Ghost Research International

INVESTIGATION OF J WARD - ARARAT GAOL September 2007

What is now known as J Ward began as the Ararat Gaol in 1859 when it served as a goldfields prison. The gaol had it's own gallows at which three men were executed and their remains buried on site. In December 1886 the gaol building was proclaimed J Ward of the larger Ararat Lunatic Asylum. The new purpose was to house the criminally insane in high security, which it did between 1887 until 1989.

J Ward is now a tourist attraction and is brilliantly maintained and the exhibits expanded by the Friends of J Ward.


PANORAMA OF THE OLD KITCHEN   Use mouse to move - and + to zoom in and out

During the September 2007 investigation the team took over 1156 digital photographs and 20 hours of video footage.



Here are a few of the pictures taken during the J Ward investigation.

Apart from the orb images which accompany many investigations there were some others which did pose a few questions.

Banging was reported, apparently in response to questions asked.

Whistling was picked up on a voice recorder placed in one of the cells.

These and other reported events are examined further in the Investigation Report available as a viewable PDF or full colour hardcopy at the base of this page.

Below is a short video containing excerpts from DVR footage taken during the investigation. The video is a compressed version to minimise download time and was shot in darkness. It displays the amount of "orb like objects" visible under ultraviolet, infrared, red and normal lighting encountered during some investigations. Most could be attributed to dust or bugs and remain inconclusive at best.

No event reported during the investigation exceeded a rating of "inconclusive". A number of photographs provided good examples of how "flash synchronisation shutter speed" or "X sync" values can contribute to anomalous results.

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