Urban myths and legends of Qld to keep you up at night
Non-human encounters, haunted highways, terrifying creatures and Min Min Lights are just the tip of the iceberg. Read the 35 Qld stories to haunt your dreams.
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Queensland is rich in history, character and folklore, but alongside its well-documented past lies a parallel history of sometimes frightening myths, legends and unexplained encounters.
Tales of eerie lights that follow travellers and truckies, ghostly figures, glowing tombstones, monsters and other strange creatures, and unexplained aerial phenomena have been told and retold down through generations - many of them are still making headlines.
Whether rooted in folklore or reality as we know it, these stories continue to intrigue and unsettle those who hear them, and will send a shiver down your spine.
1. The Min Min Lights
The Min Min lights pop up in various locations around Australia, and in Queensland it’s around Boulia, south of Mt Isa.
Many a person has been spooked by the Min Min Lights, particularly travellers and truckies who have been followed, sometimes at close range.
But is there any scientific proof that Min Min lights exist? Or is it simply an Aboriginal folktale that has been passed down for generations?
The lights have been described by witnesses as floating, fast-moving balls of colour that glow in the night sky and stalk people, leaving some feeling confused and frightened. Sometimes they are blue and other times they are white or yellow.
In Queensland, the Boulia Shire Council notifies visitors “in the interest of tourism” that they are in the land of the Min Min lights and that they may spot them as they drive for the next 120km.
Despite many experts attempting to solve the mystery of the light’s origin, and many attempts to catch the Min Min Lights, to date, no one has been successful.
Tales of Min Min Lights encounters
2. The Bruce Highway
In 2021, a paranormal podcast presenter shed light on why he thought the Bruce Highway was a massive paranormal hotspot.
Kade Moir says the 1679km highway has been the site of numerous paranormal encounters, from min min lights through to UFOs, yowies and shadow figures.
Several of Mr Moir’s podcast episodes have focused on UFO encounters on the highway, but it’s not all that’s reportedly been happening.
Mr Moir says truck drivers, in particular, have reported myriad strange encounters along the highway.
“Delivery drivers who go down the Bruce see shadow figures on the side of the road and some even have genuine interactions with them,” he said.
Mr Moir said one man had been driving past a graveyard on the highway when a phantom passenger appeared in his car with him.
“It really is quite an active spot,” Mr Moir said.
“I think a lot of people just don’t talk about it.
“You really get every kind of encounter under the sun there.”
Mr Moir says paranormal activity, especially involving UFOs, is particularly prevalent where the highway was closer to coastal areas.
Over time, there have been cases of strange events documented along the stretch of highway.
In late 2019, a married couple reported an eerie event where a cigar-shaped object followed their car along the Bruce Highway bound for Rockhampton.
The object, believed to be the diameter of a small jet and as long as two buses, came within 30 metres of their car, veering left and right next to them.
3. The Glowing Tombstone
A tale from the grave – the story of George Argo’s tombstone
Gympie’s “glowing tombstone” stands high on the rolling hills of the Corella Rd cemetery.
For decades, locals have debated the source of the creepy light shining off George Argo’s granite obelisk, be it a simple reflection of passing headlights and adjacent fixtures or evidence of something stranger at play.
Questions continue to cloud the circumstances of Mr Argo’s “accidental” early morning death in February 1895 – did he really fall down a mineshaft he knew “like the back of his hand”, or is there a more sinister truth?
Cemetery workers more recently have claimed Mr Argo’s tombstone no longer glows, but remain open-minded about just what that light could have been.
4. Spectre in the fire station
The Gympie Fire Station has a creepy past.
Unaccompanied footsteps and voices from disembodied sources are just some of the claims made by the 75-year-old station’s firefighters, who believe the spectral presence could be that of an officer who fell to his death from the building’s top level in the 1940s.
When he spoke with The Gympie Times in December 2015, officer Matthew Phillips said the station’s cleaners refused to stay after dark because of the ghostly goings-on.
