LLIFS: Strange and Unusual: Black Rock House
In this new series, readers will be sharing their own encounters with anomalous phenomena. Share your spooky experiences which will be published in this new series. It can be related to anything in the paranormal and be as short or as long as you like! Ghostly encounters, a glitch in the matrix, time slips, ET experiences, UAP/UFO sightings, Yowies & Cryptids, psychic phenomena or just something that happened to you that you think is a bit weird!
In the first edition of Strange and Unusual, one of our readers told us about their own strange and unusual encounter they had while visiting Monte Cristo Homestead here in Australia. You can read it here: Strange and Unusual: Monte Cristo
In this edition, reader Jess has submitted her encounter at her regular haunt Black Rock House. Many of you will know that I have been volunteering with Black Rock House for 8 years now and take a keen interest in any tales and experiences. One of the things I absolutely love about conducting tours is watching people. It gives you a really unique perspective. I can see when the group are getting excited over nothing. I can see if they are influencing each other. I can also see when weird stuff happens. Along with my brother, we guide people through what we call a paranormal investigation experience. It is not a properly controlled investigation as you can't really do one of those with a big group of people in the span of two hours. It really just gives people the opportunity to experience a property after dark and maybe they might walk out with their own experience.
Photo by Sarah LLIFS & Black Rock House Paranormal Tours
Before we get to the story, a bit about the house! Located in Black Rock Melbourne Australia, the homestead was built in 1856 for Victoria's first Auditor General Mr Charles Ebden as a seaside holiday house for his family. It was used to entertain Melbourne's elite with grand hunting breakfasts and even a ball to entertain and farewell the officers of the Fortieth Regiment before they left to take part in the battles of the Indian Mutiny. After changing ownership over the years, it soon became a boarding house and fell into disrepair. It was always kept alive due to the mystery surrounding the house. The underground cellar was rumoured to have tunnels that led to the beach. The large castle gates and battlements that led to the stables had people wondering if they were for protection or the quirks of the eccentric and 'disgustingly rich' Charles Ebden. In 1931 Professor Peter MacCallum purchased Black Rock House in an attempt to restore it to its former glory as by this point, it was virtually in ruin and had been up for demolition on various occasions. He started to restore the property as his home. (MacCallum is famous for his Peter Mac Cancer foundation). It soon returned as a boarding house until it was deemed completely derelict by the 1970's. In 1972, it was purchased by the bayside city council where along with the friends of black rock house, it was restored to what an 1800's Homestead would look like. Wallpapers throughout the house have been recreated based on pieces found behind years of paint and plaster. Furniture has been donated by locals and acquired at local antique stores with one piece of furniture original to the house - a chair that belonged to the Ebden family. I don't need to tell you what is so special about the house, the pictures give you an indication, however, everyone who visits the house feels an instant connection to its history and maybe even its former residents.
Photo by Sarah LLIFS & Black Rock House Paranormal Tours
Here is Jess's story (this is exactly as submitted and not edited at all for authenticity).
My name is Jessica vinter and I’m a regular at black rock house. I attended a private investigation on the 14/1/22. Everyone that attended were regulars so we all know and trust each other completely.throughout the night one of our friends Karen was getting effected by a spirit. She just wasn’t herself as if something or someone was trying to take control of her. and we wanted answers as to who it was that was effecting her in such a way and why they were picking on her. We have all become like family so we always look out for each other. After Karen and her husband Will left because of what happened we decided to do a seance to try and get to the bottom of it all. We were in the ballroom. Sarah was at the end of the table. Myself and Nicole on one side and Mark and Ann on the other. Sarah was listening to the spirit box with noise canceling headphones on and would say out loud the words she can hear but because she was wearing noise canceling headphones she couldn’t hear what we were saying or asking. We were asking questions like who was it that was effecting our friend and so on. We were asking questions for about 10 min or so with the odd word or phrase some piano music being heard and repeated by Sarah through the headphones. and Mark called whoever it was that was effecting Karen a coward. As soon as he said the word “coward” a huge bang was heard by all making us all jump up in shock! . I had just seen from where I was sitting at the table a fairly large painting fly off the wall and come crashing down onto the floor! I’m not going to lie I was frightened! I think we all were! We have all been coming to black rock house for years now and nothing like that has ever happened and it will probably never happen again! Whatever or whoever it was they wanted our attention and they got it! They didn’t like being challenged! As scared as we all were at the time now looking back at it all it was such an amazing experience! One in which many investigators search there whole lives for! And never find! I feel so honoured that this happened to us and I can’t wait to return to my favourite home away from home to find more answers as to who it was that was trying to scare us that night! Let the spooky fun begin
Jess gives a pretty good recollection of what we experienced that evening. From my perspective, as Jess mentioned I was listening to the spirit box repeating words and I was very far removed from what was happening. All I know from my own experience that night is that things became really quiet and I wasn't hearing much at all on the spirit box feed (which is not surprising because I am terrible at it and it all just sounds like a jumble for me. I don't normally do it but thought since we were doing a private investigation, why not?). The group (which was 4 other people) were recreating a seance-like atmosphere at the table with their eyes closed and their hands on the table. I had my hands on the table, but I had my eyes open and I was looking around the room because not a lot was happening. I was wearing noise-cancelling airpods so I couldn't hear anything that they were saying and I was making sure not to look at them so I couldn't read their lips. For this reason, I was fixated on the door when suddenly it looked like a painting on the wall next to the door flew off . It was weird because I am used to seeing pictures fall (it happens at home all the time). Things often fall straight down and then once they hit a surface, they then fall forward. This seemed to lunge forward and also knocked down a few things that were on the table and it was just a bit strange. Everyone was quite shocked and a bit scared so I removed my headphones and I asked what happened. I guess at the time I sort of thought maybe it just fell, but their reaction was beyond just a picture falling. We are used to loud noises out of the blue at Black Rock House thanks to the figs that fall on the tin roof. It was the timing of the fall that intrigued me the most as Mark who was asking the question supposedly told a spirit to 'Do something you coward' as yes we did have people that had to leave and felt under attack all night so the group felt they had to stand their ground. The something that followed seemed to be the picture coming off the wall seconds later.
Nicole who was with us that night immediately went to play devil's advocate looking at the picture hook that had been attached to the wall. It was one of those 3M sticky hooks that stick to the wall. It didn't feel all that sticky anymore. It is also worth mentioning that it had been a 38-degree day and we are in the midst of summer so it is completely possible that the hook just lost its stick and the picture fell at a very opportune moment. The picture also was a new addition and had only been hung recently as it wasn't there in a visit I had in December (which photos I took of the area showed). So there is all that to consider as well. It is the overall context of the whole evening that made the experience intriguing in my eyes. Whether paranormal or just an extremely well-timed co-incidence, it is certainly an experience that reignited my own passion for paranormal investigating (something I needed as well). It could be paranormal or it could just be normal and we don't know and that is what makes it all the more strange and unusual.
Submit your story in your own words. Stories will be selected to be published on llifs.com.au and published exactly as submitted. Each week a new experience will be published. If you wish to have your name/group published please include it at the bottom of your submission, otherwise you may remain anonymous. Complete the form below:
If you would like to send a more detailed submission that includes photos, send it to sarah@llifs.com.au
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