It’s hard to believe that a place as big as Melbourne can ever sit still. It’s one of the biggest cities in the country and there’s always something happening. But like many other cities, it also has an eerie, quiet side that’s very far away from the noise and the lights… the abandoned places in Melbourne.
Abandoned mansions, shutdown asylums, and rundown warehouses are just a few of the haunted locations that call Melbourne home. So if you’re a Melbournite on the lookout for scary places ‘near me’, we’ve got the perfect list of abandoned buildings.
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5. Williamstown – Dark Secret In Broad Daylight
Tours: Yes
Publicly Accessible: Yes
Free: No
The back alleys and lanes of Williamstown used to be the gathering place for lots of ‘unsavoury’ people. It was a haven for lawless criminals and disagreements rarely ended well. While Williamstown itself has gentrified over the years, the nooks and crannies of the town still carry all the terrifying energy of its past life.
4. Altona Homestead – Historical Horror
Tours: Yes
Publicly Accessible: No
Free: No
While a little far from an abandoned home, this homestead is a historical site by day and a haunted house of horrors at night. You’ll want to take the night tour to experience all the paranormal sightings that go on inside and outside the home.
3. Box Hill Brickworks – An Old-World Factory
Tours: No
Publicly Accessible: No
Free: Yes
One of the oldest sites on this list, this factory ran for almost a hundred years until finally being shut down in the 80s. Now, the rusted machinery, broken walls, massive furnaces and kilns have become the canvas for Melbourne’s graffiti artists. It’s been declared a preservation site and there is the occasional patrol, but get close enough to the premises and you may catch the rumoured sounds of clanking, workplace chatter, and other ethereal noises from the other realm.
2. Melbourne’s Storm Drains – A Maze Of Past And Present
Tours: No
Publicly Accessible: Yes
Free: Yes
Underneath the metropolis lies Melbourne’s most thrilling secret: a labyrinth of storm drains that run underneath the city. Constructed partly in Victorian-era Melbourne and expanded over the years, these tunnels have become a favourite spot for urban explorers. While some areas have definitely been mapped out, a large portion of the network still lies completely abandoned, waiting to be discovered.
1. Toorak’s Abandoned Houses – Empty, But Far From Lifeless
Tours: No
Publicly Accessible: Yes
Free: Yes
If you want to go someplace a little more urban, pay a quick visit to the neighbourhood of Toorak. This affluent area has dozens of abandoned buildings and half-built structures that immediately make you feel like you’ve stepped into another world. There’s an unsettling silence that hangs over these abandoned places, made even more spooky because they’re supposedly in the middle of a safe, wealthy suburb.
3 Tips For You To Follow When Going To Abandoned Places
Before you go to any of these places, keep these in mind:
- Always check if it’s private property before going in. We don’t encourage trespassing for the sake of getting a scare!
- If there is a guided tour, go on one. They can help you avoid the more unstable parts of the building and possibly save you from injury. Plus, they’re a lot of fun!
- Don’t go alone. There’s no guarantee that these places are truly abandoned. Supernatural entities or not, you should always have someone with you in case things get dicey.
Watch Your Back
Whether you want to take up some urban exploring or you’re just looking for a memorable experience, these five abandoned places will definitely net you that scary story. You’ll never quite look at Melbourne the same way!
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