Talking to the dead at the Elephant Bridge Hotel, Darlington

‘‘Never seek out entities on your own.’’

— from Ghoststudy.com’s Ghost Hunters Code 

The Elephant Bridge Hotel in Darlington, about 20km east of Mortlake, is said to be a hot spot for spooks. There are claimed to be up to four ghosts in the pub, which has been open since 1842. 

The main one is believed to be the spectre of Adeline Eliza Gellie, who was born at the pub, ran it for a record 54 years, and then returned to the pub to die, aged 83. 

When Jade and I mentioned to our friends we were going ghost-hunting, we got some funny looks. Ghosts are a divisive issue — either you believe in them or you don’t.

But somewhere in the ‘‘don’t’’ category there are a few people like us that want to believe. We’d love to see a ghost — to find some hard evidence that proves their existence and some kind of connection between our world and the afterlife.

As open-minded sceptics, we wanted to be proved wrong at the Elephant Bridge Hotel and we wanted to make sure we tried everything we could to find a ghost. So we arranged for a medium from Port Fairy to meet us at the pub.

★★★★★

‘‘Listen to your instincts and your intuition.’’

ACCORDING to the promotional material Tracey Mercer handed us, she is an author, medium, empowerment coach and an angel guide.

‘‘I’m not a ghost hunter at all,’’ Ms Mercer explained.

‘‘I trained as a medium but I got a bit scared about the ghost issue. I’d see stuff I didn’t want to see. Then I went and learnt overseas and here and learned to control what I was seeing.

‘‘(Now) I teach people about angels and empowerment (and) do readings and contacting the dead. I’ve been doing this professionally for the last five years and I’ve been studying for 10 years.

‘‘Ghosts are different to contacting deceased loved ones. Ghosts are earth-bound. Usually there’s a reason why you’ve got a ghost. Adeline thinks this is her role (to watch over the pub) and she’s staying. 

‘‘(Ghosts can also) be held by grief from a family that’s so grief-stricken and won’t let them leave, or they just don’t want to pass over, or they’re scared (to pass over).

‘‘It’s about being open to it. Only see or feel things that are okay for you. I used to see things that made me feel yuck before I went to America to study (with medium Doreen Virtue, who also taught TV medium John Edward). I’d been seeing and feeling things for years and never channelled it.’’

★★★★★

‘‘Let them (ghosts and spirits) know they are not forgotten.’’

ABOUT a month after Leone de Ferranti took over the Elephant Bridge Hotel in 2004, she had her first encounter with Adeline.

‘‘I walked into ‘her corner’ and she let me know she was here,’’ the pub owner said.

‘‘You know that feeling when you get shivers down the back of your spine? I was pulling the blinds down and I shivered and took two steps back. It was as if she was saying: ‘Hello. I’m here’.

‘‘I (told her) ‘I’m just looking after the pub for you’.’’

The story of Adeline Gellie looms large in the history of the pub, both during her life and since her death. Her 54-year stint as licensee of the hotel is believed to be a Victorian record, and the fact she returned to the Elephant Bridge Hotel a few years before she died helps fuel the idea that she’s still there looking after the pub.

‘‘Adeline’s no secret in this place. If you read the material around the pub, (you can see) we don’t hold back from telling people.

‘‘Some of the locals take it with a grain a salt and they’re a bit sceptical, or think it’s a great joke. Others don’t want to admit (they believe).

‘‘She’s a fairly constant presence. You can feel it late at night. She’s not a negative presence. I do think she hassles people outside to come in sometimes. It’s her pub. She’s here to encourage the pub.’’

Ms de Ferranti said previous owners Geoff and Margaret Risbey noted their dog, Keg, acting weirdly during renovations downstairs.

‘‘Keg lived upstairs but it wouldn’t go up past the first landing (during the renovations),’’ she said.

‘‘They said it was because Adeline was up there and she was disturbed by the activity in the pub.

‘‘When they left the pub they’d just bought a new Rodeo ute. They parked it up the back and two days before I arrived a telegraph pole fell straight down the middle of the ute. They’d had it a week. One of the locals had climbed (the pole) a couple of weeks before. There was no apparent reason for it to fall. (We) thought it was probably Adeline being disturbed about the changes.’’

Ms de Ferranti said she now makes sure Adeline knows what’s going on before any changes are made to the pub.

Perhaps the freakiest story about the Elephant Bridge Hotel came from Mr Risbey, who told The Standard in 2002 about an encounter a group of men had while staying at the pub on their way to the May Races in Warrnambool.

‘‘One of them came back from his room as white as a sheet and said ‘I can’t go in there — there’s a ghost in there’,’’ Mr Risbey recalled.

‘‘Apparently he walked in and the ghost was standing in the middle of the room crying.’’

Ms de Ferranti said the Risbeys even had a clairvoyant go through the hotel to check for ghosts.

