This looks like any other ordinary town on the Australian map… but visitors have been warned to stay away because of a terrifying curse

A team of paranormal investigators claims they may have stirred deadly spirits after visiting one of the country’s most haunted towns and its cursed grave.

YouTuber Marcus Sutherland led the expedition deep into Walhalla, a former gold-mining town in Victoria’s Gippsland high country that now counts just 20 residents.

At the heart of their investigation was the infamous grave of James Mitchell, a 19th-century miner who died a horrific death after being crushed in a rockfall inside the Long Tunnel mine.

Mitchell’s headstone bears a chilling warning etched into the stone, one that wouldn’t look out of place in a horror film.

‘Oh, let my sudden doom, a warning be to all. And while thou bendest over my tomb, thou may’st as quickly fall,’ it reads.

The grim inscription, combined with decades of whispered stories, has earned the site the nickname of ‘Australia’s most cursed grave’.

Locals take the legend seriously.

With the help of Sally May, a long-time ghost tour guide and one of Walhalla’s few permanent residents, Mr Sutherland and his team were granted after-hours access to some of the town’s most haunted locations. 

Walhalla is around 181 kilometres east of Melbourne, in Victoria’s Gippsland region

Marcus Sutherland (left) and Em Taylor (right) explored the haunted ghost town of Walhalla

Sites included the cemetery where Mitchell is buried, a disused church, an abandoned school, and the mouth of the old mine shaft.

Ms May recounted the harrowing circumstances of Mitchell’s death, saying the miner ‘basically ended up choking and gargling on his own blood’ after being trapped in the collapse.

She also shared stories of those who have paid the price for visiting his grave.

‘One man suffered a fatal heart attack hours after visiting the cemetery,’ she said. 

‘Another tourist died in a car crash on the way home.’

Determined to separate myth from reality, Mr Sutherland and his crew ventured into the pitch-black Walhalla cemetery in the middle of the night, armed with EMF meters and spirit boxes.

‘We’ve heard the stories, people collapsing from heart attacks, car crashes on the way home, all after visiting the grave,’ Ms Sutherland said in the video.

‘We wanted to find out for ourselves.’

The grave of miner James Mitchell, who was crushed by a rock, is said to be haunted

Sally (pictured) is a local tour guide, and one of just 20 residents who live in Walhalla

The group visited an empty church, a mine shaft and a graveyard while searching for ghosts 

Filming in near-total darkness, the crew documented a string of unsettling moments, from strange EMF spikes to chilling voice responses through their equipment.

One such encounter involved a ghost they believe was named Mary, who they say repeatedly urged them to leave.

But it was their stop at James Mitchell’s cursed grave that truly rattled them.

‘We found it. This was the one,’ a crew member whispered after spotting the weathered headstone.

‘It got colder. The gear started pinging. Something changed.’

Despite the ominous warnings, one member of the group touched the grave — an act they now regret.

‘I’ve got a bad feeling about her touching it,’ Mr Sutherland said. 

‘People online say it’s all fun and games, but I genuinely feel like that moment is going to come back to haunt us.’

Aside from its ghostly reputation, Walhalla also found fame on the big screen,  serving as the filming location for Ice Road 2: Road to the Sky, starring Liam Neeson.

For the production, the historic Australian town was transformed into a remote Nepalese village nestled in the Himalayas.