Rattling chains and lonely lighthouses: This is Australia’s most haunted city

When you think of Newcastle, golden beaches and coal ships might spring to mind. 

But the coastal city in New South Wales is also a hotspot for ghosts, with six of Australia’s 296 haunted locations located around the Newcastle city centre, new data found.

Among them are the Newcastle Civic Theatre, the old Newcastle Police Station and even a KFC restaurant, according to the research from Ray White. 

“This concentration likely stems from Newcastle being Australia’s second-oldest city behind Sydney, with much of its historic infrastructure still standing,” Atom Go Tian, Ray White senior data analyst and unofficial ghost-hunter, said in a statement.

Go Tian and his team tracked down Australia’s top hotspots for paranormal activity. 

The second-most haunted areas after Newcastle were the city centres of Brisbane and Adelaide. 

It’s rumoured you can hear strains of spectral music and spot shadowy shapes in both cities’ town halls. 

The researchers found hotels, pubs and restaurants were the most common spots for supernatural sightings – such as Melbourne’s Hotel Windsor.

“As Australia’s only surviving grand 19th-century city hotel (built in 1883), it’s infamous for the ghost of a woman in a lilac gown who appears on the grand staircase who is believed to be the spirit of Australian opera singer Dame Nellie Melba,” Go Tian said.  

Residential dwellings were the second most commonly haunted locations. 

Perhaps the best-known of these is Monte Cristo Homestead in Junee, NSW, which is often dubbed ‘Australia’s most haunted house’.

At least 10 spirits are said to haunt the property, including the ghosts of a reclusive widow and a young boy who died in an asylum.

Other common ghost hotspots in Australia are public places – like roads, bridges and lighthouses – where tragedies took place. 

The Victorian lighthouse that features in the kids’ TV show Round the Twist is said to be haunted by the ghost of a teenage girl who disappeared while fishing one night. 

“We like to imagine ghosts and spirits exist in some distant otherworldly realm, yet the reality is they seem to enjoy our company,” Go Tian said. 

He added that while his team were “as comprehensive as possible”, they may have missed some ghost hotspots. 

“Ghosts can be very private, so this is by no means a complete documentation of all haunted locations in Australia,” Go Tian said.