Perched on a hill overlooking the railway town of Junee in southern New South Wales, the Monte Cristo Homestead has long claimed to be Australia’s most haunted house.

For the past 63 years, people have travelled from far and wide to visit the 140-year-old Victorian manor, drawn by whispers of ghostly encounters and chilling folklore.

The house is now on sale after the death of its former owner, with Junee Mayor Bob Callow saying its peculiar history was an attraction.

“People have said yes, they have experienced things here,” he said.

“It has obviously drawn the attention of people with that sort of interest.”

Bedroom in victorian manor style home with doll sitting on bed

One of the bedrooms inside the Monte Cristo mansion in Junee.  (ABC Riverina: Jostina Basta)

Cr Callow hopes any future buyers of the iconic house will honour its legacy.

“It would be hard for the town if someone came and just turned it into a house or an Airbnb,” he said.

“To have it come back as a tourism venue would be the best outcome.”An image of an Victorian style homestead taken from above by a drone

The Monte Cristo Homestead overlooks the railway town of Junee in southern New South Wales. (Supplied: Ray White Junee)

From a slab hut to a mansion

The property started as a small slab hut, but Christopher Crawley and his wife Elizabeth turned the property into a Victorian-styled manor in 1885, where they raised their seven children.

At the time, the property was a testament to the couple’s growing wealth and success, becoming a status symbol and one of the region’s social centres, according to the homestead’s official website.

The Crawleys hosted balls for the town’s wealthy and powerful.

A man in glasses with his hands in front of him standing in front of a brick homestead.

Bob Callow is hoping the next owners will breathe new life into the famous homestead. (ABC News: Rachel Holdsworth)

Cr Callow said the homestead was not the only legacy the Crawleys had left the town.

“They built the big Junee Hotel, they had a general store next door, and a theatrette,” he said.

“They did a lot of things for the town itself.”

Tragedy struck the family after Mr Crawley died of blood poisoning. Other family members also experienced untimely ends within the homestead’s walls. 

A smiling woman stands in front of a brick building

Gail Commens is the secretary of Junee’s Roundhouse Railway Museum.  (ABC News: Jostina Basta)

Gail Commens, from the town’s Roundhouse Railway Museum, said as a local for more than 70 years, she had heard many different stories from visitors and tourists over the years.

“People swear and declare that they’ve seen things, they’ve heard things, they’ve felt something on their shoulder, like a hand,” she said. 

“It’s what you believe, I guess.”

An oversized dining table in a room with red carpet

The Monte Cristo homestead is fitted out with Victorian-era furniture.  (Supplied: Ray White Junee)

Restoring an almost-demolished property

By the time the late Reginald Ryan and his wife Olive purchased the 18-room property, it had been abandoned for more than a decade and on the brink of collapse.

Cr Callow said the couple did a lot of work to restore the home to its former glory, adding their own unique touch.

And because Mr Ryan was a “great storyteller”, he turned the property’s history into a gripping tale.

“When they first picked it up, it was an absolute wreck … Reg rebuilt the place in such a way that it became an iconic part of the town and internationally known,” Cr Callow said.

two porcelain dolls in bonnets and white dresses

Dolls are the only current tenants in the homestead. (ABC News: Jostina Basta)

The couple turned the ramshackle mansion into a monument of the bygone Victorian era it was built in — both as an attraction and a home alongside their five children.

Visitors could book ghost tours in the homestead, or if they dared, stay overnight to fully immerse themselves in its history.

The tour organisers claimed multiple ghosts haunted the house, including the ghost of Christopher Crawley. 

Bedroom with manequin in corner and portraits hanging on wall

One of the bedrooms in the Monte Cristo mansion with portraits on the wall. (ABC Riverina: Jostina Basta)

Visitors have claimed to have had paranormal encounters, including objects moving on their own, figures visiting their bedrooms at night, ghostly apparitions and strange smells.

‘A pinnacle listing’ with an uncertain future  

Property manager Jason Barrett said it was not just the Monte Cristo’s “haunted” reputation that was part of the appeal.

Alongside the mannequins and dolls watching over visitors, whoever buys the house for the second time in its 140-year history will inherit its Victorian-styled decorative wallpaper, blood-red drapery curtains, quaint antiques and pink chandeliers.  

A bald man in a white shirt leaning on a pole.

Jason Barrett is a real estate agent at Ray White, Junee. (ABC News: Rachel Holdsworth)

Mr Barrett said the “one of a kind” listing had garnered lots of attention.

“I’ve been blown away by the interest … there’s been enquiries from right across the country,” he said.  

Mrs Commens said it would be a “shame for the whole town” if the house lost its rich history because many people visited other attractions in Junee during their stay. 

“Film crews came, people came all over the world to see it, and to see us … you don’t get a house like that everywhere,” she said.