He drank his spirit He died from his spirit And returned as a spirit There is nowhere on this planet that does not have claim to a ghost, whether on land, sea or air. Someone, somewhere will know of a ghost story and someone, somewhere is ready to listen. By Joe Kent © AUFORN Queensland
Gatton On the 26 December 1898 a brother and his two sisters set out for the local dance being held in Gatton. When they arrived they found that the dance had been cancelled. The trio then set off for home. They never made it. Their bodies were found the following morning in a paddock not far from their home. Their hands were tied behind their backs, their heads and faces had been literally smashed in and they had also been shot in the head. For some reason their horse had also been shot. Both girls had been raped and according to the then police report both girls had put up a brave fight for their lives. Their killer or killers were never found.
A small dog and his owner were seen walking along a long and dusty road. Ted, who was driving his truck, stopped and asked where they were heading for. The reply was anywhere they could get a bite to eat, something to drink and somewhere to put their heads down: 'It's a lonely life for some but we likes it, don't we me old mate'. Both man and his dog got into the back of the truck while Ted drove the twenty minutes or so to Longreach. On arrival Ted stopped outside the local pub and to his horror found the back of the truck empty. Worried sick in case they were badly hurt he made the return journey to where he had picked them up, then drove slowly back again. He never found either man or dog and that in turn puzzled him. He could not have missed them on this road, as it was not used too often except by trucks. All this happened sometime during the 1930s yet it was not until Ted was in his eighties that he told his son. Other than Ted no one knew of the mysterious man and his dog. Voices Some years ago in Brisbane there used to be a shop that was reputed to be haunted. There were no sightings just the voices. These voices were heard in the house behind the shop as well as in the shop itself. The voices in the house seemed to be continually whispering whereas in the shop even the customers heard the voices. This could and did cause some problems, as one of the voices was somewhat rude. Most voices heard were of children, whereas those in the house were impossible to say whether children or adults were responsible for the whisperings. This shop was demolished to make way for units. Newstead House Two ladies from the United States were visiting Newstead House and were taken with the idea of having people dressed in period costume to go with the atmosphere of the old house. A lady was seen walking from one room to another with a slight swish of her dress. Below stairs a young girl was seen carrying a large bowl as she walked along the passage. The lady in the upstairs room would have been in her forties whereas the girl possibly no older than fifteen or sixteen and 'quite pretty'. LOVED WATER Sam was a labrador and like his breed loved water. Although not old, Sam was certainly not young. His owner threw a stick into the river for Sam to retrieve. The dog was not doing well until he neared the embankment. It was then that he started struggling. His owner could only guess that something under the water had trapped his dog's legs. As his owner went in to help him, the dog became still. Sam still had the stick in his mouth. Sam was taken to the vet's where it was diagnosed as having been a heart attack. Six months later, another dog came into the family home and although no one could see anything, it was obvious that the new dog was greeting another with a great wagging of his tail. Sam had come home.
Stanley loved his birds but sadly when he died, most of them had to be sold, with just a few being kept by his sister and her daughter. This did not stop Stanley from feeding, cleaning and watering his beloved birds, as his sister and her daughter were to find out. Both of them would often go to see to the birds, only to find fresh water in their drinking bowls or fresh seed replacing the old. Stanley was never seen in person even though his actions were, but his sister wonders if he still tends to his birds even though the house no longer stands.
Standing on the porch with his dog beside him, Bert saw, to his amazement, an elderly man suddenly appear literally from nowhere in front of the gate. The man seemed to be having some trouble trying to open the catch on the gate. Meanwhile the dog was whining and backing away from the porch steps. The dog was obviously frightened. Just as suddenly as he appeared, the elderly man was gone, gone in a flash. Bert was to find out a few days later that the owner of the house had died suddenly, about the same time that Bert had seen him at the gate. Bert was renting the house while his own was being built. |