We discovered the terrifying Cave of Lost Souls whilst on holiday one summer with our cousins on the Great Ocean Road. We only saw it that one year, I was twelve at the time, and frankly I was glad that it was our last year of camping holidays.
In Australia our Christmas holidays fall in the middle of summer, so my family, including my two uncles (mum’s brothers) and their families, had always gone camping at this great spot down past Lorne called the Cumberland River. They had done the same with their folks when they were kids, a family tradition.
My uncles each had two kids, so with my two brothers and I, there were seven of us climbing around the cliffs and exploring rock pools. As we got older, the boys would show off their feats of daring by climbing higher, or scrambling out on the rocks as close to the crashing waves as they dared.
Daniel was 15 and always palled up with Mark (14) and his brother Jamie, who was 12 same as me. My brother Joshua and Daniel’s sister Kylie were nine. My youngest brother was Harry, who was six at the time and mum hardly let him out of her sight. It turns out her fears were justified.
So here it was January, Christmas and New Year’s Eve out of the way, and the family were all gathered around the campfire having a sing a long, as you can only do with relatives, and telling tall tales of summer’s past.
Uncle Tony was the best, he told stories that we knew couldn’t possibly be true, but had that “stranger than fiction” ring of truth to them.
“Oh yeah, this stretch of coastline was infamous for shipwrecks back in the days of the early settlers,” he said one night (I forgot to mention Uncle Tony was also a teacher, so we took it for granted that he knew what he was talking about). “You have seen the Loch Ard Gorge down the road, where only two survivors made it to shore and found their way to a farm house?”
We all nodded obediently. “Well, for every wreck that was discovered, there were about ten that were never found, or even heard of. The Cornflower II was one of those. “
Ever the logical one, Mark the intellectual one piped up, “but how do you know about it if it was unheard of?”
We groaned and threw pillows at him. Talk about spoil the mood.
Uncle Tony raised his eyebrows and we eventually fell silent as he continued the tale.
“I know about it because I have been in contact with one of the survivors, well no,” he corrected himself, “with one of the lost souls that perished in the wreck.”
We sat back with pillows against logs with smiles on our faces. Now we would hear a story.
“It was about thirty years ago, I wasn’t much older than Joshua there, and we were here on our usual summer holiday. Now kids, please don’t be as foolish as I was, I would wander off at nights to explore the cliffs on the other side of the road, blissfully unaware of the effect a tide could have on the waterline, and how quickly the rocks I could navigate on the way out would be covered when I turned around to head back into shore.”
Mum joined the story at this point. “I remember that year, we thought you had started sleepwalking. We nearly never came back again because Mum and Dad thought it wasn’t safe. “
“They didn’t know half of it,” responded Uncle Tony, “I never told our parents what I am about to tell you.
“The first night I wandered off, I had seen a light bobbing around outside my tent. Thinking it was one of my older cousins, I got out of my sleeping bag, and followed it across the road and onto the shore. Summer or not, the water here is direct from Antarctica, so it was pretty cold. I didn’t stay out long.
“The second night, I followed it around the corner of the little inlet the Cumberland River flows out into, onto the bare coastline with high cliffs on my left, and raging seas to my right. The light bobbed along quite a way in front, until it suddenly moved to the left and disappeared. With the object of my stroll suddenly absent, I realised I was being a bit silly being out here at night, so I quickly turned and headed back. My feet were more than a little wet when I got back, but I realised that was not the worst thing that could have happened.
“The next day, I wandered out the same way, in the company of my younger sister Elise (my mum). We walked along the beach until about where I had seen the light disappear. Sure enough, there was a small cave entrance, in that area, hidden behind a rocky outcrop. This coast is riddled with caves where the water from high tides has washed away the face of the cliff. In some cases, the caves are huge (like the blow hole down at Port Campbell), and can be very dangerous because they flood in the high tide. You don’t want to get caught there.”
We murmured in agreement. “So then what?” asked Mark.
