Archway to the condemned cell
I didn't believe in ghosts, myself. But that's all changed. There are three haunted rooms in this building - one of them is your classroom, the end one. It's where prisoners were kept prior to hanging.
It used to be really bad in here. What would happen was that the lights would come on and the doors would close. There was a smell too. It was so bad you couldn't stay in the room. Maybe you could say it smelt like dirty socks or rats. We got the place cleaned, and the lights checked. but it didn't fix it. I would race through here at night, I really didn't like the feeling. I still don't like it at night. It was specially bad near the stairs, and it happened when there were not many people round. The ghost was a lady - an Asian lady, and she was looking for her husband who was a prisoner.
We got an exorcist in a couple of years ago who spoke to the spirit. We haven't had the smell since then. But it's still haunted. I think the Asian lady is still here.
Near that staircase outside there are about five spirits. And you can hear them in the Blue Room too, knocking on the blackboard.
I'll tell you what happened one night. There were three of us security guards and we were unloading some fashion stuff. The doors started closing behind us. We just knew - someone was there.
Early drawing of a hanging at Darlinghurst Gaol.
You know the staff toilets on the landing outside here? That's where the gallows were. That's why building 5 is the worst. But it's not the only place. In Building B (now 23) last January (that was Jan 1993) seven of us saw something. And the place was all locked up.
You know, people feel spirits. The professionals say don't let the spirits become part of you or they'll possess you. Don't interfere because the spirits will come back through you and be released through a living body.
There were two teachers from Catering and Nutrition who saw some spirits. One of them did a bit of Tai Chi - he was a spiritual sort of person - and he saw a ghost in the men's toilet here in Building R (5). There was just a head and face. It was blue-grey, and old. The teacher fell to the floor, he was sick and felt drained till he could get out. There was another time a spirit followed that teacher home - all the way to Glebe Island Bridge. He was terrified.
The way I see it is you must have a lot of respect and don't interfere. I won't lock up Building R (5) alone. They used to just be in this building, but now they move around the college. They are definitely still around.
There's a reason for ghosts. They are people who didn't want to die - they had a will to live and weren't ready to go. They've got unfinished business so they stay on as a ghost. So it's a good idea to talk to a ghost, and tell it that you're not here to hurt it.
It's not just me you know. Last year many people experienced problems.
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