Derelict Bristol 170 Freighter plane – Awhitu

This derelict plane gathering greenery on a south Auckland farm has been intriguing those who have stumbled across it for decades. The fuselage of the Bristol 170 Freighter sits abandoned but still very much appreciated by aero fanatics, on an Awhitu paddock.

Hidden in Gorse – West Auckland

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Ghost Hunters in the Dark

Why do ghost hunters look for ghosts at night with the lights off? Obviously it’s more dramatic, but is there some specific reason or investigative rationale behind it? —S. Pedroncelli A: Nearly every ghost-themed “reality” TV show and film has one or more scenes in which the investigators walk around

Australian Ape Project: Footprints and Site Comparisons

Photos by Ray Doherty and Nigel Francis March 2013 ABSTRACT The purpose of this report is to present and to discuss findings on the comparison of Unknown foot prints obtained from three (3) locations around the Sunshine Coast, QLD, in order to determine several key points. Identify the consistency in

The Footsteps

My partner and I used to live with her Brother for a few years while we were saving for a house. He told us that weird things had been seen and heard there. I had a week away from work. On the Monday morning I woke up and snoozed while my

Aitu. A word of many spiritual meanings.

In Polynesian languages, the word ”Aitu” refers to ghosts or spirits, often malevolent. The word is common to many languages of Western and Eastern Polynesia. In the mythology of Tonga, for example, ʻaitu or ʻeitu are lesser gods, many being patrons of specific villages and families. They often take the

Birkenhead/Glenfield Cemetery – Auckland

The Birkenhead/Glenfield Cemetery is one of Auckland’s oldest cemeteries, with graves dating back to the 1880’s. Closed for several years, it has been the focus of many attempts by the local community to restore some of the older headstones which have succumbed to time or vandalism over the years.

Back to the drawing board (Part 1) – Could we be creating our own monsters?

I wrote a post a while ago titled “The missing link” where I questioned what sufficed as potential paranormal evidence. How do we rate our findings when we really have nothing to measure them against? I also stated my personal view questioning what it is (as a paranormal investigator) that

St Stephens School – South Auckland

Editor's Choice

St James Theatre, Auckland – Return visit18/09/2015Abandoned Buildings / Historic Buildings / InvestigationsThe team gained a second session within the mighty St James Theatre, to follow up on our recent exploratory session, with more indepth investigation, further exploration and documentation and a few communication attempts. This time we were joined by Joshua and Hinemoa from Hamilton’s Midnight Paranormal. [...] Read more...