“Elise and I had a quick look inside, but the cavern seemed huge and I hadn’t brought a flashlight, so we returned to camp and forgot about it until after dark.
“That night, instead of seeing just one bobbing light, there were four of them, and when I left my tent and looked across the road to the beach, there seemed to be a hundred of them, just hovering around the water’s edge. Again, they moved off to the left and disappeared around the corner.”
“Did you follow them Uncle Tony?” asked Henry with wide eyes.
“Of course I did,” he answered. Glancing at my mum he added,” But it was very silly of me, you should be sure to tell your mum and dad if you ever see anything like that.”
Mum nodded in gratitude and Uncle Tony took up his story again.
“I never thought to wake anyone to take them with me. I always was independent –“
“Stupid!” my Uncle Roger coughed behind his hand. Mum and my aunts smothered a laugh.
“Thank you for the interruption,” Uncle Tony rolled his eyes and continued. “- so I grabbed a torch and off I went. I ended up at the cave entrance, where I was certain the lights had disappeared. In fact, standing on the beach, I could see a glimmer of light and shadows as though something was moving around behind a corner within the cave. I could also hear something mingling with the sound of the waves - voices, laughter and music.”
“So I entered the cave, and was struck by the sudden silence. The rocks in front of the cave’s entrance must have shielded the cave from the roar of the ocean, and all light from the stars and moon outside was hidden. Where I thought before I had seen movement and shadow, was now absolutely black.
“But did I leave? No, like a young fool I stood there holding my breath, and waiting. For what I didn’t know.”
We were all silent now, picturing ourselves in the same place, being still, like when you wake up in the middle of the night and lie completely still to make sure that no-one is moving around in your house.
“Then, out of the corner of my eye, a movement. When I turned to it, it was gone. Then another movement from the right. I turned again, but too slow. Suddenly the room was flashing with lights on and off, on and off, until I found my voice and screamed. Then everything went black again.
“That was when I remembered I had my torch, turned it on and waved it around the cavern. What a mistake that was!
“ Wherever I shone the torch, there left an afterglow, and in that afterglow was the outline of a man or woman or child. They looked awfully grim and wet, and were dressed in olden day clothes . I became really frightened at that point, it seemed that the more I moved my torch around, the more animated the people became, they rose and started to walk towards me, their outstretched hands dripping water and seaweed. I am not proud to say but at that point, I did what any scared out of his mind 12 year old would do, I dropped my torch and ran for my life, out of the cavern and straight into the high tide.
“ The way back to the inlet had been covered by water, and it was far too rough to run along. I would be dashed against the cliffs for sure. I stopped. There was no way I was going back into that cavern. My only hope was to go up, to climb the cliff to the top or find a small cave on the way up to shelter in for the night.
“ And that’s exactly what I did. Did not sleep a wink for fear of falling out of my little hidey hole onto the rocks I knew were below. As soon as the dawn started and I could find my way, I climbed down, at an angle so I wouldn’t have to go past the cavern again, and raced home to my tent. As luck would have it, no one else was up as yet so I had no explaining to do. We got up that next morning, and the rains had set in, so we packed up and went home. I never told a soul until now.”
We sat in complete silence, struck by the enormity of what Uncle Tony had revealed to us. Even my dad and Uncle Roger seemed impressed. Then Kylie and I got the giggles, and the mood was spoiled.
Mum gave a nervous laugh. “What a great bed time story Tony, now I am going to have to set some rules about midnight wandering. If anyone leaves their tent tonight, it had better be to come to their parent’s tent for an emergency toilet stop. DO NOT go down to the beach on your own. Understood?”
We muttered our “Yes, mum” “Yes Aunty Elise” and went and got ready for bed.
We all shared the same tent, so after the parents had retired for the night, we held a council of war.
“Nah, it was all BS,” scoffed Daniel.
“I don’t know,” said Joshua, “Uncle Tony has told some scary tales before, but I really believed this one.”