“As soon as the sun goes down, the cleaners pack their things and leave,” he said.
“They refuse to work at night since a cleaner heard a male voice downstairs when there was no-one else around.
“The cleaner heard a voice say ‘come give me a hand’.”
Mr Phillips said he believes the presence, who the officers had nicknamed “Mick”, resides in the station because he had enjoyed being a firefighter.
5. Yowies
Three men were in “utter disbelief” just before Christmas in 2021 when they came across what they described as a yowie while driving home in the Sunshine Coast hinterland.
On Saturday, December 4, three plantation workers were driving back to the Jimna Base Camp when they caught sight of a “slouched over figure” standing under a street light.
“We initially thought it was a boar or a really big animal until we got closer and saw it run off in a very apelike way,” said one of the workers, Seamus FitzGerald.
The men recalled the creature standing up and turning to look at them.
They described it as having “very long arms”, “an apelike” face and shape and covered in “dark reddish hair”.
Mr FitzGerald said the situation was “surreal” seeing as he had never previously believed in yowies.
“I’ve never really had a paranormal or strange experience like that before. I hardly slept that night and the feeling was overwhelming that I had seen something that I never believed in previously.”
More on this yowie encounter here
If you ask Tony Duffy, yowies are not only out there but willing to speak with us.
While camping in a bush north of Gympie one night, the Kybong resident claims he spoke with a “very large male” for “about two hours”, though the creature spoke mostly in a foreign language he thought to be Latin.
“I got a fright and so did he,” Mr Duffy said in 2014.
“He was quickly able to learn a few words in English and we spoke for about two hours.
“They’re very intelligent.”
“My whole mission is to protect them and to convince people to leave them alone and not hurt them.
Yowie sightings have also previously been reported in Wolvi and Tin Can Bay, while former Queensland senator Bill O’Chee claimed he saw “an immensely powerful creature” at a Springbrook campsite in 1977.
6. The Big Cat
Multiple big cat sightings in and around Gympie have included the odd long distance photo, and horrific attacks on people and livestock.
Reporting her encounter on the Australian Big Cat Research Group website, an anonymous woman claimed she saw a “large, black catlike animal” walk across her path and look at her with gleaming green eyes while she drove on a dirt track in the Toolara Forest at Tin Can Bay in January 2018.
Describing the creature as “larger than a wolfhound” and appearing “glossy and sleek”, the anonymous woman compared her experience to alien abduction.
Website founder and former Australia Zoo big cat handler Vaughan King said the sighting was “one in a million in Australia”.
In December 2018, Rhys Linton believes he came across the legendary panther in Chatsworth on a Saturday night.
Mr Linton was driving from the Gold Coast to Glenwood at about 6pm when he decided to stop at Coles in Gympie.
He got back into the car and had made it between Chatsworth and Curra when all of a sudden he sighted “something black in the grass on the hill.”
That year there were big cat sightings at Miva, Kybong, Glenwood and Pomona.
In early June Kybong’s Adam Whitehouse was attacked by a big black cat when he stepped onto his veranda for a smoke.
A fortnight later Glenwood resident James Fowler said he came outside when he heard his dog madly barking, only to come face-to-face with a cat he described as 1.25m long.
In fact, it was a terrifying and unbelievable few minutes that left him bloodied, bruised and in complete shock.
About to let his pet cat Billy inside, it inexplicably flew near him when he stepped outside.
Then seconds later, a monstrous cat emerged, cornering his nine-month-old pet.
Pure black, with sleek, shiny fur, the unidentified feline was as a big as a small cattle dog and growling a frightening warning, Mr Whitehouse said.
“It was the biggest cat I’ve ever seen,” he said.
“The size dumbfounded me.”
A fortnight later Glenwood resident James Fowler said he came outside when he heard his dog madly barking, only to come face-to-face with a cat he described as 1.25m long.
