By Kate Shilling — 21st July 2022
Does your family have a connection to the New South Wales Riverina? While this beautiful region is resplendent with picturesque townships, the thriving Murrumbidgee River and salt-of-the-earth, welcoming locals, it’s got its fair share of friendly ghosts and ghouls to go with it.
The infamous Monte Cristo Homestead in Junee prides itself on providing guests with mystery, intrigue and a little dose of terror with their stay. Known as the country’s most haunted homestead, Monte Cristo dates back to 1885 when Christopher Crawley built the grand house in the Victorian style as a prestigious status symbol for his family. If folklore is to be believed, Christopher was fated to become the first of no less than eleven lingering spirits to haunt Monte Cristo.
Christopher’s wife, devastated by her husband’s death, spent most of her time in the attic until her own death 22 years later. The Crawley’s lived in Monte Cristo until 1948, after which the house remained empty and rundown for 15 years until it was bought by the Ryan family in 1963 and restored to its former glory.
And now the fun begins! Immediately upon moving in, the Ryans noticed strange occurrences throughout the homestead. Their animals avoided entering the house at all costs and the house would light up despite having no electricity. The Ryans tell the story of coming home one night to find their chickens strangled to death. On other occasions, their parrot was choked to death in its cage and a litter of kittens were apparently also brutally killed.
Read on for Monte Cristo’s top five ghosts to watch out for, should you be brave enough to visit Monte Cristo:
* Christopher Crawley’s wife still rules the house and likes to pick and choose her guests. If she doesn’t like you, she’ll blow ice cold air on your skin.
* The Crawley’s baby granddaughter, Ethel, died in 1917 after being dropped on the stairs by the nursemaid. Today, some visitors claim to feel an icy, tiny hand slip into theirs as they walk up the stairs, while others say they feel like they’re being pushed.
* A maid who was pregnant to Christopher Crawley jumped to her death from the balcony, and continues to haunt the veranda to this day.
* The coach house is said to be haunted by a young stable boy named Morris. Sick in bed one day, his master tried to get him back to work by setting fire to his straw mattress. The boy was so sick, he couldn’t get up and instead burnt to death. To this day, people claim to hear his screams.
* One of the home’s caretakers, Jack Simpson, was shot dead in 1960 on the porch by a young man who had obsessively watching Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘Psycho’. The words, “Die Jack, ha ha” can still be seen carved into the shed door.
Take a stroll around this historic homestead as part of your Family History Holiday and see if you can catch sight of the tormented souls of Monte Cristo. Listen out for their cries and watch for glowing orbs throughout the hallways. The Monte Cristo Homestead is open Friday to Monday, 10am to 4pm. Feeling brave? Head over on a Saturday night for a guided ghost tour. For the ultimate dare, stay the night in one of the bedrooms – but don’t feel bad if you don’t last the night. Guests are often found asleep in their cars in the morning after fleeing during the night.
Real or imaginary, the ghosts of Monte Cristo are part of Junee’s rich heritage and a wonderful addition to a Riverina Family History Holiday.
