In Beechworth, in the Australian state of Victoria, old asylum buildings stand on a 200-acre site that is now a hotel and conference center. For 128 years, from 1867 to 1995, this was the Beechworth Lunatic Asylum, later Mayday Hills, home at its peak to some 1,200 patients. Inside the walls, a hidden trench called a ha-ha made escape impossible. Committal needed only two signatures.
Treatment meant straitjackets, restraint chairs, and isolation cages, and later, lobotomies and shock treatment in the Grevillia Building. Many patients never left. How many died, and where every one of them lies, remains unclear; one source claims thousands in unmarked graves, a figure no official record here confirms. The ghost stories are gentler than the history. Visitors describe Matron Sharpe, a nurse from the 1800s, whose presence in the dormitories brings a strange calm. Arthur, the gardener, is said to keep watch in his green woollen jacket. Jim Kelly, uncle of Ned Kelly, left his name scratched into a day-room window. In the kitchens, two spirits called Tommy and Benjamin are said to play. In the corridors, doors slam, footsteps pass, and someone whispers in empty rooms.
The old wards can be entered only on guided historical and ghost tours; book ahead. Walk the dormitories after dark, and if a sudden calm settles over you, you may not be alone.
Story Source: amyscrypt.com
Address: 22 Kurrajong Way, Beechworth VIC 3747, Australia
Accessibility Rating: Guided Tours Only — Access permitted only as part of an organized tour. Independent exploration not allowed.
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What Others Have Experienced
On an evening ghost tour, a visitor captured video that showed unexplained orbs drifting through the frame. Moments later, as the group moved through the building, a heavy door suddenly slammed shut on another member of the tour.
— from TripAdvisor
During a family ghost tour, a parent’s child felt something touch them and tug at their clothing. Looking back through their photos afterward, the family found what appeared to be a man standing behind their daughter in one shot.
— from TripAdvisor