“Big cat” chaser Vaughan King, founder of the Australian Big Cat Research Group website pantherpeople.com, who named Gympie a hotspot of ”big cat” activity after several sightings, said in the past that feral cats can get up to 20kg.
He said big cats begin at 50kg, which he believes include black leopards and black jaguars that exist in the Gympie region.
On average, a big cat sighting has been reported every day in Australia over the past two years.
Read about the Cooran big cat sighting
Horse inflicted with wounds near Gympie in what looks like big cat attack
Backpacker shocked at big cat sighting
7. The Bundaberg Hairy Man
An article published in 1934 tells the tale of a “hairy man” who was known to dwell in the Bundaberg region.
Reports at the time suggested indigenous locals would stay well away from Mundubbera’s Auburn Falls, west of Bundaberg.
Dense scrub and giant gum trees were reported to have created the perfect environment for the “hairy man”, who was said to bellow the loudest during flood season.
It is believed he made his home in a cave, with sticks with rounded ends being found around the place that could only have been the work of someone, or something.
Newspaper reports at the time said there was a belief among indigenous and non-indigenous alike that if the rounded sticks were removed from the hairy man’s territory, they would always find their way back.
Reports in the 1934 article refer to a tribal leader known as Chapman, who warned people against going into the hairy man’s territory, especially in the evening.
A writer at the time, who penned a piece about his time in Auburn Falls, said he met another indigenous man with flowing hair and beard, who looked “tired and despondent”.
When asked where he was going, the author noted he said he did not know, but wanted to get as far away from the falls as he could as the hairy man was angry and making a “big fellow noise” – a sound described as a “thunderous roar”.
Sightings of “hairy men” or yowies have continued through time, with numerous sightings in Queensland and other parts of the country.
8. Bundaberg UAP
Sightings of an unexplained phenomenon in the skies over Bundaberg have turned it into a hotspot for UFO activity in Queensland.
In late 2021, rural resident Trevor, who lives at Sharon, near Bundaberg, posted to the Australian UFO Sightings Facebook group saying he woke up about 12.30am on November 20, to go to the bathroom when he noticed that the usually loud flying foxes that feasted in the palm trees near his home were “dead silent”.
The eerie feeling created by the white noise had Trevor looking up towards the trees when he saw something in the sky that he still cannot explain to this day.
“I noticed a greenish glow in an easterly direction and was trying to work out what it was,” he said.
“A large triangular object came into view and it was silvery with a number of lights with some red, others blue or white and I have no idea how high it was but I know it was huge, at least twice the size of a 737.”
Speaking to the NewsMail, Trevor said the object made not a sound, and it could not have been a drone because of its enormous size and shape.
“This thing dropped out of the clouds and rested just below the clouds and there was dead silence,” he said.
“It didn’t make a noise and nor did anything else.
“For 30 seconds I watched it, and then it went behind some trees at the back of the house and disappeared.
Sightings have continued in the Bundaberg region, leading some to believe that there is something drawing these objects back time and again.
9. Close encounter at Pie Creek near Gympie
The truth is out there … or at Pie Creek, at least.
A local resident, who chose to remain anonymous, had a close encounter with something she describes as terrifying in January 2020.
“I couldn’t sleep – it was really muggy – so I went out the front to look at the stars,” the mother of two said.
“That’s when I heard this massive engine noise with a pulsating like massive humming sound.”
The woman said she instantly got goosebumps and was frozen for several moments as something she describes as shaped like “a massive V” flew over her head.
“I had white lights pulsating around it and blue and red lights going down the middle,” she said.
She said she then ran inside the house and woke her 13-year-old daughter and together they went out the back where the daughter said she saw it as well.
“I just wanted someone else to see it, so that I know I wasn’t going crazy,” she said.
“It was quite a feeling of terror.”
10. Booie cave monster
A mysterious creature was reportedly sighted in Booie, northeast of Kingaroy, in 1954.
