I brought this up with my playgroup yesterday and one of the girls suggested I post it on EB as it may get a few responses.

Anyhoo - I have just joined the Australian Ghost Hunter’s Society (AGHS) in Canberra and I was wondering if anyone knows of, or had any experiences of, any haunted places in and around Canberra.

Just to give you an example, these are a handful of haunted places I have been able to find out:

Collector Ghost - The story of the Collector ghost began in the 1930s when a man dressed all in black and wearing a top hat was often seen along the western shores of Lake George.

Hitch-Hiking Teenager - Motorists in the 1960s have told of picking up a young woman hitch hiking on the highway by Lake George. But those who have stopped and picked her up say that when they arrived in Canberra and turned around in their seat to see where she wanted to get out, she was no longer there. Apparently she looks whole and perfectly normal as she gets into the back seat when they pick her up. Then she disappears. Some people believe it is the ghost of a young woman who was murdered nearby and whose body was dumped along the highway.

Ginninderra - There is a story going around Canberra that tells of a haunting on Ginninderra Creek. In the old days of Canberra the creek ran through a large sheep station called Ginninderra, hence the name of the creek. Back in the late 1870s a young drover was trying to cross the creek late on a rainy night. The poor man slipped and was dragged under by the rain water flooded creek. His body was later found 500 metres downstream by some station hands and shearers caught under some woody debris. The site of this crossing is on Ginninderra drive near where it intersects with Tilyard drive in Charnwood. The crossing no longer exists but a pedestrian footbridge over the creek sits very close to the original site. Many people walking or jogging at night have witnessed a strange glowing but wispy figure standing by the edge of the creek.

The Hotel Kurrajong, Barton - Ben Chifley stayed here from 1940, when he entered parliament, until he suffered a fatal heart attack in Room 214 on 13 June 1951, while the Jubilee Ball was being held in Parliament House. They say he still haunts room 214.

National Library - ‘hosts’ the ghost of an airman killed during the opening of (Old) Parliament House, May 9, 1927 - his plane crashed on the site of the current national library and many who work there have ‘felt the presence’.

Cheers,

Not sure if this is relevant but I came across these tours when viewing the Old Parliament House website earlier today:

They have four dates listed but all are booked out. If anyone is interested then I'd email the above address.

I'd heard about a few of those other ghosts beforehand, especially the Hotel Kurrajong one and some around Lake George too.

I like hearing ghost stories - they always make my hair stand up on end!

I had a workmate who was a caretaker at Cooma Cottage (near Yass) about eight years ago. She mentioned something about a ghost a few times - and that one night a door, that had previously been stuck tight and unable to be opened, was found ajar one morning. They assumed it was the ghost!

Another one I heard recently was in Murrumbateman - a friend lived there about 20 years ago, near that first winery on the left. When my friend was a teenager they held a seance (for "fun"). They were down one end of the house, the parents at the other. The house was elevated and not quite complete - and the room where the kids were had french doors that were about 1.5m above the ground (the deck had not been constructed yet). During the seance the doors flung open, despite there being no wind. The kids panicked, and ran for the door, but it wouldn't open and it was like someone was on the other side holding it shut. Eventually it opened, and there was no-one on the other side. They thought my friend's father was playing a joke. But he was still up the other end of the house. After that my friend moved into her sister's room and they didn't tend to play down that end of the house. They discoved later that a local teenage girl called Jennifer died (not sure how) some years earlier and the house was built on part of her property in an area used to be her favourite place to ride her horse.

Another one. I am in Chifley, and a house nearby was sold two years ago and is currently being renovated. The female owner complained to her neighbour about feeling a young female presence following her around the house, making her feel uneasy. The neighbour, who has been living at his house for about 15 years, then told her that a young woman committed suicide in the garage of her house about 12 years ago. That is a bit too close to home, really - and very tragic.

I have heard ScreenSound Australia is haunted.

It totally makes sense to me that weird, ghosty stuff happens around Lake George -- that place has always felt like a Badlands to me. Creepy. My mum once told me a priest took a couple of boys from his school out on the lake and there was an accident and one of them drowned. Drowned -- on Lake George?!

Grazing at Gunning has a story about one of the rooms being haunted.
I cant remember the story now!
but it might might be a good excuse for a nice dinner out.

oooh how interesting!!! although I would NEVER use a ouija board - I've heard too many stories of stuff happening

I watched a show on foxtel the other night about these ghost hunters. It was freaky, but could have been easily staged.

My parents were dropping a family friend off to Lanyon years ago late at night. They pulled over so he could quickly go to the loo and he came running back to the car as white as a ghost. He swears an old man (ghost figure) walked up to him

The house across the road from my mum's has a ghost in it.
I saw it as a child but have not been back to that house in about 15yrs.

It only appeared in 1 room, you could not see a figure as such but the end of the bed would dip in with a bum shape and a wired feeling would fill the room.

Pretty freeky.

Also when I had blake my brother best mate was staying at my mum's house and saw my pop walking down the hall. When he got up in the morning he was asking mum who else was there? He thought that he must have been dreaming until he saw his picture, he knew that is who is saw, he has been seen ever time that a new grandchild is born too. BTW he died when i was 10

i know sorry my child knows there is a ghost at my place she has to sleep with the light on. thank god we are moving out very soon.

Sharon - that is so lovely! A little spooky but mostly just lovely.

I don't have any ghost stories - but I love hearing them!

Cheers,