Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
Parliament Library Became Haunted House For Halloween
By Louis Collins for The House
In politics, they say you shouldn't have any skeletons in your closet. But what about in your Parliament?
For Halloween, Parliament's visitor centre - which usually runs daytime tours for members of the public - ran a ghost tour of the Parliamentary Library. The library is the oldest of the buildings that comprise Wellington's parliamentary precinct along with the Beehive and Parliament House, and is also where there have been the most reports of paranormal activity.
A team of Parliament's tour guides assumed the role of Victorian-era ghosts for the night, as they led a group of visitors on a jumpscare-filled journey through the old library. The gothic revival architecture made for a spooky setting to hear stories of supernatural sightings.
As we walked around the old building, the ghosts tour guides, offered ghostly anecdotes in the form of poems. Here's an example:
"If you should feel you're being watched
Listen for the faintest sound of a shot
Poor William Larnach took his own life
To escape the ruin caused by his wife.
The need to maintain at any cost
The illusion that none of his worth had been lost
Exacted a heavy toll and we fear
Lead to a bullet hole, right through here."
That haunting poem talks of William Larnach, the same Larnach as the castle in Dunedin.
The former MP served six terms in Parliament, and is perhaps the most famous of the building's alleged ghosts.
After the deaths of his first and second wives, Larnach married Constance, in 1891. Constance was in her early thirties - around the same age as his children. That same year, his favourite daughter died of typhoid.
The word around town was that Larnarch's son, Douglas was having an affair with his new stepmother. All of this, as well as impending bankruptcy was too much for Larnarch and on 12 October 1898 he was found dead in Committee Room J, with a revolver in his hand.
Through the years, generations of security guards have told stories of seeing Larnach and hearing doors opening mysteriously as they locked up for the night in the library.
Halloween is done and dusted for 2024 and Parliament is returning for another sitting block, but they are returning to a precinct with almost as many ghost stories as there have been Prime Ministers. Our House: a place to watch democracy in action, and get spooked.
RNZ
New Zealand's public broadcaster, providing comprehensive NZ news and current affairs, specialist audio features and documentaries.
Radio New Zealand is a Crown entity established under the Radio New Zealand Act 1995. Radio New Zealand News are vital elements in our programming, providing impartial news and information to New Zealanders every day. Radio New Zealand (RNZ) provides listeners with exciting and independent radio programmes in accordance with the Radio New Zealand Charter.
Gordon Campbell: Gordon Campbell On The Folly Of Making Apologies In A Social Vacuum.
Cooper Legal: Censorship Is Alive And Well In New Zealand
NZ Government: NZ Signs Trade Deal With Costa Rica, Iceland And Switzerland
Forest And Bird: Modernisation Of Conservation System Must Focus On Improving Conservation
NZCTU: Uniformed Defence Force Should Not Be Used As Strike Breakers
MetService: Damp Start To Canterbury Anniversary Weekend; Wet Start For Coldplay Fans In Auckland
RNZ: Senior Lawyers Call For Treaty Principles Bill To Be Abandoned
