A handy guide to Aotearoa’s spookiest watering holes thanks to Paul Janssen, author of New Zealand Pubs: 170 Classic Pubs to Visit.

Talk to a publican for any length of time, and inevitably the conversation turns to ghosts. Frequently associated with a particular room or part of the hotel, the ghosts can be playful, evil or “just there”.  Many ghosts are associated with death, both deliberate and accidental. Other ghosts are merely the long-departed publican just keeping an eye on “their pub”.  

Central Hotel, Dargaville

James Carmondy died when the Central Hotel went up in flames. His ghost then decided to the haunt the new hotel, which opened in 1901. His presence is felt in a very particular way as freshly made beds are later discovered to have the clear imprint of someone having slept on them, when no one has entered the room.

Rangiriri Hotel, Waikato

The resident ghost here is believed to be the wife of the hotel’s first owner, who lives in one of the front rooms upstairs. This ghost annoys only men by locking doors, turning lights off and on, calling out names and interfering with the electrical systems. Some claim to have felt someone brushing past them when in fact there was no one there.

Waikino Hotel, Bay of Plenty

Not one but two resident ghosts haunt this popular hotel. The first ghost is believed to be an old miner called Harold who used to frequent the first hotel and died there. The second came about on 2 April, 1940, when Douglas Cartman, who was driving after drinking, hit Elizabeth Hamilton and Lloyd Moran a short distance from the Waikino Hotel. Lloyd was killed outright but Elizabeth was still alive. Bundling both bodies into his car, Cartman drove a short distance and dumped Lloyd’s body into a gully, and then continued another six kilometres before murdering Elizabeth with a tyre lever. Elizabeth, who worked as a cook at the Waikino, returned to haunt the hotel. 

Greytown Hotel, Wairarapa

The Greytown Hotel has two resident ghosts, a man and a woman. The woman was a cleaner named Mary, who took her life in the hotel, while the man died after falling (or was he pushed?) out of an upstairs window. 

Pelorus Hotel, Marlborough

At this hotel there is a ghost who is said to haunt the stairs, upstairs corridors and Room Two. However, there is little sympathy for him, as he died in the hotel while on the run after stealing other miner’s gold from nearby workings. Doors mysteriously open and close, and sometimes footsteps in heavy miner’s boots are heard.

Racecourse Hotel, Christchurch 

The hotel was the scene of one of New Zealand’s most famous unsolved murders. In November 1933, after a party at the hotel, the publican Donald Fraser was shot dead in bed late at night. An obnoxious bully with a violent temper, Fraser was also involved in shady deals. The weapon was never found, and no one was charged, as Fraser had numerous enemies and there were too many suspects, many of whom were staying in the hotel on the night of his murder. Complicating matters further, his wife said she didn’t wake up immediately even though the two point-blank shots blew Fraser out of bed, and apparently her side of the bed appeared not to have been slept in. Now Fraser’s ghost angrily storms through the second floor of the old hotel, opening and slamming doors, looking for his killer.

Sheffield Hotel, Canterbury 

Once upon a time there were many sightings of two spectres at this Canterbury hotel, but since the earthquakes they haven’t been seen at all. One of the ghosts was that of an unknown older woman who drifted downstairs and into the former ladies’ bar. When an old picture was removed and replaced by a mirror, the mirror mysteriously fell off the wall. A replacement mirror met the same fate and finally the picture hook was left bare. The other ghost, only seen downstairs, was that of man, well dressed in Victorian garb and believed to be none other than the first publican Michael Flannagan. Perhaps he was still checking that his pub was continuing to fend off the competition. 

Leviathan Hotel, Dunedin

Many of the staff have witnessed a ghost on the third floor, believed to be Mrs Anstis Silk, who ran the Leviathan from 1889 until her death in the hotel in 1899. Entrepreneurial and hardworking, Mrs Silk was a tough boss who insisted on very high standards of dress and behaviour from all her staff. Today the benign shade of Mrs Silk mysteriously opens and closes doors, footsteps are heard and her cool presence is sensed as she makes sure her exacting standards are maintained. 

Vulcan Hotel, St Bathans, Central Otago 

The Vulcan has a notable ghost, but the jury is out on just who the ghost is and, more importantly, whether its intentions are benign or malevolent. Some say the ghost is that of a “woman of the night”, while other stories say she was a pregnant girl who was murdered; and yet another story has her as a jilted barmaid who drowned herself in the lake across the road. One version of the story is that the woman died in Room One because it’s in this room that most of the supernatural happenings occur. Some events are mild, ranging from lights being turned off and on and the feeling that someone else is in the room, while others are more extreme, like ghostly spectres and the feeling of being held down. 

Foveaux Hotel, Bluff, Southland

Temperance Boarding House was built in 1898 by Mary Cameron and demolished in 1937 to make way for a hotel, this time complete with a bar. Mary Cameron decided to haunt the new hotel and unlike most ghosts, details here are very precise and she is described as in her 40s wearing a white blouse and a long black skirt, with her hair pulled back in a bun. While Cameron may not have approved of drink, her shade takes a particular liking to tall men in Room Two, where guests find their door opening by itself and then they’re unable to close it. 

New Zealand Pubs: 170 Classic Pubs to Visit by Peter Janssen, ($40, White Cloud Books from Upstart Press) is available from Unity Books.