Studley Park House – NSW

Studley Park House – NSW

Studley Park House is a Victorian mansion located in a place called Narellan South West of Sydney. Built in 1889 by businessman William Charles Payne, however was sold to The Camden Grammar School Headmaster Dr Henry Oliver in 1902 and was then used as a school. In 1909 a 14yr old schoolboy Ray Blackstone and a few of his friends decided to go for a swim in the local dam, despite numerous warnings of the dangers. While trying to swim from one side to the other, Ray drowned. His body was brought ashore by senior students and was then stored in the basement until burial. In 1933 the house was sold to Twentieth Century Fox Australia Sales Manager Arthur Adolphus Gregory who converted the student’s dining room into a theatrette and created a golf course in the surrounding land; however disaster struck in 1939 when his son died in the theatrette from appendicitis and his body was also stored in the basement awaiting burial. It is said these boys now keep each other company forever at the house and are heard causing a nuisance and scurrying around the bedrooms. There is also a lonely old woman who is often seen in the tower. The Department of Defense took over the property when World War II started and turned it into a training facility. In 2001 it was the location for filming of “Scream Test”, a psychological reality game show. Participants were locked in the house for the night while cameras filmed them. One contestant was too spooked and could not continue the challenge, and another said she heard a baby crying from the corner of the room. The Camden Golf Club purchased Studey Park House in 1996, and in 2014 it runs ghost tours every second Friday night.