Most Haunted Places in Queensland, Australia

Queensland might be known for its sunshine, beaches, and tropical escapes, but it also hides a darker side filled with chilling tales and ghostly legends.

From haunted cemeteries on Brisbane’s fringe to eerie old pubs in country towns, these places are steeped in history and stories that refuse to be forgotten.

Walking through them feels like stepping back in time, only with an uneasy sense that you’re not alone.

What I love about exploring these sites is how quickly the atmosphere changes. One moment you’re on a scenic bush trail or standing in a charming old pub, and the next you’re hit with cold air, strange sounds, or that goosebump feeling that someone’s watching.

Whether you’re a believer in the paranormal or just curious about Queensland’s haunted past, these spots offer a mix of history, mystery, and spine-tingling folklore that’s hard to resist.

Let’s dive into some of the most haunted places across Queensland—if you’re brave enough.

Slaughter Falls (Brisbane)

Slaughter Falls in Brisbane’s Mount Coot-tha Forest – a hiking trail infamous for a string of tragic deaths in the 1920s.

Slaughter Falls earned its sinister reputation after a 1925 shooting on Christmas Day, a double suicide in 1926, and a 1927 murder–suicide, among other violent incidents.

Rumours of satanic rituals and the ghost of a young girl murdered in the area have circulated, contributing to its haunted lore.

Today, the trail is a public walking track with parking at the trailhead.

• Historical background: Named for town clerk J.C. Slaughter, the area dates from Brisbane’s colonial era. The documented killings and suicides of 1925–27 (including the Christmas Day shooting and murder-suicide) are part of local history. These grim events gave the falls their ominous reputation.
  
• Paranormal activity: Hikers report unexplained cold spots, whispering voices, and sightings of a pale figure among the trees. Legend tells of a teenage girl’s ghost, and some claim graffiti on rocks shows strange symbols, though these stories remain anecdotal.
  
• Access: Slaughter Falls is open to all visitors (it lies in Brisbane’s Mount Coot-tha Reserve). The trail is well-marked and free to enter. There are no organised “ghost tours” here.
  
• Tours: No official ghost tours are offered, although it is sometimes included in informal haunted-hike itineraries.
  
• Accommodation: None on-site (it’s Forest Park). Nearest lodging is in Brisbane’s suburbs (e.g. Fig Tree Pocket or Kenmore).
  
• Location: Urban park (Mt Coot-tha, ~10 km west of Brisbane CBD).

Ghost Hole Mine (Mount Coot-tha, Brisbane)

Ghost Hole Mine (Brisbane) – an abandoned 1940s gold mine in Mt Coot-tha, now a hiking trail notorious for eerie occurrences.

The mine failed commercially and shut down in 1959. Today, its sealed entrance marks the end of a densely forested trail that many visitors describe as “thick and eerie”.

Paranormal investigators and walkers alike report hearing unearthly voices, encountering shadowy apparitions, and experiencing sudden drops in temperature around the tunnel site.

One ghost-hunting team (Haunted Down Under) even claims to have contacted spirits there.

• Historical background: Ghost Hole Mine was an early 20th-century gold venture. Very little gold was ever recovered (a few parcels sent for processing in 1940), and the project was abandoned by 1959. The entrance was later bricked up.
  
• Paranormal activity: Many hikers report feeling watched or hearing whispers near the old shaft. Claims include seeing ghostly figures and picking up unexplained electronic disturbances. In local lore, the site is said to be haunted by three female and one male spirit. The broader Mt Coot-tha area also saw murders and suicides (notably at nearby Slaughter Falls), which locals tie to the mine’s spooky vibe.
  
• Access: Fully open to the public. A maintained trail from a car park leads about 1.5 km through bushland to the tunnel entrance. There is no admission fee.
  
• Tours: No formal ghost tours specifically target Ghost Hole Mine. Some Brisbane hiking groups explore it by night.
  
• Accommodation: None (forest track). The closest lodging is in Brisbane.
  
• Location: Rural/woodland (Mt Coot-tha, within Brisbane city limits).

Nudgee Cemetery (Nudgee, Brisbane)

Nudgee Cemetery – established 1867 as Brisbane’s first Catholic burial ground – is famed for its spooky ambience.

