Ghosts, with thousands of reports of the paranormal, from all over the world, leave little doubt that haunting experiences are quite real. Yet, what causes them and why?

Like our photo to the left here, you may have seen them depicted in movies, read stories , and seen TV shows and documentaries sensationalizing them. You could have seen the rare genuine photos of them. I'd bet you have heard of first-hand ghostly encounters from friends and relatives. I get at least 8-10 people who come on my ghost tours every month telling me about these experiences.  You may have even seen a ghost yourself.

But what are ghosts? I'll give you the best answer I have: No one really knows for certain.There are, however, many more theories on this subject than you can poke a stick at. People have an over-riding need, to explain the many thousands of documented experiences, that many around the world have had since the beginning of recorded history. Ghosts and hauntings are common part of the human experience. 

There are at least several types of ghosts or hauntings, so it may take more than one theory to explain them all.

"I SEE DEAD PEOPLE"

The traditional view of ghosts is of them being the spirits of dead people.  For some reason, they are "stuck" between our world and the next world of spirit. This is usually because of some tragedy or trauma - or that there is some kind of issue that needs resolving before "passing over". If some TV shows, ghost hunters and psychics are to be believed, normally these earth-bound spirits don't know they are dead.  Hans Holzer, a US based ghost hunter wrote, "A ghost is a human being who has passed out of the physical body, usually in a traumatic state and is not aware usually of his true condition. We are all spirits encased in a physical body. At the time of passing, our spirit body continues into the next dimension. A ghost, on the other hand, due to trauma, is stuck in our physical world and needs to be released to go on."

Known as "intelligent hauntings," it is believed that ghosts exist in a state in which they haunt the scenes of their deaths or locations that were important to them in life. These types of ghosts are able to interact with the living. They are aware of the living, and react to being seen on the occasions that they materialize. Psychics and Mediums claim to be able to communicate with them. When they do, they will typically try to help these spirits to understand that they are dead,  and to move on to the next part of their journey.There have been a number encounters of this kind reported at Tarella, the haunted mansion on our Lower North Shore Ghost tour, of people who died there. They appear happy to remain on the grounds, haunting this mansion over a hundred years after their passing. Similar experiences have been reported in the old St Thomas Cemetery grounds in West Street that is also on the Lower North Shore Ghost tour.

RESIDUAL HAUNTINGS 

These experiences are like spirit recordings - residual energies - that replay over and over again, like a movie film "on loop". Some ghosts appear to be recordings of parts of a person's life, that seem to replay in the environment in which they once existed.   The laughter of a dead child is heard echoing in a hallway where she often played. A world war 1 soldier appears in the window of a building where they used to stand guard. A dead nurse walks the halls of a hospital, brushing through the wards on their rounds.  Even cases of ghost trains and cars can still be heard and sometimes seen, even though they are long gone. These ghosts neither interact with, or seem to be aware of the living. Their actions and appearance are always the same. These experiences have been reported in Tarella, the haunted mansion on our Lower north Shore Ghost Tour,  in  the wards of the old sections of Royal North Shore Hospital, and in the Gore Hill memorial cemetery on our Middle North Shore Ghost Tour. 
 
"Traumatic events in time leave a strong energy imprint on the building or area," says Daniel Phillips," "replaying themselves for eternity. This could allow an observer to get a 'glimpse of the past' - a recreation of some traumatic or emotion-laden event."

It is my belief that the Quarantine station at North Head in Sydney,the Port Arthur Prison site in Tasmania, and places like the Dachau Nazi concentration camp in Poland have literally absorbed the emotional trauma of the people who were undergoing truly awful events in these places, leading up to their deaths. I believe that people sensitive to their surroundings in that way can pick up on that information, and feel what those people must have felt, and will sometimes get a lot more information than that.

MESSENGERS

These kinds of ghosts are the most common form of Paranormal phenomena. These are the spirits of people, that appear shortly after their deaths, to people close to them in life. Unlike traditional ghosts, and residual hauntings, these ghosts are completely aware of their deaths, and interact with the living. They will normally bring words of comfort to their loved ones. Typically, they re-appear for a last time to say that they are well and happy, and not to grieve for them.  They are usually motivated by love, and will briefly return for the express purpose of helping the living cope with their loss.

Sometimes,  these ghosts are called "crisis apparitions."  While these paranormal visits can take the form of a farewell, sometimes important and useful information is relayed - like health information, or emotional information about another family member. Though dying is the most common crisis, other life-threatening situations can also trigger this kind of ghost visit.

