The defunct Fremantle prison, which is said to have more than its fair share of ghosts flitting around the corridors with “numerous sightings … reported”, will see YHA offering beds in the former female wing of the old gaol from as early as April this year.
The 196-bed hostel will offer private and shared dorms and cottage accommodation designed for families or groups.
Watch out, though, as those bumps in the night may not be your bunk mate getting lucky…
YHA WA chief executive Domenic Pimpinella told West Australian that he wanted visitors to get an insight into the prison’s significance in WA’s history through displays around the hostel with stories, pictures and artefacts. The idea of staff wearing prison outfits was also being looked at.
YHA says existing night-time torch-lit tours focus on the ghoulish, examining “grizzly goings-on of the past”, the main cell block, solitary confinement, the whipping post, the gallows and the prison morgue.
It warns, “It’s best to stay aware – it might not just be people with torches walking the blood-stained corridors.”
Jail tours are expected to be included in package accommodation deals.
Pimpinella said he hoped the accommodation will be complete by March, with online bookings available in April.