Australia has a long tradition of weird fiction, stretching back to colonial times. The stories in this anthology showcase the richness and variety of Australia horror and supernatural stories in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Among the authors included are: Mary Fortune, Lionel Sparrow, Marcus Clarke, Guy Boothby, B. L. Farjeon, J. E. P. Muddock, Ernest Favenc, Hume Nisbet, Rosa ("Mrs. Campbell") Praed, Fergus Hume, James Francis Dwyer, and Dulcie Deamer. Editor James Doig has unearthed a rare and compelling collection of Australian horror classics that have remained largely undisturbed in the pages of old books and periodicals. With settings that range from the Australian Outback to Europe, India, and the South Pacific, these 23 unique and imaginative tales feature horrors and hauntings that are sure to appeal to lovers of the macabre everywhere

Twenty stories of horror, the supernatural, and ghostly hauntings. These tales show the way in which the Gothic form has been transposed to a new, alien environment--Australia The outback, the desert, the bush are imbued with strange forces and beings that European explorers and fossickers must fathom and overcome. The colonists struggle to cope with the harsh landscape and climate, and are frequently claimed by it. The land itself seems almost a malignant force that exacts a terrible revenge on those who challenge it or wander thoughtlessly into its desert wastes. Thus, in many of the stories reprinted here, characters range across a landscape in which the supernatural can reach out and snatch the unwary at any time. Characters frequently fall victim to the bush; indeed, often it is the children, symbols of innocence and European naivete, who fall victim to the evil "spirits" lurking just beyond human ken. Doig has resurrected these marvelous haunts from rare magazines and equally scarce collections, and has provided hard-to-find information about the authors and the times in which they lived. For any aficionado of the classic macabre tale, this anthology will be a treasure trove of chilling reading "

Ernest Favenc (1845-1908) is a neglected master of Australian supernatural and mystery fiction. Best known for his History of Australian Exploration, 1788-1888, he was also a prolific author and journalist, writing for some of the most popular and important literary journals in colonial Australia. His considerable output is now largely forgotten, even among aficionados of weird and mystery fiction. This book collects thirty-one of Favenc's best stories, many published here for the first time since their original publication; and aims to showcase Favenc's talent as the most important Australian colonial writer of Gothic and supernatural fiction. The stories span the period 1875-1907, and demonstrate the richness and variety of his art, making this a major publishing event for enthusiasts of nineteenth-century crime and weird fiction.