Are ghosts real? A sceptic's guide to Old Melbourne Gaol

The ghosts at Old Melbourne Gaol, where bushranger Ned Kelly took his last breath, are part of the furniture but do staff truly believe they have supernatural colleagues?

Old Melbourne Gaol operated as a prison from 1845 until 1924 on Russell Street in the city's CBD and executed 133 people in their gallows.

Each musty, overcrowded cell held cramped prisoners longing for freedom from the heat and smell of the communal bathroom bucket.

Tour guide Janet Watson Kruse said the prison had witnessed unspeakable human misery before converting into a museum in 1972.

Though she's not an avid believer in the supernatural, Ms Watson Kruse faithfully describes the ghostly interactions had by other staff working at prison in her tours.

But she had an unexplainable experience of her own in early October.

Ms Watson Kruse was guiding a group of tourists through the prison after dark when they stopped at one end of the cell block.

She was telling the group about the building's history when, one after the other, foot falls were heard on the walkway above them.

The group looked up to see no one in view.

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University of Queensland lecturer Dr Tom Aechtner said "we as humans find it very difficult to live in a world where things just happen".

"We need a reason, especially in times of chaos and insecurity.

"When we witness something occur in the natural world, like a tree branch snapping or a bush rustling, we have a tendency to assume there's an actor that's caused it," he said.

Supernatural beliefs offer comfort to those who seek answers for unexplainable events, Dr Aechtner said.

It's unclear whether the three people who reported having their hair pulled when they stood near cell number 13 would agree.