Why This Abandoned Australian Hospital is Called 'Hell on Earth'

Australia's Largest Abandoned Asylum

Aradale Mental Hospital, originally known as Ararat Lunatic Asylum, operated from 1867 to 1998. The sprawling complex contains over 70 now-abandoned buildings that once housed over 1,000 patients, making it the largest abandoned psychiatric facility in Australia.

Aradale and its two sister asylums at Kew and Beechworth were commissioned to accommodate the growing number of 'lunatics' in the colony of Victoria. What began as a solution to overcrowding became something far darker.

The Brutal Reality of "Treatment"

During its 130 years of operation, Aradale's "treatments" were nothing short of torture by today's standards.

Patient 'treatment' included restraint bags, strapped in chairs, isolation boxes, immobilised in hot and cold baths, and, from the 1900s to 1950s, electroshock treatments and drugs such as lithium.

Both electroshock therapy and the lobotomy were performed, on mass, at Aradale. These procedures were often conducted without proper anaesthesia, leaving patients traumatised—if they survived at all.

How Easy It Was to Be Committed It wasn't hard to be diagnosed with a mental illness in Victorian times. While it only required two signatures to be committed, eight were needed to be deemed sane enough to leave. People were institutionalised for conditions we now understand as autism, postnatal depression, epilepsy, and even simple grief.

The Staggering Death Toll

During its 130 years of operation, over 13,000 inmates, patients and staff members died at the asylum. That averages out to 100 deaths per year—a shocking mortality rate that speaks to the horrific conditions within.

By law, all involuntary patients were autopsied upon death, yet many questions remain about the true cause of so many fatalities.

J Ward: The Prison Within the Hospital

In 1886, the most dangerous element was added to Aradale's complex: J Ward.

J Ward originally the Ararat County Gaol, was converted for use as a maximum security psychiatric ward for the criminally insane. The County Gaol then became a ward (J Ward) of the Ararat Lunatic Asylum where the most depraved and most dangerous men in Victoria were housed in horrific conditions under the highest security.

The Notorious Inmates

Bill Wallace - The Oldest Prisoner in World History In 1926, Wallace was arrested in connection for the shooting death of an American man named William Ernest Williams at the Waterloo Café in King Street, Melbourne. It was alleged that Wallace had been angry at the man for refusing to stop smoking inside the café.

Two separate doctors declared him to be insane and unfit to stand trial; he was subsequently sentenced to J Ward at the governor's pleasure. Bill Wallace was admitted in 1926 at age 44 remaining in custody until his death in 1989 at age 107, he was both the oldest patient at the facility and the oldest prisoner in world history (he was incarcerated for 64 years).

He liked to smoke government-issued Tobacco that came in a fifty-pound block. He led his daily life in J Ward content and considered it to be his home. He preferred to be addressed as Mr Wallace and was said to always act like a gentleman.

Garry Webb (David) - The Self-Mutilator Webb went into a pizza shop to rob it, but was spotted by an off duty policeman. The policeman attempted to intervene and got shot for his trouble. The woman who owned the pizza shop was also shot and is still confined to a wheel chair.

Gary Webb was sentenced to fourteen years. But he started to write to the media and the politicians about what he would do when he got out. The politicians became so worried about Webb they passed a special law to keep him locked up for the rest of his life.

Gary became a self-mutilator at Aradale. He was hospitalized over 70 times after cutting himself. He even cut off his own penis three times! The third time it was too damaged to reattach. He swallowed razor blades, cut off parts of his ears, cut off his left nipple, hammered nails into his feet.

The Hauntings That Never End

Documented Paranormal Activity

Nurse Kerry - The Compassionate Spirit One of the best-known ghosts to roam the halls of this abandoned hospital is that of Nurse Kerry. She is known to haunt the women's wards and is thought to be continuing her nursing duties, looking out for her former patients in the afterlife. Her ghost has been seen by many and heard by even more. There have been many reports of hearing the disembodied click of a women's high heels throughout the empty ward, as well as the soft sounds of a women's voice.

