Get ghostly this Heritage Fest

BALLARAT is set to come alive after lights go out at this year’s Heritage Festival, with a range of fun yet ghoulish events on offer.

Eerie Tours will be hosting ghost experiences at town hall tours and a murder bus trip.

Beginning at Ballarat Station, the ghost-focused events will go on Friday and Saturday evenings, and the city’s gothic architecture will act as a backdrop to spooky tales and uncanny occurrences.

If ghoul and gore is more your scene you can join a bus tour visiting well known murder locations from the goldrush era.

“It looks at the most disgusting goldrush murders I’ve been able to find,” said Eerie Tours owner Nathaniel Buchanan.

“I love watching people’s reactions when I confront them with the reality of human history.”

Meanwhile, the Town Hall tours will uncover fascinating and dark stories from the history of the building.

Its basement has a host of secrets to be uncovered and the library is full of a large collection of rare books.

“It is a quirky history tour with weird stories,” said Mr Buchanan. “A lot of the stories that I tell are really strange.”

Those events will accompany a host of others set for after dark including old goal tours from Friday, 19 May until Sunday, 21 May at Federation University’s SMB campus.

Storytelling, artifacts, and photos will reveal the dark past of the jail which held notorious criminals.

For those who prefer something more relaxing, a picnic at the Ballarat New Cemetery offers a chance learn about the history of death in the region and some of the burial grounds famous inhabitants.

There will also be free live music and a sightseeing tour.

Tours of the Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute will show off the 1860s building and there’s also a performance of Tales from Rat City’s Call of Cthulhu brining to life life a mysterious story which unfolded in the mansion of mining magnate William Bailey.

For more information on these events or to book tickets visit ballaratheritagefestival.com.au.

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