Undisclosed Innercity Brothel10/11/2013Hotels and Businesses / InvestigationsAuckland City’s rich, lively and ever changing sex industry has seen many characters and guises through the decades. Parlours would open with great frequency, but never seemed to survive long, but for only a small handful of ‘stayers’ that thrived through the years. The Pink Pussycat Club (run by the ‘King of K Rd’ or strip club magnate, Rainton Hastie, who opened his first strip club, the Pink Pussycat, on Auckland’s Karangahape Rd in 1963 and passed away in 1995), The recently deceased Las Vegas and Famous Floras, The (still alive) Pelican Club all becoming legendary in status and leaders in this highly competitive industry. (Worth mentioning, though this isn’t the location that the team investigated….) In 2003, the iconic Pink Pussycat Club sign was carried off its K’Rd property, ending the strip joint’s 40-year presence in the red light district. The club had been closed for years, but during its two-decade heyday it was almost synonymous with Auckland’s growing sex industry. Ian Hastings, former head of Auckland police’s vice squad, rated it as the first big strip club in Auckland. The red light areas in Auckland City have stayed quite constant through the decades. From the Lower Queen St end of ‘seedy’ Fort St up to the buzzing mini metropolis of K’Rd. A few parlours started up around the smaller surrounding suburbs to cater to those wanting a thrill closer to home. Prostitution in Auckland Prior to 2003, indoor prostitution in New Zealand was governed by the Massage Parlours Act 1978, which allowed brothels to operate in the guise of massage parlours. However, the act defined massage parlours as public places, so laws against soliciting in a public place applied to workers in parlours, and they were sometimes raided and entrapped by police posing as clients. Workers in the parlours were also required to provide their names and addresses to the police. Advertising the sale of sex (“soliciting”), running a brothel, and living off the earnings of prostitution were illegal. These laws were changed by the Prostitution Reform Act, passed in June 2003. The decriminalisation of brothels, escort agencies and soliciting, and the substitution of a minimal regulatory model created worldwide interest; New Zealand prostitution laws are now some of the most liberal in the world. Although prior to 2003 New Zealand had several laws meant to suppress prostitution, during the last decades of the 20th century, there had been a high degree of toleration of sex work in practice. Nevertheless, police continued to raid brothels, streets, and private residences of sex workers right up to the day before the Prostitution Reform Bill was passed by Parliament. The Massage Parlours Act effectively allowed indoor commercial sex under a facade. Prostitutes advertised their services as ‘escorts’ and brothels advertised themselves as ‘massage parlours’. Workers in massage parlours were required to be registered with the police from the time the Massage Parlours Act 1978 came into force. Haunted Auckland was requested to investigate and cleanse an Auckland inner city brothel before it’s reopening by new owners. Some pretty thorough renovations were underway as the opening night deadline loomed. Many people have mentioned the building to be haunted including the NZPC (New Zealand Prostitutes Collective), the bartender from the bar downstairs and some of the working girls there, current and previous. Due to some of the ‘older’ working girls’ dislike for working in the building with is present ‘haunted vibe’, as well as the owner’s discomfort, the Haunted Auckland team were asked to do an investigation and subsequent cleansing of the brothel so it felt better, in time for their grand re-opening. The History The three level building has a long history. It’s believed that the current owners are the fifth set of owners to be running a brothel from this property. They told us of rumoured deaths of one of the working girls in an upstairs room and the demise of a man in one of the rooms now being used by the business. The basement level of the building is currently being run as a bar, the main level the brothel and the upper level is being refurbished into apartments. It is known that at one time the building was used as a boarding house (or lodge) and it is rumoured that the premises was originally a factory (perhaps manufacturing nails). Reported Activity The smell of smoke and whiskey inside the building (smelled mainly by women), in the bar area, hallway and Room 2. A locked door to the upper level being found ajar, the owner made certain to lock it but it was found ajar again the next day. The owner’s mother dreamed of the building before she had ever seen it. Loud noises coming from empty areas. Lights going out for no reason on more than one occasion with an electrician having difficulty finding reason why and not being able to repair them. Different people feeling strange or sensing a presence particularly in and around one of the rooms. One of the owners went home one day feeling a strong sense of anger that was out of character for her, then ‘came to her senses’ thirty minutes later. Some working girls dislike working in the building due to the occurrences and due to who they refer to as ‘an angry man’ in there. The Investigation Haunted Team for this Investigation – Mark, Barbara, Kris, Kel and Jacalyn. Weather Conditions – Light rain periodically throughout the evening. Lunar Cycle – Day before first quarter The Haunted Auckland team conducted a Class 2 investigation of the premises. A complete room-by-room E.M.F (Electromagnetic Field) and temperature reading sweep of the building was conducted and logged at three stages throughout the night. The team interviewed the owners and others who had been at the venue, took hundreds of photos and hours of video, as well as trialling the use of a ‘spirit box’ and doing numerous trigger tests. The entire investigation was audio and video recorded by two members of the team and hours of additional audio was recorded during communication sessions, where members of the Haunted Auckland team attempted to capture E.V.Ps (Electronic Voice Phenomenon) during communication sessions. The teams’ initial views on entering the premises were varied: Barbara – It was a shock to leave the bar area and walk into the corridor which lead to rooms as the walls in that area were bright red. It felt as if there was something / someone there watching us. It felt quite creepy to me. At times I could feel a sadness which was not mine. Jacalyn – I had a slight sense of apprehension when looking up the corridor towards the rooms, which I found strange. Mark – The building does have a somewhat eerie feeling on entry, but I put it down to the place just being empty and under construction with renovations. There was the smell of paint and the place was darkened due to the lights not being in use. Kel – When I first entered the brothel I felt a very strong vibe there. There were a lot of entities there. I had to leave the bar area as I felt quite sick and I felt I was being watched Kris – Feeling wise, I got nothing I couldn’t explain, apart from a feeling of unease when I first went in and an empathy to those that have worked there in the past. Mark noted a few slight temperature fluctuations, mainly in the two rooms that the owners had mentioned that others had noted paranormal activity around Mark – If I had to pick one room as being the more ‘different’ than the others, I would say Room 2. Mainly due to the temperature fluctuations being higher and changing faster than the other rooms. EMF – (Electromagnetic Field) Readings were pretty flat throughout the place. There were no major fluctuations, spikes or out of the ordinary readings within the EMF readings the team took. The only spikes being around the room heat pumps and in the bar area around the fridges, which is common. TEMPERATURES IN THE BUILDING There were definite temperature fluctuations between rooms, though there were also many wall sized mirrors in the rooms, heat pumps (some of which were operating) and various open windows and air vents around the building. Room temps were noted at 9.30pm and 11pm. Note the change in levels, which could have been due to a few factors – Us being there in the rooms (body heat), the natural drop in temperature outside as it got later, the room heat pumps adjusting themselves, the wind / air coming through air vents and toilet windows, a breeze surge as the front entrance door was opened and closed as people moved around. Room 1 – 19.0 / 20.8 Storage Room – 20.9 Toilets beside storage – 20.7 Room 2 – 18.9 / 19.2 Room 3 – 20.9 / 20.8 Team Base Room – 20.7 / 20.8 Room 4 – 20.7 / 20.1 Hallway – 20.8 / 19.9 Room 5 – 18.7 / 19.3 Room 6 – 20.5 / 20.4 Room 7 – 20.8 to 20.7 / 20.7 Hallway – 19.9 / 19.7 Kitchen / Bar – 19.5 / 19.6 After the investigation the team members spent many hours or reviewing, combing through their photos, videos and audio recordings, however we found nothing worthy of mention. The lack of useable audio was partly due to the music from the club below being heard throughout the entire building and therefore was present in most of our recordings. The spirit box was used during some of the communication sessions. A good possible E.V.P recording was captured in one of the rooms where workers had complained that they felt uncomfortable. In this recording, a question is asked whilst a ‘ghost box’ is playing. Immediately after, there seems to be answer, “yes’. When responded with a “what?”, from the team member, it is further replied with a repeat, “yes”. We are trialling a Ghostbox, or Frank’s box, in the name of open minded-ness and working out hypotheses to hopefully find answers. Many investigators swear by them, many dismiss them as rubbish, so we decided to incorporate one into certain areas of our research to see first hand for ourselves whether there is anything valid in their usage. Whether anything received is just random radio sounds or something more, we aim to find out in due time. [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/116887941″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=true&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”80″ iframe=”false” /] In the same room, a trigger test was also done using playing cards, which were balanced together. They were set up so they wouldn’t fall easily and when a team member tested the trigger by walking past them closely more than once and then literally jumping up and down, the cards did not fall. However they fell twice while they were unobserved and three team members were sitting quietly in the room. Unfortunately when we tried to capture what was happening on video the cards remained standing and did so for the rest of the investigation. This is of interest as we did initially question if there was a possibility that the cards had fallen due to the vibration of the music that could be heard throughout the building, but as they then remained standing for several hours after this incident it seems that that explanation is unlikely. In Conclusion During our session there we were able to explain and debunk the issue of cigarette smoke being smelled from time to time. This was also smelled by the team throughout the night as the club patrons downstairs sat in the designated smoking area located directly below the brothel’s toilet window and the smoke wafted upwards. There is also tenant living upstairs, who Mark heard twice walking around during our session. There was the definite creak of walking weight overhead. Mark even briefly met the guy as he was being shown up there by the owner. This could explain some of the noises heard overhead at night. There is also an emergency back stairwell through a locked door which leads down to the bottom club’s emergency back exit. Kris and Mark spent some time taking photographs down in the stairwell. Whilst down there they could easily hear people moving around next door in heels on wooden floorboards and the club’s music being played. Barbara – I cannot definitely say that the premises is haunted but personally suspect that there may be an intelligent haunting there due to an EVP recording captured on the ‘spirit box’ and the trigger test being set off. I would have liked more time to investigate further. Kel – My findings are inconclusive as to whether the place is haunted or not due to the fact there is residual energy there and I did not witness anything unusual Kris – Nothing worth sharing, also found EMF to be reasonably constant. Jacalyn – Given the history of the building, two alleged deaths and what the property has been used for I think there is a chance that the place is haunted even if there wasn’t a lot captured. I think it’s more likely for it be residual but I also feel there is a chance of something more intelligent being there as well. Mark – I didn’t really feel anything odd in the building at any time during the night. There were a few slight temperature fluctuations, mainly in the two rooms that the owners had mentioned had been reported as having activity, rooms 2 and 5. These two rooms were colder than the others and the temps seemed to fluctuate rather quickly as they were being taken down. I would like more details about the deaths that have occurred in the past there and the strange activity that has apparently happened since, mainly in rooms 2. It was an ok investigation, though we were limited to the amount of controlled investigation we could put in action as there is another club downstairs. Cigarette smoke was wafting up and entering through the toilet windows from the downstairs club designated smoking area. Another disruptive factor was the below club’s music being audible through the building. This made trying for recorded EVP captures near impossible. I personally feel that there is more to the story than we were able to uncover on that night, though, at this stage I do not feel that this place is haunted. Over the years there have been many stories about this premises being haunted. The owners of nearby businesses have also heard the stories from the staff and patrons of the brothel so it has a well-known history in the area. The team are interested to know more about the building. The whole building has a history, some dark, some neutral. We have heard of potentially paranormal activity from other business owners using this building, so we are keen to dig further historically and investigate some of the other parts of this building as well. There have been a good number of people that have claimed to have experienced activity within the building through the years, so the team feel they can’t all be discounted as being misidentification, human error or simple urban legend Although Haunted Auckland was not able to document any photographic or video evidence during our visit, we did capture one possible EVP. For a more controlled environment we would need to ensure the whole building was person and power free. Totally closed and vacant whilst we carried out an investigation. Haunted Auckland would like to thank the owners for inviting us into their premises and wish them all the best for the future in their business venture. [...] Read more...