Countless visitors claim to experience paranormal phenomena there. The most famous tale is of a young girl’s ghost: witnesses report glimpsing her white-dressed figure running between tombstones at night, then vanishing into thin air.

Others have filmed unexplained orbs and ghostly lights drifting among the graves.

• Historical background: Opened in 1867, Nudgee is a sprawling cemetery with historic monuments and recent graves. It holds the remains of many notable Queenslanders.
  
• Paranormal activity: Visitors frequently describe an “uneasy” feeling on walking the grounds. The Little Girl Apparition is one of the best-known ghost stories. There are also reports of cold spots and strange noises after sundown. These stories have led many to label Nudgee one of Brisbane’s most haunted cemeteries.
  
• Access: The cemetery is open to the public throughout the year. One can enter at any time, though gates close to vehicles after dark.
  
• Tours: Occasional ghost-hunting walks may include Nudgee Cemetery, but no regular tour company is based here.
  
• Accommodation: None on site. The cemetery is near suburban Nudgee (northern Brisbane); nearby hotels are in the greater Brisbane area.
  
• Location: Suburban (Nudgee, ~15 km north of Brisbane CBD).

Toowong Cemetery (Toowong, Brisbane)

Toowong Cemetery – Brisbane’s largest necropolis (opened 1866) – is steeped in folklore and ghost stories.

Covering 260 acres and containing over 120,000 interments, it has given rise to legends like “Spook Hill” (where two sisters allegedly died and cars parked in neutral supposedly roll uphill toward their graves).

Another popular tale recounts the story of a woman exhumed and found perfectly preserved, with fang-like teeth; her spirit, clad in a 19th-century dress, is said to wander the grounds.

Visitors and tour guides recount phantom footsteps, a hissing “Angel of Death,” and other unexplained activity dating back many decades.

• Historical background: Toowong was established in 1866 and features Victorian-era monuments. It is the resting place of many governors and pioneers.
  
• Paranormal activity: The spooky legends of Toowong include the gravity-defying Spook Hill and a vampire ghost story. Numerous walkers claim to have heard voices or seen shadows among the mausoleums.
  
• Access: Open daily with maintained roads (numerous “Avenues”) throughout. There is no entry fee.
  
• Tours: Regular night ghost tours (e.g., by Brisbane Ghost Tours) cover Toowong Cemetery, highlighting its famous stories (though local guides, not sourced here, operate these tours).
  
• Accommodation: None (only graves). Visitors stay in Brisbane.
  
• Location: Urban cemetery (Toowong suburb, west of Brisbane CBD).

Goodna Cemetery (Goodna, Ipswich)

Goodna Cemetery – founded in 1859 – is notorious for its association with the old Brisbane Mental Hospital.

A memorial records 2,500 transferred patients, although only 200 were actually reburied there after 1945.

Locals believe the unsettled spirits of those former patients haunt the grounds.

Many report feeling watched or even scratched by unseen hands while walking at night.

Unusual occurrences, such as cameras inexplicably losing power and parked cars stalling at the gate, are also often attributed to these ghosts.

• Historical background: One of the region’s oldest cemeteries (est. 1859). It contains a mass grave of psychiatric hospital patients: in 1945, hundreds of bodies were moved here, and memorial plaques (2,500 names) stand at the rear.
  
• Paranormal activity: The common theme is the “lost souls” of former patients from the hospital. Visitors frequently claim unexplained bites, scratches or disembodied footsteps. Electronic devices often die in the cemetery, and sometimes vehicles fail to start near the gates, fueling the haunted reputation.
  
• Access: The cemetery is open to the public as a historic site. It can be walked at any time.
  
• Tours: Ghost Tours Australia offers a guided “haunted history” tour of Goodna Cemetery (popular in tourism listings), although no official on-site program exists.
  
• Accommodation: None on site. Goodna (a suburb of Ipswich) is near Brisbane; hotels are in Ipswich or Brisbane.
  
• Location: Suburban/rural (Goodna, 19 km west of Brisbane, near Ipswich).
  

Wolston House (Wacol, Brisbane)

Wolston House is a heritage farmhouse built in 1852 (with 1860s additions) and now run by the National Trust.