According to an article published in the Central Queensland Herald, three teenagers encountered the “monster” near a cave on a grazier’s property.
They described it as being as tall as a man, covered in grey fur, with two hairy legs and a tail reaching the ground.
The creature reportedly growled before chasing the boys, who fled in fear.
Despite searches by armed bushmen, the “Booie cave monster” was never found.
Many believe the sighting was just an old man kangaroo, which can be taller than a human and known to make growling sounds when disturbed.
11. The South Burnett black panther
For decades, South Burnett locals have claimed to see a black panther roaming the forests around Nanango and Blackbutt.
In 2009, Stan Dennis recalled a time when cattle and dogs were allegedly attacked by the mysterious big cat. He and a friend even staged a practical joke using a Great Dane pup, passing it off as a tranquillised panther in a newspaper story.
Despite no concrete evidence, reports of a black panther in the region date back to at least the 1980s.
Some claim it’s an escaped exotic animal, while others believe it’s nothing more than oversized feral cats.
12. Goomeri Grand Hotel ghost
The Grand Hotel in Goomeri has long been rumoured to be haunted following a deadly fire in 1939.
Eight people lost their lives in the blaze, with reports suggesting some were trapped inside due to wooden blinds being nailed shut.
The hotel was rebuilt on the same site in 1943, but many claim the spirits of those who perished still linger.
One common sighting is of a woman smoking at the end of a bed, while others have reported eerie noises and unexplained movements throughout the building.
Among the identified victims of the inferno was Gladys Edwards, 24, who “threw her seven-month-old baby from the balcony to a spectator, and went back into the building to rescue a friend”, never to be seen again.
Another image showed 25-year-old hotel barmaid Mrs Pearl Frahm, who also lost her life.
Licensee John William Parker, a licensee who was employed in building the hotel, managed to escape the burning building but later died from burns and shock.
Mr Parker’s wife Eva, George Eddie, Thomas Robert Rickson, Allen Gordon Carter and Bridgett Eileen Eisentrager were all confirmed dead by the December 26 report.
Grave concerns were held for guests Walter Herbert Stewart and local tractor driver “Pitch” Taylor, but the pair were later located along with three others initially reported missing.
The hotel was eventually rebuilt in 1942 and stands as the centrepiece of Goomeri’s main street today, but the horror of December 23, 1939 is never far from the minds of staff and community members alike.
Room 11 at the Goomeri Grand Hotel VIDEO
13. The Kilcoy Yowie
Kilcoy proudly claims to be the home of Australia’s Bigfoot — the Yowie.
The legend of the Yowie has existed for generations, with Indigenous stories describing a large, apelike creature in the bushland.
A 3m-tall statue of the Yowie now stands in a local park as a tribute to the myth.
One of the most well-known sightings occurred in 1979 when two teenagers reported encountering a three-metre-tall Yowie.
Their teacher later took plaster casts of its supposed footprints, which measured 50cm long and 15cm wide.
The last recorded sighting of a Yowie in the area was in 2007.
14. The Mulgildie Bunyip
The infamous Bunyip Hole near Mulgildie in the Upper Burnett is steeped in mystery, with locals believing a monstrous creature lurks beneath the water.
Over the years, livestock have reportedly vanished near the hole, fuelling speculation about a hidden predator.
Aboriginal tribes in the region avoided camping near the site, fearing the same fate.
Some elders believe the hole is connected to an underground network of caverns stretching as far as Ban Ban Springs.
Whatever lurks beneath the surface remains unknown — but the legend of the Mulgildie Bunyip continues to send shivers down the spine of those who dare visit.
15. Moore Park Beach yowie
On a Sunday evening in 2021, a local family had a terrifying encounter with a large, hairy creature while walking on Moore Park Beach, near Bundaberg.
The sisters initially mistook the creature for a man, but it soon revealed itself as a nine-foot-tall, hairy being with long arms that chased them.
