Island Of The Dead
It is not only the buildings at Port Arthur that have the reputation of being haunted. About a kilometre off shore is the desolate, wind swept Isle of the Dead. From 1830 to 1877 it was the cemetery for the convict settlement. 1769 prisoners are buried in mass graves on the lower slopes of the island and 180 free people are buried in individual plots higher up the slope.
It was the custom to use one of the convicts as a resident gravedigger. Mark Jeffrey, Irish and short tempered and serving a sentence for manslaughter, lived in a small hut on the island. He was brought over to the mainland on Saturday night to attend the Church service on Sunday, returning to the island on Monday.
One morning mid week a signal fire was spotted and when the authorities sent a boat over to investigate them found Jeffrey in a distressed condition, begging to be taken off the island. He related how on the previous night his hut had been shaken and rocked by an invisible force and a fiery red glow had lit up the walls and surrounding ground. According to Jeffrey when he went to investigate he was confronted by the Devil, its red eyes smouldering, horns erect and encircled by sulphurous smoke. Jeffrey was diagnosed as becoming "unhinged by crime and suffering".
Even on bright sunny days, many modern visitors to the Isle say they feel an oppressive atmosphere surrounding them. With over 2000 bodies buried below, many of them tortured and oppressed by their exile to the ends of the earth, it is easy to believe that some unhappy spirits haunt this remote spot.
Port Arthur PenitentiaryPort Arthur The Parsonage
Port Arthur The Parsonage Part 2
Port Arthur Ghosts
Port Arthur Island Of The Dead
More Ghost Stories:
Alcatraz Prison
Beechworth Lunatic Asylum
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