‘‘He drew pictures of four ghosts,’’ Ms de Ferranti said.

‘‘Adeline was quite clearly one and two others were identified but there was another one that (no one) knew.’’

As we sat discussing the history of the pub, Ms Mercer said she could sense Adeline’s presence already.

‘‘She doesn’t mind any of the improvements you’ve done to the pub,’’ Ms Mercer told Ms de Ferranti.

‘‘She thinks you’re doing a good job.’’

★★★★★

‘‘Expect results. Go into every assignment with an attitude of well-defined purpose.’’

MS de Ferranti took Ms Mercer, Jade and myself on a tour of the pub, starting downstairs.

She showed us the spot next to the pool table that was ‘‘Adeline’s corner’’ prior to a wall being knocked out to open up the room. I noticed a draught when standing in the corner, which appeared to be coming from a hole in the floor under the pool table, but didn’t I say anything.

After a quick look around the main floor, we headed upstairs.

‘‘Do you feel that?’’ Ms Mercer asked us as we reached the second floor. ‘‘Like someone pushing on you, or making you feel heavy?’’

‘‘Ahh . . . it feels warmer,’’ Jade said helpfully.

We entered all the open bedrooms and Ms Mercer said she could sense Adeline in one of the rooms.

‘‘She’s in here,’’ she said.

‘‘If you hear someone tonight walking up the hall it will be her.’’

We asked if there were any tips or tricks she could give us that would help us communicate with Adeline during our stay.

‘‘Before you go anywhere, ask for protection from the angels,’’ Ms Mercer said.

‘‘Adeline is here and she’s strong. She doesn’t want to scare anyone.

‘‘She’s ready to talk. I would ask her what she can give you and just be open. She’s here to give you information.

‘‘Ask and be open to what you receive. It might be verbal and you’ll hear something, or you might hear it in your head. You’ll hear it in your (own) voice first and then when you’re comfortable you’ll hear it in their voice.

‘‘And take notice of where your eyes go. They like to guide you to things. Pay attention to all your senses and inner feelings as well.’’

We tried to take it all on board and asked what the chances were we’d be able to get photographic evidence of Adeline.

‘‘Ask her later if she wants to be in a photo,’’ Ms Mercer said. ‘‘I’m sure she’ll go in one of your photos. You might not get a clear image but you’ll get an outline.’’

★★★★★

‘‘Evidence is everything. All we have to show for our hard work is the evidence we collect.’’

BY the time we had enjoyed a delicious meal and a game of pool, the sun had set on the Elephant Bridge Hotel. We returned upstairs to the room where Ms Mercer said Adeline’s ghost was earlier in the day.

The medium’s belief that we would not only get to talk to Adeline but get a photo boded well for the evening.

We set up a laptop and sat a microphone in the hallway in the hopes of recording the ghost prowling the corridor.

In between amplifying and listening back to the recordings for any electronic voice phenomena (EVP), we checked the other rooms for signs of spectral disturbances. Photos were taken, after asking Adeline politely, and we even ducked out the front occasionally to see if we could spot her peeking through one of the windows.

We also filmed the hallways in hope of capturing something on video.

We whiled away the downtime playing poker but by 2am we agreed to shut up the ghost-hunting shop for the night. Jade decided to sleep in the room where we’d set up our base and Ms Mercer had felt Adeline’s presence earlier in the day.

‘‘You should sleep in the room where Adeline is usually seen peeking out the window,’’ Jade suggested.

‘‘No way,’’ I said. ‘‘I’m sleeping in the room next to this.’’

‘‘Why? Are you scared?’’

‘‘No. I’ve already turned the electric blanket on in the next room.’’

★★★★★

‘‘Always consider all aspects of a haunting.’’

THE next morning we met downstairs, each confessing that we’d spent a bit of time after lights-out asking Adeline questions.

Unfortunately, we didn’t get a reply, nor did we record any EVP or capture any ghosts on camera or video.

Ms de Ferranti seemed disappointed but was impressed by Ms Mercer’s talents for communing with the spirits.

‘‘She said I should publicise Adeline, and use her to help promote the pub,’’ the publican said.

We nodded in agreement and suggested Adeline would probably approve. As we drove back to Warrnambool, we pondered the night’s efforts. Maybe we’d put Adeline off by playing poker, or maybe she decided we weren’t ready for her.

Maybe she was publicity-shy. Maybe it was an off-night for her.

Or maybe she wasn’t there at all, and the hotel’s patrons and publicans had convinced themselves she was, perhaps as part of a romantic notion that helped make their lovely little country pub unique.

★★★★★

END NOTE: Ms de Ferranti no longer owns the Elephant Bridge Hotel, and Ms Mercer no longer works as a medium or angel guide. This story was originally published in The Standard in 2008.