The Simon's Town Ghostwalk: Fascinating in All the Ways I Didn't Expect

"Weirdest Friday night of my life"- That's how my friend Bron described the night in which I treated her to a Simon’s Town Ghostwalk.

 

It was pretty weird, but not in the ways you might think.

If you want to know what to expect from a Simon's Town Ghost Walk and some of the eery locations you may visit on a tour of what is probably South Africa's most haunted town, read on:

What I was expecting:

You know the typical ghost story:

Once upon a time, a person had a strange encounter with another person. This strange person had a (insert distinctive idiosyncrasy or item of clothing here). Then he/she/they mysteriously disappeared. 

The person who had the encounter starts asking questions about the person with the (insert the same distinctive idiosyncrasy or item of clothing here) only to find out that that person died or experienced a massive tragedy before dying in the exact spot where the other person just encountered them. 

I was expecting a series of stories like that about specific former residents of Simon’s Town haunting specific buildings for specific reasons. I guess, as a writer, I always want everything to be direct and straightforward, every story should have a beginning, a middle and an end and be guided by logic. But that's not how life works ...even when it comes to the dead. 

What I experienced:

Andre blowing my mind with historical facts about Simon's Town

The tour guide Andre and his vast knowledge of Simon's Town were possibly the most interesting things about the whole tour. 

While he often does walking tours, on this particular Friday night, the rest of the tour cancelled at the last minute and my friend Bron and I were treated to a private tour. This meant that we weren’t confined to strictly a walking tour but could also travel by car to places that may have been hard to reach on foot in a large group. 

We didn’t get far from the meeting point before Andre started explaining the historical significance of buildings I had walked past 100 times before. 

Did you know Simon’s Town had a Time Ball? Well, it does. I guess, a similar concept to the one in Times Square, but this one was dropped not so much at midnight on New Year’s Eve (although there's an idea for you, Simon’s Town) but more like at mid-day to inform the sailors in ships in the bay of the time.

Interesting, yes. But is it haunted?

Probably not. 

Simon's Town's Time ball

Mass grave / Construction site

The first creepy site Andre took us to was a building site where construction was halted in 2019 due to the discovery of the remains of 90 people in a shallow grave. Well, that escalated quickly! Yes, yes it did. The bodies are presumably from the 18th century. 

According to this article, in the 1780s, a 10-vessel expedition ship had seen 43% of its sailors contract a disease or diseases.  When the ships docked, the hospital was not able to handle all the patients. As a result, many died and were buried in a shallow mass grave.

 

Simon’s Town Battery (Not usually part of the tour)

Then Andre took us to the Simon’s Town Battery. There weren’t many ghost stories here (or any) but it was fascinating to learn about Simon’s Town’s role in World War II. Considering the land is still part of the Simon’s Town naval base, it felt like we were trespassing on military property and the fact that we didn’t really see anyone around was quite eery. 

The Simon's Town Battery

The Admiralty House

We then went to the Admiralty house which is also part of the Naval base. This house dates back to the mid-18th century. It started off as a private residence and became property of the Admiralty in 1814 when it was used to house commanders-in-chief. It ultimately became the property of the South African navy and in more recent decades it has served as a venue for visitors and events. No one actually resides here. I couldn't help but wonder if the reason for that is because they're afraid of the ghosts. 

The history of this building is fascinating in its own right even without all the weird supernatural things that have happened here. But, speaking of weird supernatural things, a poltergeist is said to have thrown some things around and scared the poop out of some important man’s wife. And the ghosts of men in naval uniforms have also been seen on the stairs.

It is also rumoured that this house is connected to other historical Simon’s Town buildings via underground tunnels. - Now THAT is a tunnel tour I would really like to do!

The Admiralty House

The British Hotel

The British Hotel is a historical building that dates back to 1898. It was apparently damaged in 1971 and restored in 1991. It no longer functions as a hotel but is now said to consist of private suites. (I really would love to tour the interiors - not so much to see the ghosts, more because I think the architecture is fascinating.)

 

A woman is said to gaze out the window on occasion across the sea. It is rumoured to be a lady named Mary Kingsley. She is suspected of haunting a number of buildings in Simon’s Town but she did actually stay in this building so it seems more plausible than some of the other stories. 

The British Hotel

I googled her and she sounds fascinating:

Lady Mary Kingsley

Born in 1862, most women in her era were expected to marry, bear children and accomplish little else in life. Instead, this lady was something of a social outcast who was obsessed with reading and adventures. (Sounds like a real-life Disney princess, right?) At 30 she was still a spinster and in the 19th century, that was very old to still be unmarried. 

