By Shelby Brooks, Jamie Salter and Eleanor Wilson
Cemetery trusts in the South East have barred paranormal groups from holding events at gravesites, fearing the spooky activities would be disrespectful to those recently laid to rest.
Representatives from the Pakenham Cemetery Trust and Berwick and Harkaway Cemetery Trust were recently shocked to learn of ticketed paranormal tours scheduled to be held at their cemeteries.
Victorian Heritage History and Paranormal Society had intended to host an after hours tour at the Pakenham Cemetery this month, which was quickly blocked by the Trust.
A spokesperson said they contacted the Department of Health (Cemetery Sector) and the event was shut down.
“The Pakenham Cemetery Trust was never approached by the paranormal group and at no point was approval given for such an event,” they said.
“This type of event would not be approved for several reasons including the safety of visitors to the cemetery and the risk of damage to cemetery infrastructure.”
Belinda Smart, manager of Berwick and Harkaway Cemetery Trust, also sought advice from the Department of Health after being notified of a similar planned event.
“[The Department of Health’s] advice was the cemetery trust has the right to say no to any events taking place and one of the main points was due to safety, being that there’s no lighting up at the cemetery, with the possibility of any damage being done to the graves or any persons being injured who attend the cemetery,” Ms Smart said.
“For anything that is to take place, so whether someone wants to do filming within the cemetery grounds or any sort of tours, there might be a historical group doing a tour, they all need to seek permission from the trust.”
A spokesperson for the Department of Health said the relevant cemetery trust is responsible for deciding whether such an event would go ahead on the land they manage.
Ms Smart said cemeteries “should be left alone” by paranormal investigators.
“I don’t think it’s something they should be profiting off because there’s people who visit the cemetery on a daily basis who weren’t comfortable with it, we had calls from the general public and people were quite upset about it. I don’t think it’s appropriate at all,” she said.
A spokesperson for the Victorian Heritage History and Paranormal Society said they believed the cemeteries were abandoned when they organised the events.
“We didn’t know it was under a trust. We’ve not heard of them before. However, thankfully they reached out to us,” they said.
They said the tours they run were based on the philosophy of history through science, and being respectful was at the forefront of their endeavours.
“We use scientific equipment to measure data such as electromagnetic fields, temperature changes, changes in lighting, thermal images, light invisible to the naked eye, acoustic measurements, barometric pressure and more,“ they said.
“We use historical teaching interspersed with investigating in groups of up to 30 people at our various locations, while we collect and measure out evidence and data. History is crucial in understanding why we investigate.
“Without the proper historical context and knowledge of those past, interpreting evidence would be almost impossible. It is vital that participants have a solid foundation, respect and understanding of the value of history within the locations,“ they said.
The spokesperson said there was a huge historical interest in the cemeteries in the area.
“It’s important to understand these people were once alive. We make sure there is a tremendous amount of respect and acknowledgement of the first people of the country as well.“
The spokespersons said during the tours, they do not look at graves post-1900.
“We feel we can’t do the paranormal element without having the foundation in history,” they said.
“History is a big part of it, it’s like an interactive history lesson. The goal is for people to think about the past.”
