St Bathans is a small village about 50km from Alexandra in central Otago. The town is a relic from the gold mining days of the nineteenth century. The village boasts a few buildings including the hotel ‘The Vulcan’, which dates back to 1882, and the post office which was built in 1909.

The hotel is a charming building and still operates today as a pub and accommodation. However if you decide to stay, be wary of being offered room number one! It is said that this room is haunted by a ‘lady of the night’ who was murdered there. If you arrive on an autumn day, with the sun shining and blue skies, the hotel doesn’t seem so scary at all, but tell children about the ghost and that is another story!

Kids Friendly NZ visited St Bathans and the Vulcan Hotel this autumn and, before we arrived, we told the children about the hotel’s ghost. Although all the children wanted to go and see the hotel, actually entering into the building was done with much reluctance. However, the bar person quickly won them over with the offer of lemonade. She then went on to tell us other ghost stories about the hotel and from around the town.

In one of those stories, a newly wed couple were sleeping in a cottage when one of them woke to find a man sitting next to their bed, typing on an old fashioned typewriter. However, when the lights came on he disappeared. That night, they heard footsteps and other strange noises. The following morning, they decided to swap rooms with their in-laws in the hope of a good night’s sleep. This time it was the in-laws who were woken by the mysterious man eith the typewriter.

In another story, she told of one guest who, over breakfast, complemented the owner of the Vulcan for the effort he made to entertain his guest. Somewhat confused, the owner asked what he was talking about. The guest replied that, late the previous evening, a gentleman, in olden-times clothing, had opened the door from the guest accommodation, nodded to the people in the bar and then closed the door behind him. The guest had demonstrated which way the door was opened when telling the story, only for the owner to shake his head and go to the door. He explained that the guest’s story was impossible because the door couldn’t open in that way and went on to show him so. I believe that guest didn’t stay another night at the hotel, even though he was booked in!

St Bathans isn’t all ghost stories though; it is a pleasant stop on your way to Alexandra or the art deco town of Ranfurly. There is the Blue Lake at St Bathans that gets its name because of the minerals in the water turning it blue. The lake is man-made and was the result of miners, back in 1863, levelling Kildare Hill which once stood about 120m high. This took many years and finally, in 1934, a 68m deep crater was formed, later filling up with water. This makes it a great place to cool your heels.
 

Pictures from top to bottom left: Lemonade outside the Vulcan Hotel, the Post Office, Blue Lake, relaxing in the sun, historical street in St Bathans.