POLTERGEISTS

The word poltergeist comes from the  German words poltern ("to make noise") and Geist ("ghost"). The term quite literally means "noisy ghost". This type of paranormal haunting is the most feared, because it has the greatest ability to affect our physical world. Poltergeists are unique paranormal phenomena, in that they have the ability to affect physical objects.  

Poltergeists are blamed for unexplained noises, such as wall-banging, rapping, footsteps and even music. They are known for taking objects and hiding them, only to return them later. They turn on water taps and gas taps, are known to slam doors, turn lights on and off, and even flush toilets. They can, and are known for throwing things across rooms. They have even been known to pull  people's clothing or hair. Malevolent poltergeists are known to even scratch, hit or slap the living. 

It is because of these sometimes "mean-spirited" actions, that poltergeists are considered by some to be demonic in nature. 

A lot of the time, though, these activities can be more accurately described as 'mischevious'  - such as paranormal activity reported in Tarella, a haunted mansion in Cammeray, on the North shore of Sydney, Australia, (which is part of our Sydney Ghost tours - Lower North Shore Ghost tour ) where furniture gets re-arranged at night when no-one is in the building, and the alarm is on.

This is the kind of paranormal activity that typically result in a priest being called to a house to perform an exorcism . Although most churches tend to frown on this kind of ritual in the 21st century , nearly every culture on the planet has some form of ritual form of banishing "evil spirits" - which suggests that it is a very common human experience. 

Other investigators, however, believe that poltergeist activity is not caused by ghosts at all, but by certain living people under stress. They believe that certain people have the ability to unconsciously move things with their mind when under stress - a process called "psychokinesis". While this theory is the subject of on-going research, it remains to be proven. 

Sydney Ghost Tours made page 1 of "The Mosman Daily" for our Valentines day Ghost tours!

This was our original press release below: “Picking a bone” with Valentines Day

Valentines day is a day of stress, expense, and obligation for singles and couples – and can be boring to boot!

It can be filled with un-necessary drama for even normally romantic couples. If you are single, chances you are feeling the pressure to change that. Or want to shoot yourself to get away from all of the annoying soppiness.

“Could anything be less romantic, than having to book an over rated, overpriced, over crowded restaurant weeks in advance, being stressed out to get there, and then getting hassled by photographers and flower sellers trying to put you on the spot?” asks Daniel Phillips, Leading Sydney Paranormal Expert and founder of SydneyGhostTour.Com

Singles can find themselves surrounded, by uncomfortable, over the top reminders of their temporarily un-romantic life.  It can be a struggle to find something on Valentine’s day that isn’t going to make you feel guilty for not running around with a “+1”.   Surprisingly, not doing the ‘traditional’ valentines routine, can work whether you are single or part of a couple…It will take your mind off all of the soppiness if you are single, and many a couple has gotten closer in the dark, when they are not sure what is about to appear. The adrenaline rush of a good fun scare,has been known to make many a date ‘warm up’ into something much more memorable!

This Valentine’s day evening Sydney Ghost Tours will reveal the often dark, and previously secret tales of love, forbidden love. lust and illicit sex that lies buried in the leafy back yards of Sydney’s Lower North Shore. “We will talk about Sydney’s most famous first aboriginal couple -  Bennelong, and Barangaroo, who was a Cammeraigal woman. We will also talk about how a famous politician got away with killing his wife to marry the maid, at a haunted mansion– and much, much more. Reality is weirder than you could ever make up – and the photographs taken on our tours have had more than just our visitors show up in them! ” said Mr Phillips.

SydneyGhostTour.Com’s Valentines day tours start at the corner of Miller and Amherst Streets in Cammeray, opposite the Wild Sage restaurant, at 6.15pm,  8.15pm and 11.15pm, and are $40.00 per adult. Bookings can be made on 02 8197 0363, or on www.sydneyghosttour.com

“Mum,  I am  so bored...” – the phrase that drives parents crazy on school holidays. If you are a parent, with school term finishing today, you are probably on the look- out for something that will keep your kids entertained right now. If possible, you probably also want to do something more than just fills in time in a way that makes your life easier – not everything on offer right now does that.  Unfortunately, the phrase “ Everything I like is either illegal, immoral or fattening!”,  is not a guide you can use to bring up kids with, as a parent.

But this does not mean that you can’t do something unusual, that is fun for them, AND for you too!

