Searching for Ghosts in St Bathans, New Zealand

I remember seeing a TV show about a group of ghost hunters searching for evidence of the supernatural in the sleepy old gold mining town of St Bathans, New Zealand. They didn’t find anything (apart from a photo that looked like it was digitally enhanced), so I took it upon myself to find out if the rumours are true; are there really ghosts in St Bathans?

A pie, and an answer

It was long past lunch time when I ventured into the Vulcan hotel for a classic NZ pie. The Vulcan hotel is apparently home to a prostitute ghost named Rose who has roamed its hallways and bedrooms ever since being murdered there in the 1880s. I got talking to the woman behind the bar and the conversation naturally turned to ghosts. “Have you ever seen one?”, I enquired, trying to hide my journalistic intentions. “No, I’ve never seen a ghost here”, she said, before adding that she should probably just say she had as it would be good for business. I could have just left it there, eaten my pie and admired the awesome scenery that St Bathans is equally as famous for, but I’d heard rumours of a blood-red pond and I had to check it out.

The pond of blood

I can tell you’re a bit sceptical right now…surely that can’t be blood! Well, it might be. I’d actually left my test tubes and Bunsen burners at home and therefore had to use the science of “best guess”. It fits with the poorly thought out and researched ghost angle I’m going for with this article, so let’s just call it blood. The pond is just behind the big car park by the lake – definitely check it out but I’d probably advise against swimming there.

The (not so) Blue Lake

The Blue Lake of St Bathans was actually bright blue at one point, but something made it lose its shine (maybe the ghosts did it…). The lake is still great to look at though; it’s surrounded by golden hills and interesting rock formations. There is a walking track around the lake and I recommend doing at least a section of it – the views really are amazing and the scenery is so different to what you’d expect in New Zealand. The Blue Lake was actually man made; it’s a relic of Central Otago’s gold mining glory days. Apparently the lake is home to many dead miners who never got a proper burial and people claim to have seen ghosts emerge from its depths.

The old town

You wouldn’t know it now, but St Bathans was a bit of a boom town back in the late 1800s/early 1900s. Only a few of the old buildings remain, including the supposedly haunted Vulcan Hotel, the bank, post shop and the ruins of a school. It’s a fascinating place to look around and is actually a bit creepy – if you’re ever going to see a ghost then St Bathans seems like the kind of place it could happen.

Getting to St Bathans

Assuming you’re in the vicinity of Alexandra, Clyde, Cromwell, Ranfurly etc, it’s a fairly quick drive to get to St Bathans. If you’re a foreigner planning a trip to New Zealand you might not have heard of any of those places – this area is more popular with local tourists but it is fairly close to Queenstown and Wanaka. Public transport isn’t great in this region and you pretty much need your own wheels to visit St Bathans. You can combine a day trip there with a visit to the historic town of Ophir and the Poolburn Dam, a Lord of the Rings filming location.

Further reading: For more information about the history of St Bathans, check out this article.

I didn’t see any ghosts in St Bathans but it’s always a fun place for a day trip. I’ve probably been there about 5 times now (I grew up in Dunedin, which is pretty close) and I’m sure I’ll return in the future. My ghost hunting days aren’t over; I will one day prevail. To be continued…

Have you ever seen a ghost? What is the creepiest town you’ve visited? Let me know!

In case you’re interested in the episode of Ghost Hunt I was talking about, here it is…

The following two tabs change content below.

• Bio
• Latest Posts

Jon Algie

A travel blogger from New Zealand who hates talking about himself in the third person and has no imagination when it comes to naming websites.

Latest posts by Jon Algie (see all)

• Rarotonga Travel Guide and Itinerary: Everything You Need to Know to Plan Your Trip - May 10, 2023
• What’s a Trip to Singapore Really Like? - April 9, 2023
• 12 of the Best Things to Do in Rarotonga, Cook Islands - March 22, 2023