It is one of Queensland’s oldest surviving houses. Paranormal investigators have documented eerie phenomena inside Wolston House, including a 2009 ghost hunt that reported glowing orbs on video, a kitchen light swinging violently, and a cupboard opening on its own.

Such incidents prompted the National Trust to host nighttime “haunted” tours at Wolstons.

• Historical background: Built of brick and timber in 1852 and expanded in the 1860s, Wolston House’s 156-year history includes grisly events. The original owner, John Ommaney, died of a skull fracture from a horse fall in 1856, and later, a daughter of the owner, Jim Grindle, was killed in the 1940s.
  
• Paranormal activity: Today, Wolston House is reputed to be haunted. Ghost hunters (Queensland Paranormal Investigators) have photographed orb-like lights and captured audio EVPs. Investigators note unexplained EMF readings and moving objects, asserting “something within the walls that could not be explained logically”.
  
• Access: Wolston House is open to the public during the day as a museum. The site occasionally hosts after-dark paranormal investigation events for ticket holders.
  
• Ghost tours: The National Trust periodically hosts special haunted-history nights at Wolston House, where visitors use ghost-detecting equipment.
  
• Accommodation: None (historic house museum). Nearby Brisbane or Ipswich provide lodging.
  
• Location: Suburban (Wacol, at Brisbane’s western outskirts near Ipswich).

Castle Blackstone (Ipswich)

Castle Blackstone – site of a former 1891 mansion – now lies abandoned atop Blackstone Hill (Ipswich).

The 3-story brick mansion (built for coal magnate Lewis Thomas) had 49 rooms and extensive gardens, but was demolished in the 1940s for coal mining.

Today, only a water tank and crumbling stairs remain. Locals swear they still see the castle’s outline on foggy mornings, as if the building itself is haunted.

Legends also say the spirits of the former owners wander the hill: visitors occasionally report ghostly sightings of a Victorian-era gentleman and lady along the hiking track.

• Historical background: Erected in 1891 as a luxurious private estate, Castle Blackstone (a.k.a. Brynhyfryd) was a local landmark. It was torn down ~50 years later when mining operations required the land. Some of its bricks are still visible in old buildings in Ipswich.
  
• Paranormal activity: Though the house is gone, its memory lingers. Amy’s Crypt notes reports of “the ghost of the long lost castle” seen in mist, and that the owners, Lewis Thomas and his wife, are said to haunt the grounds.
  
• Access: The site is accessible via the Council-maintained Blackstone Hill hike. Interpretive signs mark the location of the former mansion and its remaining ruins.
  
• Ghost tours: None. The hill is a day-hike attraction; some paranormal enthusiasts explore it privately after dark.
  
• Accommodation: None on site. The nearest town, Ipswich, has hotels.
  
• Location: Semi-rural (Blackstone, a suburb of Ipswich).

Ernest Junction Tunnel (Brisbane)

Ernest Junction Tunnel – an abandoned railway tunnel (built 1888) under Brisbane’s outer suburbs – has a reputation for sinister encounters.

Locally, two ghosts are said to lurk inside: one of a homeless man murdered there, and another of an unidentified young boy.

On visits to the locked-off tunnel, people often feel a “dark presence.”

Occult symbols and candles found inside (likely left by vandals) give credence to the tale of Satanic rituals there.

• Historical background: Opened in 1888 on the South Coast rail line, the tunnel was decommissioned in 1964. It is about 100 m long and was once heavily used.
  
• Paranormal activity: Many explorers report hearing disembodied voices and seeing apparitions. The “homeless man” ghost story claims the spirit of a slain squatter still haunts the space. Another legend involves a ghostly boy in the darkness. Anecdotal evidence of ritual markings adds to the eerie lore.
  
• Access: The tunnel (at one end) is now open and freely accessible via a short downhill walking track. Visitors can enter the dark void at will. Local volunteers have placed historical info at the entrance.
  
• Ghost tours: Occasionally included in independent “haunted Brisbane” walks, but no official tour runs here.
  
• Accommodation: None (forest tunnel). Nearby Brisbane (e.g. Rocklea, Moorooka) has lodging.
  
