Morpeth Church bans ghost tours

[Christine]

Morpeth church bans ghost tours
BY DONNA SHARPE
24 May, 2011 04:00 AM

THEY might believe in the Holy Ghost but members of the Morpeth Anglican Parish Council seem to have a different take on ghosts in their historic village.
In what has been described as "mean spirited" the council has asked Morpeth Ghost and History Tours owner Troy Murphie not to come onto the private grounds of St James' Anglican Church - a request which has left his business dead and buried.

Mr Murphie, who has been conducting the tours for 2? years after receiving permission from the church's former rector, said he was embarrassed and surprised when a person approached him during a Friday the 13th tour with 22 people and said he was no longer allowed on the property.

Mr Murphie received a letter from the parish council the following Monday which said the church, and in particular the columbarium and memorial garden, were off limits.

He said St James' Church was an integral part of his tour where many of his clients had experienced paranormal activity and found the visit a tour highlight.

He has also had to drop Closebourne House from his tour with the construction of aged-care accommodation on the site.

The letter said that Mr Murphie and his groups were "confined to an area not to exceed [six metres] from the perimeter of the church's outer walls".

The parish council also asked for copies of Mr Murphie's public liability insurance and said it needed to be for a minimum of $10 million cover.

A spokeswoman for the parish council said the church had not banned Mr Murphie but was asking him to be sensible and to conduct the tours around the edge of the church area and away from surrounding homes where there had been one complaint.

Mr Murphie said he and his groups always exercised the utmost respect.

"I've closed the tour instead of fighting this," he said. "I had bookings up to Christmas but I have cancelled them all. I can't run a business this way.

"Lately I have been getting the blame for things like people coming in on their own ghost hunting tours and hosting their own investigation nights in the local cemetery."

Long-time Morpeth business operator Trevor Richards said other groups had not been stopped from walking around the church and a group of schoolchildren were there yesterday doing a history project, including filming the church.

[Georgous Granny]

what a joke. let the man run his tours. what does the council want a percentage?

[violet]

I suppose the council has some critical wowser votes to win.

[ezzmay2000]

Very "mean spirited" - lol great line.

But isn't a church public domain particularly an historic church. The public has the right to access these property's I would assume??

[catseyes]

I would be betting that the new pastor is a little nervous of the word 'ghost'.

[Christine]

Good point ezzmay

[nick61]

If we like it or not, the Pastor has the right to refuse access. I mean he would have his own agenda but he's not Robinson Crusoe when it comes to people objecting to commercial 'tours'.

[GaryTheDemon]

To be honest, most orthodox churches would object to this sort of thing.  Their going in position is that ghosts don't exist anyway and if they do then they are demonic.  So to allow one is really a risk for them in terms of whatever church orthodoxy they belong to.  Spiritualist churches excepted of course.

[chaney]

I have been on his ghost tour and found it to be very well researched and presented. Obviously a venture bringing tourism dollars to the community, I would have thought the church and Troy could have come to some agreement.

[catseyes]

lots of small towns want the money but not the actual tourists. 

[nick61]

Another reason I live in Sydney, no straw hats. Been there, didn't like it. Saying that, I cant see how ramshackle buildings filled with camera wearing, EMF toting tourists is conducive to paranormal activity. Residual perhaps, but intelligent entities, I'm not so sure.

[catseyes]

presuming that any spirits can see the tourists...lol

[GaryTheDemon]

Nick, imho too much throughput destroys most pn activity.

[nick61]

I'm far from an expert but I have considered this on many occasions, and it really leaves me wondering. One needs it to be dark, for it to be a suitably old 'creepy' looking building with preferably some kind of dark history. Why? Like the fools that 'hunt' ghosts in cemeteries and battle fields. Now I don't know, but if I were a spirit the last place I'd hang is where I died or was buried. I would frequent my shed, my cricket club or one of my children's homes, where life was good.
Simple theory from a simple man but what do you do? Only what you know how.

[GaryTheDemon]

Real hauntings tend to be where there is an association or places of great emotional turbulence.  Cemeteries are one of the least likely because there is no relevance to the person.