St James / Regent / Odeon theatres – Auckland22/08/2015Haunted Locations / Historic Buildings / Hotels and BusinessesTWO SESSIONS : Sat 22 August 2015 & Fri 18 September 2015 I hadn’t set foot in this stunning central Auckland city landmark for a good twenty something years. as a kid I would save my pocket money and mow a few lawns, to raise enough to jump on a bus and go spend a day in bustling Auckland city. wandering around from second hand record store to second hand record store flipping through the vinyl’s, then grabbing a lunch down in a dingy hidden away basement cafe I liked, before heading to Spaceworld; a loud and perpetually buzzing video gaming arcade in the basement of the mighty St James complex which housed three movie theatres above; the St James, The Regent and The Odeon. My parents took me to a live show of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves there and its the theatre I stood in serpent-like ticket lines outside on Queen Street multiple times, to see repeat screenings of the first three Star Wars movies. The St James theatre was designed by Architect Henry Eli White to replace the Fullers Opera house that had burnt down in 1926, and according to Heritage New Zealand, is one of the best-preserved vaudeville theatres in New Zealand. It has a lot of the original and rare elements in its interior that you just don’t see in modern theatres. Cinema projectors were added a year later due to the growing popularity of movies. The adjoining Regent theatre was added in 1982. The theatre complex has been closed for some time and is about to be renovated into apartments, a retail complex and car park. Since its closure in 2007 due to fire damage, there has been limited access to the theatre. It reopened briefly in April of 2015 for a couple of events before closeing doors again in July 2015 as a result of yet another fire. Since its original closure date, I have been trying to get into the place to explore and photo document. Every theatre seems to have its ghost stories and the St James and its conjoined relatives are no exception. Like the looming Civic Theatre right across the road, the St James too, has entertained many a spiritual patron in its time. We were lucky enough to gain two sessions of research time in the buildings; Sat 22 August 2015, and again on Fri 18 September 2015. The first being primarily for general exploration and photographic documentation of the location, the second being more indepth and focussed. · Session One: Karen, Mark, Matthew, Lisa, Sam and Barbara. · Session Two: Mark, Edwin, Carolyn, Trina, Rowena and guests Joshua and Hinemoa (from Midnight Paranormal – Hamilton) At the time we arrived, we could no longer get into the Odeon Theatre as it had already been completely demolished. Due to safety restrictions, we could only poke our heads through a security door to see what was left and snap off a few photos. Sadly, everything had been dismantled and removed, leaving only timber and a large pile of rubble and building debris in what was the centre of the theatre. Weather Conditions on the night – At the beginning it was overcast and cool, then it rained heavily a couple of hours into the investigation. The rain could be heard in our audio recordings. The second session was fine but cloudy. Luna Cycle: For both investigations the moon was in the first quarter. Temperature in the Building: Session One : Temperatures ranged between 9 and 13 degrees depending on where we were in the theatre. There were no large temperature fluctuations despite at times it feeling as if the temperature had dropped significantly. Session Two: The temperatures ranged between 12 and 16 degrees in the building with no major fluctuations noted. Temperature outside on arrival – 9 degrees & 14 degrees FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Sam – They were mixed feelings really. The St James theatre was a semi -regular stomping ground for me in my teenage years seeing both local and international bands playing there. Being there certainly brought back some fond memories and it was certainly more familiar to me compared to other investigations I’ve been on where they have been my first ever visit to that particular building. I would say for the most part of it my first impression was a positive one – not unlike seeing an old friend for the first time; some things have changed, but the best parts have remained the same. Seeing the intricate details on the ceilings and pillars, the statues, busts and cherubs that adorned the walls, grinning down at us in much the same way as they had done to many other guests through the decades. It was an honour and a privilege to have the opportunity to take a look around. Seeing the posters on the walls backstage and seeing some of the graffiti on the walls (from the performers) – like an unintentional open time capsule, makes you appreciate what an important piece of Auckland’s history the building actually is. On the flipside it was quite sad to see that since its closure to the public in 2007 due to fire damage; a cocktail of time, neglect and uninvited guests have spoilt some of the areas to the point of needing some serious restoration and sadly letting it take on more of the stereotypical “abandoned building look”. I guess I was shocked more than anything standing in the same spot that I had not that many years ago, knowing how lively it was back then and coming to realise how quickly a building can deteriorate in the absence of a little TLC. Barbara – The actual theatre and stage areas were really smoky and smelt of BBQ. I had heard there had been a fire there so expected to see some fire damage so was pleasantly surprised that there was very little damage and there was only a little discolouration on the ceiling in the main theatre. The building was like a labyrinth with stair cases and stairwells going to seating, boxes, towers, dressing rooms and corridors and even a boarded off tower. There was no power in most of the building and some of the areas were already under renovation. I found the stairs, dark rooms and corridors quite disorientating and kept getting lost. For the second session, the theatre wasn’t as smoky as it had been the first time. There were some areas that we had been able to access during our first visit that we were not able to get to this time. Of particular note was the historic tower which had been blocked off (presumably due to the renovations which had been well underway during our initial visit.) For our first visit to the Regent, it was so dark that we couldn’t see our hands in front of our faces. When we turned our torches on we could see that the air was thick with dust. The front half of the theatre had had the cinema-style seats removed but the seats from about half way remained. It was quite sad to see that a lot of progress had been made on the renovation of this area. This time there were holes in one wall and we could see the room adjacent had many windows (some of which were broken). More seats had been removed so there were only a few rows at the back. The projection/lighting box at the back of the theatre had started to be removed and the front had been smashed. As a result the theatre was no longer the pitch black room that it had been on our earlier visit. The Haunted Auckland team was joined by Midnight Paranormal for the return visit to the St James/ Regent / Odeon Theatres. Both teams were keen to investigate claims that there had been several deaths at the theatre and had heard a rumour that a recent fire at the theatre may have been caused by an alleged ghost. Upon arrival the teams initially took photos and video of the building and established areas of interest. Several group communication sessions were attempted. One of these sessions was held in a stairwell and was in response to EMF activity. During this session (which was attended by two people from both teams) we had camera malfunctions reported and EMF confirmation that there was some form of energy present where earlier there had been none. Unfortunately a lot of the audio from this investigation was contaminated due to a group of people who, along with their dog, were camping in the doorway of the theatre. Over the course of the evenings the team took hundreds of photos, and many hours of video, infra-red, and audio recordings. Joshua – First impressions of the building while we assembled at the rear entrance was how much city noise there was about and how that may affect our chances of clear audio or even when sitting getting a feel of the place the city noise could play a large part also a few broken and open windows that would let noise but also air flow into the building. I doubted any surrounding lighting from the city would be a problem though. Upon entering the foyer Mark went for a walk around with the key holder and others went straight to the theatre /stage area I remained in the foyer for awhile to get a feel for the area and did not sense anything out of the ordinary and city noise seemed not to be a problem .The seating area in the St James had been cleared for renovations but the stage area seemed to be intact and un touched .No feelings of anything unusual at this stage but I was drawn to the under stage dressing rooms and made a mental note to explore there later for photos and perhaps an EVP session. Number of Rooms / Layout – St James Was big and rambling, but I managed to cover all of the areas of the theatre that we were allowed to visit. · The theatre itself consisted of what would have been the lower circle, the mid circle, the upper circle and the stage. The stage had a large door leading onto the street. The stage was still rigged up curtains, lighting and props, e.g. hat stands, piano etc. At one end of the stage was a spiral staircase – at the top was a door leading to the corridor to the regent. · The mid and upper circle still had the original seating which was pretty dusty and dirty. Roof rafters and floor boards were rotting. The queens’ boxes were still intact, though neglected like everything in there. · The foyer area had the beautiful period café and also held items such as a carved chair which the queen had sat on once. · There were 2 stairwells, the first leading to the mid circle and the other leading to the upper circle. · The floor areas outside of the circles were filled with theatre props. On the middle floor had there was bar at one end and at the other end was a door which led to a series of corridors and stairs. One set of stairs led to the roof space. Up here you could see various see buildings in the city. There were a number of very run down rooms off the stairwell, many of which had old posters on the walls. Everything was pretty derelict. One set of stairs here led to the projector room for the Regent. · On the top floor, there were toilets to the right of the stair well, other than that, the floor was just filled with junk. · Off the café there was stairs going down to an old basement area (apparently used as barracks during the war. There were various rooms and corridors here. Some rooms were packed with old seats and chair parts. In another area was a computer graveyard – so the room was filled with hard drives and old style monitors. One corridor seemed to lead to a door that was possibly a flat? The wall here had a range of interesting tiles. Regent The regent was mainly one big room with cinema seating and with a large stage at one end. · In the middle of the room was a staircase that led down to the toilets. · At the back of the room was a separate projector room – this only seemed to be accessible from within St James Theatre. · I went onto the stage and then down the staircase at the back which led to the corridor which in turn led to St James Theatre. Sam – I guess this is actually what I underestimated, how big the place was. Of course I was aware of the theatre, the stage and the two levels above the theatre worth of seating, however I didn’t expect a chance to check out the basement, private theatre, projection room, film safe all to name a few of the rooms that made up what could easily be described as quite “labyrinthine” when put into perspective. There was more than one occasion where we had lost our bearings and had no idea of where we were going or where we had been only to discover that we’d gone in circles. This very reason was also to blame for a mysterious light seen by Barbara and Karen who were (at the time) sitting in the Regent theatre (*without a torch the Regent theatre was pitch black, so any light other than your own in that part of the building would spark interest). As no other team members claimed to be in the Regent theatre at the time and due to there being no power to that part of the building it raised the question of where the light was coming from. As it turned out, it was the rest of the team that were responsible, as the discovered that the route to the film safe and the roof of the St James theatre meant passing the door to the projection room of the Regent theatre, the light from our torches obviously reflected against the glass of the projection window creating the light in which Barbara and Karen had been seeing. Barbara – The building was like a labyrinth to me. There was the actual theatre and stage area with a set of narrow spiral stairs backstage that went to dressing rooms, corridors and the Regent Theatre. The main auditorium had three tiers of seating plus boxes with elaborate lighting and ornate plasterwork decoration. There was a foyer/cafe with a art deco style tiled floor had doors had doors which opened into the theatre, and on the other side a marble staircase lead to the upstairs seating areas, along with what was probably bars and service areas. From the foyer there were corridors, and concrete stairwells leading to outside doors, offices and an old tower (which had been boarded up). It was interesting to note the elaborate décor and statuettes that were common in theatres in years past. Regent – The theatre was set out over two floors. The largest area was the actual theatre, which was large with a projection box at the rear and a small stage at the front. Behind the stage was a hallway/green room which lead back to the St James theatre via spiral stairs. In the centre of the main theatre were wide carpeted stairs which lead down to a large room which had toilets, service cupboards and what was possibly a shop of bar. Another set of stairs then lead down off this room to the exit/entrance for the theatre. There was a wooden door leant up against the hole where the original door to the theatre would have been. For session two, after more work on renovations, the basic layout of the theatre was intact with the stage, seating area (with only a few seats left at the rear of the room), projection/lighting box, downstairs bar/service area/ toilets all still being there. There had been a lot of work done however since our first visit and one wall of the theatre had had several large holes made in it and a lot more of the seating had been removed. The hole where the original door had been had been boarded up and no longer had the door leaning over it. For the second session, the building had changed slightly as we no longer had access to some areas (presumably due to progress being made with the renovations). It was disappointing that the tower area and adjoining rooms and corridors were no longer available to us to investigate. Lisa – St James: I was impressed by the original features. I thought the café area was really beautiful and really well restored; otherwise the place was very run down, dirty and neglected. You could see that in its day it would have been a very impressive and beautiful building. There were a couple of places that I felt were a bit creepy. One was the stairwell going to the upper circle. Not sure if it was just in my mind, but I felt a bit uncomfortable here and went up and down the stairwell as fast as possible! Also at the top of the stairs in the large area before going into the upper circle – I felt uncomfortable here and found I really just didn’t want to explore that area; I just couldn’t make myself do it. Regent : Hated it, old, dirty, dusty, empty, dark and creepy. It had a very 70’s feel. I didn’t really like the Regent at all and didn’t enjoy being in there. It was intensely dark when all the lights were out. I actually started feeling a little claustrophobic in the complete darkness at the end of the night during the communication session and at one point I had to fight the urge to just run out of there. We were told a story of a man having been set fire to in the toilets and subsequently died. The toilets were in the middle of the room down some stairs. I believe this may not have been the true story and the event actually happened at a different location. I explored the theatre and took some photos. The projector room was at the back of the theatre. I did access this, but from within St James theatre. At the other end of the theatre was a stage from which a back staircase led back to the corridor. Barbara – The theatre felt really creepy. It was very dark as there were no windows or doors which lead to outside. There was a thick coating of dust over every surface and lots of dust in the air. The person who initially showed us through the premises had told us that he hated being in this theatre alone and I could see why. At one stage in felt as if someone was standing right beside me and when we went downstairs the air felt really thick and to me it seemed as if there was may have been someone down there. I wasn’t sure if there was actually a living person or people there as we had been told that it was impossible to keep street people out of the building. I was nervous of stumbling across a street person asleep in the pitch black and this feeling was not helped by us hearing random bangs occasionally. For session two, the theatre had a completely different feel to it. Maybe