Paranormal Australia - Maitland Gaol Haunted Jail Sleepover

In May 2002, Paranormal Australia team members and guests spent the night at the reputedly haunted Maitland Gaol in New South Wales.

The gaol's dark history set the scene as the staff shared with us tales of bizarre and even sometimes horrific events that took place there. Many men lost their lives at Maitland Gaol making it the perfect place to investigate hauntings.

The gaol is an extremely eerie place at night. The high sandstone walls surrounding the cell blocks and other buildings make every tiny sound boom and echo throughout the entire compound. There are darkened rooms and corners everywhere and the one thing you notice is how vulnerable you feel walking down corridors lined with open cell doors leading into pitch black. Shadows flicker along the walls and the strange moving shape you could have sworn you caught a glimpse of a second ago out of the corner of your eye is no longer there.

One of the most interesting things we were shown on the night was a cell above the kitchen that was filled with beautiful paintings of Australian bush animals. As we admired the artwork we were quite disturbed to learn that they had been painted by a pedophile. Although seemingly innocent, there was a sinister story behind the the paintings. It is believed that they represent the dark thoughts of the obviously mentally disturbed inmate that once lived there.

Above the window is the head of a Tasmanian tiger, an extinct animal that was once known for it's ferocious and predatory nature. If you follow the tiger's gaze to the wall to the left you will see two baby possums playing upon the branches of a eucalyptus tree. Wide-eyed and innocent, they're completely oblivious to the danger lurking nearby. Guarding the possums is an echidna in a hat and big boots. He's leaning up against a wooden post, and unfortunately for those sweet baby possums, he's fast asleep. The pair of bats hanging nearby represent the cover of darkness under which the predator commits his ghastly deeds, and the butterfly represents the freedom to do what he likes. A bizarre and chilling take on what would have otherwise been seen as just beautiful paintings by an artistic prisoner.

Lani reported:
"Unlike the first time I visited the gaol, I was quite comfortable in most areas, although there were a couple of places that made me feel uneasy. C Block/5 Wing was still quite an unnerving place. I left my video camera on infrared within cell 13, the cell where gaol staff have reported unusual occurrences. Some strange sounds were captured echoing throughout the cell block, but without actually being able to investigate them as they were happening it's impossible to say what they were.

There was another particular room off of the the visitor's area that made me uncomfortable. We were told the room was used by solicitors visiting with the inmates. I believe Kelly and Sherylee slept in that room and did not experience anything unusual. Unfortunately, none of the photographs I took, digital or film, picked up any anomalies. What is interesting is the hissing sound captured by Martin's tape recorder. I captured similar sounds on video during a previous visit to the gaol."

Martin reported:
"As this was my first visit to Maitland gaol I was not sure what to expect. Apart from the paranormal angle, the gaol itself is a fascinating place to visit. Just thinking about the history of the place and people that lived and died there was enough to get my attention.

I didn't have any problems with majority of the complex except for 5-wing and one cell in A-wing.

I found that I was unable to go through 5-wing alone - even after several attempts. I did set up a tape recorder in George Savvas' old cell and although there was nothing substantial recorded, there is an unusual hiss on the tape that was not recorded anywhere else.

In A-Wing I made a point of going into several of the cells to try to experience what it would have been like to be a resident. When I entered the last cell on the left-hand side I experienced a strange sensation and that forced me to leave that particular cell. Once again I left a tap recorder taping for about 30 minutes. All is quiet on this tape except for what appears to be the sound of a door slamming shut. There is no other sound of people approaching/leaving just the sound of the door slamming - most peculiar.