On a dark and dreary winter night a group gathers at Logan Reserve outside the softly lit Altona Homestead.
Excited chatter begins to soften as a solemn man stands at the entrance. He greets the group.
Jason is our guide and takes us on foot by lantern light. He escorts us through the park, onto the esplanade and down the back streets of Altona stopping along the way to share some history through folktale.
These aren’t just any tales. These are dark and morbid histories, some from over 150 years ago.
Mysterious deaths; Family tragedies; Boat trips gone wrong.
There was even a self-taught nurse running her own home-hospital.
After walking the very streets where such incidents occurred, we continue the tour by heading inside the homestead itself. It’s dark and it’s very eerie.
Altona Homestead is long known for hauntings and has even drawn international visitors looking to undertake paranormal investigations.
There’s a sense of activity all around us. This is not an empty dwelling.
We begin to learn more about the area’s first settlers Alfred and Sarah Langhorne.
These stories seem to engage all of our senses; a glimpse of something in the shadows, the sound of footsteps in the corridor, a sudden sniff of smoke or the feeling of a light touch brushing up against us. A wave of cold shivers passes through the group.
We’re left wondering if we didn’t imagine it.
And on that note, let’s move on.
Sarah married Alfred Langhorne at the age of 16, but it was never her desire to live an isolated life in Altona. Since then the homestead has seen many deaths and heartaches.
Sarah Langhorne is long deceased, but many say her lonely ghost lives on.
If you’re walking by at night you may see a lowly figure peering out of the window back at you.
Several sightings have been recorded and ghostly incidents have occurred within the home, including on other tours like this one.
It’s not uncommon to have kitchen trolleys rattling, cupboard drawers opening of their own accord and, heaven help me, children’s dolls mysteriously moving place within the nursery.
Volunteers in charge of locking up the house have handed in the towel, refusing to take this responsibility after experiencing active ghosts in the homestead.
It was certainly an evening of haunting mystery and wonder.
If you’re looking for a unique group experience, book one of these Lantern Ghost Tours.
Lantern Ghost Tours run award winning tours across Australia’s most haunted locations.
We have four Ghost Tour options in Melbourne’s west:
Ghost of old city Williamstown
Altona Homestead Ghost Tour
Eynesbury Homestead Dinner and Ghost Tour
Point Cook Homestead Ghost Tour
If you’re really keen to experience what’s on the other side, some locations have paranormal group investigations available too:
Point Cook Homestead Paranormal Invesitgation
Altona Homestead Paranormal Investigation