It may look like just a pleasant Victorian cottage, but this ornate, gothic facade is hiding a sinister secret. Built in 1869, Mortuary Station (otherwise known as Regent Street Station) looked after Sydney’s dead as they made their way to their final resting place at Rookwood Cemetery. Thousands of corpses have sat within its walls, awaiting their connection to the great beyond, but the building has also served a wild array of other functions since the Rookwood rail hearse was decommissioned in 1948. From a parcel dispatch station to a dog and horse loading bay and bizarrely a pancake restaurant, Mortuary Station has had a vibrant past, earning its heritage-listed status. Today, it’s mainly used as an occasional function venue, but spooky, after-dark tours also offer the public a chance to explore the space and its morbid history.
While you’re in the neighbourhood: After a night of ghost hunting, you’re likely to have worked up an appetite. Spice Alley is just a stone’s throw from Mortuary Station, serving up Hawker-style Asian eats that’ll bring you back to the land of the living.