J Ward Ghost Tour - Lantern Ghost Tours — Attraction in Ararat

J Ward... What Can I say...I should have known something would be lacking when I walked up to the reception and the man who was working there (later to be part of the tour) was wearing those goofy demon contacts in his eyes. Already cheapened the experience. I mean if he was going to dress up or be "gimmicky", at least make it relevant (prisoner outfit, guard uniform etc...). There's a way to be theatrical that works. Overall, it was an interesting place but I believe I did not get the most out of it.

Also, starting the tour an hour later (8:30) was a bit annoying as well when you plan on a 7:30 start. It just annoys me a bit that i planned my day around that starting time and I could have gotten a bit more in to the Ararat trip. "Due to daylight saving's" was the guide's explanation... You would think that they could plan for this and advertise times accordingly if they wanted to wait until darkness... Daylight saving's is not a new thing.

Firstly, the tour tried to combine investigatory aspects which just doesn't work well unless, as a tour guide, you are ready to make sure everyone can stay quiet at times. Either have a tour, or have an investigation. Generally you'll have two different types of audiences for each and the audience for one may not suit the other. I understand it is for entertainment purposes, but this was just run poorly and it confused the whole premise.

The guides themselves... The lead lady was nice enough but either she was trying to be clever or trying to be funny when she was talking and kept giving dramatic pauses and the stories just dragged on. In some areas, I believe this was more due to the fact that she just wasn't remembering the right information so she was trying to make up for it. It really took you out of the moment and out of the atmosphere. I walked away with really not much knowledge. If the stories were just succinct, it would have been better. Her assistant guide (the guy with the demon contacts in his eyes) was too busy trying to scare the guests to add anything of value. He was purposely hiding in doors and at one point literally told someone not to tell the group he was there so he could try and scare the group. REALLY cheapens the whole experience and to be honest, it's a bit disrespectful to the history of the place.

Overall, I think guides need to know how to keep the group's attention and if you want to investigate, fine... do it... bit do it with a plan. Guides should be a bit more serious... or at least know fully what they are talking about to convey information in a good way. I get it... I used to be a tour guide myself in a historical village. There is a lot of info but instead of trying to convey each and every word, learn a few key things first and become good at conveying them.

I was at Aradale the night before and the professionalism there was miles ahead of J Ward which was ultimately a let down. I do believe the guides themselves were nice enough but their professionalism lacked greatly. I had really high hopes for this after Aradale but just fell short...

A big thank you to the guides for an interesting and engaging tour. It was informative, lots of stories, and it was experiential: I loved the use of the dowsing rods and the EMF readers during the 2-hour general tour. Not sure if this is what usually happens but it was a surprise, and having the equipment during the tour around the place in the dark made the experience memorable.

I found the group size just large enough, around 20-22 people, and we all seemed to be able to share at least one of the pieces of equipment.

My daughter and I did the 3 hour evening tour, which included the extra hour to do our own 'paranormal' experience. We were able to walk around and explore the place and use the equipment by ourselves (without the guides) and this was great! We were in the dark and could take our time. The guides were nearby if we needed to call out for assistance.

We went into the tour without any expectations or knowledge of the place. It IS a history tour with added spooky elements. The ghosts/spirits do not turn up on demand or perform :) And in saying that, we did have some experiences during this tour: unexplained loud banging noises outside during the gallows story, rattling windows, my dowsing rods were highly active all night, and EMF reader in the kitchen area - not to mention I felt faint, teary and very 'off' in the kitchen area. Thanks to the guides who were looked out for me during this time.

A big thanks also to the people of Ararat for keeping the history of J-Ward accessible to so many. Like one of the reviewers here has said it's important that we don't forget the history of how we treated mentally unwell people. And J-Ward has a sad history.

Overall, a memorable...

Bit of a disappointment, on the website it says 16 and over yet on our tour we had a kid that was about 8, and at least 3 other kids that couldn't have been older than 14, could barely hear the guide as the family that had 3 of these kids which included the youngest were very loud and wouldn't stop talking until told to be quiet, the tour guide even threatened at least 2 times that she would split the group up which I really think she should have as a few other people were getting annoyed, the group size was too large as well and would have been way better if it was split up as everytime we tried to have a look at something you had a person either in the way or pushing to have a look, also would have much rathered they skipped the movie/interview completely at the end and let us have more time looking at the rooms/areas and more history told by the guide as the last thing you do is sit down for 10-15mins watching this extremely boring interview that I and others were zoning out on. Out of all the ghost tours I have done this was by far the worst one which is such a disappointment as it should have been one of the better ones

UPDATE As you have now added a comment 11months later I will still stand by saying the interview should be removed at the end if you really want to show it you should do it at the start when people start to arrive and everyone is just waiting around that would make more sense and gives people something to do while waiting for the late comers and doesn't ruin the vibe at the end...