By day Como House is a bright handsome home with exquisite terraces, elaborate trim and intricate decoration. By night, the charming life-size doll house turns into a spine-chilling haunt. After multiple staff members and visitors of the home reported frequent creepy encounters and strange activities the idea of a tour of the residence at night transpired.
I rolled up at 6pm sharp for the Ghost Tour of Como House put on by The National Trust. The moon was half full as fellow spook seekers and I took the winding pathway towards the darkened residence preparing to be startled. Dressed in black, our knowledgeable tour guide Amber, the caretaker of the household, conducted the tour. We commenced in the ballroom, a dimly-lit room with tall powder pink walls, detailed gold fixtures and extravagant embellishments. There Amber shared the colonial history of the Victorian house, built in 1847.
Ninety percent of the home’s furniture remains from the previous owners, who are said to still linger in ghost form. We were surrounded by objects you’d find in your typical apparitional dwelling: a wooden piano, paintings of the past owners, various sized mirrors, entrancing crystal chandeliers, luxurious tasselled curtains, sculptured cherubs and a cast-iron fire place. It was reminiscent of a room from the 1999 movie The Haunting.
Lanterns were passed around before we embarked to explore the pitch-dark house. It was an eerie cold journey through the halls and passageways of the rich period setting. The floors creaked and the smell of old lingered. We stopped in each room and the stories of death unfolded. Many deaths occurred inside this home. I don’t want to ruin the morbid adventure by spilling too many details, but I will mention that over 40 bodies have been linked to the 52-acre estate. As we wandered the quarters and walked up narrow staircases, no one wanted to be the person at the back of the group. The thought of being left behind was terrifying.
The dead walk the halls at night. Do you believe it? Como House is known to turn the hardest non-believers into horrified scaredy-cats. Amber, our guide, still feels uncomfortable in the home at night, even after two years of working here. You couldn’t pay me money to sleep in this house alone.
If you’re a fan of the horror genre like I am, this hair-raising experience is for you.
– Leah Sparks
Leah Sparks is a Canadian girl living in Melbourne. Other than her love for maple syrup, she digs the outdoors, live gigs, beer, the 70s and cruising around town with her white wolf.
The Como Ghost Tour returns next autumn. For a less freaky undertaking, you can still book a daylight venture.
