in the region around the top of the stairs. Barbara reported seeing a shadow moving around the doorway of the master bedroom. Conclusion Haunted Auckland is unable to provide conclusive proof of paranormal activity based on their findings during the investigation. However, it is recognised that a two-hour window is unlikely to yield a great deal of physical evidence, in the form of photos, video or EVPs and that the personal experiences of the property’s residents cannot be discounted. Barbara and Karen felt that whilst there did seem to be some unusual energies present, their precise nature could not be conclusively identified. It should be emphasised that it was not felt that they were in any way harmful or threatening to the occupants. Epilogue Since the investigation and clearing, Richard has emailed us with an update: “For quite some time I had felt uncomfortable in our house. Strange noises and the feeling that someone was watching me as I was in bed. Also our animals would stare at different parts of our house as if they were watching and following something. I contacted Haunted Auckland. They did their investigation and followed with a cleansing. It has now been two weeks since the investigation and I definitely feel that our house is more settled and the feelings I had are now gone. Haunted Auckland were very friendly and professional. If anyone has been experiencing problems or feel uncomfortable in their home I would highly recommend you get in touch with them.” The Haunted Auckland team would also like to offer their warmest congratulations to Richard & Mina on the safe arrival of their baby girl. [...] Read more...

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

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

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

 

Paranormal New Zealand is the home of Haunted Auckland, a Paranormal Investigation and Research group.

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

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

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

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

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

Firstly a few things you should know about Haunted Auckland. We’re a small Auckland based team of friendly, dedicated, well seasoned and enthusiastic researchers with differing levels of experience, knowledge, skills and expertise.  Our investigators are intelligent, honest, compassionate and possess critically thinking (yet wide open) minds. We’re also very good listeners.

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

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

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

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

What we aren’t:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Why we don’t offer Clearings and Banishings

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

KEEPING IT REAL

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

We’re always happy to talk about spooks!

Through the years the team have investigated:

Auckland

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