The Superintendent's Office Visitors to the asylum who happen to walk past the office of the former Superintendent report a sudden bitter taste in their mouth. According to reports, the Superintendent became distraught in his life and committed suicide in his office after swallowing cyanide. This is thought to be a man named Dr. William L. Mullen, who died in 1912.

Gary Webb's Continuing Presence Gary is said to haunt his former room, screaming at visitors to get out and pushing them out the door.

Real Visitor Experiences

Physical Effects on Visitors Ghost tours are available and there have been many reports of visitors feeling nauseous, fainting and experiencing sudden pains.

There's another room at the J Ward where people suddenly feel ill and unreasonably afraid. Other people slip into a trance-like state which will pass once they are outside. People have reported being pushed and bitten at J Ward, people have heard ticking clocks, methodical bangings on the wall (as if someone is banging their head), and camera's and other electrical equipment seems to malfunction.

The Three Hanged Men The ward is also haunted by three prisoners who were hanged and buried at Aradale. Because they were convicted of murder they weren't given a Christian burial. Their graves are only marked with three small scratches in the prison wall.

Modern Paranormal Investigations

Professional Equipment and Findings Experience premier paranormal discovery and get a chance to find some evidence of the most haunted locations in Australia at the Aradale asylum. Led by Australia's leading paranormal investigation team, this tour gives you a chance to search for evidence of the paranormal using a large range of state-of-the-art equipment.

Aradale has a reputation for malfunctioning technology (failing cameras, wildly varying EMF meters). Ghosts manifest as brief shadowy figures darting quickly by down corridors. Phantom scents – cooking, antiseptic, rot – that disappear and reappear. Unattached voices, indistinguishable mumbling whispers, and stifled screams are commonly captured on recordings or heard directly, especially at night.

The 1991 Exposé That Shocked Australia

The gruesome 1991 expose, shocking as it was, ultimately uncovered systemic atrocities: widespread abuse, embezzling of patients' funds, shared undergarments, starvation, and deprivation of basic human rights, with lengths of stay averaging 23 years.

"The average length of stay at Aradale for psychiatric patients is 23.3 years, or 54 times the acceptable WHO International Standard of 150 days".

Why the Spirits Can't Rest

Concentrated Trauma Decades of trauma seem to be seared on the walls of decaying Aradale, evidenced in persistent and spine-tingling paranormal activity reported by staff, investigators, and hundreds of visitors.

The Unmarked Graves With thousands of patients who died over 130 years, many buried in unmarked graves around the hospital grounds, it's no wonder that paranormal investigators believe the spirits are unable to find peace.

Unfinished Business Many of the reported encounters seem to involve patients and staff still carrying out their daily routines—nurses caring for patients, inmates trying to escape, and administrators continuing their work, unaware they've passed on.

Current Status: A Warning

In 2001, the Victorian Government provided $7.4 million to Melbourne Polytechnic to establish a campus on the site of the hospital. 30 hectares of vineyard and 10 hectares of olive grove were planted in 2002.

However, much of the original hospital remains abandoned, and ghost tours are available for those brave enough to experience Australia's most haunted location.

Safety Guidelines for Visitors:

• Never enter restricted areas alone

• Respect the historical significance of the site

• Follow all tour guide instructions

• Be prepared for potential paranormal encounters

• Show respect for those who suffered and died there

Submit Your Own Aradale Experience

Have you visited Aradale and experienced something unexplained? We want to hear your story. Share your encounter with Australia's most haunted hospital and help document the ongoing paranormal activity at this tragic site.

The suffering that occurred at Aradale Mental Hospital has left an indelible mark—not just on Australian history, but seemingly on the very fabric of the building itself. Whether you believe in ghosts or not, the documented experiences of thousands of visitors suggest that for many former patients and staff, Aradale remains their eternal home.

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