In Sydney’s lower North Shore,  SydneyGhostTour.Com will be running “ Family Friendly” Ghost tours, (for parents with kids from 9 up,)  visiting allegedly cursed aboriginal sites, a Victorian era haunted  mansion  , and a historic cemetery ( the oldest on the north shore)  complete with resident ghosts. Will you and your kids feel the chill of electricity running up your spine,  or a shiver through your body from a spirit passing through you, this School holidays?

Daniel Phillips, local historian, Author, and owner of SydneyGhostTour.Com said “ Real life is always weirder than anything you can make up. This place has stories of Aboriginal curses by the first local residents, the Cammeraigals. There is a skull buried here, of a man eaten by cannibals, and the spirits of two little girls that haunt a playground, that is built on top of their dead bodies. That is not even scratching the surface. Give me two hours, and I guarantee you will laugh, feel chills through your body, and never look at Sydney landmarks the same way ever again!” 

SydneyGhostTour.Com will be running the “Family Friendly” Ghost  tours from 5.50pm and 8.00pm, on Tuesday’s through to Sunday nights, this school holidays. The normal “Adults only” tours will still be starting at 8.15pm,  and 11.15pm.  Ticket prices are $20 per student under 16, $25 for students over 16, and $35 per adult, with family pricing available. All tour participants under 16 must be accompanied by a responsible adult on the tour.  Tours begin at the entrance of Stocklands Mall Cammeray Square, on the corner of Miller Street and Amherst Streets in Cammeray. Numbers are limited, bookings are essential and can be made by by calling  02 8197 0363, or by visiting www.sydneyghosttour.com

 

"Season to catch up with Ghosts"
by Kat Adamski, North Shore Times

THE ghosts of Christmas past are making a timely appearance on the North Shore.
Historian and tour guide Daniel Phillips has discovered many quirky facts about Christmas since he started organising daytime history tours and Ghost tours at night.
Mr Phillips became fascinated by the names on the gravestones at St Thomas Cemetery in Crows Nest, when he was walking his three year old Weimaraner dog William.
"I've lived in this nick of the woods for 16 years and I realised that most of the history of the North shore is here under our feet" Mr Phillips, of North Sydney, said.
"I researched their names, who they are, and what they did, and real life is always weirder  than anything you can make up. I didn't even have to start stretching the truth  ( for a good story)  - the stories I found freaked me out, and I have a reasonably strong constitution".
One story revolves around a 19th century Cammeray Mansion called Tarella, on Amherst Street, where a number of children died of Cholera. Neighbours have reported seing "lights" which are floating orbs of Ghosts , Mr Phillips said.
"One of the things that really stands out when you read the letters and diaries of Sydney's pioneers is how important  celebrations like Christmas were" Mr Phillips said.
"They had fun trying to keep essentially European traditions in a place where even the seasons appeared to be upside down"
"I explain the history of many of these traditions in a north shore context, how all of the street  and suburbs names came about, and how our pioneers adapted winter traditions to summertime living"
The ghost tours ( at 9.15pm and 11.15pm) and the Ghost of Christmas Past tour ( at 7.15pm) run 7 days a weekwith the exception of Christmas day, New Years Eve and New Years Day.
For Details go to sydneyghosttour.com

The history that's right under our feet:

•  Artarmon – Named after the house of William Gore, Provost Marshall, ( or head of military police of Governor Bligh), that was named after the family estate in Ireland.
• Blues Point – Named originally after Wiliam “Billy” Blue, a former convict, very unusually a negro man in an almost all white country of England at that time, reputedly  ( depending on what source of reference you believe ) originally born in either New York USA, or in Jamaica in the West Indies, who was granted 80 acres in this area.He became one of Sydney’s first row boat ferrymen.  “ The Commodore Hotel” on Blues point road is named for his nickname “ the old commodore”.
  
