Haunted houses: Monte Cristo Homestead, Australia

That the Netherlands is haunted you know, because you read that in the blog Real haunted houses in the Netherlands. But that the rest of the world is equally haunted, perhaps not. In Australia, for example, there is a house where several ghosts are active. The Monte Cristo Homestead is therefore considered the most haunted house in Australia. Do you dare to read along about this haunted house?

Monte Cristo Homestead

Monte Cristo Homestead was built by Christopher William Crawley, a farmer who saw an opportunity and seized it. He was struggling to support his family. But when word got out that a train station was going to be built in his village, he scraped together all his money and built a hotel. The whole village benefited from the arrival of the station and Crawley became rich. He finally built Monte Cristo Homestead in 1885 and it was the largest house in the area. Christopher was a well-liked man; he was generous and kind. Yet the house was haunted. Why, really?

Dead bodies in the closet

Christopher died of blood poisoning in 1910. His wife Elizabeth and several of his 7 children were left behind. She was known as a woman who ruled her household with a hard hand. After her husband’s death, she barely left her house. She built a kind of altar in the attic from which she did not leave for days. Things also came to light about Christopher that could not bear the light of day. For example, he had affairs with several maids, at least two of whom became pregnant unwanted. The last family member left the house in 1948, after which it stood empty until 1963. During that period the house was repeatedly the victim of vandalism.

Who haunts it?

As many as 10 identified ghosts live in this haunted house. One of the maids who became pregnant committed suicide by jumping from the balcony. She ended up on the porch where she died. A ghostly bloodstain still regularly appears where she crashed. The second pregnant maid had her child on the farm. The little boy was perfectly healthy until he was hit by a carriage. The little boy, named Harold, suffered brain damage as a result. As Harold grew older, he became increasingly aggressive. He was therefore chained in a stable. Neighborhood children liked to come and watch crazy Harold to mock him. Harold was eventually discovered by the authorities and placed to a home for the disabled. After his death, however, Harold returned to the Homestead where he haunts. You can hear him coming well because he is still chained.

Fire

The stable complex itself also has a ghost. Morris, a stable boy, was too sick to get up one day. When his boss noticed he wasn’t at work, he decided to teach the boy a lesson. He set fire to the boy’s bed of straw, hoping the sleepyhead would jump up and go to work. But Morris was too sick and couldn’t get out of bed in time. He perished in the blaze. His screams can still be heard in the stable yard.

The ghost of Ethel Crawley

Ethel Crawley was a baby when she died in 1917. Her nanny dropped her from her arms as she walked down the stairs. The nanny later stated that she was pushed and therefore dropped the child in fright, but since no one else was present in the house, her story was dismissed as an excuse. Today, children refuse to go up those same stairs. There are also visitors who claim to have been pushed while on the stairs. Others again declare feeling an icy little hand slip into their hand. Could the nanny have been telling the truth after all?

The Ghost of Jack Simpson

A ghost that is somewhat more recent is the ghost of Jack Simpson. He kept a watchful eye while the Homestead was empty. One evening he heard noises on the porch and went to investigate. There he encountered a young man who later turned out to be obsessed with the movie “Psycho.” Jack Simpson was shot without a second thought on the porch. The killer carved the words “That Jack, Haha” into the barn door. These words are still legible today.

Elizabeth and Christopher

Elizabeth was not a pleasant person in life and she still is not a pleasant person after her death. Visitors to the present-day museum are “screened” by her ghost to see if they are worthy enough to enter her home. If they are not, they are treated to a terrible cold “shower.” In fact, it literally feels like having stone-cold raindrops showered on you. Christopher also refuses to leave his beloved home and sometimes shows himself. Furthermore, there is the necessary poltergeist activity (knocking, rattling, things being moved, lights going on and off, etc.) Sometimes visitors get too much and faint or have to spit. So it takes some courage to enter the museum. Would you dare?

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