Rounds Arcade in Bundaberg said to be haunted by young girl

Clocks stuck on 5, phantom hair pulling and strange interferences with electronics have led some to believe the ghost of a child haunts a bustling shopping precinct.

It has been home to doll hospitals, insurance offices, record shops and tailors, but could Bundaberg’s Rounds Arcade also be home to something more supernatural?

Multiple storekeepers in the mid-century shopping hub have had their share of unexplainable encounters, with sightings of a young girl leading many to believe a child haunts the arcade.

Buzz Superfood Bar’s Tracey Amos said staff often felt like someone was waiting at the counter to be served, only to turn around and find no one there.

“Some mornings you’ll be here and a shadow goes past the window and you think someone’s coming and no one’s there,” she said.

Employee Emily Martin has had her own eerie encounters, feeling something tugging at strands of her hair.

Ms Amos said there was a beautician in the arcade who said her clients would talk about feeling someone pulling their hair while they were having their lashes done.

There have been reports of a little girl ghost in Rounds Arcade.

Locals report feeling someone pulling their hair in the arcade.

Then there are the bizarre incidents with the cafe’s wall clocks.

Ms Amos said the business had to replace four clocks so far because they kept falling off the walls - chillingly, they would all be stuck on 5pm.

“There’s something about 5pm,” she said.

Ms Amos said someone had told her there was once a watchmaker in the area who only worked on expensive pieces, leading to a theory that perhaps his spirit didn’t like cheaply made clocks.

But if that watchmaker is around, he’s not making his presence known anywhere near as much as the little ghost girl.

Ms Amos recalls one Sunday near Christmas when a young girl, who looked to be around seven or eight, walked into the cafe and asked to use the bathroom.

Buzz Superfoods Bar is on its fifth wall clock, after four others fell down, locked on 5pm.

Staff found it unusual that she was alone, given she was dressed impeccably in a pretty dress with long, neat hair.

Ms Amos said it looked like the girl was dressed for church or an event, but no one else was around.

When the child walked to the bathroom, only to return because she couldn’t use the key, Ms Amos walked back with her, but said something felt incredibly strange.

“I had a bad feeling, like I was about to die,” she said.

Ms Amos ran back to the cafe after letting the girl in to use the bathroom, and with no way to exit from the back of the building, they assumed she hadn’t come back out.

Does something supernatural stalk the halls of Rounds Arcade?

Rounds Arcade is a beautiful example of mid-century architecture.

When they checked, she was nowhere to be found and they never noticed her coming back the way she came.

It’s not the only time a little girl has been noticed in the vicinity, with one person spotting a young girl who no one else could see.

On another Sunday morning, Ms Amos was making coffees when a coffee cup flew off the coffee machine and hit her in the head.

“You feel like you’re always being watched,” she said.

Electronics, she says, are often malfunctioning in the store, but seem to have no issues when used elsewhere.

Music plays up and they go through plenty of lightbulbs.

On one occasion, Ms Amos and Ms Martin heard a strange ringing in their ears at the same time, and Ms Martin was sure she heard whispering.

Buzz Superfood Bar's Tracey Amos and Emily Martin are aware of a spooky presence in the complex.

Ms Martin said that for her, working in a business with tales of a little ghostly girl who plays in the halls is quite fascinating.

“The idea of something being here is really interesting,” she said.

Buzz cafe’s storeroom is affectionately nicknamed the “heebie jeebie” room, because staff report strange feelings and cold chills when they’re in there.

Ms Amos says a number of businesses on that side of Bourbong St have reported hauntings, with other children and ghostly entities said to walk the city’s historic shopping buildings.

Her theory on a possible explanation for the Rounds Arcade phantom is that before it was ever Rounds Arcade, the space was used for Christmas events and festivities.

The reason, she says, is that the spirit’s activities seem to ramp up during the festive season every year.

The story is not the only eerie encounter reported in Bundaberg recently.

A man shared the terrifying tale of the night a woman tried to get in his car near a popular Bundaberg shopping area, only for her hand to pass straight through the door handle.