Bed and Breakfast and…Boos? A Night at Monte Cristo, Australia’s most haunted house

Posted on 15 February, 2024

Driving through the back gates into the grounds of Monte Cristo, I’m unsure what to expect. My partner and I are about to stay the night in Australia’s “most haunted house”.

Our itinerary includes a historical introduction to the site, a home-cooked meal and ghost tour, topped off with dessert, before we settle down into our allocated rooms for a hopefully ghost-free night and a hot breakfast.

Lawrence Ryan, our tour guide whose mother, Olive, owns the beautiful 140-year-old home, assures me that no one has ever died on a ghost tour…yet.

I am a proud history nerd, so I sit with rapt attention as our group is introduced to the site. A two and a half hour drive from Canberra, Monte Cristo looks out over the town of Junee, NSW, an architectural power move by the wealthy landowner, Christopher Crawley, who first built a two-bedroom homestead on the land in 1876. Crawley was a wealthy farmer and landowner who made his fortune by purchasing land surrounding the Great Southern Railway Line, prior to its opening in 1878. Thanks to these savvy business moves (or insider knowledge….) Crawley retired early and built Monte Cristo, moving into the mansion with his family in 1884.

As darkness falls, we stand in-front of the mansion and start to get to the spooky stuff. We are told there are 10 ghosts who haunt Monte Cristo; including former servants, Crawley children and of course, Mr and Mrs Crawley. We learn of the young maid who died on the front porch after falling (or being pushed) to her death from the second storey balcony. Another maid, tasked with cleaning the blood off the stone, left the bleach-soaked rag sitting too long. I stare at the bright, white stone which serves as a reminder of the traumatic incident.

I peer at the worn hole in the wall of the dairy, where little Harold Steele was sadly chained for over 15 years by his mother (a servant of the Crawleys), after an incident which left him disabled. It’s in this same room where Harold’s mother is found dead years later, with him grieving beside her, and also where, in 1961, the caretaker is shot by a townsperson who saw Psycho too many times. The townsperson leaves a chilling message on the door.

Both Mr and Mrs. Crawley died at Monte Cristo. Mr Crawley in 1910, age 69, from blood poisoning from a wound aggravated by his high starch collar. The bedroom where he died has a heavy, foreboding presence. Mrs Crawley remained at Monte Cristo until her death in 1933, age 91, from a burst appendix, only leaving the house three times after the death of her husband. She ruled Monte Cristo with a firm hand, and it’s recommended you greet Mrs Crawley when you enter, lest she decides to dislike you, which can happen if you’re A) rude B) not fashionable enough/wearing a hat or C) an unmarried young man. I feel safe and enjoy strong feminine vibes the whole tour, whilst my very sceptic partner feels like he’s pushed out of a room at one point.

The last Crawley left Monte Cristo in 1948, leaving the home vacant and vulnerable to vandals and squatters. In 1963, Olive and Reginald (Reg) Ryan purchased the home for £1,000. Until his death in 2014, Reg worked tirelessly to return Monte Cristo’s main homestead to its former glory, whilst also maintaining the servant’s quarters (previously the old homestead), the dairy, the stables and a re-built ballroom. The Ryan family opened the doors of Monte Cristo to visitors in the 1990s, and I’m incredibly thankful that they did.

I spend the remainder of the night keeping one eye open and firmly ignoring a ‘tap, tap, tap’ that I hear in the room and emerge in the morning for a delicious breakfast to hear stories about each bedroom, and the experiences of other guests.

Is Monte Cristo haunted? What’s written on the door of the dairy? Visit for yourself and find out.