My heart begins to race instantly when I gently feel not one, but two pokes on my left arm while standing in Ipswich’s historic Old Flour Mill during the new Haunted Ipswich CBD Ghost Tour, hosted by renowned historian and Australian ghost hunter Jack Sim.
Due to Covid regulations, I am standing at the side of the group during this presentation and more than 1.5 metres away from another living soul, so I know nobody from the group would have been able to shuffle over and touch me as a prank without me noticing.
But who could it have been? Was it Hubert, the mill’s resident ghost who is believed to roam the building covered in flour from when he worked there as a young boy? Or was it my imagination playing tricks on me?
I could have certainly believed it was the latter if it had not been for the unexplainable footsteps I heard while exploring more of the haunted building during free time. As I am chatting quietly to Jack’s assistant Molly alone in the shadows at the back of the building about this very story, we both hear footsteps on the wooden floorboards that sounded as if someone or something was walking right past us.
I quickly look at the rest of the group, who are all happily chatting away at the entrance to the building with Jack. Everyone was accounted for, and suddenly my stomach clenches in fear.
Molly shakes off the encounter and simply laughs at me saying “Hubert must like you because of the white jumper you are wearing. It might look like flour to him”. Or maybe he just wanted to ensure he was the star of my story.
Hubert’s untimely death from scarlet fever is just one of seven eerie stories Jack and Molly delve into throughout the two-hour tour. Guests will also hear the spine-tingling stories about silhouettes of men and women looking out over the town of Ipswich from attic windows, the discovery of long-lost skulls buried for decades under floorboards, as well as church organs playing mysteriously late at night behind locked doors.
Jack’s wealth of knowledge and incredible ability to bring more than 100 years of history to life is also immensely enjoyable. Through his passionate storytelling he paints a picture of Ipswich’s gothic history with information he has sourced from archives, newspapers, books, and first-hand accounts from local residents in a way where the lines of reality and paranormal become blurred together.
Whether you believe in ghosts or simply want to know more about the region’s history, Jack’s new Haunted Ipswich CBD Tour is a great way to spend an evening with family or friends. This tour is held on selected Fridays from 7.30-9.30pm, and coincide with many of Jack’s other Ipswich tours, including the Ipswich Cemetery Ghost Tour and the Goodna Cemetery Haunted History Tour.
Jack can also be found lurking around the Boggo Road Gaol as well as the Toowong, Lutwyche and South Brisbane cemeteries, sharing the stories of those who lived but are yet to cross over.
I had so much fun on this tour and will be booking in another one really soon! I am keen to learn more about the statue of the “boy who moves” at the Ipswich Cemetery!
For more information, or to book for your own paranormal experience, see Ghost Tours Australia’s tours.