it was due to the holes in the wall, which now let in light and air or the fact that this time we had a lot more people with us (including lighting and sound specialists). As a result instead of sitting in the complete pitch black while attempting communication sessions I was sitting in a lit room with a sound person recording my every word and it definitely altered the feel of the room. The bangs and odd sounds were not there the second time around either and we could clearly hear people talking outside the building. Occurrences – Barbara – We did have an experience while in the stairwell. The group had been upstairs doing a communication session and we were all going back downstairs via the concrete stairwell. We got to an area where there was a small wooden box tied to the handrail on the landing at the bottom of the stairs and most of the group had just gone through the door. Carolyn and I stopped to discuss the origin on the box and Joshua and Hinemoa from Midnight Paranormal joined us. We had been standing there for a minute or so when my EMF meter went off indicating a strong electromagnetic field was present. (We had been up and down this stairwell several times already during the investigation and there had been no indication at all from the EMF meter). The energy level was constant so we asked for any spirit present to move away from the meter. Seemingly in response to that request the meter stopped. When asked if whatever was there could come back to the meter the meter went off again. We were able to continue like that for a couple of minutes. With my meter going back to 0 when I asked if whatever was setting off to move away and beeping and showing high levels when asked to return to me. Joshua also had a meter with him (different brand) but his showed no indication of any EMF activity at all. (It should be noted however that Josh’s EMF meter showed no response anywhere in the theatre that night other than a brief reaction of a few seconds). After remaining in the stairwell for about 15 minutes it became apparent that we had done all we could so we moved out of the stairwell, and went over the foyer and into the main theatre to where the rest of the team was. The EMF activity continued sporadically while we moved to this area and then stopped. While we were explaining to the rest of the team what had occurred I saw a movement over the other side of the theatre. It looked like a solid white elongated wisp of about 20 to 30 cms wide and approx a meter high (although it did not reach the ground so appeared to be floating). It moved at walking speed in front of a black speaker box. I saw it clearly as I was looking straight at it and it moved about half a meter before it disappeared. I then remained in the theatre and once again had a strong indication from my meter while standing in the middle of the room. I thought that maybe it was due to the lights overhead but the actual lights did not emit any EMF at all. I stayed and tried to interact with the possible spirit but eventually after about five minutes the activity ceased. I went over the area again trying to find any readings but was unable to. I repeated this about an hour later and was still unable to get any response from my meter. Later I also returned to the place in the stairwell where we had experienced high levels but there was once again no reading at all. While in the upstairs bar area I had a strong feeling that someone was there. Initially it felt as if they were right next to me but by the time we set up a group communication session I feel it was gone (or had moved right away from the group). It felt like it came back while Carolyn and I did a small communication session but there was nothing caught on my audio. Joshua – We went through into the Regent which was heavily under deconstruction and the air was thick with dust and it was difficult for me to breathe and got into my eyes , I suffer from bad sinus and hay fever so this was usual for me in such conditions others did not seem affected by it .Although very dark and tricky underfoot in places I did not feel anything untoward in that area at all. We all split up a bit to wander about and I really tried to get a spiritual feel for the place .while also observing how the others went about there work .It was decided that Eddie and his girls film Barbara perform an EVP session behind the bar , I stood at the far end observing .While the session was going I did notice at my end of the bar there was an open door leading to the rafters behind the bar and there was a lot of street noise funneling through the gaps and thought this may interfere with the audio and give background noise that could be misinterpreted as paranormal. Mark led the whole group around for a look through and we went to the next floor. While we headed past the bar area toward the balcony seating I noticed that Carolyn had stopped at the doorway behind the bar so I stopped to have a look also but I felt the need to enter and she followed at about half way I turned to say I had just gotten a cold feeling on my legs but a hot rush to my body and head but as I did Carolyn said ”I feel really hot all of a sudden”. There did seem to be a negative feeling at this stage and after describing it to others it was thought perhaps an EVP should be done there. I began looking around the main area and any rooms off to the sides and noticed some open windows that were letting in quite a breeze and it was tricky to get base temperature readings around that area. We continued our tour and I felt nothing out of the ordinary . Barbara – My EMF meter was very quiet for most of the first investigation. There was an area in the theatre (about half way up the stairs) when there was strong EMF for about five minutes then it all went quiet again. Even once I returned to the area a couple of times over the next two hours there was no longer any reading there. While the reading was high I had a strong feeling that someone was standing beside me and physically felt an energy. For session two, I had a similar experience with my EMF meter to last time. I had been over this area looking for baseline readings when we first got to the theatre and had walked past the area with my meter on several times in the course of the investigation. Then as I went past it again (for the third time in about 45 mins) the meter went off showing high levels. It was in the same spot that I had experienced the same thing during the last investigation and the energy would come and go, ie there would be high EMF for about 20 seconds then nothing for a minute then high levels for a few seconds, then nothing for a few seconds. It went on like this for about 10 minutes and then stopped completely. Joshua – Later in the night as some of us were walking down the central stairs Barbara had an activation on her EM meter and stopped at that spot with Carolyn and Hinemoa and I was last and still descending toward them. Barbara moved the meter around to see where the activation was originating and it appeared to be directly in front of her. I got my meter out to check the area by and surrounding her and did not get any activation at all through the whole thing. She began to ask questions and when asking for whatever it may have been, to stop and move away from the meter, the activation stopped. So she asked for it to activate it again, and it did. This happened several times. I then asked if it could activate mine and come to me but nothing occurred. While this was going on, Hinemoa was taking pictures but the camera malfunctioned and the shots became blurry at that time and remained so for the rest of the night but was working fine the following day. After we left that spot and they told the others what had occurred, I returned to the spot by myself with my second meter and I instantly got a short burst for about 3 seconds then nothing. I scanned the entire area for about 5 minutes and could find nothing electrical in the walls ceilings or floor or steps that may have caused the activations and my phone was off. While in the Regent where Eddie was filming Barbara performing another EVP I sat on the stage near Eddie and Hinemoa. After awhile, Hinemoa motioned to me that she heard a noise behind the stage in the walkway as we passed Eddie he said did you hear the thumping behind us .We went for a look and apart from it being away from the draughts and being a little hot spot, we saw and heard nothing else and nothing appeared in the photos I had taken. Hinemoa and I performed an EVP in the dressing rooms she thought she could hear knocking and I got a severe temperature drop in one particular area down there however all photos were clear and nothing on audio. I later determined the cold spot was more likely from a cool breeze coming through the stage door at street height funneling through the corridor and into the rooms. There were periods where I tried to sit still and quiet to try to pick up on any energies that may be around but did not sense anything negative or truly active. In Summary Sam – To be completely honest aside from a curtain that was flapping about by itself on the second floor, that turned out to be doing so because of air conditioning, a constant taping noise in the bar area that turned out to be a leak in the ceiling dripping on the carpet and the regular haze that clouded the back of the stage due to the neighbouring Korean BBQ – nothing gave me the impression that the St James theatre was haunted other than the fact that it was a historical building and it was also a theatre, both usually go hand in hand with ghost stories. I loved being up on the roof of the Theatre and seeing the film safe where all the film reels were kept for safety reasons being highly flammable. Being up there and seeing rows of what appeared to possibly be original spotlights and other lighting fixtures as well as old film tins (empty or not I’m not sure) simply left to sit there and rust away was quite sad really. It may be trash to most people but to me it was treasure – it’s a party of history even. There was another room right above the big St James theatre sign that can be seen from Queens St, however the only logical way of getting to it seemed to have been boarded off. I’d love to know what was in that room for curiosities sake. I definitely found the basement and the rooms joining it most intriguing. It’s a rare opportunity indeed to be below street level in Auckland City. It’s always been one of my fascinations with wanting to know what’s down there? Are the stories about tunnels running underneath Auckland city real? Are there tunnels that run from one building to the next? Well, on this occasion I can neither confirm or deny, but if not for some low hanging exposed wires there was certainly a hole in the wall that I would have liked to venture further into. Aside from that the basement was home to rooms that were stacked wall to wall with old cinema seats, dusty and obviously had been sitting there forgotten about for years. Another room on the other side of the basement seemed to be a PC graveyard, with piles of unwanted monitors and other computer parts stacked neatly along the walls. Seeing as most of my time here was spent exploring, mentally mapping the place out as well as taking photos I didn’t spend much time focussed on any room in particular in regards to experimenting with any EVP sessions or looking for unusual EMF spikes. Sadly I was unable to attend the second visit on the 18th of September, but if any other opportunities to return come along I would love to come back and do a full investigation. Barbara – There were no temperature fluctuations that could not be explained by windows or draughts. The buildings had holes and unsecured windows and the doors to the outside let lots of air in which caused draughts in and around the stairwells. There times that investigators felt cold spots and breezes but the thermometers did not corroborate these feelings. During the second visit we experienced a similar problem when trying to take temperatures. There were times when investigators reported feeling very cold but it was almost impossible to eliminate the possibility that the sensations were caused by breezes and cold air coming from outside. We had some EMF activity in the main theatre and heard some strange noises but I personally felt the room which was downstairs from the main theatre felt spookier. Karen reported that she had the sensation that her legs were shaking in this area. Karen and I both agreed that the theatre had a really creepy feel to it although the fact that it was pitch black probably contributed to this atmosphere. There was an area in the main theatre where my EMF meter went off and it really did feel like someone was standing beside me. It showed a strong reading for about five minutes then stopped. Even when I returned to the area several times afterwards there was no reading recorded. We also heard strange noises, which maybe sounded like chairs being moved on a hard floor and other bangs. Oddly, at one stage, my meter went off in the same area it had gone off last time we visited. Once again it seemed as if the energy would come and go. I walked over the area several times and then my meter went off when I was walking back (even though I had already been there several times during the investigation). The meter had a strong response for about a minute then stopped. Later in the investigation the same happened when I again returned to that area. Whatever was setting my meter off was not constant and seemed to come and go. While in the main theatre both Karen and I experienced cold spots and I felt very hot at times although the thermometer did not corroborate these temperature anomalies. There were draughts and cold spots but these were probably caused by cold air coming in from outside. There were a couple of times when I felt hot but these hotspots were not corroborated by my thermometer. Members from Haunted Auckland and Midnight Paranormal reported feeling that there was “someone there” or a “creepy feeling” at different times and without speaking to each other. It is interesting to note that these areas were the same for both groups. EMF was checked at the time of the reports and there were no readings of significance at these times. It is interesting to note however, that later in the evening one of these areas had a lot of activity with the meter seemingly being manipulated by an energy. I would like to attempt to recreate the occurrence and monitor that area closely over a period of time before making judgement on whether the theatre is haunted. After the initial and follow up sessions, I don’t think that this theatre is haunted. I saw nothing that would indicate this and although I did hear several noises I feel that these could be explained by the fact that there are numerous eateries adjoining the theatre and that sounds from people outside could be clearly heard at times. There was some EMF activity, which I would like to follow up on but that alone is not enough for me to believe that the building has ghosts. Joshua – My overall impression of the place was that it was once a grand place indeed and would of loved to have seen it in its heyday and I very much enjoyed looking through the place . As for the collection of base readings and associated data this is difficult with incoming wind funneling through the place causing cold spots added with the areas tucked away from the draughts creating mini hot spots . Add into that areas where street noise contaminated certain spots and evidence gathering would be difficult . I do not know what others may have caught on camera or video but I did not get anything unusual myself . Could I say the place is haunted well it’s a no from me on that one but there may be some transient spiritual energies that pop in on occasion and they may have been the cause of Barbara’s activations I am unsure and I don’t know what the others collected, decided or thought and I can only give my thoughts and opinions. I was very grateful for the invitation to investigate the building and it will be my only chance to do so. It was also nice to work with the Haunted Auckland team and to get a little glimpse on how they go about their work Some things the same some quite different but certainly enjoyable for me over all … Lisa – I don’t feel we detected anything of significance. Other than feeling uncomfortable in the Regent and a dislike of being in there, I really didn’t sense anything to suggest the area was haunted. Mark – While it was personally an incredible relief, honour and a thrill to finally get into these theatres after trying for so long to gain access, (Walking into the Regent especially and remembering walking up thiose very stairs and touching that very same chrome railing on the way up, as a 5 year old!) I didnt see any indicators that there might be anything of a paranormal nature lingering around in the theatres. Although, we were only there for two sessions of four hours each. Not really enough time to really soak in the surroundings more comprehensively by data logging and monitoring every area. While the owners themselves weren’t aware of any specific spectral residents in their theatre and hadnt experienced anything first hand, they were aware that there have been a few eyewitness accounts through the years, though details are vague and lacking any real substance. Haunted Auckland are also pleased to know we are apparently the only paranormal research team to ever be be given access to investigate these prolific buildings. For whats its worth, it was an honour and a priviledge to have been allowed such generous and trusting unaided access to these stunning and truely iconic Auckland landmark locations, before The Odeon and Regent Theatres were pulled down to make way for apartment construction, and the St James undergoes its major refurbishments to begin its new life.. [...] Read more...

