Sydney's spookiest haunted sites & ghost tours

Q Station, Manly

Located on a pretty, protected swathe of land near Manly, Q Station makes a lovely day trip or overnight stay at the boutique hotel. But after dark, the mood shifts. The former quarantine station has a haunted past and nightly ghost tours explore paranormal events that have plagued the buildings for 150 years.

Follow the path of the quarantine station’s haunted souls, touring the burial grounds, historic buildings and eerily empty pathways as your tour guide sets the mood with ghost stories and tales of paranormal activity.

Quarantine Station Ghost Tour, Manly

Lantern Ghost Tours, The Rocks

As Sydney’s oldest neighbourhood, The Rocks is full of stories of Australia’s colonial past. Look beyond the sandstone buildings and you’ll discover a darker side to the city, with whispered tales of paranormal activity that have lingered for generations.

Lantern Ghost Tours transport the curious back in time, when prisoners toiled, public executions were commonplace and the notorious Rocks Push gang ruled the streets. Discover slums overrun with mass burial pits, sly grog haunts, opium dens and ghosts searching for their loved ones or to take revenge on those who crossed them.

Lantern Ghost Tours, The Rocks - Credit: Lantern Ghost Tours

The Rocks Ghost Tours, The Rocks

The Rocks Ghost Tours also explore this historic, haunted suburb, sharing stories behind the country’s first European settlement, visiting famous landmarks and unlocking access to the normally closed-off parts of the city that hold some of Sydney’s most macabre tales.

As researchers and historians, the guides know their history and add a touch of drama to the experience to make your tour even more spooky.

The Rocks, Sydney

Sydney Investigation Ghost Hunt Tours, Campbelltown

In the southwest, Sydney Investigation Ghost Hunt Tours lead brave punters on a horrifying evening, deep diving into the history of Town Hall Theatre Campbelltown, the region’s most haunted structure. Guides wield equipment to test the paranormal vibrations on the night with an excursion so frightening, it’s reserved for guests over 18 and over.

Sydney Investigation Ghost Hunt Tours - Credit: Campbelltown Visitor Information Centre

Fisher's Ghost Explorer Tour, Campbelltown

The Fisher’s Ghost Explorer Tour is a driving tour taking you on an exploration of Campbelltown’s colourful history and uncovering the stories behind one of Australia's most famous supernatural residents, Fisher’s Ghost. Discover some of the region’s early colonial buildings, hear tales of farmer Frederick Fisher and his mysterious disappearance, and revel in colonial scandals as you tour through Campbelltown, Leumeah and Menangle.

Fisher's Ghost Explorer Tour - Credit: Campbelltown Visitor Information Centre

Picton After Dark, Picton

Farther south, Picton After Dark invites guests to explore the dark past of one of Australia’s oldest townships, where restless spirits are said to lurk in the area’s historic sites and colonial buildings. Picton is rich with stories of hardship and lost fortunes suffered by the area’s early settlers, a tenacious bunch who constructed the railways that connected Sydney to the expanding colony.

For an even spookier tour, book the Picton Paranormal Experience guided by a psychic medium. This tour isn’t just about telling ghost stories, it’s an invitation to walk among spirits and get exclusive access to historic buildings where the medium will uncover the paranormal energy that lurks behind closed doors.

Picton After Dark, Picton - Credit: Picton After Dark

APPI Parramatta Gaol Ghost Tours, Paramatta

For a night of terrifying ghost hunting, visit the desolate Parramatta Gaol, a former house of correction. With almost 200 years of history, this grim prison is one of the oldest surviving jails in the country and guides on the Parramatta Gaol Ghost Tours tells its dark stories.

There have been many reports of ghostly figures sighted at this terrifying location, as you’ll discover on a tour that reveals some of the region’s most infamous characters.

Parramatta Gaol Ghost Hunt Tour - Credit: Peta Banks

APPI Ghost Tour at Old Government House, Parramatta

Led by APPI Ghost Hunts and Tours, curious souls will learn about the unusual events that occurred at this convict-built Parramatta house during its centuries-long history. The lantern-lit tour delves into the lives of those who once occupied the house – governors, dignitaries and servants – whose stories linger in the rooms, corridors and staircases.

The tour grants access to off-limits parts of the heritage-listed property where shadowy figures lurk and things go bump in the night. Here history comes alive, whether you like it or not.

APPI Ghost Tour at Old Government House, Parramatta - Credit: APPI Ghost Tour