Latest news with #MarcusSutherland
Daily Mail
10 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Aussies issued terrifying warning about this cemetery - and why you should think twice about visiting it
An Aussie has lifted the lid on the terrifying folklore surrounding a cemetery, with other visitors claiming to have had chilling encounters with the supernatural. Marcus Sutherland, who is known to his followers as OzCamper, shared the haunting rumour circulating about Toowong Cemetery, in Brisbane 's CBD. He explained in a TikTok video that it was believed a 19th-century vampire had been buried in the grounds and been perfectly preserved in her coffin. Social media users shared their own experiences, with some claiming to have seen mysterious figures walking throughout the night. Mr Sutherland explained the Toowong Vampire Grave was a folktale that had been haunting locals for decades. According to the story, a beautiful vampire is said to wander the headstones along Avenue 12 within the cemetery grounds. Mr Sutherland recounted an unsettling version of the legend in which the woman's grave was dug up. 'Apparently there was a figure in this coffin when they opened it up,' he said. 'She had been there for years and years. She had not decayed whatsoever.' He added that when someone reached out to touch her, the vampire suddenly opened her eyes and stared straight at the man. 'When she smiled, blood came out of her mouth,' Mr Sutherland said. Despite the hair-raising tale, Mr Sutherland conceded that it is only folklore. 'There is no evidence to back this up,' he noted. Another tale is about Walter Thomas Porriott, one of the cemetery's residents, who was rumoured to be Jack the Ripper, the London serial killer who murdered five women in 1888. Perhaps the most famous of all is the legend of Spook Hill, a spot within the cemetery grounds said to defy the laws of gravity. The area is near the graves of two young women who tragically died in a car accident. Local lore claims that if you park your vehicle in neutral at the base of the hill, it will slowly roll uphill, drawn by an unseen force toward their final resting place. The Museum of Brisbane has acknowledged the myths, noting that the cemetery's 'wild and wonderful tales have been a fixture of slumber party gossip for years.' A number of people came forward to share their own eerie experiences at Toowong Cemetery, with some saying they were so spooked they'll never return. 'Toowong Cemetery is eerie as hell. I have been there at night, it's a scary place,' one person wrote. Another added, 'When I was told the story of the vampire while at the cemetery, I saw a shadow.' Someone else said they had witnessed the 'Spook Hill' phenomenon. 'We used to go to the cemetery as teens. There is a place you can drive and put your vehicle in neutral, and it will roll up the hill. It is the freakiest feeling.' Others spoke about chilling moments during one of the cemetery's guided ghost tours, which are offered by local haunted tourism companies. 'I went on a tour a few years ago, walked a bit down the path by myself (at night), and could hear footsteps directly behind me. I started recording behind me to make sure it wasn't a person,' one person shared. Officially opened in 1875, the cemetery is now heritage-listed and closed to new burials. It remains the final resting place of many prominent colonial-era figures and, according to urban legends, a number of restless spirits.
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Great Northern cancels $200,000 national park campaign after backlash
Great Northern beer has 'paused' a $200,000 campaign to buy and protect land after the plan upset a vocal portion of its customer base. 4WD enthusiasts had called for a US-style boycott of the company, accusing it of going 'woke' by extending the borders of national parks. Online media company 4WD TV took to Facebook, calling the move 'disgraceful' and urged its followers to switch to other beer brands. 'Bud Light ring any bells for you?' it added, in an apparent reference to American conservatives boycotting Budweiser beer because it featured a transgender woman in a promotion. 'They have lost me as a customer,' one person wrote in reference to the Great Northern promotion. 'It baffles me that Great Northern Brewing Co. would go against [the] majority of their customers to support inner city activists,' another said. Great Northern was Australia's second most-consumed beer last year and markets itself with images of people enjoying the great outdoors by fishing and camping. Although the Great Northern plan was to support non-profit Foundation for National Parks and Wildlife to buy and protect private land, many critics were under the misconception the company wanted to transform state parks into national parks, reducing their capacity to carry out activities like shooting, fishing and off-roading. Others were just annoyed at the concept of increasing the size of national parks. In a statement, the head of Great Northern marketing, Zac Gelman, explained the money raised would no longer be used to buy land for protection. 'Great Northern's Outdoors for a Cause campaign was yesterday paused following feedback from our passionate drinkers. Our donation to the Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife will now not be used to buy land to add to National Parks. Our donation will instead be used for the preservation of endangered species,' he said. 'Whether it's hiking, fishing, 4-wheel-driving or just relaxing, Great Northern drinkers use and preserve their precious spots in the great outdoors, and we support them.' While the campaign did find some support on Facebook, with around 1,300 people responding to the post, the boycott left many TikTok users perplexed. 'Why would anyone be anti-national parks?' one person wrote. 'This is the most pointless boycott ever,' another wrote. They were responding to a video that Marcus Sutherland uploaded to his Oz Camper account which showed him destroying a can of Great Northern with a baseball bat. Speaking later with Yahoo News, he said he wasn't publicly supporting the boycott and did not align himself with groups that called Great Northern 'woke', and he was merely sharing information about it using a prop. Sutherland said the issue he was most concerned about was rezoning state forests as national parks. 'My favourite thing to do in state forest is take my two boys, my fiancée, and my dog camping and sit around a lit campfire, cook some food. Then jump in the 4WD the next day and go explore,' he said. He added, 'I am against changing what we already have governed as state forests to national parks, which is a push that has been happening for quite some time.' 🦎 Hunt for Aussie animal not seen for 30 years 📸 Remarkable footage captures return of rare predator after decades 🪤 Banning of 'morally outrageous' fishing trap a major win for elusive animal The Foundation for National Parks and Wildlife declined to immediately comment on the situation. The unaffiliated Victorian National Parks Association, a non-profit group that advocates for nature protection, slammed the boycott as a 'weird campaign' by 'nature-hating groups'. Spokesperson Jordan Crook pointed to a recent poll by Redbridge which found 84 per cent of Victorians say national parks are important, and 80 per cent support the creation of new national parks. 'This again seems like a loud trolling online voice that only reflects the wishes of a very small and entitled group of people,' he said. 'Protecting wildlife and wild places is as Aussie as you can get, national parks protect what's best about the country. Leaving them unprotected leaves them vulnerable to exploitation and inappropriate use." 4WD TV was contacted for comment. Love Australia's weird and wonderful environment? 🐊🦘😳 Get our new newsletter showcasing the week's best stories.
