Meet Fishers Ghost

When Fred Fisher vanished in 1826, most people in the small village of Campbelltown believed he’d simply moved on. But when local farmer John Farley staggered into a hotel one night screaming that he’d seen the ghost of Fisher sitting on a bridge railing, the truth of his mysterious disappearance soon emerged.

It took a week for Farley to calm down and explain to the local magistrate that the ghost of Fisher had pointed to a paddock opposite the creek on which the bridge was located. ‘My horse reared up at the sight of him. A horse won’t pass a ghost. As surely as I’m standing here, it was Fisher for sure.’

A search party was quickly organized, blood stains were found on the railing where Fisher had supposedly sat, and his battered body was soon located in a shallow grave by police and Aboriginal trackers in the exact same paddock the ghostly figure had indicated.

The coroner concluded Fisher had been clubbed to death.

A friend of Fisher - George Worrall - was soon arrested. He’d given himself away by trying to pass a forged document that stated Fisher had left him the deeds to his farm.

Worrall was found guilty and hanged in Sydney.

But this was just the beginning of what has become one of Australia’s most celebrated ghost stories.

Each November since 1956, Campbelltown has celebrated the legend of Fredrick Fisher with a street parade, the prestigious Fishers Ghost Art Award, and fireworks.

AN INTRODUCTION TO FRED

Before Kylie-Anne Barr became a radio host - see Ghosts And Psychics Rock Radio Hosts - she was heavily involved with the Campbelltown Theatre Group. This was also when she first met Mr. Fisher – or as he is more commonly known, Fishers Ghost.

‘The old town hall at Campbelltown had been refurbished and transformed into a theatre for aspiring actors and dancers,’ Kylie-Anne said.

‘When I first started attending the theatre, one of the girls introduced me to an invisible guy called Fred. I laughed because I thought she was joking. The girl then explained that if you weren’t introduced to Fred he would cause problems while you were rehearsing.’

On several occasions, Kylie-Anne witnessed strange events take place in that old refurbished theatre.

‘I remember one time in particular when we were rehearsing on stage and the lights suddenly switched off. I actually saw the light switch flick.

‘We all yelled at Fred to turn the lights back on so we could finish our rehearsal. And the lights instantly came on. It was common to see the light switch flick up and down on its own or to hear footsteps when no-one was around, but everyone knew Fred was a friendly ghost, so when we heard or saw these things we just said hello.’

Kylie-Anne did recall one situation that caused her heart to flutter a little faster than normal.

‘There was this long piece of wood leaning up against a wall in the theatre,’ she said. ‘I don’t know why, but I felt compelled to look at it and, as I watched, it moved away from the wall as if it was going to fall backwards. But instead of falling it just hovered in the air and suddenly crashed onto the floor. I yelled at Fred to stop scaring me, and then he picked the piece of wood up and placed it back against the wall. I think that was when I really began to believe in ghosts.’

Apparently Fred Fisher was murdered on the adjoining block of land and has made the theatre his home.