After the incident, the family found large footprints and heard strange screams the following night, prompting them to consider moving for safety.
“Me and my sister were walking along the beach and further up I saw what I thought looked like a man and it went down to the beach and washed its hands and then went back up into the sand dunes into the bush,” she said.
“I thought it was really weird because we never walked past the person that we thought it was.”
“We walked up more and my sister said she saw something tall and hairy and she was like ‘run’ and she was like ‘there’s something over there’ and then I was looking and I thought it was like a massive cow running at us so I just ran for my life,” she said.
It was then the creature switched to two legs.
16. Moha Moha sea monster off K’gari
A large sea monster was reported off the coast of Hervey Bay near K’gari in 1770.
On May 20, 1770, Sir Joseph Banks recorded the sighting of an odd creature in his journal when the Endeavour sailed along the coast of what is now known as the Wide Bay and K’gari.
It was the first reported sighting of the Moha Moha.
In his diary, he spoke of what he saw.
“The sea was so clear that we could distinctly see the bottom and indeed when it was 12 and 14 fathom deep the colour of the sand might be seen from the masthead at a large distance,” he wrote
“While we were upon the shoal, innumerable large fish, sharks, dolphins and one large turtle were seen.
“A grampus of the middle of size leap’d with his whole body out of the water several times, making a splash as if a mountain had fallen into it.”
His words were the first recorded evidence of a creature that would become known as the Moha Moha - Hervey Bay’s answer to the Loch Ness Monster.
School teacher Shirley Lovell stationed at Sandy Cape in the late 1800s, wrote of her sighting of a sea serpent of some 34 feet in length.
“I was while walking on the Sandy Island Beach admiring the stillness of the sea, it being dead calm, when my eye caught sight of the head and neck of a creature I had never seen before,” she wrote.
“I went to the edge of the water and saw a huge animal, lying at full length, which was not at all disturbed by my proximity to it, enabling me to observe the glossy skin of the head and neck, smooth and shiny as satin.
“Its great mouth was wide open all the time it was out of the water.
“In about a quarter of an hour or so it put its head and neck slowly into the sea, closing its jaws as it did so.”
Miss Lovell described the creature as having a long neck and a wedge-shaped fishlike tail, with the head and neck “moving under a carapace”.
“The fishlike part of the tail was as glossy and shiny as the head and neck,” she said.
Testimony from Aboriginal people supported her claims, with reports the creature had attacked their camp.
Numerous sightings of the creature have been reported off the coast of the region, even as recently as the 1970s.
A representation of the terrifying creature can be seen at Scarness Park.
Known as the Moha Moha, or dangerous turtle, the sculpture of the creature was created by Tony Bradbury, Blunt Chisel and Chris Calcutt.
It was commissioned by Hervey Bay City Council as part of its Public Art annual budget allocation.
17. Pine Islet lighthouse
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.
18. Greenmount Homestead
The Greenmount Homestead in Mackay has had many reported ghost experiences.
Many of the volunteers will tell you they have felt a presence, felt uneasy, or felt like they are being watched, and there have been some unexplained happenings, said council employee Fran Mann.
“Some of the volunteers even report seeing a ghostly figure on the premises.”
Greenmount Homestead volunteer Rosemary Payne said some of the volunteers had reported seeing a ghostly figure of a woman.
“We’ve wondered if it might be Althea, Tom Cook’s late sister, but we are thinking it might be Mrs Cook,” Ms Payne said.
“She’s been seen a few times now and the sightings seem to be happening more lately.
“A few of us were there after a shift one evening, about to leave, when we noticed that Mrs Cook’s bed was crumpled and appeared as if someone had been laying in it. The room had previously been immaculate and none of us had gone in there.”
19. Newlands mine camp
The terrors of the Newlands mine camp in the Glenden area south west of Mackey was enough to bring one miner to tears. Here are some real-life accounts from workers in 2021, who stayed at the haunted camp.
