Yanyarrie Ghost Story

Yanyarrie Ghost Story

Just some 17 miles from Cradock, the town we visited last week in the Flinders Ranges region of South Australia, sits the small town of Yanyarrie. A tiny location that is known mainly for a cattle station and a creek that floods from time to time.

In a small house near Yanyarrie, owned by a farmer named “Hamdorff”, a number of strange phenomena occurred, the most prevalent being knocking sounds, heard by many witnesses.

The local Mounted Constable, accompanied by a Mr Hayward and a Mr A J Graham decided to take it upon themselves to investigate the strange occurrences. Arriving at the pine-and-pug residence at 8:30 pm in darkness, it didn't take long for the investigators to survey the location and make note of a waterhole some thirty yards from the residence.

The owner of the house had left for Quorn, taking with him his wife and his seven-year-old daughter, who seemed to be at the centre of the phenomena, as the knocks were most prevalent in her vicinity.

Yanyarrie Creek

Two young boys were left in charge of the property while the parents and sibling were away, aged nine and fourteen.
 The group of men and boys ate dinner as the boys told how the ghost usually likes to appear at about nine pm.
just before 9 pm, the candles used to light the rooms were extinguished, and the group waited anxiously for the ghosts appearance.

Within minutes the sound of a splash was heard outside, then distinct footsteps.
Followed by a knocking sound against the chimney. At once two of the men went outside to investigate the strange noises whilst the other man stayed with the boys.

From inside the house, the knocking sounded like it was outside, and from outside, the men said it sounded like it was coming from inside. The men stood asking questions and received replies by knocking, one of the men asked the knocker to “knock louder” of which the following knock is said to have “shook the entire house”.

The noise ceased at 10 pm sharp. The men and the boys made camp in the living room and feigned sleep, hoping for more activity,. Which was to come at precisely 2 am and lasted until 3 am, but leaving no trace of its source.

The men went around the house searching for clues, to find nothing, no footprints and no sign of human interference, the men recounted the story the next day to others,  attesting that they would lead better lives from now on.

Once the story broke in the media, local ghost legends become exposed in the local community to a wider audience, a tale of a Shepard drowning in the water hole, and people seeing strange lights surfaced.

One fact though often brought the haunting case into disrepute, and was the vocal repertoire of sceptics, the house was currently rented by the Schultz family, the same family who had a daughter that would later be found to be hoaxing knocking noises in Cradock...(see last weeks story)

Is it possible that the father was in on his daughter's deception, and on this occasion sneakily made his way back to the house and hid in the chimney, making the knocking sounds? That is something we will never know for sure but is a plausible explanation in this case.

Tell us your thoughts in the comments section below

© 2013 The Haunts of Adelaide

written and researched by

Allen Tiller

www.eidolonparanormal.com.au