It is Tasmania’s oldest, continually run asylum and is located at New Norfolk in the state’s South East.

While its doors closed more than 16 years ago, the site continues to be visited by those seeking an otherworldly experience. 

Every fortnight a team of paranormal investigators invite brave visitors to explore its ruins.

And although each person leaves with a different tale to tell, tour guide and owner of Tasmania’s Most Haunted Craig Bloxsome said their experience was always genuine.

Starting the Tasmania’s Most Haunted group in 2012 when he was living in Launceston, Mr Bloxsome said paranormal experiences were becoming more popular in the state.

Over the years, the interest in the business has skyrocketed with more than 17,000 followers now subscribing to its Facebook page, reaching at least 44 countries.

“When I was living in Launceston, before starting the page, my daughters wanted to go on a ghost tour so we did one of the only ones at the time,” Mr Bloxsome said.

“I wanted to actually see something, or feel some sort of presence and that just didn’t happen.

“So I started the group to see if there was like-minded people out there.”

As a believer in spiritual activity, Mr Bloxsome said he wanted to create tours that would be unique to Tasmania.

Using paranormal detection equipment, the enthusiastic tour guide gives his guests what he describes as an “experience rather than just a ghost tour”.

Visitors are given the opportunity to use the unique equipment, including a spirit box to communicate with paranormal entities and an ovilus to convert environmental readings into real words.

“The aim of our tours is to try and get the patrons to become the investigators, so it becomes more than just a regular walking around ghost tour,” Mr Bloxsome said.

Also the owner of Australia’s Most Haunted, Mr Bloxsome operates tours right across the country and despite claiming them all to be genuinely scary, he said Tasmania’s Willow Court was known as one of his most “active” experiences.

With history dating back before 1827, the former asylum was once home to 45 invalids, 20 mentally ill patients and a total of 23 staff, most of which were ex-convicts.

During night tours of the abandoned site, some claim to be greeted by a doctor who Mr Bloxsome describes as “not very nice”, while others have reported encounters with a young girl who has been named ‘Mandy’.

“People are starting to discover that Willow Court is a very active location,” Mr Bloxsome said.

The growing interest in tours of the former asylum has also sparked some controversy amongst the local community.

The Willow Court History Group released a statement this month affirming they did not support paranormal activities within the site. 

“Asking people to pay money to enjoy investigating someone’s suffering or the “residual haunting” because of the strong emotions that were stored within the structure of the buildings at the time of their personal struggles with mental health or intellectual disability fails to respect a group of people that are now included within our community,” the statement read.

“This entertainment comes under the well-studied phenomena called dark tourism.

“Often those that receive money for such tours have a history of creating more macabre history than that which is recorded in historical documentation”

While Mr Bloxsome said the statement was not directed at his tours, he believed the dark tourism referred to by the group was “alive and happening” in Tasmania.

He claimed Willow Court had the ability to become as much of a tourism icon as Port Arthur.

“We learn from our history, but we don’t have to live in the trauma from it and we always acknowledge the past, present and future associates of Willow Court,” he said.

“Having ghost tours that are structured and give excitement to its patrons by professional guides is not such a bad thing. 

“This way they are managed, risk assessed, covered by insurance, have trained tour guides and are better coordinated, plus they support the economy, growth in the community, tourism and small businesses.”

Over the past year, Mr Bloxsome said he had seen almost 1000 people tour the venue, most of which were visitors to the state. 

“They sleep at the motels, have dinner and meals locally, explore the surrounding areas, interact with the townsfolk and a high percentage do come back,” he said.

The increase in interest, he said, was the reason he had begun looking at expanding the business to the North of the state. 

“Ghost tours are popping up quicker than toast at a boys scout jamboree, throughout Tasmania, because people want to go on them,” Mr Bloxsome said.

In Launceston, he has his eye on the Princess Theatre which he believes has potential for paranormal activity.

Although the site is yet to be confirmed, Mr Bloxsome said he was “in discussions” with the theatre to try and arrange a one off, four-hour tour which he hoped could happen as early as January 2017.

“There’s a history of a male spirit at the Princess Theatre and some urban legends, so we want to suss those out,” Mr Bloxsome said.

“Our aim is to try and hire it out and get a group to come along and spend a day and night there.”

The group will tour Willow Court again for their Halloween Special Lockdown Tour which will run from 8pm to 3am on October 29.

Those wanting to take part in the paranormal experience can contact Mr Bloxsome and his team here.