Horror Down Under: 7 Australian Horror Books Not to Miss
There are plenty of reasons to visit Australia and many people have it on their bucket list.
See the natural beauty of its over 10,000 pristine beaches, the ancient rainforests and over 500 national parks, and the vast distances of the outback. Travel across the country, to experience a variety of unique of landscapes. Visit the cities which are full of culture, or drop in on smaller towns, all of which have something to make you say ‘huh’.
Australians are (mostly) friendly, the lifestyle is laid back, and the wildlife is wonderfully weird: kangaroos, koalas, emus, quokkas, and platypus to name just a few.
But, Australia will kill you.
And it won’t apologise for it.
Snakes, spiders, sharks, cassowaries, huge lizards, weather, bushfires, unforgiving rip currents (Australia lost a Prime Minister who went swimming one morning), and long, lonely roads linking isolated pockets of civilization.
Perfect fodder for imaginative horror writers, of which Australia has plenty.
So, venture down for an adventure you’ll never forget with these 7 Australian horror books.
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Table of Contents
Soon – Lois Murphy
Australian psychological horror
An almost deserted town in the middle of nowhere, Nebulah’s days of mining and farming prosperity – if they ever truly existed – are long gone. These days even the name on the road sign into town has been removed. Yet for Pete, an ex-policeman, Milly, Li and a small band of others, it’s the only place they have ever felt at home.
One winter solstice, a strange residual and mysterious mist arrives, that makes even birds disappear. It is a real and potent force, yet also strangely emblematic of the complacency and unease that afflicts so many of our small towns, and the country that Murphy knows so well.
Partly inspired by the true story of Wittenoom, the ill-fated West Australia asbestos town, Soon is the story of the death of a haunted town, and the plight of the people who either won’t, or simply can’t, abandon all they have ever had.
“We used to get a lot of journalists, film crews at first, when most people had fled and word had got out about the disappearances.”
The Roo – Alan Baxter
Australian animal horror
Something is wrong in the small outback town of Morgan Creek.
A farmer goes missing after a blue in the pub. A teenage couple fail to show up for work.
When Patrick and Sheila McDonough investigate, they discover the missing persons list is growing.
Before they realise what’s happening, the residents of the remote town find themselves in a fight for their lives against a foe they would never have suspected.
And the dry red earth will run with blood.
“The roo turned to face him. Its chest was twice as broad as John’s and he was a big man.”
Devil Dragon – Deborah Sheldon
Australian animal horror
Dr. Erin Harris may be a scientist, but she has an unscientific obsession: to find a living Varanus priscus.
Cryptozoologists call it the Devil dragon. This giant Australian reptile went extinct around 12,000 years ago but, like Bigfoot or Nessie, there are occasional sightings.
Spurred on by a credible witness, Erin cobbles together an expedition party consisting of herself, the witness, and his deer-hunting neighbours. They travel into the unexplored heart of a remote national park.
Erin, believing the Devil dragon to be a larger version of the Komodo, is confident she can outwit such a specimen.
However, the terrifying monster that lumbers out of the bush is a savage and unpredictable predator the size of a campervan. To escape, Erin must transform herself from genteel university lecturer to hard-core survivalist.
“For a few moments, he looked at the monster but couldn’t believe his eyes.”
Pest – Anna Willett
Australian psychological horror
Sightings of a strange girl on the outskirts of the small Australian town of Thorn Tree coincide with the outbreak of a deadly sickness.
The girl appears in people’s nightmares, beckoning them into nothingness.
Maggie’s café lies at the heart of the town, and she quickly becomes embroiled in the unfolding events.
As more people she knows succumb to the illness, Maggie will have to act fast to root out its cause.
Maggie believes that if she understands the girl’s story and finds her, she can save her friends and herself.
But maybe she too has merely been lured into the pest’s evil embrace.
“Something jerked out from behind the tree, moving with stealth and purpose.”
The Pilo Family Circus – Will Elliott
Australian clown horror
Jamie’s tyres squealed to a halt. Standing in the glare of the headlights was an apparition dressed in a puffy shirt with a garish flower pattern It wore oversized red shoes, striped pants and white face paint.
It stared at him with ungodly boggling eyes, then turned away, this seemingly random incident triggers a nightmarish chain of events as Jamie finds he is being stalked by a trio of gleefully sadistic clowns who deliver a terrifying ultimatum: you have two days to pass your audition. You better pass it, feller. You’re joining the circus.
Ain’t that the best news you ever got? Jamie is plunged into the horrific alternate universe that is the centuries-old Pilo Family Circus, a borderline world between hell and earth from which humankind’s greatest tragedies have been perpetrated.
Yet in this place peopled by the gruesome, grotesque and monstrous, where violence and savagery are the norm, Jamie finds that his worst enemy is himself.
For when he applies the white face paint, he is transformed into JJ, the most vicious clown of all. And JJ wants Jamie dead.
“Its gaze hit him like a cold touch and sent a shiver up his spine.”
Blood & Dust – Jason Nahrung
Australian vampire horror
For Outback mechanic Kevin Matheson, it’s just another summer’s day.
Mulga wavering in the haze, sweat on his brow, bastard flies getting in his way.
And then the vampires arrive, leaving his life like road kill in their wake.
Caught between vicious nomadic bikers and their brutal foes from the coast, Kevin fights to save not only those he holds dearest, but his own soul. But how far will he go to save the people he loves?
“Taipan jerked as the spike sank an inch into his chest.”
House of Sighs – Aaron Dries
Australian psychological horror
Local bus driver, Liz Frost, pulls the gun from her mouth and decides to live with her loneliness for one more day. She dresses, combs her hair, and goes to work.
Nine souls board her route that fateful morning in rural Australia, nine souls who Liz drags back to her home against their will.
She wants to build a new family from these passengers, men and women who are willing to kill to avoid becoming her kin.
The bus leaves a trail of carnage in its wake as it rockets towards a house that has held its secrets for far too long, a place where crows now gather, ready to feed on whatever is left behind.
“Suzie Marten was ten years old when she died.”
Published: 10 February 2024
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