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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'This anthology collects the best examples of Australian gothic short stories from colonial times. Demonic bird cries, grisly corpses, ghostly women and psychotic station-owners populate a colonial landscape which is the stuff of nightmares.
'In stories by Marcus Clarke, Mary Fortune and Henry Lawson, the colonial homestead is wracked by haunted images of murder and revenge. Settlers are disoriented and traumatised as they stumble into forbidden places and explorers disappear, only to return as ghostly figures with terrible tales to tell. These compelling stories are the dark underside to the usual story of colonial progress, promise and nation-building, and reveal just how vivid the gothic imagination is at the heart of Australian fiction.' (Publication summary)
Contents
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Fisher's Ghost
The Ghost upon the Rail,
single work
short story
crime
The tale of Fisher's Ghost's originally from John Lang's Botany Bay, or, True Stories of the Early Days of Australia . Penrith, NSW, was the scene of Edward Smith's murder of his neighbouring farmer John Fisher, both of them ex-convicts. Smith's plan is foiled by suspicions aroused by Fisher's apparition, the skills of a black tracker, and the sagacious magistrate, Mr Cox. Smith is hanged. (PB)
-
Mystery and Murder,
single work
short story
crime
A ghostly murder tale. (PB)
-
The Mystery of Major Molineux,
single work
novella
mystery
horror
'The Mystery of Major Molineux is a strange and weird production, evidently founded on a fact connected with the early history of Tasmania. As a psychological study it approaches in subtlety to some of the most successful efforts of the author of Adam Bede; while for intensity of sustained interest and soul-thrilling excitement it is only surpassed by Edgar Allen Poe in The Mystery of Marie Roget and The Murders in the Rue Morgue.
That the story is based upon fact does not detract from its interest, but rather lends an air of vraisemblance to a story which would otherwise be too appalling. It is an introspective study, a psychological romance, a social drama - worthy of the author of His Natural Life.'
[Source: Burra Record 22 June 1881, p.2] - Monsieur Caloche, single work short story satire (p. 87-104)
-
A Haunt of the Jinkarras : A Fearsome Story of Central Australia,
single work
short story
adventure
science fiction
'A Haunt of Jinkarras deals with the discovery of a primordial race that dwells entirely underground.'
Source: L.W. Currey, Inc. https://www.lwcurrey.com/pages/books/167311/ernest-favenc/the-last-of-six-tales-of-the-austral-tropics
- Doomed, single work short story (p. 113-116)
- The Bunyip, single work short story (p. 117-126)
- The Hut by the Tanks Johnnie Holme, single work short story (p. 127-138)
-
The Bush Undertaker,
single work
short story
An old shepherd discovers his mate, Brummy, dead and mummified in the bush. Saddened, he feels compelled to bury him.
- Overseer Franke's Pegging-Out, single work short story historical fiction (p. 147-172)
- The Haunted Station, single work short story horror mystery (p. 173-192)
-
With Three Phantoms,
single work
short story
An explorer arrives in Darwin to look for traces of Leichhardt's expedition. His party are found dead months later on the edge of the Simpson Desert. Four years later the explorer is discovered and tells of an improbable story about ghost horsemen.
-
The Evil of Yelcomorn Creek
The Mystery of Yelcomorn Creek,
single work
short story
A strange old man tucked away in the bush tells an interesting tale of his opal-mining days in Queensland.Note: With title: 'The Evil of Yelcomorn Creek'
- A Dreamer, single work short story (p. 215-222)
-
Vermisst
The Lost White Woman,
single work
short story
(p. 223-230)
Note: With title: The Lost White Woman.
- An Australian Rip Van Winkle, single work short story (p. 231-260)
- The Curse, single work short story (p. 261-264)
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Sound recording.
Works about this Work
-
The Field : Reviews
2011
single work
review
— Appears in: SF Commentary : The Independent Magazine About Science Fiction , June no. 81 2011; (p. 61)
— Review of The Anthology of Colonial Australian Gothic Fiction 2007 anthology short story extract -
Terror Australis Incognita? : An Introduction to Fear in Australian Literature and Film
2009
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Antipodes , June vol. 23 no. 1 2009; (p. 5-9) 'Since feelings are one of the prevalent subject matters of literature, it is no wonder that fear has affected and infected many Australian literary texts, all the more after the pervasive sense of danger and insecurity generated in a post 9/11 anxiety-provoking context.' -
Australian Gothic
2007
single work
review
— Appears in: Antipodes , December vol. 21 no. 2 2007; (p. 194-196)
— Review of The Anthology of Colonial Australian Gothic Fiction 2007 anthology short story extract -
Goths and Vandals
2007
single work
review
— Appears in: Overland , Summer no. 189 2007; (p. 80-81)
— Review of The Anthology of Colonial Australian Gothic Fiction 2007 anthology short story extract ; The Ghost Writer 2004 single work novel ; Red Spikes 2006 selected work short story -
Who the Hell Are We
2007
single work
criticism
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 6 - 7 October 2007; (p. 18-19)
-
The Doom and Gloom of True-Blue Goth Lost in Landscape
2007
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 4-5 August 2007; (p. 10-11)
— Review of The Anthology of Colonial Australian Gothic Fiction 2007 anthology short story extract -
The Horror Lurking in Our Wide, Brown Land
2007
single work
review
— Appears in: The Age , 4 August 2007; (p. 22)
— Review of The Anthology of Colonial Australian Gothic Fiction 2007 anthology short story extract -
Pick of the Week
2007
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 18-19 August 2007; (p. 34)
— Review of The Anthology of Colonial Australian Gothic Fiction 2007 anthology short story extract -
Goths and Vandals
2007
single work
review
— Appears in: Overland , Summer no. 189 2007; (p. 80-81)
— Review of The Anthology of Colonial Australian Gothic Fiction 2007 anthology short story extract ; The Ghost Writer 2004 single work novel ; Red Spikes 2006 selected work short story -
Australian Gothic
2007
single work
review
— Appears in: Antipodes , December vol. 21 no. 2 2007; (p. 194-196)
— Review of The Anthology of Colonial Australian Gothic Fiction 2007 anthology short story extract -
Who the Hell Are We
2007
single work
criticism
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 6 - 7 October 2007; (p. 18-19) -
Terror Australis Incognita? : An Introduction to Fear in Australian Literature and Film
2009
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Antipodes , June vol. 23 no. 1 2009; (p. 5-9) 'Since feelings are one of the prevalent subject matters of literature, it is no wonder that fear has affected and infected many Australian literary texts, all the more after the pervasive sense of danger and insecurity generated in a post 9/11 anxiety-provoking context.'