Sophie Osmond – författare

“Howchilly the night vapours were which rose from this large pool, for it wasmore like the moat from some ancient ruin than an ordinary Australianwater-hole. How ominous the shadows that gathered over this dwelling, andwhich even the great and lustrous moon, now clear of the gable end, seemedunable to dissipate.”TheAustralian landscape is one that lends itself to the uncanny: theoppressively hot, fly-infested bush, populated with abandoned shanties orrundown homesteads, slowly petering out into the empty, endless outback withits blood-red sands and emaciated myall trees. It has birthed a weirdtradition that is often quirky, disorientating and unexpected; uniquelyblending imported gothic tropes with Aboriginal folklore and colonial horror.Thesetwelve terrifying tales of bloodthirsty bunyips, displaced phantoms andstrange ancient magic, taking place in Aboriginal settlements, dusty desertcamps, remote country towns and bustling coastal cities, create chills enoughto quell the most shimmering-hot Australian summer day.