Mark and I nodded in agreement, joined by Jamie and Kylie. Henry had fallen asleep almost immediately.
“Well, I vote we take a look for this scary cavern tomorrow morning, and if we find it, go back at night to test it out. If we go together, we should be fine. I can check the tides too.” Mark was the planner as well as the intellectual.
Daniel agreed. “Make sure your batteries are full on your torches tomorrow everyone. Let’s have us an adventure.”
We shuffled into our sleeping bags and drifted off to sleep with delicious dreams of bedraggled shipwreck ghosts.
The next day was hot and sunny again, so after breakfast we trotted off as a group for a game of cricket on the beach. Or so we told our parents.
They settled down to play canasta.
Across the road, we headed down to the beach, then turned to the left to follow the cliff face.
“It can’t have been too far down,” Daniel said, squinting against the morning sunlight reflecting off the water and white sandy cliffs. “Not if he could see the light thingy from here.”
“Well I guess let’s just walk along and check behind every rock.” I suggested helpfully.
Jamie and Mark took Henry’s hand, and wandered ahead, the rest of us dragged along behind, looking enthusiastically around every outcrop of rock hoping to discover the cave.
Kylie and Joshua gave up first, they started playing a bit of French cricket, and soon Daniel and Mark joined in. I took over the care of Henry from Jamie so he could play too. Henry and I kept walking along the beach, looking first at the rocks, then ambling among the rock pools that lined the shore.
Daniel started waving at us from down the beach.
“- tide coming in –“ was all I could make out of what he was saying. Then I could see for myself that the rock pools were now almost covered with water, and that the waves crashing further out seemed to be a bit closer than before. I decided it was time to head back. I reached for Henry’s hand, only to find it wasn’t there.
I turned in horror – Henry had disappeared. In blind panic, I turned back towards the water and searched among the rock pools and crashing waves. Henry was no where to be seen.
“HENRY!!!” I screamed, “Where are you?”
Daniel and the others realised that something was wrong. Mark and Jamie came running up the beach.
“What’s up?”
“Henry,” I gasped, dismay filling my stomach. “Have you seen him?”
The boys looked immediately around them. “What the?”
“HENRY!”
“HEEEEENNNNNNRYYYYYYY!”
They called in vain, as Daniel and Kylie arrived Daniel immediately took off his top and headed out to the water. Joshua called from behind. “I think he might have gone in here.”
We turned away from the waves and horrifying thoughts of rip tides and rocks, to look at the cliffs.
Joshua stood before a well hidden cave entrance, that we had entirely missed before. As we fell quiet, we could hear a giggling sound from within. Without thinking, I rushed inside, but came to a quick halt as the light disappeared and darkness fell like a thick blanket around me.
“Henry?” I whispered into the silence. Another giggle and the sound of shuffling feet. “Henry?” A high pitched echo danced around me. This cave was obviously deeper than I thought.
“Henry you must answer me mate, are you here?”
“-you here – you here – you here.” The echo was interrupted by another giggle, followed by a grunt and sound as though something, or someone had fallen to the ground.
At that moment Daniel, Mark and Joshua entered the cave. Thankfully Mark had brought his pocket torch. He immediately swept it around the cave.
It was big. And long. It stretched back beyond the reach of Mark’s torch. And apart from sand and driftwood, it was also empty. Mark stepped past me further towards the back of the cave, and still his torch did not light up the back wall. He walked further until all we could see of him was his small light appearing and disappearing as he flashed it from left to right. Then suddenly it dropped to the ground.
“Ouch!” he cried.
“What??” we asked.
“I bumped my head on a low hanging rock.” Despite our fear for Henry, we couldn’t help but laugh at Mark. Then the fear re-asserted itself and I called out again.
“Henry honey, aren’t you hungry, we need to get back for some lunch. I think Aunty Rose was making pancakes today.”
The cave remained silent. Mark picked up his torch, then flashed it high to work out where the rocks were, before resuming his left / right search.