“There’s a few around the actual mine site up at the training complex,” said Elise Dunckis.
“Yep I experienced three different times over a few years,” said Shaun French.
“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.”
20. 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 blighted 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.
21. Old Railway Hotel
A woman in a blue frock has been known to wander the halls and stand at the end of guest’s beds in the Old Railway Hotel in Mackay, staring at them as they attempt to sleep. Cold spots are felt through the building, 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.
22. Criterion Hotel
Many publicans and patrons have passed through the doors of the Pioneer Valley pub, the Criterion, which first opened its doors in 1908.
Because of the age of the building in Finch Hatton west of Mackay, 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 reporting a “funny feeling” near the room.
23. Church on Palmer
The history of the iconic North Mackay Church on Palmer 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 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.”
24. Hook Island
A sea monster is rumoured to roam the waters of the idyllic Whitsunday Island, Hook Island.
A 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.
25. Mackay Leisure Centre
Staff and customers at the Mackay Leisure Centre on Broadsound Road have reported strange happenings at the beloved bowling alley, squash court and roller rink.
Folklore has it that the centre was built on top of a canefield where a woman was killed in a horrific accident years ago.
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”.
26. Pomona Hotel
A resident spectre walks the halls of the hotel, with locals and staff apparently aware of a presence that has even been given a name - Darby.
Footsteps are heard from time to time throughout the venue, and doors inexplicably open and close of their own accord.
It is said the phantom prefers the hotel’s Darby Room Restaurant, which is named after long-time Pomona resident and the now deceased, Darby Schrieber.
However, no one is sure if the presence is Schrieber.
27. Marcoola and the Redcliffe peninsula
For a few weeks in the spring of 1991, residents of Marcoola allegedly heard a frightening rumbling sound coming from the sea, despite there being no storms, seismic activity or warships in the area.
The same sound was reported from the Redcliffe peninsula on one occasion, accompanied by thousands of fish rising to the surface and fluffy little clouds moving in the opposite direction to the wind.
People described it as frightening.
28. Boggo Rd boogy man
The notorious Boggo Rd Gaol at Dutton Park is what nightmares are made of.
With 42 inmates hung there over the gaol’s history there’s sure to be a bunch of spooks roaming the corridors, but the most notorious is that of Ernest Austin- hung for the gruesome murder of an 11-year-old girl.
It’s said the murderer likes to pop up when you least expect him, gliding through walls and even strangling prisoners while the jail was operational.
Add to that the demonic laughter which echoes through the halls, and the fact that Austin was said to have cackled as he was hung, and you’ve got yourself a truly terrifying tale.
29. A ripping yarn
Could Brisbane be the final resting place for the world’s most famous serial killer?
Rumours exist that Jack the Ripper jumped ship, literally, and sailed to Australia from London after committing his murders.
Some people believe the serial killer was in fact English conman Walter Thomas Porriott – buried alongside his wife Bessie at Toowong Cemetery.
Porriott was a convicted killer who lived in London when the five murders attributed to Jack the Ripper took place.
Porriott was also known to be a misogynist – he particularly hated prostitutes.
The Sydney-based family of Porriott - known to London’s police as Andrew John Gibson - in 1997 accused Porriott of being Jack the Ripper.
The five Jack the Ripper murders took place between August and November 1888.
Porroitt sailed to Brisbane on November 9, 1888, the day the fifth prostitute was killed, according to then Ipswich councillor Paul Tully, an amateur historian and Jack the Ripper blogger.
“There is a lot of circumstantial evidence, but nothing has ever been proved and probably I think Jack the Ripper will go down in history and no-one will ever be able to identify who he really was,” he said.
Despite the FBI in 1988 preparing a profile of Jack the Ripper, no-one has ever been convicted of the killings.
A few years ago the grave was vandalised, with some commenting it could have been devil worshippers trying to raise Jack’s ghost.
