There are many tales about ghosts seen in and around Bathurst. For years people have shared stories and tales about local ghosts and unexplained sightings. This could be true or related to the thirsty pub culture in the town, no thirst like Bathurst. Personally I have never seen anything with my own eyes, but heard many convincing stories about sightings from respectable residents, of unexplained people/creatures/ghosts and even UFO’s.
Sit in the local Pig and Whistle pub and hear stories, some of the best times to see things for yourself and according to local legend is each and every full moon.
Waitress Bukie Sweli insisted that while she had never actually seen a ghost at the hotel, something kept shifting the mirror on the wall in the hotel’s entrance hall. News24.com
“Night Man”, is about a mysterious and frightening figure that haunts a small town. He appears on stormy nights when the moon is full, and is accompanied by an owl. It is the owl that tells him which house to visit. Listen to the local haunting song.
I have heard several stories from farmers about resident ghosts in their houses that they have seen themselves or guests have seen. My neighbours ghost name is affectionately known as Rose. Personally, I have heard of eye witness stories of seeing a larger than life human looking being with glowing eyes running on the Southwell Road in the commonage! The person who told me the story, said the “thing” was at least 9ft in height, wearing very little, except for a crown of porcupine quills and a hessian sack covering the body while running very fast across the road!
The Rectory
Reputedly haunted for the past 140 years by the ghost of a pregnant nun who committed suicide in the house soon after her illicit relationship with a slave or soldier was discovered, the history of the place did not spook Michau off.
An avid ghost buster herself, Michau called in the best Catholic exorcist in South Africa, Father Larry Kaufman , in February 2006 to clear the house of unhappy spirits. Ghost Theory
The Pig and Whistle
“Seriously, it has a pair of ghosts – a man and a wife. The building is on the site of an old forge. The farrier had a daughter who made a tragic marriage. Her husband was a spendthrift and a drunk. Now, all these years later, you can still hear the shouting and the tears. There is stamping up and down the staircase, and you can sometimes hear the terrible cries.” – Merwynne Jones
A local resident emailed me about her experiences:
I used to rent out my house and my one tenant moved after 3 months stating she could no longer live with the ghosts. She told us she had to have a pair of opened scissors with her at all times to chase the ghosts away. Another guest who spent a night here reported seeing three bodies hanging from the fig tree in the front garden. He said the bodies were absolutely real and he did not imagine it. I’ve never experienced anything.
Below are two audio clips of local residents accounts of ghost stories. Fee used to rent the old settlers cottage and had some experiences and the ghost hunters clip is a local resident who has a number of stories and used to host ghost tours around Bathurst. It covers Sarah Hartley at the Pig and Whistle, The burnt down centenary hall ghost, The Primary School and the principles house as well the St. Johns Church.
I was always told my smallholding was haunted as I moved here, and being an old drug rehabilitation centre, it had a lot of stories to tell. I have loads of travelers/drifters/ramblers through place over the last 15 years. Two recent guests, who did not cross paths at the time, believe or dont believe me, told me exactly the same story. An old man ( ghost ) standing peacefully in the corner of the kitchen wearing brown shorts and a bakers boy cap, saying nothing, just looking at them with a grin.
I have also had a tenants grand daughter speaking about a ghost with bright eyes in the field and pointing in the direction of the ghost. This is not the first story, several others have said the same, but could be just a child’s imagination. But to add substance to the story, I have seen a grown sober man telling me the same story ( bright eyes dark shadowed man ) from a field close by, and that story I believed.
I received an email from a previous tenant, Marelize Pinto:
About the farm that used to be a rehab centre. My two year old granddaughter saw a, old man walking. She even showed her dad where, and got frustrated, because we could not see him. She also saw the ghost of a monkey, when I was staying in the Priest cottage, across the old Anglican Church. We all tried to see, where she was pointing, but saw nothing.
In a certain house, apparently belonging to an old German duchess, I heard three, heavy footstep on the wooden floor, while in the toilet. My granddaughter, about 4 years of age then, was with me. We both heard. It did not come down the passage, it was just three steps, and no steps leaving. This happened during the day. We were the only people in the house, at that moment.
Some other notable stories from around the area:
The Old Gaol (Grahamstown): Built in Grahamstown in 1824, the Old Gaol was a prison when martial law ruled in the old town. “Dead men walking” – those sentenced to death – were led from the Old Goal to the military parade ground for public hanging. The last victim of such a death was Henry Nicholls, executed in 1862 after being convicted of rape. That this was not an offense punishable by death is, some say, the reason for his restlessness. Now his spirit is supposedly doomed to repeat the sombre walk – back and forth from gaol to gallows – perhaps for eternity.
The Blaauwkrantz Bridge Disaster, Once, a train ran from Port Alfred station every day: the 11.10 to Grahamstown, 68km away. In the early 1900s the train used to steam up through the valleys towards Bathurst and Grahamstown taking farmers, farm workers, holidaymakers and commercial travellers, especially on stock-fair days, when the atmosphere was festive and the coaches were full. It is no longer possible to go on the train. One must walk the line or take the road that loops and meets, strays from and returns to it.
Written by: Chris Jay
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