Picnic at Hanging Rock

On Valentine’s Day (February 14), 1900, teachers from Appleyard College in Melbourne decided to take their students on a picnic to Hanging Rock. This mountain was a popular destination for excursions, known for its strange rock formations and ancient monoliths at the summit.

The group consisted of nineteen girls, three teachers, and one coachman. Around noon, they arrived at the site and began setting up the picnic. At 3 p.m., four of the girls asked a teacher for permission to explore the rocks of Hanging Rock. The teacher agreed, and the girls went on their way. Coincidentally, nearby was the camping family of Colonel Fitzhuber. His nephew was the last person to see the four girls, watching them head toward the summit.

By 4:30 p.m., the group began preparing to return home — but not only were the four girls missing, one of the teachers was gone as well. Colonel Fitzhuber’s family had already left, so the remaining teacher and coachman began searching. The tracks led to the southern slope. After about an hour of searching, they found Edith, the youngest of the four girls who had gone exploring. She was severely disoriented and in shock, unable to say a single coherent word.

Later, Edith recalled seeing her teacher — half-dressed and terrified — walking toward a strange rock formation.

Because of the approaching darkness, the search was suspended, but a large-scale search resumed the next day. Unfortunately, it brought no results. Police and search dogs were called in, but even the dogs were of no help — they acted strangely, were fearful, and growled at nothing. The search was suspended again.

However, Colonel Fitzhuber and his servant resumed the search on their own. Something incredible happened: they discovered another student, seventeen-year-old Irma. She, too, was disoriented, covered in cuts and bruises, but had not been sexually assaulted. She was unable to tell anyone what had happened. Not long after this event, the headmistress of the college went to Hanging Rock and was later found dead beneath a cliff. Did she commit suicide — or was it something else?

One of the girls later recalled seeing a strange-shaped cloud near the summit. There’s another odd detail: at the exact time the girls went missing, everyone at Hanging Rock claimed their watches stopped.

Were the girls victims of an unknown phenomenon — like a time shift? Or were they abducted by extraterrestrials? Remember, this case occurred in 1900, which is relatively early for the UFO craze. But then again… who really knows?

A film titled Picnic at Hanging Rock was later made based on this event. The two remaining girls and the teacher were never found. Even today, mysterious and eerie stories surround Hanging Rock.