Old jail shows the way in ghostly stakes
British visitor Ray Williams likes taking moody photographs.
And that was his goal during a February tour of Fremantle Prison.
He waited for the rest of his tour party to leave the gallows room before composing a photograph that would include the noose and hanging equipment.
He took the shot with his hand-held Nikon D7000 and thought nothing more of it.
But two months later, when Mr Williams went back to look at his photographic efforts, he made a startling discovery.
The picture appeared to show a shadowy dark figure that Mr Williams could not explain.
"I don't believe in ghosts, but I have to admit it was strange," he said.
"I was the only person in the room and I don't think there was anyone or anything that could have cast such a shadow."
Of course, there is probably a perfectly logical explanation for the apparition - taking a photograph with a long exposure can generate some unusual images.
But these types of stories and photographs contribute to Fremantle Prison's reputation as one of WA's most haunted buildings.
"Throughout the prison's long history, there have been a number of reports of what could be described as paranormal," prison marketing and events manager Amberlee Hong said. "Both visitors and staff have reported strange experiences which range from feeling uneasy in certain areas, unexplained drops in temperature, capturing orbs and spectres in photos or seeing full apparitions.
"A number of investigations have been performed over the years - however, there has been no conclusive evidence to date that the prison is haunted, excluding the feedback from those who have had an experience."
Forty-four people were executed in the jail and the small gallows room is often described as eerie and cold.
Down the road, the Fremantle Arts Centre - a former asylum - has also had its share of ghost stories over its 165-year life. According to reports, doors open and close, faces appear at windows and lights and unexplained images appear in photographs.
One of the ghosts is said to be a former female asylum inmate who became deranged after her daughter was abducted.
She is believed to have jumped to her death from a first-floor window and her ghost wanders the building searching for her daughter.
Hotels also appear to be popular with ghost stories.
Kalamunda Hotel is supposedly haunted by a young unmarried woman who became pregnant.
Too ashamed to face the world, she apparently killed herself in Room 24. The Rose and Crown Hotel in Guildford is said to be spooked by the ghost of Charlie the bullock driver, who apparently caught his wife cheating on him and killed her in the hotel.
And it has been said that the Mahogany Creek Inn is haunted by the ghost of bushranger Moondyne Joe. Among the other more unusual stories are the claims of a headless ghost riding a horse around Kenwick and a 1930s golfer turning up on the fairways of Mt Lawley Golf Club.
And there seem to be plenty of haunted places in rural WA.
There have been frequent reports of "paranormal activity" at Oakabella Homestead between Geraldton and Northhampton, with doors opening and closing by themselves, strange lights and smells and temperature falls.
The ghost of Ted Leighton is said to appear at the Cuballing Hotel in winter and to cause trouble if any part of the hotel has been changed or modified.
And the old bakery at Nannup, though abandoned for many years, is said to be often filled with voices of people ordering bread and banging pots and pans.