• Cammeray – named originally “Suspension Bridge” after the bridge over what is now Tunks Park between Cammeray and Northbridge, it was re-named after the Cammeraigal Clan of the Guringai aboriginal tribe – the first residents of Sydney’s lower north shore.
• Chatswood -  is named after the wife of district pioneer and Mayor of Willoughby Richard Hartnett. His wife Charlotte was affectionately known as Chattie, or “Chat” and in 1876 Hartnett named his estate “Chatswood”. When the post office was built in 1879, the suburb took on the name of the district’s most significant property
• Crows Nest – named after the house “Crows Nest” , on Crows Nest estate, the first 500 acres of numerous land holdings that were Granted by Governor Macquarie, and held  by Edward Wollestonecraft and Alexander Berry. It was positioned roughly where Willoughby road and the Pacific highway is right now.  It was named  for the view down the harbour resembling the observation post on the top main sail of a sailing ship
• Gordon – named for Charles Gordon, ( d 1911)  Seventh Baronet of Earlston, Scotland
• Gore Hill – Named for William Gore, Provost Marshall ( head of Military police)
• Hornsby: -  Chief Constable Thorn of Parramatta, and his deputy Sam Horn, captured two bushrangers who had held up a Dr Sherman while he was riding home along the Windsor Road near Parramatta. As a reward, Chief Constable Thorn was granted 640 acres of land ( that became Thornleigh) and Sam Horn was granted a neighbouring 320 acres that became “Hornsby”
• Killara – Name was chosen by an early settler Mr J.G.Edwards, when securing the building of a railway station in the area., from the aboriginal language, meaning “Permanent” or “Always there”
• Lane Cove- named after John Lane, son of the Lord Mayor of London,  a great friend of Governor Arthur Phillip
• Lavender Bay – Named after George Lavender ( d 1851) the boatswain of the prison hulk ( stripped out sailing ship used to house convicts) that was moored in what is known as Lavender bay. George would row back and forth from this ship daily to go to work.
• Lindfield – named after the home of an early settler called List, who had named his home after Lindfield in Surrey, England
• Milsons Point – named after James Milson, granted originally 50 acres by Governor King in 1807.  Eventually became a supplier of food and supplies to ships, a major landholder and farmer, and a property advisor / land steward to both Governors Macquarie and Brisbane. His original home is roughly where the north Eastern Pylon of the Sydney Harbour bridge is now.
• North Sydney –  Originally part of the suburb of St Leonards, this area had it’s name changed in the later 19th century. Ironically this was the last railway station on the North Shore line to be built,  taking place in 1932  when the re-alighnment of the railway track took place so that trains started crossing the harbour bridge.  The distinctive “second CBD” skyscraper skyline originally started taking place in the late 1960’s and early 1970s, and has grown since then
• Pymble – Named for Richard Pymble, and the Pymble family. First Orchardists
• Roseville – named afer the substantial stone cottage of George Wilson, and orchardist of the district. The original house was demolished to make way for the railway station
• St Ives – named for Isaac Ellis Ives, (d 1906) mayor of Sydney, Member of Parliament for St Leonards ( Which used to cover most of the lower north shore ). Resident of “Gibraltar” Mansion on Blues Point Road, Blues Point.
• St Leonards – is named after St Leonards-on-Sea (or for short, St Leonards) a part of Hastings, East Sussex, England. Originally had a much wider meaning than it does now,  as it was the original name of North Sydney, and the North Sydney district area including much of the lower North Shore. St Leonards has a close connection to Sydney itself, because the British Statesman Thomas Townshend, the then British Home Secretary, Baron Sydney of Chiselhurst ( whose name Captain Phillip gave to Sydney Cove in 1788) was the man whose idea it was, nd was the primary political mover behin to send the First Fleet to Botany Bay. He was created a viscount on his retirement from public service in 1789, and took the name Viscount Sydney of St Leonards, after the North Shore of Sydney and it's district was then named.
• Thornleigh: Chief Constable Thorn of Parramatta, and his deputy Sam Horn, captured two bushrangers who had held up a Dr Sherman while he was riding home along the Windsor Road near Parramatta. As a reward, Chief Constable Thorn was granted 640 acres of land that became “Thornleigh”.
• Turramurra – Name was chosen by Robert Pymble after overhearing the local aborigines refer to the area as “Turramurra” or “Turraburra” – meaning “big hill”
• Waitara – Chosen by local residents who had also spent time in New Zealand, near a sea port in Taranaki province. It comes from the Maori language, and means “hail”. In Australian usage we emphasise the “tar” part of the name – in Maori each syllable is said “Wai-ta-ra”
• Warrawee – Chosen by J.G Edwards and a Mr Remington, early local settlers in the district, who took it from the aboriginal language, meaning “stop here”.
• Wahroonga – Chosen from the Guringai aboriginal language, meaning “Our Home”
• Waverton – named for the home owned by the Carr family, an early pioneering family of the North Shore – Carr Street is also named for them
• Willoughby - commemorates Sir James Willoughby Gordon, who was the Quartermaster-General of the Royal Navy when the first fleet set sail in 1788
• Wollestonecraft – named for Alexander Berry’s business partner, Edward Wollestonecraft. Major Land holders in the district. Alexander Berry donated the 4 acres of land in West Street Crows Nest to the St Thomas' Church, for the Cemetery for a burial place for his wife, Elizabeth Berry, nee Wollestonecraft, Edward's sister.
  

