About the tour

With this cities' rich colonial history it was a delight to hear that Sydney's best hearse driven ghost and history tour - Destiny Tours - was now escorting daring punters - upright of course - through the dark streets of Parramatta.

Did you know that there are 7 cemeteries in Parramatta? Did you also know that one of them holds Australia's oldest surviving grave. It's none other than First Fleeter and manservant of Governor Arthur Phillip, Henry Dodd!

This is just one of the interesting things I heard on the tour which is lead by Allan "The Hearse Whisperer" Levinson, Elvira the Hearse (or sometimes Morticia the Hearse), and local historian and former Parramatta Orphanage tour guide Judith Dunn.

The tour which starts in the town centre where long ago hangings took place, goes for about 2 and a half hours and was filled with strange, ghostly, funny and historic tales about Parramatta.

During the tour Judith tells some historic tales such as:

the man who hung himself
the convict women who had endure punishment
the floating ghost in grey satin
the man who 'flew' through the gaol wall
the ghosts who still haunt the old orphanage
the ghost at the corner of a cemetery
the shooting at a local railway station

The night of the tour there were hundreds of bats flying around - setting the scene for a spooky few hours! Everyone on the tour seemed to have some degree belief in the 'unknown' which helped the atmosphere - I found out later that the all the participants knew each other, and they had booked the whole tour a surprise birthday present for one of the girls - she didn't know anything about it until she spotted the car!

One thing in common with all Destiny Tours is that even if you've lived in Sydney all your life, and know a lot about Parramatta - you will still learn many new things about the area - especially all the seedy, hidden stories!

You get to spend a bit of time outside Elvira, visiting the property of an old hospital, a cemetery, a haunted railway station, and a haunted well! You also visit - by hearse - many other local places which hold strange tales.

Ghostly experiences

I'm not psychic whatsoever, so on most ghost tours I've been on (I've been on a lot!) I usually have to put up with just listening to the experiences that other people have on other tours - no fault of the tour itself of course - but it would be nice to be part of the experiences they always talk about.

Well, ring the bells, because during this tour I finally had experiences of my own (yippee!). :-)

I felt that there was an unseen member of the tour group and felt a strange energy - especially in the first place we visited - the old womans asylum. When Judith was speaking about the history of the buildings I felt a definite presence in one particular area, watching the group.

In the same property, as we were walking away from Elvira to visit another section, I again felt the presence behind me and on impulse turned around and looked at the hearse. I didn't see anyone, but had a strong feeling that there was someone standing next to the car. I had the impression that he (I felt it was male) was assuring me that he was guarding the car.

Could this have been Tom, Elvira's most prominent spirit? Psychic's who've been in the luxurious cadillac feel that he visits now and again, especially on tours. Or could it have been a previous resident to the long ago asylum, forever trapped within it's walls?

My other experience was whilst driving up to the haunted Parramatta Orphanage which was featured in the 2001 reality show Scream Test. Unfortunately you don't get to go inside (it's now private offices) however this tour has special permission to visit the grounds.

After passing Security, we drove up to the Orphanage. On the way I caught a fleeting glimpse of a young child (who I thought was possibly a girl, but unsure) standing on a verandah, dressed in white, holding the railing and watching the hearse drive past. I mentioned this to the tour group on the next stop, but wasn't sure of what I had seen, and felt that it must have been my imagination?

A few days later, Allen told me that during a tour held a few nights later, several people saw a little girl in the same place!

I'd be very interested in hearing if anyone else has any similar experiences on this tour!

Do I recommend this tour?

Definitely! I'm a big fan of the Wierd Destiny Tours which they also host in Sydney City, Campbelltown and Canberra. Every tour is different, spooky and fun and in each location you learn a new bunch of historic, bizarre and spooky tales - not to mention getting to travel around in a gorgeous hearse which EVERYONE notices.

The Parramatta tour would especially appeal to "ghost hunters" and paranormal curious who like a hands-on approach. So make sure you bring your camera, and perhaps a tape recorder to see if you can pick up any activity.

Why not get a bunch of friends together (especially the skeptics - Tom likes them!) and enjoy a night of spooky fun!

A big thank you to Allan, Elvira & Judith for a wonderful tour!

Heard enough? Want to go on the tour?

Bookings are essential as it's a very popular tour, so call Allan Levinson on 02 9943 0167 or 0414 232 244 to make sure you experience the Destiny Tours Weird Parramatta Ghost and History Tour!

When I took this photo, I remember saying that I wanted EVERYONE on the tour in the photo, including Elvira the Hearse (you can still see a tiny bit of her at least). After uploading the photo into my computer I almost didn't notice a small anomaly above everyone (hard to see in this small photo) until I brightened and zoomed in on the image. The dot above the group (which is also known as an Orb in ghost hunting terms) to my eyes seemed to have a smiling face in it, looking to the right. Could this be Tom, joining the photo of "everyone on the tour"? I'll leave it up to you to decide.