Hauntings at the former Mental Hospital

This sign is at the top of the stairway and footpaths that lead to the waterfall on Oakley Creek. Behind the sign are student dormitories. It is not only a beautiful natural oasis in the middle of the busy Auckland metropolis, but a fascinating historical site. We were lucky to find it!

The next stage of our ghost hunting expedition is to the former Carrington Mental Hospital. It is currently the home of Carrington Unitec. Here, from the front facade of Building 1, we witness ghostly hands pressed against the window on the second storey. In the window to its right is a ghostly face staring out. In terms of authentic haunted reports, this place far outranks Carlile House in both historical and anecdotal spookiness.

Carrington Hospital was built in 1865; was the largest psychiatric hospital in the country at that time.  It could house 900 patients. No longer housing mental patients, it is now the home of Carrington Technical Institute. The change over happened in 1976. Building 1 currently houses the schools for architecture, art & design and landscaping.  

In another window in Building One, a ghostly greeting seems to echo itself in the afternoon sun, while stick figures run across the top of the window directly below.

Think of it; 900 mentally disturbed individuals concentrated on these grounds. There are verifiable reports of patient abuses, and an average of eight deaths per year, many of them suicides.  One particularly bad fire in 1877 was set by a patient who had obtained matches from visiting family. A woman died in that fire. But it is to Building 76 that we go, because it has the most notorious reputation.

Building 76 held the most dangerous inmates, housing only criminally insane men. When we visited it, we found it locked and silent, with dire warnings. It currently houses pottery and ceramics classrooms, but I'm sure the sign refers to worse things than chemicals used in glazing. You can BET its a multiple hazard area! No, we did not attempt to enter.

To the left there is a cyclone fence, and right behind that fence there is a tool shed. Can you see a face etched into the wood, a face created out of the natural wood grain? I definitely would not want to walk past this place at night.

Back to Building  1: is the largest structure on the campus complex. It is here on the third floor that there have been reports of furniture moving in the seminar rooms, shadows moving when there are no visible passersby, and most eerie, the sound of children's voices singing and laughing. I even heard a sad moaning sound emanating from the drain pipes in this dark corner. I think I can just make out a dove roosting there, but is there more to the moaning than a mere bird?

In some of the art studios, various items such as paint brushes, paint pots and chairs have spontaneously moved to different parts of the rooms as students were actually working on projects. Some students, working late at night, have reported terrifying experiences of being pursued. sounds of water running in bathrooms and cold spots in hallways. And this odd little tower seems to be swathed in shrouds.

In any case, this place is one crazy campus. Here's proof: the glass in these old windows is crazed!

(Happy Halloween!)

-JMF-

The Most Famous Haunted House in New Zealand

One cold sunny Sunday afternoon a few months ago, Allie, Amiri, Arram and I went on a quest to investigate the most famous haunted house in New Zealand, the Carlile House. There are a lot of urband legends about this former boys' orphanage.  The most well-known story tells the tragic tale of a terrible fire at the orphanage in 1912 in which 43 boys supposedly died.  Would we be able to find any real evidence that the place was haunted?Granted, any ghosts probably would not be out and about on a bright sunny afternoon, on a SUNDAY.   I think we found some fun and adventure, if not evidence of paranormal activity.  

This is the front entrance to the building.  The Carlile House was originally built in 1886 as a training school for orphan boys.  It was called "The Costley Home for Boys".  Costley was the name of a New Zealand philantropist who donated money for hospitals and orphanages in Auckland.  According to an internet source (I searched the key words "Carlile House Auckland") there were absolutely no newspaper accounts of a fire or any deaths at this location.  But you know how people love a mystery, and reports of any ghosts keep growing with each new generation and the legends take on a life of their own.  In 1935 it was purchased by the Salavation Army and re-named The Carlile House. and was in use until 1969 for emergency housing. It has since been vacant and is currently falling into disrepair, to the point that it has been fenced in with barbed wire on the top to keep the curious and other thrill seekers from entering and getting themselves hurt.

The United Church of Tonga purchased the property in 1970.  The chapel, built in 1913, was repaired and is currently being used as a very nice place of worship.

In fact, there were church services going on as we wandered around the property, and the only sounds our recordings picked up were the voices of people singing hymns.  We witnessed a group of teenagers squeeze through the fence, only to be warned off by several imposing Tongan gentlemen dressed in their church-going best, which is a suit coat, tie and lava-lava with sandals.  (A lava-lava is a piece of brightly colored cloth wrapped around the waist and secured with a wide woven flax belt.  The lava-lava is knee-length.)

Here is a view of Carlile House taken from the front entrance to the church.  I wanted to get the trunk of the tree in the picture, because it looks so "spooky" in an organic way.  I guess you could argue that this is the best proof I have that the tree "witnessed" horrifying ghostly events that were then imprinted on its very bark.

And this view of the front, with the tree branch leaning in, suggests that something of interest may be sighted on the windows.

Standing farther back, I took this photo of the facade, hoping to decipher the words written on the glass.  Several of the windows are broken and boarded up, but I am sure that drafts can make their way inside.  

But here are the same windows in infared.  Those green figures are watching us, do you think?  And what does G2K mean?????

We wandered around to the back of the building, and stood in the church parking lot.  Everything was quiet and ordinary looking.  BUT:  Look at the windows on the second floor.  The third one from the left still has intact glass panes, and a ragged curtain is waving due to an odd vagrant gust of air......or Something Else.

