Although Australia is home to hundreds of supposedly “haunted” houses, one state in particular has many more than the rest.
Stories of death, tragedy and unexplained strangeness persist on the walls of more than 300 homes across New South Wales.
Sydney reportedly has the most haunted locations of any major city, but regional New South Wales isn’t far behind with dozens of spooky properties spread across the state.
At one particular house in Gladesville, on Sydney’s lower north shore, renowned US-based paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, on whose lives the Hollywood film “The Conjuring” is based, told their owners who “left or died.”
Some of New South Wales’ haunted houses have haunting stories dating back centuries, while others have been the scene of tragedies in recent decades.
But it appears the rumors have done little to affect the sale price of most, with multiple homes attracting million-dollar offers since the housing crisis hit.
Paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, on whose lives ‘The Conjuring’ horror film series is based, inspected a haunted house on Gerard Street in Gladesville.
GERARD STREET HOUSE
On Gerard St in Gladesville Otherwise nondescript brick heritage buildings hide a house that has been considered haunted since April 1980.
A now defunct Sydney newspaper, The Sun, published a photo of the house with the headline “FAMILY FLEE FROM GHOST HOUSE” after a visit by Lorraine and Ed Warren.
They came at the request of their owners, who were convinced that something was wrong in the house.
After inspecting the house, the Warrens said it was “Eviler than Amityville’, the haunted house that inspired ‘The Exorcist’.
Since then, several other owners and tenants have joined their story before. Author James Phelps visited the house in 2024.
Phelps spoke to several neighbors who lived next door to the house in the 1980s for his book, Australian Ghost Stories.
“I have no doubt that these people believe the house is haunted,” he wrote.
—There’s probably something in that house that makes people very nervous.
“It’s just strange.”
MONTE CRISTO HOUSE
About a century ago many tragedies were said to have occurred at the Monte Cristo Homestead in Junee, Sydney.
A maid who fell from the balcony, a stable boy who set himself on fire, a baby who died in another fall, and a caretaker shot to death are just some of the stories that are still told today.
More recently, in 1963, the Ryan family purchased and restored the house only to witness a series of unexplained events occur around them.
The Monte Cristo Homestead in Junee, Sydney, has seen several people die within its walls.
Lights flickered on and off and visitors heard whistles, but Ryan’s animals suffered the worst fate of all.
Their chickens and parrots were found suffocated and a new litter of kittens the family had raised were sadly found dead a short time later.
Q STATION
Located on Sydney’s northern beaches, the ‘Quarantine Station’ originally provided accommodation for people arriving in Australia by boat in 1893.
Passengers would be quarantined for plague, typhus, small box, cholera and Spanish influenza upon arrival in Manly.
The quarantine station at Manly, Sydney, first operated as a decontamination facility for new arrivals in 1893. Visitors report that they still hear the sick whispering within the walls.
Patients were treated with disinfectant and carbolic acid so strong it would reportedly melt the top layer of their skin during decontamination.
The station closed in 1984 and reopened in 1990 with ghost tours beginning to operate after stories of paranormal activity began to spread.
Visitors claim to have heard sick voices in parts of the building and some have reported ghost sightings.
crying figures, Over the decades, station employees and footprints have been detected in old hospital beds.
Even though hotelier Glenn Piper purchased the ghoul quarantine station for approximately $20 million in 2021.
APPLE
In rural New South Wales, 202 kilometers east of Canberra, Applegarth was one of the Miltons’ first homes.
Originally built for John Cambage in 1868, architect James Poole had been building a stone pier at Ulladulla, but stayed in the area to oversee Applegarth.
Applegarth was one of Milton’s first houses, but the son of its first owner is believed to still haunt the house more than 150 years later.
Mr. Cambage’s son Henry lived and died in the house and is said to still haunt it.
Henry’s ghost could not deter a buyer who still paid $2.4 million for it in 2021.
HOUSE OF ZEALOUS
Zeal Cottage in Wingham, 180km north of Newcastle, was first occupied by Adelaide Hill in the early 20th century.
The day after Hill moved in, her two-year-old grandson died after falling into a vat of boiling water.
She had built Zeal Cottage and died there in 1922.
Adelaide Hill first lived at Zeal Cottage in Wingham and her grandson died in a tub of boiling water two days after she moved in.
Locals believe his spirit still haunts the property along with his grandson.
The ghosts welcomed the new owners who purchased the cabin for $545,000 in 2019.
GLEDSWOOD FARM
Gledswood Homestead, originally built in 1810 as a detention center for convicts in Camden, 67km northwest of Sydney, is now heritage-listed.
The dungeon-turned-vineyard-turned-colonial-farm-turned-farm was first occupied by Gabriel Louis Marie Huon de Kerilleau until 1827.
Gledswood Homestead was first built as a detention center for prisoners and is said to be haunted by a father and his five-year-old daughter.
Its next owner, James Chisholm, had his five-year-old daughter die of scarlet fever on the property and a worker died shortly after after being crushed by a tree.
Both are said to still haunt the property and visitors claim to have heard children’s laughter and other voices roaming its surface.
CAMELOT CASTLE
Kirkham Camelot Castle South West Sydney has become synonymous with mystery after appearing in many films and television shows.
However, over the years, its dark history has been slowly uncovered.
The first owner of Camelot Castle, James White, only lived there for two years before dying on the property in 1890.
Camelot Castle became iconic after appearing in movies and TV shows, but many of its former owners died on the property.
His wife never left and she died there too.
Its second owner, William Anderson, did not live there long before committing suicide at the residence in 1912.
His wife, Frances, died there in 1948.
His daughter died in the castle without having married or having children in 1979.
Rumors circulating about the numerous deaths have led many to believe that it is also one of the most haunted houses in New South Wales.