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Killer wildlife stalks prey through eerie bushland. Sun-bleached psychological spirals enhance the fear. Australian horror stories aren’t just scary. They’re haunting in a way you’ll feel long after you finish the book.
Aussie horror thrives where the landscape meets the uncanny. These nine Australian horror novels and novellas—included on the list for their fear, originality, and lingering dread—prove why our local horror deserves global attention.
Here are the stories you’ll never forget.
1. The Gulp by Alan Baxter (2021)
Interconnected novellas, an eerie coastal town, and rich lore. Think Aussie Twilight Zone. It’s gained a cult following for a reason.
This eerie collection of interconnected novellas is set in a haunting Australian coastal town. The tales follow a truck driver, a pair of siblings trying to hide a deadly secret, and a group of backpackers who find themselves in a psychedelic, cultish nightmare.
Do not underestimate this Aurealis Award winner for Best Collection.
The stories crafted by Baxter explore some of the goriest subgenres of horror. They are set in a liminal small town that could rival Castle Rock or The Twilight Zone. You won’t find Pennywise or Rod Serling in this small town—you might find something even scarier.
2. Lunch Date by Ryan Tremers (2025)
This short horror novella will have you questioning your family structures as you dive deep into a satanic nightmare.
Horror comes to Australia’s capital city in Lunch Date, a short novella that’s packed full of insidious details. Debut writer Ryan Tremers delivers a slow-burning descent into satanic madness in this shocking but darkly funny horror novella. This one should probably come with a trigger warning or two, but most of the extremes are kept out of sight when it matters.
Emotionally and financially drained, a young couple cares for their newborn baby and the main character’s comatose mother-in-law. A ritualistic sacrifice promises to give them a fresh start, but at the cost of a life.
This is a tale that rewards close reading—small details take on new meaning once the twist lands and all is revealed. The prologue and epilogue provide important context to help you fully enjoy this body horror delight.
3. Slights by Kaaron Warren (2009)
Psychological terror incarnate. It’s hard to shake off this one. A disturbing portrait of guilt and trauma that’s earned massive critical respect.
Warren weaves an unnerving and ambiguous tale in this tense novel that you will struggle to shake off after you read the last page. The story paints a disturbing portrait of guilt and trauma that has rightfully earned praise from critics and readers alike.
Be prepared to question what you think is happening in the story—and possibly your own sanity. As the main character flies a little too close to the sun while trying to understand what truly happens when we die, you might find yourself wondering what your afterlife will look like.
Want more Australian horror? Check out our other Aussie horror news and lists!
4. Soon by Lois Murphy (2017)
Deeply atmospheric and thematically sharp. Creeping dread, social commentary, and rural decay all wrapped in a haunting mist.
Fact and fiction become intertwined in this grim warning about the ecological and biological impacts of the places that we live. Set in the fictional Western Australian town of Nebulah, this story echoes the real town of Wittenoom, where asbestos mining has rendered the area almost uninhabitable.
The townspeople of the rural Nebulah battle a mysterious mist that settles over the town every night. With the mist comes unexplained death—anybody who enters the mist in the evening or forgets to close a window before sundown risks losing it all.
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5. Fear is the Rider by Kenneth Cook (2016)
Lean, relentless, and masterful. A short pursuit through the outback that distills terror into raw survival.
This cinematic novel takes you on a thrilling ride when an innocent detour on a photography trip becomes a deadly pursuit through the Australian outback. Two courting lovers come face to face with an almost inhuman madman and are forced to defend themselves in an arid and unfamiliar setting.
💀 Did you know…
This relatively short novel was published posthumously, after an old manuscript for the story was discovered several decades after the death of the late author, Kenneth Cook.
Cook has crafted an existential nightmare in this, at times, hopeless tale of dread.
Like other iconic pieces of Australian horror, this book shows the vast emptiness of our outback and how danger doesn’t always come from the landscape—some things are scarier than getting lost in the sands…
6. Thylacines by Deborah Sheldon (2018)
Creature horror meets conservation angst. Short, tight, and fueled by escalating unease in the bush.
This creature horror blends messages of conservation and extinction while leaning into the pulpy subject matter. Set at a university just outside Melbourne, a team of scientists successfully clones five thylacines, also known as the extinct Tasmanian Tiger.
Short and fast-paced, this book will have you adding thylacines to the list of deadly Australian animals—even if they are not currently roaming the wild, that we know of. Sheldon’s story leaves you wondering what the consequences of cloning could be if it were in the wrong hands.
7. Wake in Fright by Kenneth Cook (1961)
Technically a short novel, but psychological horror at its bleakest. A descent into toxic masculinity, booze, and sunburnt nihilism.
This iconic Australian horror novel, published decades ago, remains a strong favourite among readers today. With a cult ozploitation film adaptation back in 1971 and a two-part television adaptation in 2017, this is a well-known and beloved tale of terror.
Cook takes a grounded approach with this novel as he did when he wrote another book on this list, Fear is the Rider. This psychological nightmare follows a man who finds himself trapped in a country town after losing his money to gambling. Instead of a barrage of supernatural terrors, the character discovers that the real horror lies in his situation and how far he has fallen.
8. The Roo by Alan Baxter (2020)
Outrageous, gory, and gloriously aware of it. A pulpy creature romp with a self-aware snarl.
Alan Baxter makes the list again with his creature horror novel The Roo. This story goes to gloriously unhinged extremes as it delivers a new take on the well-trodden killer kangaroo horror subgenre.
This self-aware tale follows a town under siege by an oversized and bloodthirsty kangaroo. While exploring this gonzo concept, this fast-paced novel will have you laughing whenever you’re not cringing at the creative ways Baxter disposes of his characters.
9. Netherkind by Greg Chapman (2019)
If subterranean mythos and Lovecraftian horror are your jam, this is your hidden gem.
This imaginative cannibalistic tale pushes the boundaries of the Lovecraftian subgenre and takes you on a terrifying subterranean journey. A man who survives on human flesh learns something very important about himself that contextualises why he feels out of place in the world. In pursuit of the truth, he might learn more than he bargained for.
While not explicitly set in Australia, there are strong context clues that suggest it might be. Supernatural creatures and evil occultists make for an interesting and, at times, unnerving story. There is fantasy-like worldbuilding at play here, but at its core, this Barker-esque novel is pure horror.
The iconography of Australian horror is at its best when it is simple: arid landscapes, the combination of Australian humour and screams of terror, and our deadly wildlife all converge to make Australian horror books among the scariest in the world.
Have you read any of these books? Let us know in the comments below!
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