During their stay, some guests at the Foveaux Hotel in Bluff observed the comings and goings of a cheeky (and quite possibly promiscuous) female ghost. A ghost named Mary is said to haunt the Foveaux Hotel in Bluff.
Mary, thought to reside mainly in room two, is believed to be Mary Cameron, the original owner of the Temperance Boardinghouse. The Temperance Hotel, built in 1899, was demolished to make way for the construction of the Foveaux Hotel in the late 1930s, but it seems Mary’s spirit moved house to live on in the newly built premises. Mary is said to haunt room 2 of the hotel and is known as “a friendly ghost.”
She also allegedly likes tall male guests staying in the room. “Every time we have tall men staying in room two, they report the bedroom door opening by itself. Sometimes, they complain that the door is broken or won’t close, but when we go up, it just closes. But it’s not a scary ghost,” an owner said.
It is believed that the Mary in question is the sister of John Cameron, who served in the 4th Contingent during the Boer War from 1899 to 1902. John later became the Mayor of Bluff from 1938 to 1941.
The activity is quite the typical standard for hauntings, with knockings, footsteps, and even apparition sightings. The kitchen’s heavy door, as have the cupboards, has opened and slammed shut, adding to the eerie yet fascinating atmosphere.
Staff and patrons often hear footsteps upstairs, from a light pitter-patter to heavy, clumsy-sounding boot thuds. One former staff member told me she used to work there as a teen and hated the energy of the place, especially upstairs: “So heavy up there.” Another guest reported hearing a woman singing upstairs from one of the top corner rooms. It is thought this, too, might be Mary.
In a newspaper interview, the hotel’s current owner claimed that the building is haunted by a ghost named Mary. She described seeing Mary out of the corner of her eye and provided details of Mary’s appearance and actions, which added credibility to her claim.
“She had a white blouse on with the sleeves rolled up. Her hair was up in a bun. She was probably in her early 40s. She had on a long black skirt. She looked like she’d been working. But you never know if such things are figments of one’s imagination.”
Photos below by Chris Kemp during a stay in Jan 2025
