Who are you gonna call? Jason King.
Claiming to be able to see and communicate with spirits, the 47-year-old is Penrith’s very own Ghostbuster.
His first encounter, over two decades ago, was with his late brother who was tragically killed in a car accident.
Mr King said his brother told him “he had an important job to do” and has been working with him ever since to help other trapped souls.
In a ghosthunting-duo with his wife and tarot card reader Julia King, the pair have travelled far and wide to help Australians connect with their loved ones or unwanted house guests.
Mr King said he only charges petrol money for his services, as he feels that it’s his responsibility to use his abilities.
“When I first started seeing them I drove out to a graveyard and saw a woman crying and I could see her dad standing there and described her to him and told her he said he was OK and she was very thankful,” he told the Weekender.
“From there we started travelling and doing investigations and giving people a hand; sometimes it can be nothing but other times I see them, you never know what you’re going to get.”
Over the years, Mr King and his wife have attended homes around the Penrith region where residents believed spirits were present.
The pair use noise recording equipment and cameras.
Mr King has even visited the ghost at Sarah’s Grave, a local urban legend but claims it’s actually a man haunting the site.
In 2018, a documentary of his life titled ‘Ghosthunter’ won the Documentary Australia Foundation award at the Sydney Film Festival.
The profound piece, which was also made into a podcast, explores haunting stories of not only his work but his past, as they uncovered a shocking family secret of severe child abuse; a memory that Mr King had completely erased from a young age.
This led filmmaker Ben Lawrence to hunt down Mr King’s father, with some of his child rape victims coming forward in the process.
Mr King’s father was prosecuted as a result.
Despite living a remarkably tragic life, Mr King and his wife are happy and humble and whilst COVID-19 has restricted some of their ghosthunting activities, they said they will continue their mission of helping people connect with the dead into the future.
To access the film or podcast, visit ghosthunterthemovie.com.
A graduate of Western Sydney University, Nicola Barton is a news journalist with the Western Weekender, primarily covering crime and politics.