30. Crocs in the Brisbane river
Those pesky crocs are migrating south, or so goes the urban myth.
Long have there been discussions of crocodiles surfacing in the Brisbane River, but no actual evidence has floated by so far.
While there’s no doubt there’s a shark or two in these waters, are they the only hungry predators lurking in the deep?
Some pointed to the Mary River croc, last year found happily swimming about north of Gympie, as evidence the reptiles could venture into the city.
Most recently one was positively identified at Elliott Heads then by a ranger at Inskip Point so there is no denying they are venturing south.
31. Whipped on Queen Street
While some would argue modern day Queen Street in the heart of Brisbane is the equivalent of a bloodbath at sales time, Brisbane’s city centre has some legitimately nasty tales attached to it.
Apart from various reported hauntings, including of Brisbane City Hall, there’s also the convict whipping post which reportedly used to be stationed outside the modern day casino.
One urban legend even details how the mall’s downwards slope was put to good use, with the blood from the whippings trickling down the hill – surely saved a lot of mopping.
32. Carried away at the cemetery
As one of Brisbane’s oldest cemeteries, Toowong Cemetery holds many myths and legends, and it’s the place where more than 120,000 souls lay at rest.
One is in the area is located at Twelfth Ave, which is more popularly known as Spook Hill.
This sloping road within the cemetery grounds has a very special property. There have been a lot of reports that parking your car facing uphill and letting it roll will have the car rolling uphill instead of downhill.
One traditional tale tells of the graves of two young sisters who were killed in a car accident lie on top of Spook Hill. According to the legend, the two girls drag unsuspecting cars uphill so that the people in the car will meet the same fate.
Another myth dictates the grave of a little boy who was run over and killed sits at the top of the hill, causing all cars in the area to be drawn towards him.
33. Golden dreams
While Gympie and further north were the golden gates for prospectors during the gold rush, some say Indooroopilly is literal pot of gold at the end of the Brisbane rainbow.
A silver mine worked in the suburb for years, and many now say there is still gold in the banks of the Brisbane River by the Indooroopilly Bridge, the Walter Taylor Bridge.
The government owns the land surrounding the bridge, with a few gold-minded conspiracy theorists claiming the powers that be are holding onto the land for more than just the climbing property prices.
It was revealed in February 1986, that the gold lays buried in the country schist deep below the original bridge’ suspension pylon.
A souvenir brochure published in 1936 said:
“While putting down the first test hole at a depth of 4.4m gold ore was struck and some free gold discovered.”
34. Lakes Creek Hotel
A man believed to have been murdered in the stables behind the Lakes Creek Hotel is believed to haunt this pub, just outside Rockhampton.
Said to be named “Gideon”, he has been seen in the hotel since the early 1980s.
His room is said to be “unnaturally cold” all year round, and so it remains vacant.
The 5 ghost stories that haunt Rockhampton
35. Leichhardt Hotel
Said to be one of the most haunted buildings in Queensland, the Leichhardt Hotel in Mount Morgan is believed to have eight known ghosts.
A ghost dog, a ghost called Old Ma and a practical joker ghost are among the spiritual entourage; their presence well known throughout the historic gold mining town.
One apparition seen is a lady in white drifting through the hallways.
It is said if the door is unlocked, it will “lock itself” before she vanishes.
A man believed to have been killed during a fight in the late 19th Century is said to haunt the games room in the eastern end of the hotel and veranda.
Old Ma, the former owner, has been seen in the dining room and watching over the cleaners in the laundry. She fades when approached.
The practical joker ghost has been known to move luggage around the rooms of guests.
A ghostly shadow is said to push and prod people on the stairs before running away late at night or in the early hours of the morning.
A man in a chef’s outfit, who has appeared to guests dressed either in that outfit or in a dinner suit.
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Originally published as Urban myths and legends of Qld to keep you up at night
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