Country's parliament gives after-hours ghost tours of mysterious deaths, strange noises

Politics can be scary.New Zealand’s parliament conducts after-hour tours of “mostly factual” legends that occurred in its halls, which center around mysterious deaths, unexplained noises, deadly storms and ghostly apparitions.The weekly spooky tours — based on tales that have been circulating among political staffers for decades — are held in the parliament buildings in Wellington, and tour guides dress in Victorian-era garb and cover their faces in fake blood.“This is your last chance to back out,” guide Lisa Brand said at the start of a recent tour.One of the tour’s stops is its library — rumored to be haunted — which has been plagued by two fires, a flood, and a feral cat infestation since being built in 1883.Although staff still utilize it for research, night shift security guards and cleaners are said to be fearful of the library.Another topic on the tour is the ghosts of former lawmakers, said to haunt the space, such as William Larnach, who was found dead in a room at parliament with a revolver in his hand.His skull was stolen and close to a century later, found in a college student’s bedroom.The parliament’s first full-time librarian, Ewen McColl, whose death was partly attributed to him being overworked, is also said to haunt its halls.Urban legends have also been passed down about the building’s basement, which include stories of hands reaching out from the stacks, songs coming from empty bathrooms, the appearance of a ghostly woman in a mirror, and locked doors suddenly swinging open.

The building was also hit by a terrible storm in 1968 — sinking a passenger ferry and killing 53 — which tore out its skylights and caused librarians to scale the roof in an attempt to protect their books.“For mysterious and unknown reasons they did this in their underwear,” a guide told visitors.“There seems to be a history of people losing their pants here in this parliament.”Guides give regular tours daily, but the spooky ones are ...