Australians have been sharing the places that left them feeling deeply unsettled, from remote mining settlements to windswept islands. Travellers and locals described encounters ranging from silent stares and strange social interactions to ghost sightings and unexplained figures in the dark.
Deep in Victoria's High Country, Woods Point is one of the state's most remote historic mining towns. Visitors recalled feeling watched from windows, with one person describing a drive through town where heads turned as they passed, likening it to a movie scene. Another recounted a ghost sighting of a woman in an 1800s-style dress among blackberry bushes.
Queenstown in Tasmania has a stark, scarred landscape that some travellers say leaves an unsettling atmosphere. One visitor claimed a local woman screamed and ran away when asked for directions, while another was told to 'keep driving' when asking for food. The consistent accounts of unwelcoming locals have cemented the town's eerie reputation.
Heron Island, a tropical escape on the surface, tells a different story after dark. Nocturnal muttonbirds produce ghostly 'wooOOoooOooo' sounds at night, leading early settlers to believe the island was haunted. The birds also have poor vision and sometimes awkwardly crash into trees, adding to the uncanny experience.
In Tasmania's Central Plateau, Interlaken is the subject of an unsettling urban legend involving tall, humanoid figures seen at night. One person claimed there are 7ft tall creatures with long arms and legs that run alongside cars in the area.
