Frank Cusack

One of my favourite books growing up, scared the whilikers out of me, but I mourned when my mother accidentally threw it out and I feared it was lost forever. Luckily, I found a copy at a flea market many years later which I now treasure. Whether or not you believe in ghosts (I maintain an open mind), this is spooky, atmospheric writing at its best. The stories in this book have not been picked because of their purported veracity or otherwise, but because they are redolent with the flavour of the varoius parts of Australia and times of our history from which they are drawn. The rattle of ball & chain from the convict era, the clatter of pick-axes from the gold rush, the yells and whip-cracks of the drovers, the alien spookiness of the Min-Min light and its numerous brethren, this book is truly haunting (pardon the pun). This is a book to be read and savoured over and over again, preferably late at night with the lights turned low and a wind whistling around the eaves. Enjoy… (mere)