Inverlochy House – Wellington14/12/2013Haunted Locations / Historic Buildings / InvestigationsInverlochy House (also known as Inverlochie House and Inverlochy Flats) is a historic building and art school in Wellington, New Zealand and is named after a thirteenth century Scottish castle. In 1431 clansmen of Alexander McDonald defeated King James the First’s larger army in the first Battle of Inverlochy, which was fought in the vicinity of the castle. The Victorian mansion designed by local architect Thomas Turnbull was originally built for the Wellingtonian councillor Kennedy Macdonald and family between 1877 and 1878 using mainly local timbers. A contemporary account described the ‘unrivalled family residence’ as having ‘fourteen rooms, two bathrooms, every modern convenience, water laid on, two conservatories, a vinery, fernery, fowl house, wash house and offices and a stable with two stalls and loose box being in a salubrious and fashionable location, and an unrivalled family residence – 20.01.1893, New Zealand Times ” Many of the original fittings such as the mosaic tiles in the hall, the ornate carved fireplaces and the two lion fountains at the front of the building were imported from Great Britain and Europe. The house was first owned by Thomas and Frances McDonald. Thomas was born in Boulogne-sur-mer in France in 1847 but some years later he returned with his parents to the family’s highland home in Scotland. In 1870 he met and married Frances Rossiter. The couple arrived in Wellington, New Zealand, in July 1871 and Thomas found employment as an accountant for Jacob Joseph and Company, later establishing his own company specialising in real estate, share-broking, auctioneering and commission agency. Thomas and Frances produced three sons in the 1870’s but sadly all of them died during the scarlet fever epidemic of 1876. The couple later adopted Vera, one of Frances’s nieces, as their daughter. The estate was auctioned in 1893, due to Macdonald’s eventual bankruptcy in 1891. In 1893 the couple moved to the new (but smaller) house they had built up the hill at 192 The Terrace. McDonald was a man of vision who expended much of his time and energy on helping to develop the young county. Five Wellington streets were named for him or for members of his family. In his later years he suffered from poor health and in 1913 he was admitted to Porirua Mental Hospital where he died of ‘Chronic Brain Disease’ in 1914. His wife, Frances, lived till 1921. They were both buried with their sons in the Sydney Street cemetery. The house was then privately owned and divided into a number of self-contained flats. it remained in this condition for the next 70 years until plans were made to demolish and build a seven storey hotel on the site on 1979. Tenants were served with eviction notices, but together with other local residents they began a fight to save the historic building. Fundraising activities and public meetings and Inverlochy House became the focus of a wider campaign to preserve the city’s remaining heritage buildings In November of 1980 the group won their battle when William Development Holdings arranged to present the building as a gift to the city, for use in the arts. A trust was set up to manage the building and in 2006 the building gained protection when the NZ Historic Places Trust registered it as a Class 2 Historical building. Inverlochy remained empty from 1981 to March of 1986 restoration of the house began. It is thought by many that the Inverlochy Art School has a resisident ghost. While some people have had strange experiences in the building others have lived or worked in it for years without incident. Recently it has been the subject of an ongoing paranormal investigation by local paranormal investigation group Strange Occurrences. In most reported cases no actual ghost is seen but rather objects appear to move by themselves. Accounts of this work are included in ‘Spooked – Exploring the Paranormal in New Zealand (Jo Davy & James Gilberd, Random House NZ, 2011). However, at least one person has reported seeing the apparition of a young woman – possibly wearing Victorian clothing – on the first floor landing outside the Print Studio. There are rumors that ‘the ghost’ might be someone who died in a fire in this room around the turn of the last century but there is no solid evidence to support this idea. Other people think it is the ghost of Frances McDonald, who has also been reported as haunting 192 The Terrace. One witness is Martin Hanley. At the time he was an architecture student and a tenant in the upstairs flat. One night in the early 1980s he and his partner Anna were wondering if it was safe to go out (and leave the house unguarded from the developers) when a large mirror appeared to leap off the wall of its own volition before hitting the wall opposite and sliding slowly (and ‘unnaturally’) down to the floor. Not surprisingly, they both took this a sign not to leave the building that night! Since the art school started the upstairs flat has been the home of the art school’s caretaker. In the late 1990s this position was held by Sva Brooke White, who had a number of strange experiences while he was living there. In one incident a large bucket full of paste in the Sculpture Studio was apparently thrown by an unseen force; and another time he had just nailed a large sheet of wood across the door to the room when it was suddenly and forcibly removed by another (or the same) invisible agent. A strange smell seemed to linger in the room and shortly afterwards the building was blessed by a Catholic Priest and later by a local Kaumatua. This seemed to calm things down and the current caretakers have reported nothing unusual during their tenure. Of course many of us believe that ‘paranormal events’ are just in our imagination or made up by pranksters. What is certain is that no-one has ever been really frightened by the Inverlochy ghost and most people seem to agree that if the house is haunted then the ghost is a benevolent one. If it is Frances, it is to be hoped that she is happy to see her family home full of art lovers such as herself. Reference links – http://www.inverlochy.org.nz http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverlochy_House http://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/5438946/Agnostic-guide-to-Wellingtons-ghosts http://www.inverlochy.org.nz/Articles/tabid/1566/ID/904/Inverlochy-Haunting.aspx http://nzprintmakers.blogspot.co.nz/2013/11/studio-visit-print-studio-inverlochy.html Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?hl=en&v=W1ed2aPP-Z0&gl=US http://www.3news.co.nz/A-tour-through-Wellingtons-haunted-house/tabid/309/articleID/222539/Default.aspx Strange Occurrences http://www.photospace.co.nz/strange_home.htm ‘Spooked’ Book Launch and Exhibition at Inverlochy http://www.mahalski.com/News/tabid/1303/ID/835/Spooked–a-book-about-paranormal-research-in-New-Zealand.aspx Haunted Auckland & Strange Occurrences investigated Inverlochy House on 14th Dec 2013 [...] Read more...

