Norfolk Island

Norfolk Island is a small island situated in the Pacific Ocean and part of Australia's external territories. It is located 877 miles east of the mainland. Because of its remote location, it was used by the British Government, starting in 1824, as a dumping site for the worst most violent criminals.

Thousands of convicts ended up on the tiny island which was described back then as "hell on earth". Because of its reputation, the island quickly became one of Britain's most notorious penal colonies. Torture, lashings, murders, rapes were not uncommon on an island where guards were known to be particularly vicious. With such a violent past, it is no surprise that today the island is seen by some as one of the world's most haunted islands.

An Australian documentary series called 'THE EXTRAORDINARY' did a piece on Norfolk Island in the mid-90s and interviewed many of its residents on the subject of ghosts and hauntings.

A lady who has lived on the island for 50 years mentions that at least 50% of the population, which was a little above 2,000 at the time, have seen or heard a ghost. Even its most famous resident, the internationally acclaimed author Colleen McCullough has had multiple encounters with ghosts - in her own house. After earning a living as a journalist, Colleen spent nearly 10 years of her life working as a research associate and teacher in the Department of Neurology at the Yale Medical School. Maybe it speaks to the level of paranormal activity on the island when a self-described skeptic like Colleen McCullough, who is by the way a member of the prestigious 'New York Academy of Sciences' and a fellow of the 'American Association for the Advancement of Science', changes her mind and becomes a believer of the paranormal.