Mention Kellie's Castle to most Malaysians, and first thing that comes to their minds will be the mystery that surrounds it.
If you crave for a new “out of this world” experience other than your normal outdoor, nature and adventure activities during your vacation, if you are a thrill seeker, one who is adventurous, bold and brave, than you might want to seriously consider taking up the challenge to experience a paranormal adventure with the recently launched “Paranormal Night Tour at Kellie’s Castle” by Tourism Malaysia and Tourism Perak.
Launched on the 28th February 2014, the Paranormal Night Tour Kellie’s Castle aims to be one of the top tourism products in Perak and hopefully in Malaysia for its uniqueness and one level of a whole new tourism experience.
We were lucky to be invited to attend the launch and also to experience first-hand of this paranormal adventure. Kellie’s Castle or also known as Kellie’s Folly surrounding by the river is located near Batu Gajah, Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia. The unfinished, ruined mansion was built by a Scottish planter called William Kellie Smith. It is said that the mansion was either a gift for his wife Agnes or a home for his son. Either way, the mansion was never completed due to the Spanish flu that was spread to his construction workers. In 1926, William Kellie Smith himself died of pneumonia during a short trip to Portugal. His heartbroken wife decided to move back to Scotland and sold the estate and Kellie’s Castle to a British company called Harrisons and Crossfield.
It has been
rumored that during certain time of the day especially from 5.30pm to 7.30pm
and around 2am to 3am, the paranormal entities would come out and wonders
around the castle. Kellie’s Castle has
been recognized as the top 5 providing the most “haunted” paranormal experience
in Malaysia by Expedia and the Paranormal Investigators from the US. Impressive
isn’t it?
En. Zamari
Hj Muhyi, the General Manager of Kellie’s Castle Malaysia also shared his
spooky experience when he came across the infamous “Mr Gopal” believed to be
one of the workers at the mansion managing the Linen Room.
By now we
were having goose bumps all over our body.
The launch
of the event was held at the newly renovated Kellie’s Castle Tourism Complex at
about 10pm. It was launched by the representative of the Batu Gajah Perak’s
Municipal Council.
As soon as
the launch was over, it was time for us, the media, to experience this
Paranormal Night Tour for the first time in history. We will be the first in
Malaysia and in the world to experience the Paranormal Adventure in Kellie’s
Castle.
We were
informed by En. Zamuri, that there were 4 locations in the mansion believed to
be the main area where these paranormal entities love to wonder and “play”; the
linen room, the Wine Cellar, Helen; the daughter of William Kellie Smith’s
bedroom and the balcony of William Kellie Smith’s room. Some claimed to see William
standing on his balcony. Some said they could here very slow and eerie chanting
of rhythms by the workers. “Mr. Gopal” was said to have “cried in anguish”. Not
to mention hearing the eerie female laughter near the horses’ stables. Helen
has been reported to be haunting her bedroom in her white blouse and curly
hair. If that do not give you the goose bumps, I don’t know what will.
By now all
of us were having mixed thoughts and emotions. A mixture of fear, anticipation,
excitement and thrilled to see what’s going to happen next. Some of us even
decided not to go due to the possibility of encountering these paranormal
entities.
But honestly
there were nothing to worry about as various safety measures and strict
precautions were taken during the tour.
We were formed into 3 groups of 8 to 10 persons per group. The first group will have the short 15 to 20 minutes tour around the mansion. The other 2 groups will have the full blown 35 to 45 minutes to an hour experience whereby they will eventually be separated into twos and placed at various “haunted” locations in the mansion for 10 to 15 minutes depending on their request.
I opted for
the first group as I was more interested in touring around the castle. Briefed
by the experienced tourist guide, Eurish, we were then given small headlights
and torch lights each and some safety instructions. We will always be
supervised by two experienced tour guides to ensure our safety throughout the
tour.
The
Paranormal Night Tour journey begins. We began walking through the bridge
heading towards the mansion. It was pitching black as the mansion’s lights were
switched off to provide us the real “spooky” environment of the castle.
The only
thought I had was to capture as much photos of everything and anything of the
castle. I was mesmerized by the beauty of the
architecture and landscape of the castle having some Indian influence to it.
The bricks used to build the Castle were imported from India. No paranormal
entities could stop me to savor this wonderful building in front of me :-P
If you’re looking for a real spooky encounter with the paranormal entities, Kellie’s Castle is the place you should go to. Crazy it may seem but it is an adventure you should experience at least once in your lifetime.
The tour is
available to you 4 days in a month. The first 2 days would be held on the first
week of each month and the other 2 days on the fourth week. This was to ensure the
exclusivity of the tour and not exceeding 40 pax per night.
You may
contact Kellie’s Castle Malaysia (Kellie’s Castle Tourism Complex) at +605 –
365 3381 or email them at kelliescastle1108@yahoo.com for further information and
reservations.
We would like to thank Kellie’s Castle Malaysia
and Tourism Perak for their kind hospitality and hopefully the Paranormal Night
Tour at Kellie’s Castle will be one of the top tourist spots in Malaysia.
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