Australian Ghost-Hunters Busted
news.com.au
Mon July 11, 2005
AMATEUR ghost-busters have been warned by police not to illegally go in search of spirits.
The warning comes after a group of would-be ghost-busters allegedly broke into an abandoned hospital believed to be inhabited by the souls of former patients.
About 12 people allegedly broke into the former Queen Victoria Hospital in Wentworth Falls after finding references to the hospital being haunted on the internet.
Acting Inspector Russell Lloyd yesterday told The Daily Telegraph it was not uncommon for people to trespass on the abandoned hospital.
"You get the local rumours about ghosts being seen out there but, whether people are ghost-hunting or not, they're still trespassing and there is no excuse," he said.
"The bottom line is if you go into a place without permission to enter, then police will take the necessary action."
He said the group that allegedly broke into the hospital last week were confronted by police as they were making their way down the mountains. When asked what they were doing at the site, they allegedly replied they were looking for ghosts.
Insp Lloyd said the group was given a "stern" talking to.
The Queen Victoria Hospital was one featured in TV series Scream Test, in which contestants spent a night at six "haunted" locations. The show's website acknowledges the hospital is not open to the public because it is "unsafe".
Peter Clifford, who conducts ghost tours in the Blue Mountains, said yesterday there was no excuse for people breaking the law in search of spirits.
He also warned people who visit reportedly haunted sites with sinister intentions may find themselves in more trouble than they bargained for.
"If they're going there to break headstones or bring an ouija board and try to contact a spirit, they will contact the spirits which are trapped and they tend to be the nasty ones," Mr Clifford said.
Ruby Lang, a professional paranormal researcher, said the internet and shows such as the UK's Most Haunted and America's Scariest Places on Earth fed the public's appetite for the paranormal.
"Ghost hunting has taken off in Australia in the past two years," Ms Lang said, adding many historic sites - including Australia's reportedly most-haunted house, Monte Cristo in Junee - now stage tours to cope with demand.
Ms Lang said professional paranormal researchers used scientific tests to investigate, research and document Australian ghosts and hauntings legally and with the permission of the site's owners.
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