He leads us away from the station and tells us to "mind the shallow grave" as we step over a speed-bump in the station car park.
We follow him down a narrow cobbled walkway and into a damp, pitch-black basement beneath Reid's Guest House.
In complete darkness, the goosebumps and neck hairs rise as we hear about the unexplained ghostly experiences others have witnessed.
It's an old bakery and people have smelled freshly baked bread and seen a woman wearing an apron covered in flour.
With the click of a torch, he illuminates the old baker's oven that hasn't been used for more than a century.
In this part of Ballarat, the street level has been raised and many old buildings are now underground, with their ghostly inhabitants under foot as you dine and sleep.
In the 1970s, the flour lady is rumoured to have floated through the floor of the guest house above, scaring a man who was about to commit suicide with a shotgun.
I was at the back of the group and turned around every few seconds hoping the ghost of a disgruntled baker wasn't standing behind me.
Once we ascend to street level, we begin a comical meander through the quiet streets of Ballarat.
Benjamin tips his top hat to the townspeople, who stare back at him in bewilderment.
Another stop on the tour is the 1850s building that now houses Fu Man Lou dumpling restaurant — our destination for lunch earlier that day.
It was — so the story goes — once haunted by a disgruntled poltergeist.
The spectre caused lights to flick on and glasses to appear on the cleared bar when the building housed Jack's Restaurant.
Most disturbingly, a waitress who returned from the building's basement with scratches on her face had no recollection of being there.
We pop in and out of dark alleys, hearing of ghostly prostitutes, haunted town hall councillors and a broken-hearted woman who slashed her wrists and is often heard screaming in the old bank building. She has also been seen in the window overlooking the street.
Benjamin never falls out of character — for almost two hours.
We pass churches and Freemasons' halls and gain a real understanding of the history behind this beautiful gold-rush city; there's not much about Ballarat that he doesn't know.
The last stop is at Ballarat's old jail, and Benjamin heaves open the heavy iron gates and ushers the crowd inside.
The courtyard is dimly lit and his booming voice reverberates around the space. There are at least five convicts buried under our feet, all facing east so they might never rest.
Although often more funny than frightening, the tour is still highly entertaining, and for those who aren't Ballarat history buffs, it fills in a lot of gaps.
But a word of warning, Benjamin likes to scream at random, so be prepared for a few heart-stopping moments.
CHECKLIST
Getting there: Qantas flies daily from Auckland to Melbourne. Ballarat is 115km from Melbourne and takes about 75 mins by car. There are regular trains leaving from Southern Cross station in Melbourne.
Accommodation: Braeside Garden Cottages offers two self-contained cottages set among beautiful gardens. A double spa, antique queen-size bed and cosy log pot belly stove is provided in each cottage.
Ararat Motor Inn offers affordable family rooms with a 10 per cent discount when booked with some ghost tours.
Further information: Eerie Tours offers ghostly walking tours through Ballarat's Victorian city streets to discover the fascinating history of Australia's most haunted city.
- AAP
