The spookiest, most haunted places to visit around Perth this Spooktober
October has just started and we’re kicking off the spookiest month of the year with the most haunted places in Perth for you to visit… if you dare!
From abandoned hotels to ghost towns and haunted town halls, there are plenty of places to rustle your jimmies around town this spooky season:
Kalamunda Hotel
Built in 1902, the Kalamunda Hotel has had plenty of time to acquire a few errant spirits. The original building is now the Hotel’s bottle shop, while the neighbouring, current premises were built in 1928 for racing identity Patrick (Paddy) Andrew Connolly. The second floor of the Hotel has been a hotspot for supernatural encounters, with many claiming to have seen various characters, mysterious encounters and phenomena. Next time you’re there, you may stumble across an angry man with a handlebar moustache, a beautiful woman in a Victorian-era gown, a mysterious man standing in the shadows, or even the little girl who gleefully wanders the Hotel in her nightgown, clutching her life-size rag doll.
43 Railway Road, Kalamunda
Atkins Residence, Northbridge (Now Escape This)
48 Lake Street in Northbridge used to be known as Atkins House, built in 1897 for the gold rush rich Atkins family. For a time it was a happy family home until 1919 when lady of the house, Mrs Emily Mary Atkins, was found dead on the property. A year later her husband died, with the property eventually being converted to a boarding house owned by a Mrs M Long. During her time of ownership the property was the site of 11 further deaths! Fittingly these days the building is now home to one of Perth’s most popular and immersive escape rooms centres, Escape This, with attendees to the venue often noting eery noises, slamming doors and even apparitions throughout the building. The spookiest of all is the light bulb that goes missing in Mrs Atkins old upstairs bedroom – now home to The Haunting Escape Room.
Adele “Boo”, Beatrice Fanny “Doll” & Emily Mary (Mother) Atkins at 48 Lake Street Perth
48 Lake Street, Perth
Fremantle Prison
Any prison is going to be rife with discontented spirits, and the historic Fremantle Prison is a prime example. Holding some of the country’s most fearsome prisoners, as well as plenty unjustly punished innocents, the Prison is said to be rife with paranormal activity. Most notoriously, you may see the face of Martha Rendell (pictured below), who in 1909 became the only woman to be executed at the Prison. Faces appearing in windows, the rattling of keys… visit with one of their Torchlight Tours to hear some of the gruesome and ghastly tales that haunt the Prison.
1 The Terrace, Fremantle
Fremantle Arts Centre
Known as one of the most haunted places in Australia, the Fremantle Arts Centre has a dark and horrifying history. Built by convict labour, it was known as the Convict Establishment Fremantle Lunatic Asylum and Invalid Depot. Theoretically created to home and care for the mentally ill, including miners suffering from the effects of opium smoking and sunstroke, the Asylum instead became a dumping ground for all manner of people – including orphans, the elderly, sex workers or alcoholics. Overcrowding, prison-like conditions and mistreatment made it a horrific experience for patients, and it was eventually turned into a Poor House for women, a midwifery school, and lodging for American naval servicemen during World War 2. There have been reports of security guards being forcefully pushed down stairs, a child’s singing, or the feeling of being kissed by phantom lips.
1 Finnerty Street, Fremantle
Rose & Crown
Established in 1841, Guildford’s Rose & Crown is the state’s oldest hotel, and the third oldest in Australia. And you know what that means? Decades and decades of history and ghosts to wander to the corridors. The extensive cellars below the hotel have been the site of several ghostly apparitions, including a legless man wearing a hat, a girl in a rocking chair – as well as mischievous and mysterious happenings in the rooms upstairs.
105 Swan Street, Guildford
Woodman Point Quarantine Station
Built in 1886 to house arrivals to Australia who may be at risk of carrying smallpox, leprosy of the Spanish flu, Woodman Point Quarantine Station has become a must-visit for any aspiring ghost-hunters. The site has a storied history, including the construction of Australia’s oldest crematorium, built to cremate those who had passed from highly infectious diseases such as the plague (yikes). It is said that many of the souls that succumbed to these illnesses still roam the grounds to this day, most notably some who were victim to the Spanish flu pandemic that ravaged the HMAT Boonah in 1918.
74 O’Kane Court, Coogee
Kenwick Pioneer Cemetery
“The Headless Horseman of Kenwick” certainly has a dramatic ring to it. The Kenwick Pioneer Cemetery was constructed in 1865 using convict labour, and once was also the site of a school, courthouse, church and post office, before their demolition in 1900. Visit this historic cemetery for your chance to spy the infamous apparition – who appears at midnight riding a horse and clutching his own head. The City of Gosnells also hosts walking ghost tours, a moonlit guide through the history of the area, including tales of the nearby Mason and Bird timber mill that established a thriving community in Orange Grove.
1762 Albany Highway, Kenwick
Midland Town Hall
Officially opened in 1907, Midland Town Hall is a stunning example of Federation Free Classical architectural style seen in the area. The impressive building is also home to a number of mysterious apparitions, spooky sensations and even violent shoves from nowhere! Councillors often report feeling goosebumps when they walk the corridors, as well as spotting figures like an elderly lady with grey hair, a man at the top of the clock tower, or a little girl peering out from behind the curtains on stage. The spirit of Daria Mulawa is also said to haunt the hall – in 1955, she was violently murdered on the front steps by her ex-husband.
39 Old Great Northern Highway, Midland
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Mundaring Weir Hotel
Established in 1898, the Mundaring Weir Hotel is at the centre of plenty of surrounding trails and hikes – and we love visiting for the Sunday traditional lamb spit roast and live music. But the iconic pub is home to more than just a delicious feed. It is said that a worker on the nearby dam’s construction was killed, and he haunts the bar to this day, even smashing the occasional pint glass.
Lot 502 Hall Road, corner of Mundaring Weir Road, Mundaring
Goolugatup Heathcote
Goolugatup Heathcote has become a booming creative and cultural precinct in recent years, however it has a unique history. Previously known as the Point Heathcote Reception Centre, the development of the centre in the ’20s was seen as a reflection of changing attitudes towards mental health, with its beautiful and tranquil grounds. However, it was not without strife, with spooky sightings coinciding with reports of violence and deaths during the Centre’s 65 years of operations.
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Header image: Kalamunda Hotel