Melbourne’s creepiest ghost stories and spookiest locations revealed
HEARD the one about Flinders St Station’s freaky fisherman, or the Young & Jackson shrieking ghoul? Check out where to keep an eye out for Melbourne’s ghosts. SEE THE GHOST MAP
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A MURDERED prostitute who lures men to her presence under a street light, an old fisherman who wanders a Flinders St platform looking lost and an opera singer whose ego was bigger than the call to the afterlife.
The Melbourne CBD holds a myriad of creepy stories about spirits from centuries past who haven’t found peace.
Lantern Ghost Tours guide Ross Daniels lifts the lid on the spookiest secrets the city keeps.
SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM FOR THE MELBOURNE GHOST MAP
GEORGE THE STATION GHOST
You find yourself on Platform 6 and 7 in an otherwise empty Flinders St Station after drinks with colleagues on a week night.
Through a tequila-induced haze, you glance across at Platform 10.
A man is standing near the fence, looking at the river, holding a fishing rod and a pair of paddles. He looks confused. Out of place.
After a moment he wanders towards the river bank and vanishes before your eyes.
If you told that story to your colleagues in the morning they’d probably give you concerned looks and Berocca.
But according to Mr Daniels, the ghostly figure, dubbed George, has been seen more than once.
PENTRIDGE GHOST CAUGHT ON CAMERA
“I’ve heard of the ghost being seen through the window of an express train. Over on the end part of Platform 10 — he is said to haunt that area,” he says.
“He appears lost, he seems out of place, and eventually he will wander down towards the stairs and disappear.”
Mr Daniels says the area of the Yarra River near Platform 10 was a popular fishing spot in the early days of settlement, and the ghost could be left over from that time.
But the nature of fisherman George’s demise remains a mystery, although the Department of internet suggests accidental drowning or murder by a rival fish catcher.
Know a Melbourne ghost story? Tell us in the comments section below
THE YOUNG & JACKSON GHOUL
It’s the 1800s, you’re a gold mine worker and you’re drunk in Melbourne’s booming CBD.
After the final pub closes, your mind turns to wandering Swanston St until you find a suitable prostitue to hire.
And what luck — standing under a street like outside Young & Jackson Hotel is a gorgeous street walker who raises her pink parasol to show she’s open for business.
But take a stumble closer and she looks older than you thought.
Get a few yards closer still, and the girl looks two decades older, and not very appealing.
Then, when you get even closer, the skin is peeling off her face.
The woman then pulls down her dress to reveal a gaping cut across her throat — from ear to ear.
And then, she lets out a deafening scream just before the cursed spectre vanishes.
Mr Daniels says the Young & Jackson ghost, which reportedly appeared in the late 1800s but hasn’t been seen too often since, might have been the spirit of a murdered prostitute.
“Drunk men would see her but, the closer then would get, the more ill she would look,” he says.
“The story could be about a ghost of a prostitute murdered in one of the CBD laneways.
“Unfortunately in those times murdered sex workers would go largely unnoticed and danger was seen as part of the profession.”
Mr Daniels says although some have said the ghost could be that of Chloe, whose painting is displayed in the hotel’s upstairs bar, the model was unlikely to have been a prostitute.
“Chloe, in the painting, was actually a French uni student who did life modelling and probably wasn’t a street worker,” he says.
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THE GREAT FEDERICI
It’s the late 1880s and local opera singer Fred Baker is down on his luck.
His performances are failing to draw crowds, and he faces ruin.
Then, in an inspired moment of rebranding, he tries calling himself Federici.
Sales take off, affluent Melburnians flock to see the mysterious European singer and things are looking very profitable.
But in March 1888, while completing a show at the Princess Theatre, just has Federici hits a high note while descending into the stage on a mechanical platform, he has a massive heart attack and dies.
A stage hand reportedly witnesses the incident and is there for Federici’s final moments.
But, as Mr Daniels tells, the singer’s ego is bigger than his call to the afterlife.
When other actors later find out about Federici’s abrupt passing, they swear that Federici had been on stage with them after the final curtain to bask in applause — moments after he collapsed and died.
Mr Daniels says the story was unusual because the haunting is said to have begun almost immediately after death.
“The ghost returned immediately afterwards and is said to have been given a standing ovation,” he says.
“Since then it’s rumoured that his ghost haunts the theatre.
“The cafe adjacent to the theatre, Frederici’s, is actually named after him, which not many people know.”
MORE SPOOK: The truth behind Melbourne’s urban legends
LANEWAY SPIRITUAL HOTSPOT
It’s late at night, you’re out with a friend, and you decide to take a drunk selfie in a Melbourne CBD laneway.
You think you’re the only two people in the photo. But when you look back at it later, you see a third.
An elderly bloke wearing a baggy suit seems to have appeared in the background.
Was he there when the photo was taken?
As Mr Daniels explains, images taken in Georges Pde — a lane running between Flinders Ln and Collins St — is a hotspot for eerie apparitions.
He says many people on his tour, including himself, have felt the presence of someone standing behind them, only to turn and find nobody there.
Other reports include mysterious figures in photographs and other-worldly figures noticed in the corner of the eye.
But there may be a paranormal explanation.
“I did a bit of research and I found that the area around Georges Pde was used for warehousing and factories,” Mr Daniels says.
“I believe a lot of people in that spot were hit by cars, especially when cars were new in Melbourne.
“Pedestrians were used to hearing out for horses and carts, but were not used to cars on the streets, and many were struck and killed.”
This article was originally published in October 2014.
mitchell.toy@news.com.au
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