Book picks similar to
Haunted Australia by John Heffernan


horror
bookshelf-books
dimovski-library
middle-readers

Supposedly Haunted: True Life Experiences of a Paranormal Investigator


E.E. Bensen - 2016
    He discusses what brought him into the paranormal research field, describes real life supernatural events witnessed firsthand during his numerous investigations, and also provides an opinion of what all of it might be. Experiencing paranormal phenomena has a way of changing one's perspective. Locations include Waverly Hills Sanatorium, Preston Castle, The Washoe Club, The Stanley Hotel, Old Tooele Hospital (Asylum 49), Farrar Elementary School, and more!

Ganglands


Maureen McCarthy - 2000
    She's a scholarship girl, her dad drinks too much and her mum lives in another city. Her house isn't renovated like those of her friends. But Kelly has one thing her friends are envious of – Phil. Rich, devoted, handsome Phil. And it looks like their future together is all mapped out. Then, on a hot afternoon in a dingy little pizza shop, Kelly meets Con. He's unlike anyone she's ever known before. It's a dramatic meeting, a chance encounter that changes everything . . .A passionate and uncompromising story of love, conflict and choices, from the author of Chain of Hearts and the highly acclaimed Queen Kat, Carmel and St Jude Get a Life.

The Frankston Murders: The True Story of Serial Killer Paul Denyer


Vikki Petraitis - 2011
    

The Witch's Kiss


Katharine Corr - 2016
    Then sweet, sensitive Jack comes into her life and she falls for him hard. The only problem is that he is periodically possessed by a destructive centuries-old curse. Meredith has lost her heart, but will she also lose her life? Or in true fairytale tradition, can true love’s kiss save the day?

Crossing the Line: How Australian Cricket Lost Its Way


Gideon Haigh - 2018
    Y’know, it's not within the spirit of the game.’ Steve Smith was not to know it at Cape Town on 24 March 2018, but he was addressing his last press conference as captain of the Australian cricket team. By the next day morning he would be swept from office by a tsunami of public indignation involving even the prime minister. In a unique admission, Smith confessed to condoning a policy of sandpapering the cricket ball in a Test against South Africa. He, the instigator David Warner and their agent Cameron Bancroft returned home to disgrace and to lengthy bans. The crisis plunged Australian cricket into a bout of unprecedented soul searching, with Cricket Australia yielding to demands for reviews of the cricket team and of itself to restore confidence in their ‘culture’. In Crossing the Line, Gideon Haigh conducts his own cultural review – ‘less official and far cheaper but genuinely independent’. Studying the cricket team across a decade of radical change, he finds an accident waiting to happen, and a system struggling to cope with self-created challenges, on the field and in the boardroom. And he wonders: is there even any longer a spirit of the game to be within? Crossing the Line is the first instalment in Slattery Media Group’s Sports Shorts collection, a new series of sports essays published as small-format books. Sports Shorts has been created as a home for ambitious, lively and engaging writing and journalism on sport—work of a scale and scope not suited to the confines of day-to-day journalism. Every instalment will illuminate or entertain, all the while fitting into your back pocket on the way to the game.

Credlin & Co.: How the Abbott Government Destroyed Itself


Aaron Patrick - 2016
    Her strength as a chief of staff was a sign of his weakness as a prime minister: she gave him the option of disengaging. Credlin allowed Abbott to be who he wanted to be: the good bloke, the philosopher, the weekend fire-fighter, the surfer, the orator, the man of action. If Abbott was a natural leader, it could have worked. But he lacked the most important attribute of all: judgement.Tony Abbott and his chief of staff, Peta Credlin, ran a brilliant campaign in opposition. But their approach led to disaster in government.When Abbott became prime minister, he and Credlin ruthlessly controlled ministers, backbenchers, the public service and the media. They shut out voices that questioned Abbott’s way. Everything started to unravel.Credlin & Co. is the story of a relationship that determined the fate of a government. It shows in stunning detail the disastrous consequences of power abused, and the broken people left in its wake.Aaron Patrick is the print editor of the Australian Financial Review and author of Downfall: How the Labor Party Ripped Itself Apart (2013).

Zombie Diaries: Homecoming, Junior Year


R.W.K. Clark - 2017
    A fun timeless coming-of-age fantasy as only he could envision it.While most high school juniors are worried about acne, grades, and dating, Mavis Harvey has a host of issues to deal with, like her appetite for human flesh. Don’t worry, the bullies won't get far. Crunch!Revel in a new phase of RWK Clark’s writing career that is yielding his most imaginative, and bestselling work yet, a must-read epic saga.Author Commentary‘Zombie Diaries’ is a series I have written about the funny, off-beat story of Mavis Harvey, Girl Zombie. As the introductory novel to the series, readers will get to know Mavis a bit, and they will get a strong sense of the personality of this girl who is slowly turning into a flesh-eating monster.This is not a horror novel in the traditional sense, and I never intended it to be. What I wanted to do with Mavis and her life was, have fun by asking, ‘What would it be like if a normal, everyday girl were to experience this type of change alone, out of the blue? What if she retained her intelligence and logic, realizing something was happening, but not sure what? How would she deal with it?’ I wanted the book to be light, with a tad of humor, and I wanted it to contain a story that was acceptable for reading for an audience of almost any age.I didn’t intend for ZD1 to be bloody or scary. What my vision for Mavis consisted of was something laid-back and fun to read, something that takes an already insane idea (zombies) and turns it into a story that takes away the sting of the same old approach. With that in mind, readers of any age will enjoy the story of Mavis, and they will want to stick this crazy experience out with her until the bitter end.Unfortunately, as we all are aware, zombies need living flesh to survive, and Mavis will learn that the hard way, with a hard lesson coming at the end of this book. In conclusion, I hope my readers are happy with me breaking through my typical thriller mindset. I have lightened up a bit, so to speak, and I contribute this piece that is appropriate for all teens. It is with great pleasure that I encourage you to enjoy ‘Zombie Diaries’ and continue to follow this tongue-in-cheek heroine as she slowly, but inevitably, comes to terms with what is happening to her, and what is yet to come. Nothing can prepare my readers for the crazy fun, and chaos, this girl lives through on her quest for answers.

