Mackay Whitsunday Isaac top 13 most haunted spots
We’ve put together a map of the most haunting places in the triangle between Bowen, St Lawrence and Clermont. It’s spooky enough to give Bermuda a chill.
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Here are the region’s top 13 haunted places and why.
1. Pine Islet lighthouse, Mackay
The lighthouse keepers who lived on the isolated Pine Islet lighthouse reported they were not alone, despite living 65 nautical miles southeast of Mackay.
Rumour had it the ghost of a previous lighthouse keeper’s wife would often knock on the door, spooking the most recent tenants.
The lighthouse was built in 1885, serving as a beacon to warn ships of the hazardous Percy Islands.
It was eventually replaced by a solar-powered light, but the lighthouse itself was reassembled in Mackay Harbour in 1995 – serving as the last operational kerosene powered lighthouse in the world.
2. Greenmount Homestead, Mackay
An “ethereal woman” has been reported to wander the grounds of the iconic property with volunteers suspecting she may be Mrs Cook herself.
Volunteers have reported feeling a “presence” in the homestead, and one occasion had found Mrs Cook’s bed rumpled “as if someone had been laying in it” – except no one had entered the room.
3. Newlands mine camp, Glenden
The terrors of the mine camp was enough to bring one miner to tears. Here are some real-life accounts from workers earlier this year who stay at the haunted camp.
Krystee Muscat: I work at Newlands. A friend felt someone holding her down in bed, another felt he was being dragged from bed and another felt someone sit on the bed behind him. When he tried to roll over he bumped into whatever was sitting there.
Elise Dunckis: There‘s a few around the actual mine site up at the training complex.
Shaun French: Yep I experienced three different times over a few years. It scared the sh** out of me on all of those three nights. I had to jump up and turn the light on and did not want to close my eyes again. That spirit definitely let me know it was there all three times. I’ll never forget that and it still brings tears to my eyes talking about it.
4. The Horror Stretch, aka Marlborough-Sarina Road
The Horror Stretch, the Badlands, The Killing Fields, the Crystal Highway are just a few of the names for the gruesome stretch of road that cuts inland from St Lawrence to Sarina.
So horrific was its history, the route was said to have been relocated 80km to the east, now known as the Bruce Highway.
A massacre of indigenous Australians, a skydiver and his wife shot through the head with a rifle, English holiday makers shot by a sniper, an indigenous woman murdered and dumped in a river and a 14-year-old girl gone missing are just some of the terrible things reported to have happened along the old freeway.
It’s no wonder many consider the stretch littered with ghosts.
5. Old Railway Hotel, Mackay
A woman in a blue frock has been known to wander the halls and stand at the end of guest’s beds, staring at them as they attempt to sleep.
Cold spots are felt through the old hotel even on the hottest of the North Queensland’s summer days and when no one is around, strange whispering noises are said to echo through the rooms.
6 Criterion Hotel, Pioneer Valley
Many publicans and patrons have passed through the doors of the Pioneer Valley pub which first opened its doors in 1908.
Because of the age of the building, many of the hotel’s publicans accept that paranormal activity is to be expected.
Psychics who visit the pub have reported “very friendly ghosts that fly around all night” with reports of one particular apparition with a fondness for hats.
A previous publican was also convinced a ghost had taken up residence in room eight, with many locals and children refusing reporting a “funny feeling” near the room.
7. Church on Palmer, Mackay
The history of the church is said to be as rich as the food served in it.
The 90-year-old former church was turned into a restaurant in 2012, but it seems the ghosts have stuck around.
In 2012, Church on Palmer owners Diane and Steve Grech reported hearing things through the night with Mr Grech often listening to the “familiar sounds of friendly conversation”, the type common in a restaurant on a busy night.
Only he heard them when he was working alone.
More recently, Triple M’s Jay Shipton and Daver Peters were having dinner in the restaurant when the spirit appeared.
Jay heard a bloke “whisper” in his ear and turned expecting to be confronted by Dave.
“It wasn’t him, because he had a mouthful of beer and the glass to his face,” Jay said.
“It freaked me out.”
8. Hook Island, Whitsundays
A sea monster is rumoured to roam the waters of the idyllic Whitsunday Island.
In 1964 Frenchmen Robert Le Serrec was said to be crossing the Stonehaven Bay in a motorboat with his family when they came across the large creature.
The family began to take photos of the monster which they said was more than 70 feet long (21m) and shaped like a tadpole.
They said the creature’s skin appeared smooth with no fins or spikes and black in colour.
Many have tried to debunk the story, claiming the photos were manipulated, while others argue photoshop could not have produced such a clear picture in the 1960s.
9. Mackay Leisure Centre
Staff and customers at the Mackay Leisure Centre have reported strange happenings at the beloved bowling alley, squash court and roller rink.
Folklore says the centre was built on top of a canefield where a woman was killed in a horrific accident years prior.
Employees said “Faye” was most commonly seen late at night near the squash courts and occasionally in the bowling alley near lane 18.
She was described as being about 169cm, slim and as a “shadowy silhouette”.
10. Bakers Creek Tavern
A laundry trolley pushing itself down the hallway of Bakers Creek Tavern was enough to have guests run to checkout.
But staff at the hotel don’t feel too threatened by the supposed haunting, and actually think fondly of the “little old man in a chequered shirt” who wanders through the walls.
11. Good Shepherd Lodge
Author Samantha Munt said palliative care patients at the Good Shepherd Lodge had told tales of a “lovely nurse” who would sit at the end of their beds in the Cumberland House high care unit.
The ghost was reported to be wearing an old style nurses uniform and would give comfort to patients.
Staff at the lodge have admitted to seeing hall monitors turned on in the nurses station at night – except when they looked, the hallway would be empty.
Save for a “flash of light” quickly dashing through the double doors.
12. Bowen River Hotel
The Bowen River Hotel is known to have several ghosts “gettin’ around the place”.
One in particular – Mr Dougan – has been regarded fondly by the 2019 hotel lessee Clare Ringland.
“Dougie doesn’t cause us any trouble, he just walks through the walls of the place,” Mrs Ringland said.
“Many of our guests have seen him.”
But there is one ghost that has caused a bit of trouble in the old hotel – a former stagecoach who was killed on the property
“Apparently he was a bit of a pest and had far too much to drink the night of his death. He was annoying a couple of soldiers who had just returned from the first war,” Mrs Ringland said.
“Anyway, he didn’t take notice of the warning and he was shot and killed.”
Mrs Ringland said whenever they played anything a bit modern, this ghost had a tendency to fool around with the music.
13. Leo Hotel, Clermont
The original Leo Hotel was built in the mid-1860s but was forced to be knocked down, with the new hotel built in 1900.
The Isaac tourism team has warned visitors to stick to the bar to avoid the ghosts that are said to haunt the pub’s upper levels.
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