With Halloween on 31 October, Lee Taylor zipped up his grey jump suit, strapped on his proton pack and went ghostbusting around http://www.tntdownunder.com/article/2437918549.html[Australia]
Stepping into a hearse is a surreal experience. I mean, it’s supposed to be the last ride of your life. But that’s exactly what I did when I agreed to see the seedy side of http://www.tntdownunder.com/article/2437919268.html[Sydney] during a night-time trip in “Morticia” – a grey 1962 Cadillac combination hearse/ambulance.
There was definitely a strange atmosphere in the car which I noticed as soon as I climbed in alongside the driver, Caroline Batwitch, and we glided off into the night.
We checked out some interesting http://www.tntdownunder.com/article/2458786163.html[Sydney] sites including the resident ghosts who live at the impressive Victoria Barracks – the private who hanged himself in the barracks prison while awaiting court martial for murdering his sergeant.
Caroline continued to tell us tales of http://www.tntdownunder.com/article/2455999441.html[Sydney]’s darker side as we drove past the hotel where INXS frontman Michael Hutchence killed himself. We also heard eerie tales of ghosts who live in many of the buildings around the city.
We had a quick stop outside the gothic-style Mortuary Station, an 1869 purpose-built train station where they used to load the caskets of the recently departed.
Next stop… a bondage parlour. We left Morticia parked under a tree and entered a pretty normal-looking terrace house. We were welcomed by the mistress, who was wearing a very tasteful leather ensemble… as you do.
The house had different themed rooms, including the medical room, a cross-dressing room with massive high heels, dresses and even adult-sized baby outfits… right!
One of the spookiest moments was when we stopped on the site of the Sydney Institute of Technology, formerly Darlinghurst Gaol, where thousands of people watched the public hangings of infamous criminals and murderers.
The atmosphere in the car intensified and I felt my mouth dry up. But the moment Morticia’s wheels started rolling again, the atmosphere returned to normal.
After visiting several other ghoul-spots, the tour finished off by exploring the back alleys, strip clubs and sex shops of http://www.tntdownunder.com/article/2442972684.html[Kings Cross]. Caroline cranked up the volume on the stereo and we did the last lap to the pumping theme tune from Ghostbusters.
The damage and the details: Destiny Tours (www.destinytours.com.au[www.destinytours.com.au]) cost $80 (ghosts go free) and operate in http://www.tntdownunder.com/article/2448506318.html[Sydney], Parramatta, Campbelltown, Windsor, http://www.tntdownunder.com/article/2437942974.html[Canberra] and http://www.tntdownunder.com/article/2441563055.html[Perth].
