Australia’s most haunted house, Monte Cristo, is for sale – realestate.com.au

It’s been called Australia’s most haunted house, and now Monte Cristo is looking for its next brave caretakers.

The haunted Victorian-era mansion in the NSW regional town of Junee is said to be haunted by at least ten ghosts – the souls of several residents who worked and lived in the property throughout its colorful 140-year history.

Thanks to generations of otherworldly stories, the 2.47 hectare estate just outside Wagga Wagga has become one of The Riverina’s most iconic estates, successfully operating as a museum and tourist attraction with regular tours and overnight stays.

The iconic homestead has the reputation of being Australia’s most haunted house. Image: realestate.com.au

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The homestead’s haunted houses are so legendary that Monte Cristo has attracted national and international attention through ghost tours and appearances on paranormal TV shows. Monte Cristo has appeared on programs such as A Big Country (1977), the reality game show Scream Test (2000), Ghost Hunters International (2010) and My Ghost Story (2013). It was also the subject of the mockumentary horror film Muirhouse (2012).

The stately two-storey residence at 1 Homestead Lane is built on a hill and has a commanding presence overlooking the town of Junee. Including several outbuildings, there are 18 bedrooms, five bathrooms, multiple kitchens, high ornate ceilings, original fireplaces, a ballroom, two reception rooms and an indoor swimming pool.

Selling agent Jason Barrett of Ray White Junee said the haunted property offers potential buyers the opportunity to create a monumental private family complex, a boutique accommodation, a tourism business or a heritage-focused restoration project (subject to approval).

The walk-in walk-out sale includes artwork, furniture and a large doll collection. Image: realestate.com.au

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For the first time in 63 years, Monte Cristo is being offered to the market on a “walk-in walk-out” basis, including antique furnishings, a large doll collection, works of art and several lifetimes of paraphernalia.

“Everyone in town knows this house, it put Junee on the map. I remember going on a ghost tour when I was younger, it’s an amazing place. It’s definitely a highlight of my career to represent the family with this,” Mr Barrett said.

Within days of listing, he said interested parties had already submitted bids of more than $1.6 million, which would set a new price record in June. The expressions of interest campaign closes on December 12.

“We have had people inspected who have done the tours themselves, but that aspect clearly does not deter them!”

The estate includes a large two-storey country house, the original home, outbuildings and grounds of over 2 hectares. Image: realestate.com.au

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Mr Barrett added that locals were keen for the house to remain accessible to visitors to Junee, a town of fewer than 5,000 permanent residents.

“I’m looking forward to seeing who the new owner might be, and finding out what they do with the property. It would be great to see it continue to be something that benefits Junee, as far as bringing people into town.”

The estate’s supernatural stories stem from a series of tragic incidents that have become local lore. Before pioneer and farmer Christopher William Crawley could build a house for his wife Elizabeth, a local Wiradjuri woman, and their seven children, the family of nine lived modestly in a small brick cottage, which still stands on the site.

Their fortunes changed in 1878, when the Great Southern Railway Line was built nearby and Crawley scraped together enough money to buy a license and build the Railway Hotel opposite the soon-to-open Junee Train Station.

The grand ballroom. Image: realestate.com.au

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Crawley became a wealthy man, but after his sudden death in 1910 from suspected blood poisoning, Elizabeth locked herself up for twenty years, spending most of her time in the attic where she had built a small chapel. She died in the house in 1933, aged 92.

The last members of the Crawley clan left the family estate in 1948. It was subsequently ravaged by time and vandals. According to a 1976 article in the Australian Women’s Weekly, the house was in such disarray that even the local Catholic church refused to take it over.

However, in 1963, Reginald and Olive Ryan purchased the abandoned and bat-infested house and restored Monte Cristo to its former glory, collecting several shocking stories along the way.

With historic features and the craftsmanship of a bygone era. Image: realestate.com.au

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After moving in, the Ryans noticed strange occurrences from day one. They said their cat and dog never wanted to come into the house, their chickens died mysteriously, as did a pet parrot. Sometimes lights that had been turned off would inexplicably come on.

Crawley is said to have impregnated two of his maids; one who died by falling from the balcony and her ghost apparently still haunts the porch, the second maid reportedly gave birth to an illegitimate son, Harold. As a young boy, Harold was hit by a coach and suffered head trauma, leaving him disabled for life. After his mother’s death, Harold was committed to an asylum, but he continues to haunt Monte Cristo, making his presence known through the sound of chains.

Even the carriage house has its paranormal tenants, including a young stable boy named Morris who died when the building caught fire under suspicious circumstances.

The farm once offered ghost tours and accommodation. Image: realestate.com.au

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Crawley’s granddaughter Ethel also died in the house in 1917 when her nanny dropped her on the stairs. The attendant claimed that an invisible force pushed her, and now, more than a century later, guests report the feeling of being pushed or feeling icy hands touching their palms.

The most recent ghost is believed to be Jack Simpson, a caretaker shot dead on the porch of Monte Cristo in 1960 by a troubled young resident who had seen Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho three times.

Reginald died in 2014 and Olive passed away late last year. Their children and grandchildren closed Monte Cristo to the public in January 2025 and said goodbye to the infamous estate.