HIDDEN away from prying eyes atop a lonely hillside on the outskirts of Beechworth’s historic town centre, Mayday Hills Asylum sits overlooking the town, waiting.

Now you can wander through its many twisted hallways and small, stifling rooms.

Asylum Ghost Tours offers ghost tours, history tours and paranormal investigations through the historic facility.

While the sun shines, join the weekend daytime history tours to hear about the 128-year history of the buildings of the former asylum.

You’ll hear stories of the opening, the many patients we still know about, and the final years of the ‘Lion of Beechworth’, as the asylum was known.

After darkness falls, other tours of the dark, haunted buildings of the facility begin.

The ghost tour encompasses facility history, memories, local tales, urban myths, and stories of the supernatural.

For the more adventurous, paranormal investigations take place when all is quiet, and the dead open their eyes.

Groups experience two- or three-hour investigations, to find out who or what still haunts the foreboding asylum.

They also host an annual horror pop-culture, book and film convention.

Traditionally held over the last weekend of October, AsylumFest comprises three days filled with all sorts of treats; a feature horror film on Friday (sometimes with special guests), a live ghost story competition, sales of various books, curios, and pop-culture treasures within the hall, workshops for writers and paranormal enthusiasts.