• Location: Urban fringe (south Brisbane suburbs).
  

Cascade Gardens (Surfers Paradise, Gold Coast)

Cascade Gardens, a waterfront park in Surfers Paradise, is said to be haunted by the spirit of Ned Harper (1828–1896), a pioneer buried there.

Harper was a respected local who built the Nerang River wharf, and after his death, people reported seeing him exercising in the park.

Witnesses describe an elderly man in old-fashioned clothes who casts no shadow and vanishes unexpectedly.

This “shadowless” ghost is the park’s main paranormal claim to fame.

• Historical background: The park features war memorials and the grave of Ned Harper, who passed away in 1896. Harper’s headstone sits atop a grassy hill overlooking the park.
  
• Paranormal activity: Cascade Gardens is open and well-lit by day. The legend is purely the Harper sighting – visitors at dusk report seeing him doing callisthenics with no shadow. No other hauntings are noted in published accounts.
  
• Access: Open daily (car access gates close at night). Ned Harper’s grave is easy to find at the hilltop in the park.
  
• Ghost tours: None (it’s a public park). The Gold Coast has fewer organised haunted tours compared to Brisbane.
  
• Accommodation: None in the park. Cascade Gardens is in central Surfers Paradise, surrounded by hotels and apartments.
  
• Location: Urban park (Surfers Paradise, Gold Coast).

Australian Hotel (Boonah)

The Australian Hotel in Boonah – established 1888 – is a heritage country pub reputedly “one of the most haunted places in Australia”.

Stories of paranormal activity abound here. Room 7 is said to hold the spirit of a man (believed to be Mr A. West) who died there in 1914; guests report its lights and taps moving on their own in that room.

Other ghosts include a young woman (who died of appendicitis) seen on the staircase, and “Katie,” a 4-year-old girl (victim of 1919 influenza) who is heard giggling or seen in the dining hall.

The pub’s historic ambience and tragedies have made it a magnet for ghost hunters.

• Historical background: The hotel’s continuous operation since 1888 gives it deep historical roots. It remains a classic timber pub with an upstairs lodging wing.
  
• Paranormal activity: Room 7 is the focal point: it was the scene of a 1914 suicide and is the site of reported poltergeist events (lights swinging, faucets running). A spectral “nurse” or young woman is also seen on the stairs. The ghost of little Katie is said to live in the dining room, jumping on beds at night.
  
• Access: It operates as a normal pub/inn. Visitors can drop in for a meal or stay overnight. The hotel will even honour requests for the purportedly haunted rooms (like #7 and #11) when booking.
  
• Ghost tours: No formal tours, but adventurous guests and paranormal investigators often pay special attention to the inn’s haunted rooms.
  
• Accommodation: Yes – it is a guesthouse. Haunted rooms are available to rent as ordinary rooms.
  
• Location: Small town (Boonah, ~80 km SW of Brisbane, in Scenic Rim region).

Imperial Hotel (Ravenswood, Charters Towers region)

The Imperial Hotel in Ravenswood is a historic outback pub, dating back over 100 years. Its interior remains original, mainly, giving patrons a sense of “time travelling.”

Locals tell many ghost stories about it. According to a travel write-up, the owners have shared “plenty of stories… about ghosts visiting guests at night”, and the atmosphere is thick with old-world charm.

Some guests claim to have heard footsteps or voices when no one else was around, though others note that late-night gatherings at the bar often blur the line between legend and imagination.

• Historical background: Built during Ravenswood’s gold rush era, the hotel retains much of its original 19th-century structure. Ravenswood is remote (population ~349).
  
• Paranormal activity: The local lore includes mysterious creaking floorboards and sightings of shadowy figures after hours. The Boho Guide notes that “plenty of stories” exist of ghosts in the hotel, though no specific apparition is confirmed.
  
• Access: The pub is open to all. It features a bar and dining room, open to the public.
  
• Ghost tours: None (remote pub).
  
• Accommodation: Yes – it has simple rooms upstairs. Its haunted reputation is sometimes mentioned in travel literature.
  
• Location: Remote mining town (Ravenswood, 140 km southwest of Townsville).