Welcome to my stop on the Howloween Blog Hop
AND A Haunted Garden Halloween Hop. Yep – that’s right. TWO stops rolled into
one. I’m a true multi-tasker! J Actually, it’s
because I’m a terrible multi-tasker and rather forgetful at times that I forgot
I’d signed up for two!)
Just let me know when you comment which hop
you’re on, along with your contact email – because I’m giving away one prize to
a lucky commenter for each stop! (Just
quietly, there’s nothing to stop you from writing TWO comments to double your
chances)
The prize is a choice between a PDF copy of
either Guardian of the Jewel OR Affinity.
I thought about regaling you with a story or
two of my own scary experiences with the spooky kind in honour of Halloween,
but then thought you might think me kookier than ever J So, instead, I decided to send you on a quick ghost
tour of my country instead.
I came across this gem of a list written by
Kirsty Johnson from the Stuff.co.nz website who has kindly allowed me to reproduce her awesome list. Enjoy – and have a Spooktacular Halloween J
HAUNTED NEW ZEALAND
Top 10
Ghostly spots
1. Kingseat psychiatric hospital, Karaka.
Kingseat is a former psychiatric hospital where many patients claim they
experienced maltreatment, and a number of patients died during their time
there. Its reputation for hauntings spread so far and wide it is now run as a
"haunted house" tourist venture by a company named Spookers.
2. Racecourse Hotel, Riccarton.
The ghost of former licensee Donald Fraser is said to walk the corridors
of the hotel looking for his killer.
According to The Encyclopedia of New Zealand, in 1933 Fraser was killed
in the middle of the night in his bedroom, where his wife was asleep, by two
blasts from a double-barrelled shotgun.
The movements and circumstances of everyone in the house at the time,
and of guests at a party held in the hotel earlier in the evening, were checked
and rechecked but no one was ever found guilty of the murder.
3. Larnach Castle, Dunedin.
New Zealand's only castle is reportedly haunted by several spirits
including the William Larnach himself and one of his vengeful wives.
Larnach shot himself in the head in 1898 after learning of an affair
between his young third wife and one of his sons from his first marriage.
Both the first and second Mrs Larnach’s, who were half-sisters, died in
the castle at age 38.
Larnach's daughter Katie is said to haunt the ballroom, built to
celebrate her 21st birthday in 1886. She died just a few years later from
typhoid.
4. Waitomo Caves Hotel, King Country.
This is New Zealand's most haunted hotel.
Bathtubs reportedly drip blood, orbs bounce around the driveway and a
Maori princess is reputed to stalk the corridors, according to
Theshadowlands.net.
The website says some people have experienced the dining room going
cold, laughter, the feeling of 'something' walking through them and even the
noise of a maid's trolley going along the long stretch of hall in the lower
part of the hotel.
5. The Vulcan Hotel, St Bathans.
The Vulcan is haunted by the ghost of a murdered prostitute named 'The
Rose'.
A review of the hotel from Suite 101 says the tale begins when, one
evening in the early 1880s, The Rose invited the wrong customer back to her
room.
Her body was found the next morning on the bed where she made her
living. Her killer was never caught. She now haunts the room where she was
killed, targeting male guests with her nasty nocturnal visits.
6. The Abel Tasman coast.
This legend dates back to the late 1820s when Maori chief Te Rauparaha
and his allies sacked the Waimea pa in Appleby, and found the hiding place of
the magnificent waka Te Awatea.
A Nelson Evening Mail article says a phantom Maori canoe, with a warrior
crew chanting, can be seen in the area on still nights.
Sightings of the canoe are often accompanied by the sound of wailing
women, representing the laments of the Ngati Apa people as their beloved waka
was paddled away.
7. Waimate Hospital, Waimate.
Waimate Hospital is closed, but a tortured spirit dwells within.
It is the Grey Lady, and she is restless. The Christchurch Press wrote
about the haunted hospital in 1996, saying locked doors were found open, the
sound of breaking glass was reported but nothing found, and ambulance officers
had told of disturbing encounters with a spirit.
Former nurses believe the Grey Lady is the spirit of a former woman
patient, who died at the hospital, seeking company in an afterlife.
8. St. James Theatre, Wellington.
There are numerous ghosts reported to haunt this theatre.
According to Moonslipper.com, one of the more regular sightings is the
ghost of Yuri, a Russian performer who supposedly fell to his death from above
the stage.
Yuri has been encountered playing with the lights, in particular switching
them all back on again once the theatre has been locked up for the night.
There is also the 'Wailing Woman', a frequent apparition who is said to
wail and moan about, and a boy's choir who is said to haunt the theatre.
9. The Masonic Hotel, Napier.
The Masonic was built in the 1860s, and then rebuilt after a fire in the
1890s and again after the 1931 earthquake.
In the hotel rooms there have been several natural deaths as well as
suicides - and a chef once died in the hotel's bath. Witnesses report music
that comes on by itself, lights that turn on without being touched, and
apparitions that appear in the night.
10. Spirits Bay, Far North.
Perhaps New Zealand's most famous spot for
supernatural beings, Spirits Bay is believed to be a jump-off point for spirits
leaving this world.
According to Maori legend, during the night hours, groups of spirits and
individuals can be seen moving down the beach to a certain point and then
disappearing. These spirits are very focused on reaching a particular part of
the beach and will not be distracted from their goal.
Thanks so much for coming by this stop in the blog hop. I hope you had fun! Don't forget to comment for your chance to win an e-book - and make sure you stop by these blogs for another chance to win some more great prizes:
