Freaky tour conjuring up the ghosts of Parliament

A scream echoes through the halls of Parliament. Our tour group jumps. No, it’s not an MP reading their latest polling, it’s one of our tour guides, dressed as a Victorian ghost, wailing from down the corridor.

This is not your regular daily tour of New Zealand’s Parliament; I’ve joined one of its spooky tours for the evening, offered only when Parliament is not in session. The screams and creepily dressed staff would probably distract – if not disturb – MPs working in their nearby offices.

As we set off, our tour guide Sully Cook, “a friendly neighbourhood ghost”, promises stories of apparitions, unexplained noises, and of restless souls unable to move on (although Winston Peters was not mentioned by name).

The Parliamentary Library

We make our way to the Parliamentary Library, said to be the most haunted area of Parliament. Built in 1899 in a sinister-looking Victorian Gothic Revival style, it’s Parliament’s oldest building, having survived fires, a flood and even a feral cat infestation.

By day, we’re told, the stately building still functions as a library and research facility, complete with grand staircases, twinkling chandeliers, and beautiful stained glass windows.

But by night, an eerie atmosphere pervades the building, and even security staff refuse to lock up the library alone.

Parliament’s most famous ghost

A ghostly woman in funereal garb tells the story of the suicide of William Larnach, a politician and businessman known for his lavish home (yes, it’s Larnach Castle). In 1898, facing a family scandal and financial ruin, Larnach was found dead by gunshot in a committee room. However, not even finding rest in death, his skull was later stolen from the family crypt in Dunedin, and later resurfaced in the 1970s at student flat parties. Security guards attribute his restless spirit to the troubles they have locking the doors near where he died.

Another ghost reported to haunt the corridors is Ewen McColl, Parliament's first full-time librarian, whose death in 1880 is partly blamed on overwork. Working from 7am until 10pm each day, and sleeping on the premises to protect the collection from fires, our ghostly guide concludes “it doesn't seem too unlikely, then, that his spirit rejected the afterlife and returned to these halls to continue his work".

Down to the basement

As we’re led down to the basement and through a warren of narrow corridors to the archives, there’s a creepy vibe - not just thanks to the efforts of the tour guides pulling stunts to give us a fright.

The bathrooms, often a setting worthy of their own horror stories, have reports of paranormal activity. Some years ago, we learn, a cleaner saw an apparition in the mirror while cleaning toilets. Described as either a woman dressed in white, or the cleaner's own visage but as a rotting corpse, the cleaner is said to have run screaming and refused to work in the library ever again.

Meanwhile, in the gents’, unexplained flickering lights, flushing toilets, and a singing ghost heard by a journalist have been reported - and attributed to the 1921 death of Walter Bruce, a messenger for the press gallery, who was found drowned in a Parliament bathtub after suffering a heart attack.

A Parliamentary pet project

Run by the team who lead the regular Parliamentary tours by day, the Spooky Tours were something extra they wanted to do as a fun way to teach the public about the darker sides of our democracy, and deliver a unique Parliament experience.

Spooky Tour tickets cost $35, which goes to covering the costs of hiring costumes and extra staff hours. The tours can only run while Parliament is not in session, and limited tour dates for June and August sold out quickly, but running for three years now, there seems to be enough interest in the tours that more dates could be added. But be warned, it might not be for everyone; with the claustrophobic spaces, jump scares, and screams - there’s a reason it’s only for visitors aged 14 and over.

Visitors Moya Wong-Dennisok and Jack Ritchie called the tour “super fun”. “It was a romp... Kind of campy fun,” says Ritchie.

Parliament has seen plenty of political resurrections over the years, so perhaps a few ghosts shouldn't come as a surprise.

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