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-