You might remember Sid James from the risque Carry on Series of Films or the ‘Bless This House’ TV series in the 70’s. Well poor old Sid had a hearty and died during opening night of the Mating Season in 1976. Now it is believed the ghost of Sid haunts the Sunderland Empire Theatre in Sunderland north East England. Originally called the Empire Palace and opening in 1907, the theatre seats about 1800 people and is home to some pretty impressive stage shows. The theatre has an impressive huge dome which has some amazing state of the art LED lighting which really makes the theatre very spectacular. It was recently redeveloped to house West End shows and has been home to such performances as Starlight Express, Miss Saigon and My Fair Lady. This year some of the great productions include Joseph and His Amazing Technicolor Dream coat and an old favourite Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Let’s hope Sid doesn’t scare the crowds off for this.
The Old Geelong Gaol is a former gaol that was built in stages from 1849 to 1864 and used until 1991 when the prisoners made way for tourist at this rather creepy old building. Originally known as HM Prison Geelong the gaol is located in Geelong about an hour’s drive from Melbourne in Victoria, the building is a large bluestone structure that was built by the prisoners themselves and shaped in a cruciform, a design taken from North London’s Pentonville Prison. A cold and spooky place the building has seen its fair share deaths over the years either from disease or natural causes or from prisoners who committed suicide after they were sent insane by its solitary confinement or were hanged for their crimes. Today many of the visitors to gaol report a spooky presence in the building and several research groups have studied the site for paranormal activity. Read the rest of this entry »
The Roosevelt Hotel is a luxury hotel that first opened for business in 1927. built in a Spanish style the hotel is named after the 26th President of the USA, Theodore Roosavelt and has been the place to stay for Hollywood’s A list since it opened and even hosted the 1st Academy Awards Ceremony back in 1929. Some of its more longer term residents include Clark Gable and Carole Lombard who’s old penthouse is now named in their honor. Marilyn Monroe also spent some a lot of time at the hotel as well as Montgomery Clift, both stars are said to haunt the hotel to this day with sightings of Montgomery wandering the 8th floor hall and Marilyn dancing in the ballroom. Read the rest of this entry »
A popular tourist spot 1 hour north of Melbourne Hanging Rock is located off the Calder Highway and is well know for the 1975 Peter Weir film “Picnic at Hanging Rock†that was one of the first Australian films to receive international acclaim. The film itself was based upon the 1967 Joan Lindsay novel of the same name that tells the story of three girls and a teacher who mysteriously disappear during a St Valentines day picnic at the rock in 1900. The way Lindsay wrote the book many people still believe the events of the picnic are true but in fact the whole story was fictional. The story created a unique tourist draw card to the area with plenty of people wanting to experience the mystery of the rock. Several annual events are held at the rock each year with the races being on New Years Day, Australia Day and Labour Day. February being the month St Valentine’s day falls in also brings a lot of special events to the rock like the “Picnic at Hanging Rock†film night, The Harvest Picnic and a classic car show. During the summer months guided night walks are also conducted around the rock. The video above is the trailer for the film “Picnic at Hanging Rock”. Read the rest of this entry »
The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado is a large 1909 built Georgian Hotel. Built by Freelan Oscar Stanley, the man behind the Stanley Steamer, (a popular car before those new fangled internal combustion engine cars come along) the hotel has had plenty of famous guests over the years including Steven King who got the inspiration to write “The Shining†there. The hotel was even used in the 1997 TV mini series adaptation of the novel, as well as TV shows “Most Hauntedâ€, “Ghost Hunters†and the film “Dumb and Dumberâ€. Many of the hotels staff and previous guests claim to have heard plenty of noises from empty rooms, as well as see things move by themselves or of other apparitions that come and go. The piano in the lobby is also often heard playing a tune despite no one being at it, staff think this may be F.O. Stanley’s late wife who did play the piano. Today the Stanley Hotel is still open as a luxury resort and also operates history and ghost tours of the building. The Stanley is situated about an hour from Denver, in front of the Rocky Mountains. Read the rest of this entry »
The Old Geelong Gaol is a former gaol that was built in stages from 1849 to 1864 and used until 1991 when the prisoners made way for tourist at this rather creepy old building. Originally known as HM Prison Geelong the gaol is located in Geelong about an hour’s drive from Melbourne in Victoria, the building is a large bluestone structure that was built by the prisoners themselves and shaped in a cruciform, a design taken from North London’s Pentonville Prison. A cold and spooky place the building has seen its fair share deaths over the years either from disease or natural causes or from prisoners who committed suicide after they were sent insane by its solitary confinement or were hanged for their crimes. Today many of the visitors to gaol report a spooky presence in the building and several research groups have studied the site for paranormal activity. 
