monte cristo homestead

Though my visit was during the day my main interest is the ghostly activity. The homestead was much smaller than I imagined, with a self guided walk through. The staff were nice, as were the displays in the house, though apparently nothing was original to the house. From what I experienced a lot of the haunting is based on rumor and speculation. The house has history but it's a long way to travel to walk through a house that may or may not be haunted.

We were on holidays doing a trip around Australia and on doing some research on places of interest on our route I came across the little town of Junee and the Monte Cristo Homestead. I am very much interested in the supernatural and so just could not say no to a visit!! We arrived later in the day at around 3.30pm. We paid the small fee and were given instructions on how to get to the house. Apon arriving at the front door of the mansion a little old lady welcomed us in and after a short introduction she then left us to our own devices to walk around and take in all that this beautifully majestic house had to offer. Putting aside the 'ghost' factor the house itself is amazing!! They have taken care of this house very well. Each room was a step back in time. We went from one room to another taking our time so as not to miss anything. I will admit that in the first room we entered I got a big electric shock on my right forearm, this took me by surprise as other than getting the usual shock in getting in and out of my old car I used to have I have never been shocked from just standing in the middle of a room and not touching something. So whether or not their was a presence I don't know? In walking into the house I was very excited and open to whatever I may cross, see, feel or smell. Unfortunantely I did not feel or smell anything different. I know that some people get a sense or smell when coming across a presence, I believe that some have that ability and others don't. I believe I don't have that sense. In saying this I was not disappointed as mentioned above the house itself is amazing! In going along I was taking hundreds of photos in the hope that I may pic up something on the camera that I may not have otherwise with the naked eye. The only thing that we did come across that we saw was in going to the bedroom to the left on the top balcony I was standing at the door going to take a photo with my iPhone when in the centre of the iPhone app the image started to like wiggle or vibrant and it was focusing in and out? I took the phone off the image of the room and then focused to take a photo of the balcony to see if it would wiggle like it had when I went to take a photo of the room, it didn't. I did this a couple of time back and forth from putting the camera up to the room and then the balcony again to make sure. Each time when I went to take a photo of that room the centre of the phone would wiggle and the when going to take a photo of something else other than the room - it wouldn't wiggle in the centre of the phone? I called over my daughter to check it out - this time taking the phone to another room with similar lighting etc (the room on the right of the balcony) and the balcony - again no wiggle and then back to the room on the left - again it did the wiggle thing. I also showed my husband of whom is a HUGE skeptic. He couldn't explain it. I took heaps of photos and I have attached them to this review. **Take not that NOT ANY OF THE PHOTOS HAVE BEEN EDITED OR MANIPULATED IN ANY WAY other than me putting a white border on them ** If you are planning on going past or staying in the town of Junee, Monte Cristo Homestead is a must - even if you are a skeptic like my husband - putting aside the 'ghost' attraction - he was quiet amazed by the house and its history. I can also appreciate the fee - which I did not think was exorbitant, as a house like this must cost a small fortune to maintain.

A group of us girls went and stayed overnight at Monte Cristo, at first during the afternoon hours we toured the grounds on our own and the old stables where the boy got burned was really eerie, not because of the boy but because we sensed something really awful at the other entrance door and was later told the history of what occurred there. There definitely is something there, although the tour dampened our expectations at first, however when we reviewed our pics and what we were seeing during the tour and we all saw the same thing, then it began to sink in how steeped in energy the place was. Most of the activity for us was during our sleep time which we discussed the next morning and verified certain things with the owners. Not everybody in our party had an experience, however some of us were aware of the same things occurring during night time hours. I have uploaded some of our pics.

The Monte Christo Homestead is a grand Colonial Mansion which is open from Friday to Monday inclusive, from 10am to 4pm.This does give you plenty of time to wander around the old and new Victorian/Georgian period residence, as well as some of the other buildings, sheds and the grand ballroom.A variety of great furnishings abound and the Carriage collection is impressive also.There is some renovation work still going on. It is now privately owned by the Ryan family.His mother still opens the door to all guests at this moment, but will be retiring soon.Lawrence Ryan is wanting to take over the business from the rest of his family.