Then we saw them. At first I thought the afterglow of the torch was playing tricks on my eyes. I thought I saw a body crouched on the ground and involuntarily stepped towards it thinking it was Henry. Then the light faded and I hesitated.
Looking towards Mark’s light again, we saw the afterglow, and this time Joshua shouted “who’s that?” We all saw a tall thin man, a ghost like figure turning towards us, before the afterglow faded and he disappeared.
I clutched hold of Daniel’s arm and reached for Joshua beside me. We stood still and watched as Mark’s torch moved slowly across the back floor. In it’s wake we could see feet, and legs of people standing in a group at the back of the cave. They appeared to be gathered in some kind of circle and were gently shuffling into the centre. Then we heard the giggle again, and this time I recognized it.
“Henry! Mark, shine that torch into the centre, I think Henry is there. Quickly!”
Mark obeyed and shone his torch a little further towards the back of the cave. We could see nothing in the light. It was only when he moved the torch away that we could see some figures looming in the afterglow. In the middle of the circle was a large crate, on the crate I saw the name “Cornflower II” burnt onto the side.
“Holy cow,” I breathed, “Uncle Tony wasn’t making it up.” We circled around the area and as we came to the back of the cave, Joshua tripped over something. Mark spun around at the commotion and his torch lit up the sleeping figure of Henry, curled up next to the wall, with a leg splayed out at just the right angle to catch Joshua unawares in the dark.
With an explosive sigh of relief, I ran over and swept him up in my arms. He woke up immediately, in a bad mood as most youngsters do.
“Zoe, when’s lunch, I am hungry”. I shushed him and we turned back to the ghostly crowd gathered around the crate. One of the figures appeared to be trying to open it, and I saw the label that had been burned into the other side. Salted fish. Eww.
“Mark”, I whispered. The figures had taken no notice of us as yet, and frankly, I didn’t really want them to. “time to go.”
He might have nodded in agreement but in the dark I could only see his torch turn towards us and come closer.
We turned around and followed him back towards the cave entrance, Mark following our footsteps in the sand to determine which way we had come in. Henry thankfully had not noticed the figures and I held him close as I hurried out. Throwing a final glance over my shoulder, I shivered when I saw one of the figures do the same, glancing at us leaving their resting place.
Daniel led the way out, Mark staying to provide some light for us, and Joshua and I quickly clambered out behind him. We stopped short as the water lapped around our ankles outside.
“Oh crap, the tide has come in!”
“We’ll have to run for it!”
“We’ll never make it, not with me carrying Henry!” I wailed.
We looked down the beach for help, but Jamie and Kylie were gone, sensibly returning to base with the tide coming in.
“Well, let’s do what Uncle Tony did.” Joshua suggested. Daniel agreed and turned around to start climbing back over the cave entrance. But there was no where to get a foothold. He glared up at the straight cliff face muttering something about erosion. I knew there was no way that Henry or I would be able to get high enough over the cliff to avoid the tide that was still rising around us.
Mark looked troubled. “What if we go back through the cave, it must lead somewhere, it goes so far back….”
“Uh uh no way” I began.
“Zoe, I am really hungry now” Henry tugged at my shorts. I looked at him with sympathy.
“Ok”, Daniel took charge. “here’s the plan…”
And that’s how we found ourselves tip-toeing in utter darkness through the cave of lost souls, hugging the walls, careful not to trip on loose pieces of driftwood, not daring to ask Mark to put on his torch lest we see the ghosts again, and they do more than try to get salted fish from a crate.
Henry thought it was a funny game, and kept giggling, that same ghostly mirth that we had heard earlier that morning. In moments of silence, we could hear his empty tummy gurgling, and that would set him off into another fit of giggles. Oh to be so young and carefree.
Finally Daniel, who was in the lead, asked Mark for his torch. “There is some kind of opening here, I just want to take a quick look.”
“But what if….?” I whispered.
