THE history of Raymond Terrace is thick with dark and creepy stories and one man is convinced past incidents have led to a rise in paranormal activity in the area.
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While criminal activity is common in many of the Hunter's towns and suburbs, Murray Byfield believes victims in Raymond Terrace have stayed behind.
Murders, suicides and sexual assaults litter the former river port's early history.
Historian and storyteller Mr Byfield has been digging to uncover the murky details.
"There is so much history but no one knows anything about it," he said.
"I thought it deserved a bit of attention and decided to tell stories about the town's beginnings and the people that once lived here."
Mr Byfield has mixed criminal stories with well-known ghost tales to provide the Apparitions Ghost Tour, which is run from his paranormal shop in William Street, Raymond Terrace.
A beer-drinking ghost, a man whacked to death by an Aboriginal hammer and the sad tale of a girl sexually assaulted and drowned on the riverbank are some of the tales included in the tour.
"I'd say there's probably been more suicides than murders in Raymond Terrace," Mr Byfield said.
"There's a few reports of people rising early in the morning and throwing themselves in the river.
"They used to tie rope around one wrist and the other end around the thigh so they couldn't swim.
"Those souls usually stick around."
The river is clearly a source of intense paranormal activity, Mr Byfield says, as well as the old Masonic Centre.
He said a "lady in white" can often be seen roaming along Riverside Park.
"I believe she's called Kelly and she was sexually assaulted in 1936, and thrown into the river," he said.
"A lot of elderly people here remember when it happened and there's been quite a few sightings."