We had been looking forward to visiting the Monte Christo Homestead for some time and finally took the plunge on Boxing Day with 3 other families visiting from interstate. What a thorough disappointment and embarrassment it was. There was nothing remotely frightening or ghostly about this house apart from the exorbitant entry fee. No guided tour, just a couple of directions upon entry. Most of the house was shut off from the public as owners obviously live there and the majority of the rooms that you could enter were cordoned off by ropes. The abundance of 'do not touch ' signs, the Christmas carols blaring, security cameras in your face at every turn and the Myer store discarded mannequins posing in most rooms did not help the atmosphere. This felt like a grandma had opened her house up for the day to raise some easy cash. Our whole group left here feeling very ripped off.

Saw this place on Haunting Australia and was not disappointed on my visit though i didn't experience anything unusual it was a good look into the past how people lived lots too see worth the small fee to see

If you love history then this is a must see I all was enjoy going there. They hold ghost nights and other functions as well as tours of the homesteads. Well worth it

I really enjoyed the building and hearing the history of the building and what the owners (past and present) have done. I found the ghost focus a little over the top personally, but others enjoyed this I think. The room we were in downstairs was quite basic and beds not comfortable. I believe the upstairs were better from what the group we were with said.

Thanks to the Family for having us at their home, cooking for us and guiding us around their property. I did enjoy the Homestead and our sleepover mostly due to our group of friends( we always have a good time). Because of that it is difficult to write the following. Everything needs a makeover/clean (lots of money I expect). And I hope the homestead gets the love & attention it deserves. The tour itself needs to focus on the History of Monte Cristo & as factual as possible. Some stories told on the tour quite frankly were irrelevant, confusing & unnecessary. Smaller night tours would be better. I didn't see or hear anything ghostly however others in our group say they did. I personally enjoyed the following day wandering around the house/ property on our own and would recommend that over a tour. You need to remember this is a family home so there's no staying up late drinking and running around at night ghost hunting( BUMMER).. Go and visit if you've been thinking about it. NO REGRETS.

We loved the historic buildings and equipment. We enjoyed the gift shop. Great for families and friends.

We arrived with excitement and fun on our mind......WRONG. We paid $125.00 for a cold ordinary meal in a dirty shabby old backroom. Lectures and more lectures on DON"T touch this DON"T that etc. Taken across to listen to a video...told don't move ...cameras and Laurance watching. Six people in our group 5 told to sit at one table the other to sit over on another table. Treated like children herded like sheep. I have never written a complaint before but felt this was so very bad I didn't want anyone else getting ripped off like our group was. We heard more about "Laurance and his family woes than anything about the house.

We went with two other couples we had a good time and enjoyed our stay. Sure it's not 4 or 5 star but it's all part of the experience, the food was ok nothing fancy but generous homely cooking Byo allowed. Our tour had 19 other people in it all friendly and ready to mingle with others. The rooms need a bit of updating but all together a fair price for all included stay.

Beautifully restored and presented. Enthusiastic welcome. Free to wander at your own pace. Also gardens, stables/carriage, ballroom and original small house. Got lost in the atmosphere.

Just spent the weekend in this beautiful house and its very friendly owners .We got there Saturday afternoon and got settled in then went for a walk around the yard and buildings out the back .A group of 8 of us had this booked for about 6 months and it was everything we expected it to be .Had a great home cooked meal cooked by the owners , then a bit of a run down and history on the place by Lawrence before the tour .We took around 350 photos between me and my wife and didn't realize what we had captured until we got home and put them on our computer .After the tour we all went straight to bed where some of us slept soundly and others were a bit nervy , the rooms and beds were comfortable .We woke in the morning to bacon , eggs and hash browns for breakfast served up by Olive the owner who is a very delightful woman who was kind enough to sit with us for a chat before we had a look inside the house in the day time . I have read some of the negative reviews and for the 8 of us none of us had a bad word to say about the place or the family . We all thought it was worth the 5 hour trip and would do it again and would recommend it to anyone who is in to this kind of stuff ,and would like to thank the Ryan family for there hospitality .

A beautiful old mansion, full of period furnitues, glass, paintings, etc. Self-guided tours. Many out-buildinds to explore as well. Old carriages were interesting. Beautiful garden.