Haunted North Lodge, Johannesburg, South Africa
1906, 17 Victoria Avenue designed by Henry Aldwyncle
The building, designed by Herbert J Aldwyncle, was completed in 1906 for HS Wilson. This quaint design sought to imitate the elements of a French castle from the late Gothic era, resulting in a romantic structure unique of its kind, which rapidly became an important landmark in the suburb. It was declared a National Monument under old NMC legislation on 17 December 1982.
Often described as Parktown most romantic, this house was modeled on period French castles. Its Conical Towers were unfortunately removed for structural reasons. The house was built for Henry S. Wilson, a tradesman often known as the ‘Oats King’. It is owned by the University of the Witwatersrand and used as a residence. The house has undergone minor renovations since its construction, which revealed two small, hidden rooms in the lodge framework, supposedly used for religious purposes.
North Lodge is lesser known for its reports of haunting by university residents, particularly in the latter half of the 20th century.Up until the late 1970s, residents complained of temperature changes, inexplicable knocking sounds,strange music, poltergeist activity, and an intense evil presence felt in the lodge body. In March 1965, attention was drawn to North Lodge when residents James Earle Cunning and Jonathon Riley, who shared a room on the second floor, left the Lodge abruptly, complaining of visual apparitions of an “older woman in a black cloak and a girl in a white dress”. Other reports of evil disturbances followed, but they were dismissed as stories.
The university of the Witwatersrand has never investigated the claims dismissing them as superstition…
