Black Mountain: Australia’s Bermuda Triangle.

Free image courtesy Kenan Sulayman on Unsplash.

Located in far north Queensland, Australia, sits a mountain of rocks, known as Black Mountain. It’s an eerie terrain, appearing all the more mysterious after rainfall, where the mass of granite boulders become darker. As far back as the late 1800s, people and animals have been recorded as missing, earning it the label Australia’s Bermuda Triangle.

In 1877, a farmer riding on horseback, searched the area for his missing cattle, but neither he, his horse or his cattle were ever seen again. Since then, gold miners, police, and Aboriginal trackers are known to have disappeared. In the 1920s, a couple of men attempted to solve the disappearances, only to have met the same fate.

There are, however, some documented cases where the missing have returned. In the 19th century, an Aboriginal tracker came back ‘completely unhinged,’ the lone survivor of a search team.  A gold miner was found next to his rifle with a bullet wound to the head, and a hiker was found dead from unknown causes. Such incidents have only added to its mystique.

Image of Black Mountain, Queensland, Australia, courtesy John Robert McPherson Wikimedia Commons. No changes made.

A sacred place for the local indigenous people of the area, they hold Black Mountain in great respect. One of the Dreamtime stories tell of a fight between two brothers who were in love with the same woman. They threw rocks at each other, culminating in their deaths, leaving behind the pile of stones.

Like Uluru, the indigenous community advise people not to climb Black Mountain. There have been cases where those who choose to ignore such warnings have become very ill. The Aboriginals believe they are being tormented by the spirit of their ancestors.

The topography of Black Mountain may explain the number of disappearances over the years, however, people who venture around the area speak of a supernatural presence and feelings of dread.

When it comes to Black Mountain, it may be wise to heed the warnings, and err on the side of caution.

The Lure of The Devil’s Pool.

Free image courtesy TheDigitalArtist on Pixabay.

In far north Queensland, surrounded by lush rainforests, sits The Devil’s Pool, part of Babinda Creek. Large granite boulders fill the creek bed, making it a popular swimming and picnic area. Beneath its natural beauty lies deep channels, and a popular myth that is both haunting and terrifying.

According to legend, a young Aboriginal woman, named Oolana, was selected to marry a respected elder of her tribe. However, she had fallen in love with a young man from a rival tribe. Knowing they could not possibly remain together, they ran away, but were eventually found. He was banished, but as Oolana was escorted back to her tribe, she managed to wrestle free. Oolana threw herself into the waters of Babinda Creek, crying out for her lost love, and there she drowned.

Since then, it is believed she haunts the waters, luring young single men to their deaths in the hope that one of them is her lost love.

There is startling evidence to suggest there might be some truth behind this local myth. Police records, dating back to 1959, reveal that twenty people have drowned at Babinda, although the figures could be much higher. Each of the victims, except for one German tourist, have been single men, and the majority have all been tourists or ‘outsiders.’

Free image courtesy kazuend on Unsplash.

One such victim was 24-year-old Patrick McGann. A couple of hours before the tragedy, a photo was taken of him with a cigarette in his mouth. Police photographed the area after Patrick drowned, only to find that when the photos were developed, his face could clearly be seen in the water, complete with a cigarette hanging from his mouth.

Today, a plaque lies at the site to his memory, and as a warning to others.

‘Pray for the soul of Patrick McGann. He came for a visit on 22.6.79 and stayed forever.’

Whether the events to this story are mere coincidences or there are actual supernatural forces at play, you can’t deny The Devil’s Pool certainly makes for one compelling, spooky story.

The Collector.

The Thong CollectorOn a recent shopping exhibition in a nearby town, my family and I stopped for lunch at our local KFC. As my husband stood in line for our order, I sat outside with the kids. My eyes scanned the car park behind us and it was then that a particular vehicle caught my attention. An old white van, dirtied with dust, and strangely hanging off the rear bumper, was a collection of rubber thongs.

Now, in Australia, thongs are not only those skimpy pieces of underwear, but also what we wear upon our feet. In some countries, they are known as ‘flip-flops’, but we know them as thongs. After all, it is only in Australia where you can compete in thong throwing!

Bemused by this strange collection, I wondered why anyone would want to have rubber thongs attached to the back of their car. Then it dawned on me that maybe this wasn’t just anybody, but none other than Mick Taylor. When my husband returned with the food, I mentioned it to him and he believed anything was possible out here. We were in a country town, surrounded by farmland and not far from that, acres of bushland of National Park. I had watched Wolf Creek and it gave me chills* – the thought of something like that happening out here, nobody would know. I turned my back upon the van which was beginning to remind of a particular scene from Silence of the Lambs and ate my lunch.

Our car was parked a short distance from the van and as I passed, I noticed whoever owned it had gone to great lengths to put them all on (and there were quite a few pairs). If this wasn’t Mick Taylor proudly displaying his trophies to the world (in which case, it was a good enough signal to stay the hell away), then I was puzzled by the whole idea – Mick Taylor or someone with a bizarre foot fetish? Either way, I got into the car and quickly closed the door behind me.

*Wolf Creek 2 is due to release across Australia on 20 February, 2014.

Are you a collector? Do you perhaps collect something a little out of the ‘ordinary’? Have you seen anything lately that fired your imagination? Did you watch Wolf Creek – what are your thoughts about the movie? Are you thinking of seeing Wolf Creek 2?

Image by Debbie Johansson