AustLit

'This paper examines the cultural significance of Australian ghost stories, with particular reference to the nineteenth century. The paper considers the specific qualities of these stories in the context of the colonial experience of Australia. The foundation of the penal colony and the dispossession of the Aborigines are proposed as significant contributing factors to any specificity relating to Australian ghost stories. The narrative theme of 'buried country' coming to the surfaces is a feature of late nineteenth century ghost stories, told from the colonisers' perspective, concerning encounters with Aboriginal burial grounds or massacre sites. the uniqueness of the Australian landscape is also considered as a contributing factor to ghost stories or alleged hauntings occurring in the Australian interior.' (p. 469-470)