IN PICS | Spooky sightings on Durban ghost tour

16 July 2024 - 11:29 By SANDILE NDLOVU
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St Thomas Cemetery, Peter Mokaba Ridge, in Durban.
St Thomas Cemetery, Peter Mokaba Ridge, in Durban.
Image: SANDILE NDLOVU

In a dark “haunted” room at Durban Manor (Durban Club), a woman's scream echoed as she was startled by a tour guide while using a ghost detecting mobile app on a ghost tour.

The participant was terrified after detecting a humanoid figure using the GhostTube SLS Camera, when tour guide Mark Rose-Christie approached from behind and scared her.

A participant was terrified when she detected a humanoid figure while using a GhostTube SLS Camera in a dark room at Durban Manor.
A participant was terrified when she detected a humanoid figure while using a GhostTube SLS Camera in a dark room at Durban Manor.
Image: SANDILE NDLOVU

Later, the tour car convoy, with hazard lights flashing, drove past other eerie 'haunted” venues before stopping at Durban Boys' High School. While participants listened to ghost stories, marketing manager Michael Sorensen appeared dressed as a woman, pretending to be Sheila, a well-known “ghost” from Higginson Highway in Chatsworth, in the south of Durban.

Sheila was a young lady who  was stranded on Higginson Highway with a flat car tyre. She flagged down a vehicle for assistance but the occupants were intoxicated. The men allegedly raped, tortured and eventually murdered the girl.

Since then, Sheila’s spirit allegedly haunts the N2 and Higginson Highway, flagging down cars. In one reported incident, an old man offered a lift to a young woman, lending her his jacket. After dropping her off at her house he forgot to retrieve his jacket. The next day the resident of the house told him Sheila died many years before. The man was taken to her grave where he mysteriously found his jacket on Sheila’s tombstone.

Mark Rose-Christie leading a night ghost hunting tour.
Mark Rose-Christie leading a night ghost hunting tour.
Image: SANDILE NDLOVU

The ghost tour moved on to Campbell Avenue near Florida Road in Morningside, where they watched a demonstration of paranormal science, including audience participation with dowsing rods. Rose-Christie also used his “magic” to bend a key.

The tour concluded at St Thomas Cemetery. Holding a torch, a guide opened a church door in the cemetery, revealing a photograph of Napoleon Bonaparte. As Rose-Christie held up his torch, his shadow was cast on the wall, creating the illusion he was holding a knife and about to stab a creepy doll. The doll, with blood on it, appeared to be screaming for help.

Mark Rose-Christie from Mystery Ghost Productions sharing the history of fallen heroes and heroines buried at St Thomas Cemetery.
Mark Rose-Christie from Mystery Ghost Productions sharing the history of fallen heroes and heroines buried at St Thomas Cemetery.
Image: SANDILE NDLOVU
St Thomas Cemetery on Peter Mokaba Ridge in Durban where a ghost hunting tour took place.
St Thomas Cemetery on Peter Mokaba Ridge in Durban where a ghost hunting tour took place.
Image: SANDILE NDLOVU
Holding a torch, a guide opens a church door in the cemetery, revealing a photograph of Napoleon Bonaparte.
Holding a torch, a guide opens a church door in the cemetery, revealing a photograph of Napoleon Bonaparte.
Image: SANDILE NDLOVU
Tour participants are fascinated as Mark Rose-Christie shares the history of fallen heroes and heroines at St Thomas Cemetery.
Tour participants are fascinated as Mark Rose-Christie shares the history of fallen heroes and heroines at St Thomas Cemetery.
Image: SANDILE NDLOVU
Michael Sorensen, wearing a mask, after entering a dimly lit church in St Thomas Cemetery.
Michael Sorensen, wearing a mask, after entering a dimly lit church in St Thomas Cemetery.
Image: SANDILE NDLOVU
A man reads the tombstone of Christopher Joseph Cato who died on March 20 1867.
A man reads the tombstone of Christopher Joseph Cato who died on March 20 1867.
Image: SANDILE NDLOVU
Mark Rose-Christie uses a dowsing rod to demonstrate paranormal science.
Mark Rose-Christie uses a dowsing rod to demonstrate paranormal science.
Image: SANDILE NDLOVU

The torch was turned off before Sorensen entered the room, causing near panic with the scary mask he was wearing. Armed with torches, people walked slowly among the graves while using ghost-hunting cellphone apps.

At Alfred Dacomb's grave, Rose-Christie presented a full history before moving on to other graves.


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