Creepy abandoned Campervan06/09/2018Abandoned Buildings / Derelict Buildings / Locations of InterestCreepy abandoned Campervan discovered deep in bush. Where are the owners? [...] Read more...

The Possiblity of Mosasaurs breeding off the New Zealand Coast.10/08/2012Cryptozoology News / Kiwi Cryptids / Opinions and TheoriesIntroduction: There have been many encounters with unknown creatures off the coast of New Zealand, with the East coast being particularly favoured. There is a very good reason for this, running parallel to New Zealand’s coastline is the Hikurangi Trench. A deep gouge on the ocean floor, that descends in places to depths of 3,750 metres (12,300 ft).[ (Lewis, Collott, & Lallemand, 1998, pp. 441-468.) New Zealands unique oceanography These deep troughs bring a wealth of nutrient rich organisms to the surface allowing for a mass of biodiversity to flourish in the nutrient rich upper waters. Krill are profuse here along with smaller fish species which create a nutrient rich environment for larger predatory animals such as Giant Squid, which in turn are preyed upon by Sperm Whales. So there is no deficit of vast food supplies for large predatory animals cruising the depths of New Zealand’s coastline. Where the Hikurangi Trench joins up with the Tonga Trench, the area is heavily spotted with areas of geothermal activity which provide warm waters as well as a warm current which flows from the equatorial region. This area of the Tonga Trench has a rich diversity of marine life previously undiscovered until recent expeditions. This is a very harsh environment where reshaping of the seafloor is happening continually, to quote from the results of a joint project between the Universities of Durham and Oxford, and funded by the National Research Centre. “Where the Pacific plate collides with the Indo-Australian plate, it is forced downwards into the trench, a subduction zone, and the volcanoes are carried with it. The trench, reaching a depth of 10.9km, forms the second deepest stretch of seabed anywhere in the world – easily large enough to hold Mount Everest” What would make this an ideal nursery and breeding place? The abundant food supply, warm, water and lack of large predatory animals would make this an ideal breeding and nursery ground for Mosasaurs. Migrating whales along these routes would also provide a range of suitably sized animals for the young mosasaurs to feed on, and just returning from the feeding grounds would make these whales wholesome additions to their diet. Personally, I think the primary reason that many of these creatures are avoiding detection is the fact that they have learned to avoid the sound of a ship’s engine and stay well away from any encroaching vessel or main shipping lane. These out of the way areas often lead to shallow bays which are warmed by the circum-tasmanian current which brings warm water to the Bay of Plenty, which coincidently boarders the Kermedec trench. Warm water, shallow bays and a deep nutrient rich feeding ground create ideal nutrient rich conditions. Likewise a high percentage of creature observations have been made in these very waters. So what has been seen in these waters? The earliest known reference to Mosasaur like creatures in New Zealand waters comes from a report dated August 1st 1899 from the Union Steam Ships Chief Officer of the Rotomahama, Lindsay Kerr. He reported a huge Conger Eel, except it had two fins, one on each side of the body. This colossus Rose up to a high of 30 feet out of the water. This sighting occurred near the Portland Light situated between Gisborne and Napier. Right in the area of suitable Mosasaur habitat coincidently. When shown pictures of various types of Eels, Mr Kerr said it had a more crocodilian type head rather than anything he was shown. In April 1971 the crew of the Kompira Maru saw a “Bug-Eyed Monster” which resembled a large crocodile, but had fins instead of Legs, which were clearly visible as it leaped and dived under the water. 1972 three women were whitebaiting at the mouth of the Orari River near Temuka watched a huge creature wallowing in the breakers about 30 m away from them. They described a light grey lizard like beast that was around 15 m long, which at one point opened its mouth to reveal numerous small sharp teeth. (SamYivano, 2007) There is nothing to be said to make me think otherwise but personally, I do believe these creatures are out there as there have been too many sightings that are so closely reminiscent of mosasaurs as to be easily dismissed. There have been 11 reported sightings of Mosasaur like animals reported in New Zealand waters, a higher number than anywhere else. Are they a new species? Perhaps. I would more like to think of a Coelacanth scenario, an ancient species that has adapted to survive into the modern age. We are still but children taking our first unsteady paddling steps into a very wide and portentous ocean that holds many secrets and undisclosed treasures we thought once lost. Lewis, K. B., Collott, J., & Lallemand, S. E. (1998). The dammed Hikurangi Trough: A channel-fed trench blocked by subducting seamounts and their wake avalanches (New Zealand-France GeodyNZ Project (pp. 441-468.). SamYivano. (2007). Jaws. Retrieved from http://http//nzcryptozoologist0.tripod.com/id22.html [...] Read more...

