National Film and Sound Archive

The National Film and Sound Archive building was originally constructed between 1929 and 1930 to house the Australian Institute of Anatomy (AIA), opening officially in October 1931. Designed by Commonwealth architects in the Inter-war Stripped Classical style with intricate Art Deco detailing, the facility was built to house the vast anatomical collections of Sir Colin MacKenzie. For over five decades, the building served as Australia's central institute for human anatomical study, anthropology, and wildlife physiology.

During its 54 years as the Institute of Anatomy, the building contained extensive dissection laboratories, holding tanks, morgue facilities, and specimen display galleries. Thousands of human body parts, preserved organs, and skeletal remains—including Ned Kelly's alleged skull, Indigenous ancestor remains, and preserved human brains—were researched, stored, and exhibited within its walls. The institute operated until 1984, when its research functions were disbanded and the human remains were respectfully repatriated or transferred.

In October 1984, the National Film and Sound Archive took over the building. The former dissection labs were converted into sound recording booths, film preservation vaults, and public exhibition spaces. Added to the Commonwealth Heritage List in 2004, the NFSA stands today as both Australia's audiovisual archive and one of its most famously haunted architectural landmarks.

The spooky reputation of the National Film and Sound Archive stems directly from its half-century history as an active medical research morgue and anatomical museum. The most persistent legend centers on the building's former main dissection hall, located in what is now the sound recording suite area. Staff and visiting musicians describe an aggressive poltergeist presence in these rooms, believed to be the lingering spiritual distress of individuals whose bodies were subjected to anatomical dissection during the early 20th century.

Another famous legend involves the ghost of a young girl who haunts the former theatrette and courtyard area. According to local lore, school groups attending film screenings in the theatrette have frequently reported seeing a young girl dressed in 1930s clothing sitting silently among them in the dark auditorium, only for her to vanish into thin air when the house lights are brought up. In addition, local legend holds that former anatomy professors still walk the quiet hallways after hours, keeping a permanent watch over their former medical laboratories and teaching rooms.

Local ghost researchers also tell of a dark, menacing shadow figure that patrols the basement film vaults late at night. Legend holds that this entity is connected to the heavy metal doors of the old morgue cold rooms, where body parts were once kept in formaldehyde tanks prior to medical research.

Employees, sound engineers, contractors, and tour attendees have documented widespread paranormal occurrences inside the NFSA building. The most frequently reported phenomenon occurs in the sound recording booths (the former dissection lab), where microphones consistently pick up unrecorded disembodied whispers, heavy breathing, and metallic scraping sounds when no one is speaking.

Staff working late-night shifts report objects being thrown across rooms by unseen hands, heavy doors slamming shut against their latches, and sudden, severe cold spots that drop room temperatures dramatically within seconds. Visitors on evening ghost tours conducted by Tim the Yowie Man frequently report feeling an overwhelming sense of dread, being touched on the neck or shoulders, and seeing misty apparitions in the courtyard corridors.

Security guards patrolling after hours have captured security camera footage showing shadowy human shapes gliding down hallways and doors unlatching themselves, leading to a long-standing practice of guards avoiding certain basement wings after midnight.

The NFSA building is a premier example of Inter-war Stripped Classical architecture infused with detailed Art Deco motifs. Constructed from Hawkesbury sandstone and masonry, the building features an impressive symmetrical facade, decorative animal bas-relief friezes, and grand brass-and-bronze entrance doors.

The layout is built around a central open-air courtyard garden flanked by covered arcades. Inside, the building features high ceilings, terrazzo flooring, and timber-panelled halls. The former anatomical display galleries and dissection rooms have been converted into modern media exhibition spaces, cinema auditoriums, sound editing studios, and climate-controlled audiovisual storage vaults, creating a unique fusion of history and modern technology.

The National Film and Sound Archive is located on McCoy Circuit in Acton, ACT, adjacent to the Australian National University campus and a short distance from Canberra's city centre. Public admission to the building, permanent audiovisual exhibits, and courtyard is free.

The archive is open to visitors daily from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Special evening events, film screenings, and rare after-dark ghost tours (led by Tim the Yowie Man) are held on selected dates throughout the year, requiring advance ticket purchases. Exploring the building during both day and night offers a fascinating dual experience of Australian cinema history and ghost lore.

The NFSA's reputation as Canberra's most haunted building is tied directly to its 50-year history as the Institute of Anatomy, where thousands of human remains were stored and dissected. Decades of documented poltergeist activity, disembodied voices recorded in sound booths, and spectral child sightings make it a premiere Australian dark-tourism destination, historic medical institution, national treasure, and celebrated haunted heritage icon.