VictoriaTunnelatWellington,New
Zealand, where it has become
customary for motoristsentering
to sound theirhorns while
passing through.
AccordingtotheGuardian:
“Many residents believe ajaunty
toot–or, for some, blasting their
horns for the tunnel’sentire
623-metre length–eitherwards
off evil spirits,oracknowledges
the memory ofateenage girl.”
The girlwasPhyllis Symons,a
17-year-old murdered in 1931,
whosebodywas discovered
during the building of the tunnel.
Her killerwasaconstruction
worker named George Errol
Coats,29, hanged on 17
December1931.
Amongtales that surfaced
on-line in 2018, compounding
the notion of troubled spirits, are
assertions of the tunnel crossing
the site ofacemetery for victims
of ayellow fever epidemic.
Headstones were moved to the
side of the road, but mass graves
were allegedly not relocated.
Consequently,theWellington
tunnel story has acquiredalife of its own,
inspiringafictional TV drama and also a
novel publishedinAugust 2019.
Attemptstoimposea‘honkingban’have
so far been unsuccessful, amid concern
for the welfare of pedestrians hazarding to
walk alongapath through the tunnel. As in
Iraq, makinganoise is deemedaprotective
measure to driveawaymalign influences,
the practice of relentlessly honking
horns being described as“a city-wide
superstition”.(Guardian, 31 Oct 2019;‘The
dark reason we all toot in the MtVictoria
Tunnel’ Wellington Live,28Jan 2018).
TheGuardianseemssomewhat
astonished that, save for the most
adolescent or superstitious,any New
Zealandersoftodaywould believe sounding
car hornswardsoff malignspirits.Even
when participants inafolk custom assert
this reason,itshould not be assumed that
the belief is necessarilyheldand engaged.
Thisisapoint made by folklorist BobPegg
inRites and Riots(1981) regardingaclaim
made over the firing ofagun during the
nocturnal ceremony of applewassailing
heldinSomerset orchards in the 1950s.It
is morelikely this remarkwasderived from
avague understanding of once-fashionable
antiquariantheoriesabout folk customs
being‘survivals’ofancientmagical rites.
More likely thedischarge ofagunsimply
reflected anexuberantsenseoffun, a
celebratoryletting off of steam, morethan
any motives of deterringevilspirits.
In fact, many people still adhere to
protectivespiritualtechniques. As Judge
Carol Atkinson observedinthe High
Courtin2015: “There is nothing
unusual in suchabelief. Many
mainstream Christian faiths have
their homes blessed byapriest
beforeoccupying. Other faiths have
prayers written on paper rolled up
intoacontainer and nailedabove
the door tokeep theirhomesafe.
The crucifix over the entry to the
home.The blessingofababy
by practising Catholicsbefore
christening, lest anything untoward
might happen. Crossingyour
fingers. In my judgment, these are
all examples of the samething.” (In
ReR(Achild) (Fact-finding hearing)
[2015]Lexis Citation 153)
Also many people actually relish
thoughts ofahair-raising encounter
amongst the tombs,judging from
comments by media presenterPaul
O’Grady to daytime ITV showThis
Morningwith Richard Madeley and Judy
Finnigan, on 25 October 2019. He toldhis
hosts“how much he has always been into
the paranormal” andexplainingthat he
loved goinginto tombsduring his workwith
the showMost Haunted:“Yo urun round in
the dark screaming‘cos,you know,it’sfun,
and also,I’mcurious as well...I’vebeen
in tombs and all sorts.Ican’t tellyouwhat
they’ve done to me.Strapped toabed in
an old asylum inVenice.” (Metro,25Oct
2019.)
Keen though he is,Ithink it unlikelythat
Paul or evenMost Hauntedwillventure into
Wadi-Al-Salaam anytime soon. Meanwhile,
Paul can console himselfwith his home
being hauntedbyanumber of ghostly
smells. Heand his partnerAndrePortasio
geta“waft of perfume”they attributeto
an elderly woman haunting the property.
“I went to dinner with somebody and one
of the people at the dinner, they said to
me,‘My friendisthe granddaughter of the
lady that used to liveinyourhouse’and
she said,‘Canyousmell the perfume?’ –
AndIsaid ‘yeah’, but we’veall smelt it. He
identifiesitasafragrance called‘J oy’. “It’s
very heavy but no,it’snot scary”.Asecond
olfactory manifestation at his home is“a
whiff of home perm solution.You get this
whiff of that ammonia.Ittakes me back
to me motheryearsago, sat therewith a
plasticcape on having her hair done.”
Of all formsofreported ghostly
manifestations,phantomsmells probably
have least scope for engenderingfear on
the partofthose encountering them.SPAWNMAN/CREATIVECOMMONSFT389 21LEFT:The Victoria Tunnel, Wellington,
New Zealand: should one honk or not?
BELOW:The murdered Phyllis Symons,
whose bodywasfound during the
building of the tunnel.TheWellingtonTunnelstory has acquiredalifeof itsown,inspiringaTVdrama andanovel