“Pioneers in the field…. Leading the way with Paranormal Research in New Zealand” – Connor Biddle, Paranormal Encounters.

“I have much respect for the level of study Mark and his team have put into the paranormal phenomenon through the years. His work is interesting and very well researched.” – Murray Bott, U.F.O Researcher & NZ’s MUFON representative.

”Refreshing to see solid and innovative investigation work, done with passion and honesty. Haunted Auckland stand out in the crowd and dont fit any typical mould. This is a very good thing”. – Paranormal Review newsletter

Paranormal New Zealand is the home of Haunted Auckland, a Paranormal Investigation and Research group.

Whether you’ve been aware of Mark Wallbank’s research work since the 1980s, attended his early 90s discussion events, received the quarterly newsletters, subscribed to his popular mid-2000s online blog BizarreNZ, followed the Haunted Auckland team since 2010, or just recently discovered us; WELCOME and thanks for joining in the fun, learning, and adventures.

We are a dedicated group of paranormal researchers, all having one thing in common – a passion and drive to find out as much as humanly possible about the mysterious and unknown field that is the Paranormal, as well as documenting New Zealand’s historical buildings and landmarks in their current state.

Paranormal (păr′ə-nôr′məl) adjective.
Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as beyond normal experience or scientific explanation. The term “paranormal” has existed in the English language since at least 1920. The word consists of two parts: “para” and “normal”. The definition implies that the scientific explanation of the world around us is “normal” and anything that is above, beyond, or contrary to that is “para”.

We’re always learning new things, so hope to pass that knowledge on to you all so that you might learn as we do, in this crazy but fascinating world of the paranormal.

Our primary reason for existing as a team is to experience first-hand and document any perceived paranormal activity so that we may learn to better understand the phenomena and the misconceptions surrounding it. Our aim as a research team is to study these phenomena as closely as possible to form more educated opinions via experimentation, documentation, and simply being present at the moment to record and respond accordingly to it and wherever it may lead us.

Firstly a few things you should know about Haunted Auckland. We’re a small Auckland based team of friendly, dedicated, well seasoned and enthusiastic researchers with differing levels of experience, knowledge, skills and expertise. Our investigators are intelligent, honest, compassionate and possess critically thinking (yet wide open) minds. We’re also very good listeners.

We work closely with Property Managers, local Councils and Historical organisations to help preserve local histories, bring further awareness and raise funds by running public events.

In our time, the team has successfully raised many (much needed) thousands of dollars, to assist with the upkeep and general running of these wonderful historic locations. Something we are very proud of.

We are also very proud to have worked alongside and assist both the NZ Police and NZ Fire Services with our work.

Haunted Auckland has it’s roots deep and strong. Going back to 1984, with a team (Auckland Ghost Hunting Group) formed by H.A founder, Mark Wallbank; making them NZ’s longest running Paranormal field-research entity.