Sophie's Secret


Tara West - 2007
    To make her life more complicated, Sophie can sometimes read minds. Sophie's BFFs, AJ and Krysta, are also 'gifted' with paranormal abilities. Keeping their gifts secret proves difficult, as their powers are strengthening, making them feel more and more like freaks. When Sophie falls for Jacob, she hopes he'll ask her out to the Freshman Formal. But when she's forced to cheat and lie for him, she wonders how far she'll have to go to make him like her. Add to her growing list of problems - her teacher's suicidal thoughts, a locker bully who wants to kick her butt, the hot school flirt who won't stop teasing her, her pregnant sister who boots Sophie out of her room, and the growing tension between Sophie and her best friends. Sophie's got issues. Hopefully, she can fix them in time to save her teacher's life and her social life.

The Haunting of Waverly Hall


Michael Richan - 2016
     The reason? It's haunted. Especially the old town hall. When Rachel returns to Eliza begging for her help, Eliza agrees to use her “gift” to help Rachel redeem her past. Rachel takes her to the small, long-abandoned town of Waverly, where the few remaining houses hold a terrible secret that killed Rachel’s friend many years ago. All of the houses seem interconnected, especially the old town hall, where the most frightening hauntings occur. Eliza unravels the town’s hidden past while trying to avoid the fate of Rachel’s friend. She discovers why the hall is haunted — but understanding a ghost’s reasons for being aren’t always enough to get it to stop, especially when it’s addicted to sick and horrific behaviors. Her friends Robert and Granger help, but there’s no guarantee they can conquer the ghosts of Waverly Hall. The Haunting of Waverly Hall is the sequel to The Haunting of Pitmon House.

Last Wish (Linh Davies #1)


M.D. Thomas - 2020
    Each new soul arrives with a story and a last wish. If she can grant their wish, they’ll move on and leave her be. But that isn’t always possible and her head is getting crowded... Three weeks from taking a new job, Linh gets fourteen-year-old Elizabeth Bauer stuck in her head. Another voice is bad enough, but Linh is horrified to learn that the girl’s last wish is for her father to die. When Linh refuses, Elizabeth decides there’s only one way to get what she wants—to take over Linh’s body and kill her father herself. During the struggle that follows Linh is forced to decide what’s more important—her life and the lives of those around her or her oath as a physician to do no harm.

The Reluctant Witch: A Paranormal Cozy Mystery


Amelia Hopegood - 2020
    

Bigfoot: The Dark Side


Rusty Wilson - 2018
    Be sure to go to a friend’s house to read them, because you won’t want to be alone, and whatever you do, don’t walk home by yourself! Come read about a most unusual resort house in Washington’s Palouse country—then read about the strange Yellowstone Fog and the secrets it holds—come along to mysterious Alaska where an archaeologist makes a find he wishes he hadn’t—find out if a human can outwit a bloodthirsty Bigfoot by climbing high in a tree—visit a unique house set in the Utah desert—then climb high on Canada’s highest peak, Mt. Logan, where something malevolent awaits you. Another great book from Rusty Wilson, Bigfoot expert and storyteller—tales for both the Bigfoot believer and those who just enjoy a good story.

'50sVille


Paul Ibbetson - 2014
    In this strange place, only a select few people ever leave the city limits and even then, they leave reluctantly. This is what fifteen and a half year old Benjamin Granault faces as, through a string of amazing events, he finds himself living in a town where he can never talk about modern technology or current events, a place where being an outsider can cost a person his life and being part of the community may very well cost more. Follow the adventures of Benjamin Granault in ‘50sVille, the strangest town Indiana has ever been unaware of.

A Girl Like Me


Penny Matthews - 2010
    She's funny and knowing and wild, and she distracts Emmie from the monotony of farm life in their tiny, isolated community. But, as Emmie soon discovers, Bertha has secrets. Terrible secrets.This heartbreaking story is based on a real crime that took place more than a century ago, capturing headlines all around Australia.

The Haunting of Stone Street Cemetery: A Halloween Haunting


Cat Knight - 2017
    It was a cemetery afterall. Now she’s paying for it. Perhaps the psychic was right about ghosts and Halloween. When television talk show host Monica Stanford goes out for a night of Halloween partying with her life-long friends, things begin to go awry when they take a short cut through the local cemetery on Stone Street. Charlie is convinced that they have unleashed an angry ghost, as bloodcurdling events begin to unfold with deadly consequences. Can they find a way to put to rest the tormented spirit they have provoked before they all wind up dead?If you love ghosts and Haunted houses, you really should be reading Cat Knight’s other books. List of Books The Haunting of Elleric LodgeThe Haunting of Grayson HouseThe Haunting of Fairview HouseThe Haunting of Weaver HouseThe Haunting of Keira O’ConnellThe Haunting of Ferncoombe ManorThe Haunting of Highcliff HallThe Haunting of Knoll HouseIf you read stories in the occult, occultism, horror, supernatural and paranormal genres then add these to your reading list.