Haunted Alzburg Resort: Mansfield : VIC

[KANACKI]

Greetings once again lovers of all things ghoulish. Old Kanacki has a yarn for ya? Ever wanted to visit a resort that might be an Australian version of the movie the Shining?

Gather round you might just have a new place to visit if you dare. Once again special thanks to Headless for finding this story.

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So grab a favorite brew and lets take a journey to a mountain resort that is alleged to be haunted?

To be continued.....

Kanacki

[KANACKI]

Religious edifices often seem to have a habit (pardon the unintended pun) of providing a backdrop to the paranormal. Once the likes of churches, monasteries, priories and convents get a bit of history tucked into them, often some past residual energy lingers on into the present day. These manifestations tend to become more apparent if the building reverts to a purpose other then what it was originally built. Tucked away just off the main street of Mansfield, some 180-kilometres north-east of Melbourne, is just such a place. Built in the early 1890s, let’s have a look at some of the supposed spooky goings-on at the popular snow sport enthusiast complex known as the Alzburg Resort.

The original convent and school came about after a number of Mansfield ladies, including the widow of Sergeant Kennedy who had been shot by bushranger Ned Kelly a year before, asked the Archbishop Carr of Melbourne to facilitate a Catholic education program in the area. A parish priest helped bring members of the Sisters of Mercy,  Mothers Ryan and Walsh, along with Sister Redmoira up from Melbourne, after arriving from Ireland, to begin the school. They took over the running of the St. Mary’s School. By 1892, the impressive two-storey Sacred Heart College had opened, with more buildings being added in 1916. The Convent of Mercy School continued to teach local Catholic children until it finally closed in 1972.

To be continued......

Kanacki

[KANACKI]

The nuns moved out and the German Catholics purchased the property, but with a different non-religious aim in mind. They renamed the house “Pax Montis”, meaning ‘Peace of the Mountain’ and leased it out to a travel agent named Pasquale Bono, a Melbourne-based operator who specialized in ski tourism. Eventually Bono bought the property in 1980, renamed it the “Alzburg Inn” and he and his family have run it ever since. Over the next 26 years Bono added more infrastructure (pool, tennis courts and more accommodation in the form of units) and the property became the Alzburg Resort.

To be continued....

Kanacki

[KANACKI]

So we have a 130-year-old building with a religious past connection … could it be haunted? You bet. A number of ghosts and unexplained phenomenon have been reported, mainly in the old two-storey part of the complex. In one particular room cleaning staff have encountered the so-called ‘sitting lady’, a woman dressed in older fashion who disappears but leaves the chair she was sitting on at a desk always pulled out. Staff have apologized to the apparition for entering what they thought was an unoccupied room and on return soon after found no one. The pulled out chair event has been a constant occurrence.

Housekeeping staff have also encountered spooky body imprints on beds that they have made up and left in unoccupied rooms. Sometimes it happens to them whilst they are in the room still, having just prepared the bed. A group of spooked staff tested the ghost once by making the bed and smoothing out the cover only to see the entity once again sit on the bed.

To be continued.....

Kanacki

[KANACKI]

Children’s voices have been heard in the games room when there’s no-one there, a mysterious young boy has been seen in the dead of night and various cold spots are known to exist around the main mansion structure. As for the owner Pasquale Bono, he’s not so sure. He doesn’t think Alzburg is haunted but has admitted that some of his staff does:

“They hear old Sister Teresa clumping around, and they know it’s her because she had polio and dragged one leg” (Mansfield Courier, September 2014 article)

Bono obviously knows a bit about the old convent/school’s history and appears to try and rationalize the stories that are reported. This is a good thing as there is little available information about the property and he seems happy to reveal some of the stories on the Alzburg’s website.

To be continued.....

Kanacki

[KANACKI]

Scouring travelers’ reviews on websites like TripAdvisor and Booking.com reveal no sightings of any apparitions, but confirmation of various cold spots around the main building’s guest rooms, plus further comments about its evening “spookiness” and “creepy atmosphere” can be found.

Two people who have stayed there and experienced banging doors, moving furniture and the feeling of someone brushing past them in one of the newly renovated hallways.

The Alzburg Resort is still a very popular place for skiers on their way to Mt Buller in winter. It seems to be constantly full at that time. Maybe a visit over summer would be a better time to really check out the so-called “cold spots” and overall atmosphere. The impressive late Victorian main building dominates the complex and the mix of new and old gives the resort a funny feel just looking at it. It seems that paranormal residue of occupants of days past may be thinking the same thing.

Is the place haunted i leave that to you Perhaps a night there might give you an eerie insight into the Paranormal?

Kanacki