Writing of “night terrors,” as common among children, Dr. Adolph Stern says that these have a deeper cause than those given in the text-books, which are: Adenoids and enlarged tonsils, large or indigestible meals eaten shortly before going to bed, and the telling of harrowing or terrifying stories – like ghost stories. According to Dr. Stern, children who sit up screaming, “Mother, mother!” “The black man!” “The ghost!” or even those who constantly cry for a drink of water, are generally the offspring of neurotic mothers, and have themselves been made neurotic by receiving too much attention, too much devotional affection, by being kept too dependent, not leaning on themselves but on others. The cure for such children is to make them play with other children, to let them do things for themselves, such as dressing and bathing themselves, and going to bed alone. Thus they will acquire a spirit of independence.
PORT FAIRY GAZETTE 26th July 1915
Did Emma Payne die of natural causes or was she murdered?
Emma Payne’s death in 1858 is our murder mystery story. There was an inquest into her death and her body was exhumed for examination after accusations that her husband, John, had poisoned her. The local newspapers were convinced there was no case against the husband, but eye witness testimonies remain compelling. The inquest ran for six weeks (an extraordinary amount of time in those days) and finally concluded that Emma died of exhaustion from natural causes. A good portion of the material available in the inquest records and newspapers has been included in the book so you can judge for yourself. Was John Payne guilty of murder? We suspect he was.
Do you know where Stewart Wade is buried?
Stewart Wade was buried in an unmarked grave at the Port Fairy Cemetery (refer to the Cox Street Axe Murder story on our HOME page). Maria Cameron has located Stewart’s grave and we visit it on our ghost tours of the cemetery, which are generally run during local festival dates. Please refer to our EVENTS page for further information.
Do you run ghost tours?
You can use the Port Fairy Ghost Stories book to conduct a ghost tour of the town at your leisure. The stories are ordered sequentially in alignment with a map that is our suggested route. Or you can select which stories you want to explore on any visit to Port Fairy. Many of the locations have remained hospitality businesses, so you can stop for refreshments or perhaps even opt for an overnight stay to try for a ghostly encounter of your own!
We generally run ghost tours of the Port Fairy Public Cemetery during local festival dates. The tours visit the graves of many of the historical people featured in the book. The session explores the unexpected and often dark circumstances that surround many of those deaths. Please refer to our EVENTS page for further information.
Have any of the Port Fairy Ghost Stories Inc. Committee members had ghostly experiences of their own?
Yes. Some of Julie Hoey’s ghostly encounters are recounted in the book. Maria Cameron also had a ghostly experience in Northern Tasmania that was witnessed by her (now deceased) husband and a good friend. So we are true believers, as well as being dinky-di ghost enthusiasts.