“I’ll be quick,” he reassured me, “don’t worry, they didn’t notice us before” We hadn’t had a chance to discuss what we had seen yet, and while I was comforted that someone else had seen the “ghosts”, he obviously hadn’t seen the one that took an interest in us just as we were leaving the cave before.
“Just hurry then,” I hissed, and took a closer hold of Henry who willingly complied.
Daniel quickly flashed the torch around. I saw in the reflected gloom, Mark take a look behind us, then hurriedly look back to the crack in the rock that Daniel was investigating.
“Nothing there, but hurry, what have you found?”
“It looks like a small tunnel. I can feel a breeze coming through so it must end somewhere.”
“Yeah, but is it high enough for us to escape the tide, I swear I can hear water trickling, this cave could fill up in minutes.” Joshua was starting to panic, and I was feeling the same.
“I’ll see,” said Daniel, and he held the torch between his teeth as he started to climb up the rock face and into the tunnel type entrance above. He clambered in, disappeared for a few seconds, before we heard a crow of delight that echoed back out of the tunnel and around the cavern.
“Ssshhhh!” we whispered. “What is it?”
Daniel’s face re-appeared above us, lit faintly by the torch he held facing down to us. “It is a tunnel, and I can see daylight at the end of it. Come on up!”
We climbed up quickly, me first, with Henry passed up by Mark. Joshua and Mark followed quickly and in single file we stepped along the tunnel towards the welcome glimmer of light in the distance. As it turned out, the light was from a crack in the ground not far from the cliff edge. Although it was not far from the Great Ocean Road itself, it was inaccessible from above due to the road fencing and warnings about the cliff face being dangerous. What an understatement!
We each squeezed out of the crack and collapsed beside it. Me with a very tight hold on my little brother.
“Oh my god, what was that?” Mark was the first to refer to what we had seen in the cave.
“Never do I want to see that again, I was so scared,” I admitted.
Daniel looked like he was about to agree with me, but by then the sun had worked off some of our fear, and he laughed instead. “What was it really? A few shadows in the useless torchlight? Mark, you really need to get a better torch than that if you want to explore caves.”
Mark hesitated. “Yeah, I guess you’re right, although really I would rather surf than explore caves if you ask me.”
I looked at the two boys in amazement. “Are you seriously going to brush this off? Guys, we saw ghosts. Seriously. Don’t you think we should at least talk to Uncle Tony about it?”
“What, and get our butts kicked for wandering off and getting caught by the tide? And nearly losing Henry? Zoe, we would never be able to do anything on our own again.”
I could see Daniel’s point, but how could I ever see this place again without dreading coming upon those ghostly figures, or seeing bobbing lights, in fact, I don’t think I would ever enter any cave ever again.
We got up and headed back towards the camping ground, and never mentioned to cave find to our parents , who were frantically pacing up and down the inlet looking for us. Jamie and Kylie had reported that we had disappeared into the cliff face before they gave up their game of cricket and headed back to camp before the tide came in.
Daniel simply told them we had climbed to the top and walked back that way. Henry loudly declared his hunger, his poor tummy had been crying for ages, and we all trooped back to the tents for Aunty Rose’s pancakes with maple syrup.
That was our last camping trip to Cumberland River for several reasons. Uncle Tom bought a cabin at Rye, so we started going there for holidays instead of “roughing it” as he called it. They could take the boat out fishing from the Rye beach, which was not nearly so wild as the Great Ocean Road. Daniel and Mark had jobs next summer and couldn’t come anyway. Jamie, Kylie, Joshua and I never spoke of our ordeal, and it drove us apart a little. Henry still complains of his empty tummy, honestly I have never seen a kid eat so much but stay so little. Mum said he must have a worm.
20 Years Later
Okay, so you've done the math and realised that as 20 years have passed since I recorded this story, I must now be 32.
Yes, I have been back to that camping place along the Great Ocean Road, and confirm that that cave we discovered absolutely no longer exists. It is commonly known that the cliffs along this stretch are always succumbing to the waves and weather. (Google London Bridge off Port Campbell if you don't believe me).