After her parents passed away she went to West Africa. She travelled from Sierra Leone to Angola, and lived among the indigenous people, learning about their cultures. She discovered fish specimens previously unknown in Western science and published two books about her travels. She went to Germany to do a nursing course and then came to South Africa to serve during the Anglo-Boer War in 1900. She stayed at the British Hotel and served at a hospital for Boer Prisoners Of War in Simon's Town. 

I kept waiting for a deeply tragic story of unrequited love or betrayal to explain why this woman is still around but I didn't get one. Various communicable diseases were rampant in the hospital where she served and she died of heart failure and enteric fever barely two months after she arrived on our shores at the age of 37. 

As an unmarried woman who spent her thirties travelling the world, I could relate. I personally think she was a pretty incredible human being, but what I can’t understand is why a famous explorer would want to haunt only one place (or multiple buildings in only one town) for the rest of their days. Simon's Town is great but if I were to become a ghost I would probably haunt Aruba. 

If she happened to be gazing out of the window on the night of our tour, no one would have noticed as a troupe of baboons came to greet diners in the restaurant downstairs. 

Other haunted buildings in Simon’s Town:

• The Simon’s Town Museum is apparently super haunted. Lady Mary Kingsley is also suspected of haunting this one.
• St. Francis of Assisi: The church (or the rectory of the church) next door to the Simons Town Museum is also said to be haunted. Also by a lady, if I remember correctly. 
• The Police Station: When the police station was built in the 1930s, dark dungeons with leg irons, chains and evidence of their use as a slave prison were discovered below it. Yikes! No wonder Simon's Town is so safe. Everyone's too scared to do anything that may get them detained in here.

The Simon's Town Police Station

The Lord Nelson Inn

The Lord Nelson Inn is a historical Inn in Simon’s Town. Or at least it used to be. (I believe now it is a rehab centre.) Back when it was still operational as an inn, it was here one morning that our tour guide Andre experienced the paranormal first-hand. He witnessed the opening and closing of doors on their own, something that could only be explained as paranormal activity. CCTV footage confirmed the occurrence. Despite this, he remained sceptical. 

As I said before, the most interesting thing about the tour was our guide. He shared during the course of the evening that he had once been homeless and had slept in a car in one of Simon’s Town's parking lots. Walking the streets, he knew many of the homeless by name. With the assistance of a fellow resident at a shelter he stayed in, he managed to qualify as a Western Cape Tour Guide. The shelter, Happy Valley, assisted him in getting his first job, leading to his current career. He explained how he worked his way out of poverty and even showed us where he stays now.

He also told us some of the stories of the people he met on his tours who "knew" things they could not have known, and how he ultimately came to believe in the same ghosts that draw his clientele.  

Andre's knowledge of Simon’s Town is profound and could only stem from a passion for the town. I feel I learnt about so much more than just the ghosts. (A lot of it I have since forgotten because the internet has turned my brain to mush and who needs to retain information when so much of it is google-able?) But Andre really makes the history of Simon's Town come alive and if you enjoy being fascinated, I recommend it. 

In so many ways Andre seemed to personify Simon’s Town itself. He has been through so much, there's so much more to him than meets the eye, he's resilient AF and when you hear his story, it's hard not to be impressed. 

What about the graveyard?

While the original plan was to go to the graveyard, as there was such a small group that night, it wasn't deemed safe. (Sadly, criminals in South Africa are more scary than ghosts.)

How the Ghost Tour Surprised Me 

• 👻  The Ghost Walk wasn't quite what I was expecting, but it was fascinating and eye-opening and very educational!
• 👻  I wasn't expecting to see such big guns so up close. - I would never have thought that these giant heritage weapons on Navy property were even accessible to the public. It felt like trespassing.
• 👻  I was expecting the ghosts to have more obvious reasons for any vexing from beyond the grave. 
• 👻  I wasn't expecting to see a ghost but I was hoping to see something weird or unexplainable ...like, maybe a ghost? 

We didn't see any ghosts but we did see:

• 👻  Underground ammunition storage rooms

• 👻  Simon's Town's canons, up close
• 👻  Baboons: 

• 👻  More baboons: - Hey, just because I live in Africa doesn't mean wild animals run rampant in the streets! ...often.

• 👻  And a super creepy mannequin (I presume) of Lord Nelson (I presume) at the Lord Nelson Inn: 

If you're intrigued, the best way to get a hold of Andre to book your own tour is through the Simon's Town Ghost Walk Facebook page. 

Other things to experience nearby: 

• The Boulders Penguin Colony
• The Simon's Town Scratch Patch
• The Scone Shack (a bit beyond Simon's Town)
• Snorkelling with octopuses 

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Related post: 

Strange and Unusual Things To Do in Cape Town

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