Coming Soon: The Haunting of Bushranger Inn
Sandy and Nate are a young, recently married couple from Sydney, Australia, looking to move to the country and run their own business. The Bushranger Inn on the outskirts of the town of Soames is up for sale, and they decide to take on the challenge of running it.
The bushrangers were nineteenth-century Australian outlaws who raided farms, robbed banks, and held up stagecoaches. When the authorities pursued them, they disappeared into the vast hinterland of forest and scrub called the bush.
The inn does have a historic connection to real bushrangers. It was formerly known as the Victoria Arms and was the unofficial headquarters of the Morgan gang. In 1863, police suspected them of robbing a gold shipment being taken by carriage from the gold fields of Soames to Sydney. The gold was never found, and the bushrangers died in mysterious circumstances.
After moving into the inn, Sandy is disturbed by ghostly sounds occurring at the same time every night. Nate cannot hear them and thinks she is imagining it.
Ignoring the sounds might help Sandy save her marriage and the business, but what if they’re a warning? Could listening to them be their best chance of survival?
Why Do I Write Ghost Stories?
Dread can be delicious. That’s why I’ve read ghost stories since I was a child, and it’s why I write them now.
A scary story leaves an imprint on the reader’s mind. It’s only faint during the day, and even after the sun goes down, it’s hardly visible if you keep the lights on. The moment to truly appreciate the impact of a scary story is when you’re in bed, preparing to switch out the light. Are you ready to click the switch and plunge the room into darkness?
Over the years, I’ve become aware of a paradox in my thinking. I try to keep an open mind, but I remain sceptical about the supernatural. However, at night, especially if I’ve recently read a creepy ghost story, my scepticism seems like a flimsy mask, and part of me knows that the strange and uncanny are real.
Writing ghost stories lets me explore the constantly changing boundary between belief and disbelief.
Place which inspire me
I grew up in England but emigrated to Australia in my twenties. Many of my stories are inspired by places I’ve visited on my travels.
Contact me
bjconroy@bjconroy.com