 

 

 

Nearly everyone has either seen a horror story take place, or heard of one at an Office Christmas Party. Many a potentially bright career has been suddenly curtailed by saying or doing something that just wasn’t smart in front of work colleagues, or the “company brass”.

Daniel Phillips, founder of SydneyGhostTour.Com, Sydney’s leading History & Ghost Tour company has compiled a list of the top things NOT to do at your office Christmas Party.

“ The Office Christmas Party, for the naive, looks like a great opportunity to cut loose and let your hair and guard down, all paid for by the rare generosity of the Company you work with. Unfortunately – it isn’t. The Key is to remember that this is an OFFICE event. It isn’t your home, and these people are your work colleagues, which unfortunately means that they aren't necessarily your friends” Daniel warns. These are his top 10 tips not to become a Christmas Party Horror Story:

1.       Know your alcohol limits and avoid them – or if in doubt, don’t drink at all. It is better to wake up with a job and interesting memories of the night before, than with excruciating embarrassment, costly regrets, and a hangover.

2.       Don’t avoid the hors d'oeuvres. If you are going to drink at all, drinking on an empty stomach is not a good idea, unless you want the alcohol to go straight to your head.

3.       Avoid getting “too friendly” with anyone from the office at the party. Think David Jones, Mark McInnes , Kristy Fraser-Kirk & the $36,000,000.00 sexual harassment lawsuit than resulted from combining Alcohol, hormones and stupidity. The hottest girl or guy, is not worth the risk to your career, if they are a co-worker..

4.       Think carefully about the impression you want to create from what you wear, and dress conservatively.  Ear, nose, eyebrow and lip jewellery for a gentleman or showing too much skin for a lady is probably a really bad idea.  Use what you wear to the Office Christmas Party to further your good professional reputation, rather than damage it.

5.       Dancing is often a part of Christmas parties these days. This is also a very dicey area. If you go on your own to a party, dance with a group, move around and mingle appropriately rather than allow one person to get the wrong impression, and dance with the chasteness you would exhibit if you were dancing with your brother or sister. There is enough gossip flying around usually already – don’t add to it by an R rated performance on the dance floor.

6.      Don’t drag someone else's date underneath the mistletoe, or go under the mistletoe with anyone else, period. Even kissing your own date at an office function, no matter how quickly, is not “good form”. Save it for somewhere else.

7.       Do NOT Sit on Santa's lap. If they were Jabba the hutt in a business suit before the party, they are still Jabba the Hutt in a red and white suit tonight.

8.       Don’t talk shop or about your co-workers at the party. It usually backfires – and frankly, you just don’t know who is listening.

9.       Sure, perhaps everyone might look like they are letting their hair down, however, don’t be tempted to start using “blue” language. It is a work function, and people have memories like elephants about how professional or otherwise you appear.  Do NOT let your guard down! You may be at what seems like a festive event, but you are still swimming with sharks.

10.   If the food is genuinely good – pass on compliments both to the organiser and the people at the venue. Genuine appreciation is worth it’s weight in gold. However, if the food is lousy – SHUT UP!  Complaining about it is just adding to the unpleasantness of the food. Smile, be gracious, and eat later elsewhere.

Bottom line, behave at the party the way you'd be expected to behave if it was a client party. Keep it dignified, light, and friendly. The rules of good office behaviour don't change because someone opens a bottle of champagne. If anything, they get even more important. Break them and people will remember. For a very long time.

Of course, if you would like to experience an Office Christmas Party Horror story that is a lot of fun, and has no career casualties attached to it, SydneyGhostTour.Com and the best restaurants of Cammeray can help you have a really fantastic night.   This would be a wonderful office Christmas party dinner, at a range of different restaurants featured on our website, followed by the adult version of the “Ghosts of Christmas Past” Sydney Ghost tour.  If you need to organise a last minute office Christmas party, or just want to do something different for fun,  you will need to  contact us quickly on 02 8197 0363, or check out www.sydneyghosttour.c