What we aren’t:

We aren’t Ghost Busters, Ghost Hunters, Exorcists, Mediums, Clairvoyants or Psychics and we don’t do clearings, blessings or rid homes of alleged demons. We don’t do prayers, rituals, or bring in any religious elements to our work. We aren’t mental health experts or sleep disorder professionals, though we do work closely with mental health professionals.

We travel that spooky road, between sceptic and believer. We are happy to sit right in amongst it all and take the research wherever it may lead us.

While we are sceptical and doubtful of certain cases and ideas, we have seen and experienced enough in our time to realise that dedication to the research is definitely a worthwhile cause. Instead of blindly believing (or disbelieving), or just accepting what we are told is true and real, we prefer to seek out the answers ourselves through first-hand, “boots on the ground” investigation. Experimentation, observation and documentation. We don’t have all the answers and we don’t consider ourselves experts.

We don’t make bold claims we can’t back up with evidence or reliable data.

The team prides itself in being quite a bit different from other paranormal investigation teams out there. We tend to stay away from the mainstream gadget fads.

Research time in locations is valuable and a privilege, so wasting it on pointless flashy boxes that offer no accurate data in return or are vague and open to interpretation (as well as mis-interpretation) is counter-productive and a poorly used opportunity. Thinking outside of the ‘’box’’ confinements of the popular T.V and social media- lead mainstream is something, the team sees as important if the field is to move forward and gain any serious credibility or traction within scientific or academic circles.

The team utilises a combination of old-school thinking and techniques, coupled with a modern way of thinking. Simple and stripped back yet embracing current technology to work though theories and ideas that may find their way into our research. We don’t make claims we can’t back up with evidence or reliable data.

We pride ourselves in keeping it real. No faking evidence or embellishing of facts. If nothing happened, nothing happened.

Why we don’t offer Clearings and Banishings

We decided many years ago to stop offering clearings and cleansings, as the more we learned, the more unethical (even damaging) we could see it was on a few levels.
We wanted to experience and observe these ”beings” and learn about them. Learn from them directly, if such a thing is possible.
To hopefully interact and document as much as we could of it to advance the study of the paranormal.

If the theories on spirits are correct, then clearing, or ”banishing” becomes nothing more than a punishment, torture, an eviction from a home, or even a death. Death to a person (possibly living in an alternative dimension we are yet to even understand or comprehend), that has as much right to exist as ourselves.
Until ghosts, spirits, negative energies, and demons have been sufficiently verified to actually exist, (to which they as yet haven’t, outside of belief, possible misinterpretation, and superstition) it would be unethical to assume a position of knowledge and superiority enough to think we have rights that far outweigh theirs. That we may enter their home and try to evict or eradicate them as if they were cockroaches or some other household pest.

It’s about respect, understanding and compassion; on both sides.

What we are, is “real world” researchers. Learning by doing. If we don’t know something, we say so.

We don’t charge anything for what we do. The opportunity to investigate a location and hopefully further our research is its own great reward.

We follow the Scientific Method as closely as we are able to; though it’s not always easy to create a fully controlled environment and the fact that true paranormal activity is sporadic and very rare means we don’t always have a lot to go on. Still, we do our best with what we have to work with at the time and go wherever it takes us.

We go to where the stories come from in order to see for ourselves. We talk to the people involved to get their sides to the occurrences.

Our conclusions are never really final and we find multiple return visits yield the best results; so have built up trusting relationships with quite a few locations within the historical communities in this country.

Our clean and respected reputation within historical circles is something the team prides itself on, as it has grown over the last decade and is based on well over 200 investigation sessions within that time.

For a full listing of References & testimonials, please visit our TESTIMONIALS page on this website.

Exploration – Observation – Experimentation – Documentation … Ultimately leading to Interaction, Understanding and Conclusion.

KEEPING IT REAL

Please check out our website and don’t hesitate to make contact if you have any queries or would like to know more about what we do.

We’re always happy to talk about spooks!

Through the years the team have investigated:

Auckland

Auckland Civic Theatre
North Head
The Auckland Town Hall
St James theatre
Victoria Theatre
The Howick Historical Village
The Smith & Caugheys building
Kinder House
Lopdell House
The Pumphouse Theatre
The Bluestone Room
Fort Takapuna
Massey Homestead
The Hard To Find Bookshop
Hollywood Cinema
Avondale Town Hall
Spookers
Alberton House
Bell House
Theatreworks
Carrington (Unitec)
The Queens Ferry Tavern
Regent Theatre
Ewelme Cottage
Laishly House
Onehunga Blockhouse
Puhoi Centennial Hall
Kingseat Hospital
Puhinui Homestead
The Kentish Hotel
AUSA Building
Helensville Museum
Waiuku Museum
Lake House Art Centre
Molloy’s Antique Centre
Whatipu Caves
Capitol Theatre
Gibbons Homestead

Wellington

Dixon Street Basement
Private Residence
Inverlochy House

Northland

Dargaville Central Hotel

Coromandel

The Junction Hotel
Mount Moehau
Bella Street Pumphouse

Waikato

Hawkes Bay

Central North Island

Chateau Tongariro Hotel Jubilee Pavillion – Marton

Northern South Island

Trout Hotel

West Coast and Central South Island

Seaview Asylum
Otira Stagecoach Hotel

Canterbury

The Old Shipping Office (Akaroa)

Otago

Cardrona Hotel
Vulcan Hotel (St Bathans)

Dunedin

Seacliff Asylum
Chalet Backpackers
Globe Theatre
Dunback Inn
Leviathan Hotel
Larnach Castle

United Kingdom

The Drovers Inn – Scotland
Traquair House – Innerleithen
Ancient Ram Inn – Wooton-Under-Edge
30 East Drive – Pontefract
Boleskine House – Scotland
Ballachulish Hotel – Glencoe
Chillingham Castle
The Golden Fleece – York
Bunchrew House – Scotland
Oswald House – Kirkcaldy
The Skirrid Inn – Abergavenny
Halston Hall – Carlisle
Airth Castle
Dalhousie Castle
Barcaldine Castle – Oban
The Witchery – Edinburgh
Edinburgh Vaults – Scotland
Touchwood House – Scotland
Greyfriars Kirkyard – Scotland
The Hellfire Club – Ireland
Ostrich Inn – Slough
Caynton Caves – Shropshire
Four Crosses Inn – Staffordshire
Torwood House – Scotland
Dalhousie Castle – Scotland
Windhouse – Yell, Shetland
Swan Hotel – Wooton-on-Edge
Weston Hall – Staffordshire
Clava Cairns – Inverness, Scotland
The Queen’s Head Hotel – Troutbeck
Haunted Antiques Paranormal Research Centre – Hinkley

Australia

YHA [Katoomba]

Hartley Village [NSW]

Quarantine Station [Manly]

The Russell Hotel [Sydney]

Maitland Gaol [NSW]

Kilmore Gaol [Melbourne]

Aradale Lunatic Asylum [Melbourne]

Hawaii

Kaniakapupu Palace Ruins – Nuúanu Pali – Manoa – Oahu Cemetery [Oahu]

Norfolk Island

New Gaol – The Crank Mill – Bloody Bridge

Cryptozoological Field Research

YOWIE RESEARCH: Blue Mountains [ Australia] – Kanangra Ranges [Australia] – Blue Mountains Exploration: Research Area – Bullaburra [Australia]

MOEHAU RESEARCH: Coromandel Ranges [New Zealand] – Urerewa Ranges [New Zealand]

LAKE MONSTER RESEARCH: Loch Ness [Scotland]

… as well as many private home visits around Auckland and surrounding towns and extensive investigation and exploration internationally.

Some of the services and experience we have on offer:

Research and Investigation of buildings, historical locations and businesses

Photo & video analysis

Photographic enhancements

General paranormal consultation

Historical Research

Conferences / Public speaking

Educational talks & fundraising for historical locations

Media interviews