Book Review: Haunted & Mysterious Australia

 Haunted & Mysterious Australia

Bunyips, yowies, phantoms and other strange phenomena

Author:                          Tim the Yowie Man

Publisher:                      New Holland Publishers

Type:                              Soft Cover

Pages:                             189

Genre:                            non-fiction

Published:                     (First: 2006) This edition: 2017

ISBN:                             9781742579436

 The first thing you will notice in this large book is the big colorful photos, but fear not, this isn't just a picture book, it also devotes most of the page to text describing the mystery in common language. Its refreshing to see such vibrant pictures in a book like this.

 There is a map of Australia in the front of the book which shows the location of the phenomenon and on which page you'll find it. 

 Tim the Yowie Man takes a logical but skeptical look at a lot of different Australian mysteries including; spooklights, ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, a fishman, fairy, crop circles, haunted shipwrecks, lake monsters, poltergeists, vanishing lakes, ghosts, yowies, out of place animals, standing stones, haunted cars, surviving prehistoric creatures, UFO's, a levitating beer glass, sacred sites, mysterious geological formations, geoglyphs, cryptids, rock art, ghost ships, and haunted buildings among other subjects.

 I really like that this book is written from an Australian perspective, and it was interesting to see Tim the Yowie Man's own clearly marked encounter within it. Its also really refreshing to see stories that i have not heard of before alongside the famous ones.

 There is a bibliography in the back and a really interesting list of Australian ghost tours. 

 This is an excellent book and one worth having on every bookshelf. The only criticism i could have against this book is that the page numbers are a little bit difficult to read. If your at all interested in Cryptozoology, Paranormal activity, history or Australian culture you have to grab yourself a copy of this book.

FULL SCORE

Book Review: The ghosts of toowong cemetery

 The ghosts of Toowong cemetery

Brisbane's Necropolis

Author:                          Jack Sim

Publisher:                      Jack Sim

Type:                              Soft Cover

Pages:                             40

Genre:                            Non-Fiction

Published:                      2012

ISBN:                              9780975796023

 This is a small book with no spine. It was actually given to me by a friend. There are numerous black and white photographs.  The text is of good size and clear. The book even has a map of all the locations in the cemetery in the back!

 The book deals with the areas of Toowong Cemetery that are haunted or have had paranormal activity reported there.  Some of the uncanny goings on includes strange lights, disembodied voices, found bodies, Nazi- vandalism, moving statues, vampires, ghostly apparitions, haunted celebrity graves, grim reaper sightings, witchcraft, mysterious blood, wailing women, and death parades.

 The cemetery is also home to a spook hill one of many found around the world. You know the story park your car at the bottom of the hill and wait as unseen forces will push your car up the hill, defying gravity and the rules of the living. 

 Each place is given much explanation, with history and legends well explained. Unfortunately the cemetery is locked up at night but there are tours that have access. 

 One company Brisbane Ghost Tours was established by the author of this book. 

  This is a really good book, excellent for anyone interested in ghosts, the and paranormal of course. But just as interesting for those interested in the history of Brisbane in particular and Australia in general.

Review: Haunted Australia

 Haunted Australia

 

Author:                               John Heffernan

Publisher:                           Scholastic

Type:                                   Soft Cover

Pages:                                  161

Genre:                                 non-fiction

Published:                            2005

ISBN:                                   9781865048260

 I purchased this book online at about three in the morning, along with a few others, i missed the fact it was a scholastic book. For those who don't know Scholastic does fine works making books easier for school children to access. However Scholastic books tend to be for younger readers, so it has large printing, is wide spaced, glosses over many details and sometimes descends into silly speak.  
 Now don't get me wrong using 'spooxpert' to refer to parapsychologists, or paranormal investigators was kind of amusing the first time, however it grated more and more with every single use, and by the end of the book i wanted to hit something. 
 To be fair to this book i am going to rate it as best i can for its child to teen target audience.

 The book is a collection of true ghost encounters from Australia, while some cover a few pages others take up a single paragraph.
 The book has a good introduction, and i should mention i suppose that the book does deal with ghosts and therefore mentions death a few times, as with everything, if you are concerned about younger readers, be a responsible parent and read it yourself first, and discuss it after you have both read it. There are no pictures in this book at all, though some pages have a pattern (as seen in the above photo).
 The book covers haunted houses, ships, theaters, hotels, islands, barracks, prisons, hospitals, roads and even a haunted toilet.
 There is a section on ghost animals including  horses and cattle in addition to the usual dogs and cats.
 Other topics covered include Indigenous spirits, 'guardian angels', ghost hunting, spook (min min) lights, ghost towns, phantom hitchhikers, animal PSI, possession and old hag syndrome.

 There is a short frequently asked questions, but sadly;

 "Why are you trying to make 'spooxperts' a thing?"

wasn't one of those questions, my personal conclusion is that it wasn't included because there is no excuse as 'spooxperts' is an unjustifiable abuse of the English language.

 The book closes with a glossary and some references. There is no index!

 OK so all joking aside, this is a decent book, i can see myself reading this in mid to late primary school maybe. It might have been nice to know there were other haunted houses in Australia. Its simple to read, doesn't get too dark and should peek a child's interest in exploring the subject more. Personally while i can understand not putting the home addresses in the descriptions i would still have liked to see times, dates, and names, some of the places described have been destroyed so why not give there locations. And it has no index, how can any book of this nature be published without an index? 

 I would recommend this book to younger readers who have an interest in the paranormal or are experiencing a haunting, books of this nature focusing on Australia are not too common so anyone interest in Australia or its history might also find this book a launching point to further research.

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Remember always expect a skeptic to be skeptical of everything, not just what they don't want to accept.

Drop Bear Growls