It was a dark and stormy Halloween, literally. Could there be a more perfect opportunity to go on a ghost tour? I’ve always loved Halloween and can never resist a haunted happening, so when tickets went on sale for Ghost Territory Tour’s inaugural event, I knew I couldn’t miss out.
They’re a new dark tourism business in Sydney, but they’re not new to ghost hunting—paranormal investigator Rob Wilson and his team started PACT, the Paranormal and Cryptid Taskforce, with the aim of respectfully investigating paranormal activity around Sydney and the country. Ghost Territory Tours has now launched so that members of the public can experience the excitement of visiting haunted places as well.
On Halloween, a small group of us ventured out to the Hawkesbury, a picturesque region about an hour northwest of Sydney. Here you’ll find Rose Cottage, set in the town of Wilberforce and the location for Halloween’s paranormal activity.
Rose Cottage— The History
You may not have heard of Rose Cottage (I confess I hadn’t), but this small historic home should be on your radar if you love Australian history. It’s the oldest timber slab cottage in the country that still remains in its original location, built between 1810 and 1820.
The cottage was built by Thomas Rose on land received as part of a land grant. As a free settler, Rose came to Australia to use his farming skills to help the fledgling colony stay afloat. Amazingly, descendants of the Rose family lived in the cottage continuously up until 1961. The cottage is now overseen by the Rose Family Society.
In 1999, it was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register in recognition of its importance to state history.
The Experience
Ok, so Rose Cottage is definitely historic. But is it haunted?
With over 200 years of continuous occupancy, plus surviving both fire and flood, there’s no doubt that Rose Cottage has seen a thing or two in its time.
Armed with a handy toolkit of ghost-hunting equipment, including an EMF (electromagnetic field) detector, a crystal for protection, and a light-up cat toy (more on this later) we set off into the cottage to see what we could find.
The cottage itself is small, consisting of a bedroom, living and dining room, and nursery—however, there is also a large attic, where many of the family children used to play in years past. The Rose family has generously worked on the cottage’s interior furnishings, replicating how it would have looked originally. Most of the furnishings are from other homes, but the bedroom trunk was brought over by the family, holding their possessions on board the ship they took from England to start their new life in Australia. To see the family’s original trunk is quite special, a treasured family heirloom still in its original place in the house.
The Sound
Back to the paranormal—one way to capture supernatural activity is by making a voice recording, then playing it back to see what sounds have been picked up. Tour leader Rob started by asking questions, seeing if any spirits in the home were present and interested in communicating with us. No one seemed to reply. After a few minutes of recording, we played back the tape.
It played back just as it had as we recorded— except for one disturbing sound.
The noise was an uncomfortable sort of murmured growl. There were no animals near or around the property, and it was hard to make out whether this sound was a word that we couldn’t decipher or a more guttural communication, but I can say it certainly gave me chills. Rob had done some investigations on his own in the cottage the week before and had recorded similar strange sounds, but the team was unsure what they were. Could it be a spirit attempting to communicate, via a different wavelength?
Our small group then did some exploring on our own, each of us exploring nooks and crannies of the home, listening for any sounds or looking for unusual activities. Most of the action, it seemed, was coming from the attic—I’ll be honest, I didn’t have the courage to climb up into a haunted attic. But I admire those who did! With the exposed timber frames and an eerie abandoned doll, it looks like something out of a horror movie.
When quiet, the attic seemed to produce some shuffling and scratching sounds, as if children were playing above us. Previous video recording from the week prior also produced some loud bangs in the room, unexplainable in their origins.
The Bedroom
From my perspective, the bedroom was home to some of the strangest experiences of the night.
The first involved a pair of boots, placed next to the bed by the cottage as part of the decor. Over the course of the evening, the boots went from a parallel position, where the cottage curator said they always sat, to a much different, angled position. They didn’t look kicked; rather, like someone had adjusted their positioning intentionally. I can’t say with certainty that they weren’t accidentally kicked, but I’d say keep an eye on them if you visit!
The second unexplained phenomena involved perhaps the most important item in our arsenal—the cat toy. We were each given a small, round ball—when you pressed its button, it would light up in bright colours. It turns out, cats aren’t the only creatures that can interact with this ball. The point of the balls are that they can be used as a medium, a tool that spirits can communicate through.
A solitary cat toy was placed in the middle of the bed, then left alone. Without giving away all the details of what happened, there was a point in the night where the ball lit up, then turned off, despite no one being near it. It seemed to entrance the person standing next to it, as if she was seeing something no one else could see. Witnessing this was really surreal, and I don’t think the toy was malfunctioning.
Was a spirit using the toy as a way to communicate with us? No one can say for sure, but it certainly made me pause.
Both are seemingly small experiences, but are still enough to make the hairs on your neck stand up.
The Verdict—Is Rose Cottage Haunted?
The last occupant of Rose Cottage was known to be a solitary man who kept to himself. If his spirit was in the home, he may not have been too pleased that a group of ten curious folks had let themselves into his home to poke around.
While we did see some seriously unexplainable things, if you believe in spirits, it’s easy to see why someone who preferred solitude wouldn’t want to communicate or get involved with a large group. So, while the evening didn’t bring any huge paranormal experiences, it was authentic and genuine, just like what real paranormal investigators experience—some nights are just more active than others.
Walking away, I certainly believe Rose Cottage is home to paranormal happenings. I also love that the team at Ghost Territory Tours was so respectful of the home’s history and its descendants. Everything on the night was done in conjunction with a member of the Rose family and every effort was made to treat the home with care. I personally do believe in the paranormal, but even if you think cat balls and unexplained noises sound ridiculous, it’s still an amazing opportunity to get up-close with a unique part of Sydney history. But before judging, I’d encourage you to visit for yourself and keep an open mind.
I do love a good ghost tour, but most of them involve storytelling and little actual ghost hunting. For a more authentic paranormal, hands-on experience, check out Ghost Territory Tours. They are running more tours of Rose Cottage and are hoping to expand to offer additional tours in other locations. Plus, the whole team are incredibly passionate about what they do.
How to Visit
You can visit Rose Cottage on Sundays, from 10am-4pm (subject to change), via a gold coin donation. The donations go to keeping the property running, and there are plenty of informational guides and resources at the cottage to help you learn more.
Or, if you want to visit on a ghost tour, check in with Ghost Territory Tours to find out their upcoming tour dates.
If you’re looking for more haunted places in Australia, I’d recommend Manly’s Q Station, Cockatoo Island, and Fremantle Prison, in WA.
Do you believe in spirits? Have you visited any haunted places in Australia? Would love to hear your stories!
Please note, I went on this tour as a full-paying member of the public.