A close up shot of the roof facade reveals the inscription:  Deo Juvante...With God's Help.  

So, is Carlile House haunted by paranormal manifestations?  Or just haunted by urban legends?  In either case, it is an interesting part of the Auckland scene, and it seemed fitting to share this story with you just in time for Halloween!  JMF

And now, as Paul Harvey used to say, it's time "For the Rest of the Story."

Just over a week has gone by since I began taking pictures of the thrush family, and now, it's all over.  
At about 8 am this Sunday morning, three of the babies left the nest and disappeared. One little fellow or lady, was left. The runt of the litter so to speak no doubt. 
I watched the nest carefully, checking it as soon as we got back from church, but the little bird continued to pace around the perimeter of his nest and no parents were visible. The boys left for a birthday party but we three adults continued to monitor both the nest and the yard. I walked around the entire house very slowly, peering under bushes and what-not, but didn't see or hear anything. More importantly, none of us saw either of the parent birds.  
Finally, about 1 pm, Jeanne and Allie decided to do something about it. This little bird had been fed almost constantly up until then. It had now eaten nothing for a good 4 to 5 hours. It was no longer pacing it's nest, it was just sitting and seemed somewhat lethargic. Since the parents hadn't returned in all this time, we figured it had been abandoned. 
Jeanne and Allie took it down and fed it a worm. A big one. Then they made a temporary nest for it in an old shoebox. Over the next hour or so, they fed it five more worms. 
And then, a breakthrough. I spotted one of the parents, well, at least it was of that species of bird anyway, in the front yard. It had come to our yard from a perch in a Magnolia tree down the street. I thought it likely that it could be a parent. Jeanne deftly placed the baby in a shady spot nearby. We heard the baby loudly tweeting and realized that momma couldn't help but hear it's racket.  We then went for a walk. 
When we returned, junior was gone from where he had been. 
We think that we assisted in providing for the best possible outcome. 
Here are a few last pictures of this, the song thrush saga.

 No doubt this little one was from the last egg laid and hatched. Just a little bit behind it's bigger siblings. 

A new mess on the deck. 

We think the other babies made either a rather abrupt landing here, beneath the nest, as they tried their wings for the first time, and pooped as a result, or they each pooped as they left the nest and used that elimination as a sort of added propulsion on their first, very tramatic flight. Regardless, we have a bit of a mess. 

Allie offered the baby a worm but it wasn't interested. She had to take baby down... 

It seemed to relax 

How's that for a meal, huh?

The empty nest. I wonder if it will be reused?  It is very clean. 

Good luck thrush family.  -djf

Amiri's birds are growing...

Do you think they are beginning to crowd the nest?

It's interesting that the parents are now bringing less food. Apparently, with their growth spurt behind them, the kids don't need as much. The parents come about every 15 minutes now. 

See what I mean about the size? Don't know if that's mom or dad up there, but all four of the kids are  nearly as big. -djf

Amiri's bird watching station

Amiri has been showing quite an interest in the birds and has an ideal spot set up to watch them from. He checks them several times a day.  Here are a few of the latest photos.

The captain could see none of us now and he held up the first morsel for us all to lay eyes on. The only man who could not see it, in fact, was Mr. Fryer himself.
"Who shall have this?" the captain asked loudly.
Mr. Fryer glanced around the waiting faces, selected one, and announced in an equally formal tone, "William Purcell."
The captain handed the piece -a good sized chunk- to Mr. Fryer, who in turn passed it to Mr. Purcell, who looked at it with ashtonisment, as if he could not believe his luck to be served first, before nibbling the side of it cautiously and then devouring it in one. 
-from Mutiny on the Bounty

When I looked at the stately bearing of the mama bird in this picture, with her head held up, and seemingly at attention, and the assembly of babies before her, all beaks and hunger, I was reminded of the scene in the lifeboat in Mutiny on the Bounty. The captain was handing out tiny pieces of meat to his little crew. It was done with great ceremony due to the scarcity of the food. Despite their hunger, his men all acted with decorum as well, only their eyes showing how desperately each one longed to be fed. 

I've read that this species (song thrush) can produce up to three broods a year. This may be a busy nest. -djf

New Pictures. the kids are growing up

The babies are growing every day. Here are just a few more shots, mostly taken from inside the house so I don't scare the parents as they deliver another load. I thought that by this time, the nest must be getting putrid from all the waste the babies generate. BUT, look at the last shot. Mama picked that up from the nest and carried it away. 

Sorry about this one. It's on such high magnification that my slightest shake throws the center off...at least you can see her about to feed. 

I wonder how soon they'll be out trying their wings?  -djf

I like these birds. Let's keep watching them for the time being.

This is the second installment of 'the birds.'

 "Come on, Ma, I'm starvin' over here."

The lighting varies with the time of day and the cloud cover of course. I'll keep watching...They're getting big fast.  -djf

A new springtime family shares our house.

We have proof that it is indeed spring in Henderson. We have a new family that has moved in and is sharing our deck area. The nest is hard to see in this picture, but it is between the first and second beams on the left. You'll see it better in subsequent shots.  

Another proof of spring is the open window and the fan. The fan hasn't been used yet, but we're ready...

Mama is busy. I sat on the deck today and stood around in the yard, watching and waiting. She seems to be gone from the nest only about 10 minutes at a time, before returning with another worm or whatever.  -djf