Grampians: J Ward Lunatic Asylum Ghost Tour

I am incredibly disappointed with our experience with this company I booked and paid for a tour specifically as something special for our family to do over Father’s Day weekend, which was also our last weekend in Adelaide before heading home. I had saved the money for this experience and my children were really looking forward to it. The company accepted my booking and payment, only to cancel the tour on the very same day. I immediately requested a refund because I wanted to use that money to organise something else for my family. I was told that the refund had been processed and was given a timeframe for the money to be returned. Despite those assurances, the money was still not back in my account when expected, leaving us without the tour AND without access to the money I had set aside to make alternative plans. What has made the whole experience even more concerning is what I discovered afterwards. When I started looking online, I was genuinely shocked by the number of recent reviews and reports from other customers describing horrible experiences and various issues with this company. I really wish I had seen them before making my booking. I have now lodged formal consumer complaints regarding my experience and have kept copies of the booking, cancellation, payment and refund correspondence For us, this wasn’t simply a tour being cancelled. They took payment, cancelled the service the same day, and I was then left waiting for my own money to be returned during the very weekend I had saved it for. A hugely disappointing and stressful experience, and based on what I have since read from other recent customers, I would strongly recommend doing your research and reading the most recent reviews before booking.

The people were extremely knowledgeable and we learnt so much. We also had a good laugh, but we really enjoyed it. Was even better with the rain- gave an extra spook factor

Very informative and interactive to open our minds to a new experience. Loved it. Great guides and history.

This tour is definitely worth the visit, hearing all the crazy stories and people that once lived in the J Ward are very fascinating, I genuinely would definitely come again myself! It’s amazing how everything is basically the same as it was when it shut down. The tour guide is absolutely lovely and very welcoming! Overall the tour is absolutely amazing, I very much recommend taking a visit!

You get an amazing insight to what heard and its occupants were really about. The history was awesome to hear. The museum had some really awesome items as well.

Worst tour EVER ,we were only allowed in one cell not allowed to walk around no activity that couldn’t be debunked there’s definitely no paranormal activity the story of the actual prison would have made it ok except we were only told about one or 2 emf detectors debunked by copper wire in taps etc

Excellent night. The tour guides were really informative and fun. The stories are interesting and lots of activity while ghost hunting.

Great tour, great group. Cool to have ghost detection devices as they really worked. Our guides were amazing and were very passionate about the Goal/Asylum so the stories that were told were very interesting. You could imagine what it would have been like. I highly recommend the tour. Thanks guys for the cool experience.

My daughter and I attended the Ghost Tour on Friday the15th of November. We love the tour our guided was very knowledgeable and great fun.

This is an interesting and informative tour, which gives a concise and detailed history about J Ward's infamous past. It is a little confronting when you hear about some of the detainees stories, which are well presented by the guides. You receive access into a lot of areas inside the asylum, which itself is a wonderful and historic collection of buildings, including the underground kitchens. We didn't find any ghosts, despite our best efforts with the divining rods, but this makes the two hour tour a bit of fun and lightens the experience which is good.

This was a really good experience. The host was great, very spiritual but not over the top. It's a shame that there were so many rude people trying to be funny and talk over the top of her, but she definitely handled it well.

Best ghost tour of the town, couldn't recommend this enough, both Sandra and Graham did an amazing job with the tour and shared so much insite into the history of the place. A few ghostly experiences enough to make the hairs stand up. Overall 10/10..

J Ward was a psychiatric institution in Ararat. J Ward was mainly for the criminally insane. Since the inpatients were transferred to other institutions, J Ward has been opened up for ghost tours. This former "lunatic asylum" is a reminder of the ethical challenges involved in the mental health involved in this forensic mental hospital in Ararat. The ghost tour can be a bit alarming, but it arouses your interest and curiosity; it's definitely worthwhile.

A great history lesson about the place and some people that were there, No scary stuff occurred while we were there but still it was a fun night

It was definitely an experience for the whole family to enjoy. The 2 hours night tour was very well paced for time. Watching the short video of actual inmates truely bought the moment to life. One of my group was fortunate to feel a spirit in the kitchen area.

Bought tickets, organised accommodation in Ararat, took time off work, drove from Melbourne, turned up early for tour, there was no one there. Tour had been cancelled and we weren’t informed. Really disappointed, rang on return to Melbourne, no one could help, no one would even refund my money!

We had a great group of people and funny, informative and friendly guides. Very entertaining and informative night out.

Absolutely fantastic. Highly recommend you do this tour as well as Aradale. The history behind J-Ward and the inmates is something we should all learn about. Respect the history for the time it was open.

I loved learning about J Ward from a historical perspective. It's history and the role it has played in terms of housing the "criminally insane" is in itself both sad and compelling. I think that the preservation of the buildings, cells and surrounding structures is paramount to Ararat and it represents a key tourist attraction. I also felt that the building itself is both claustrophobic and disturbing, making the additional "ghost related" activities somewhat unnecessary. The use of diving rods and so on, was I felt a little gimicky and really didn't add to the experience at all. The hosts were fantastic, very knowledgeable and told the story beautifully. I also thought that the scariest person there was the lady who held the keys, didn't speak a word all night, just threw out the odd smile but didn't engage with anybody. Could this be the one and only true ghost at J Ward?

We enjoyed learning the very tragic history. Particularly the absurd treatment of the men who were sentenced. The girls who conducted the tour keep close to facts, and had all the tour intrigued with the incidents that have and still occur

This tour was amazing. So much history. The tour guides were great at recalling the history of the Asylum. Had lots of experiences that I can not explain. Anyone likes history and paranormal experiences, this place is a must.

You could feel the energy through the hole place. Mr butcher in the kitchen was pretty out there. What a great night

Just fascinating. The guides really know the history of J Ward, before when it was a jail and when it became an asylum. Very interesting and informative.

Night tour its the best ghost tour ive been on yet and i ak coming back on the weekend Saturday night with my sister

Experience was amazing, the whole family enjoyed the night. Lots of details of life behind the bars of J Ward. Stories of hauntings and terrible tales.

Our group of 14 did the ghost tour on a Saturday night. We had 2 great guides who were very knowledgeable and really brought the stories from the asylum to life. Everything does seem eerier at night! Highly recommended if you are staying in or around Ararat.

Excellent tour, well worth a visit. Very interesting, tour guides were very knowledgeable on history of J Ward and the local area

It was an interesting history lesson. I felt sad for the inmates but then that was how way-wood criminals were treated back in the time. Interesting hearing about some of the characters that were housed in J ward. We caught a couple of apparitions in a couple of photos that we took.