zed ’s review of In Tasmania > Likes and Comments
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So, why is it, that when folks in the northern hemisphere see media on or set in Tasmania, its made to seem like a spooky place?
Charles wrote: "So, why is it, that when folks in the northern hemisphere see media on or set in Tasmania, its made to seem like a spooky place?"
I suppose a blend of things.
End of the world in various areas such as its geographical location, literature wise as well so in the imagination of both reader and writer.
The treatment of the indigenous peoples and the convicts. Port Arthur was damn right spooky the day I made a visit, and of course that had the terrible slaughter many years back that highlighted its convict past.
Weather wise it can be spooky, changes to the appearance that seem unsettling.
Plenty of local ghost stories. A fella I worked with swore his bed moved at a farm house he stayed at. One can read about that type of thing in the media.
The first time I went there for work purposes, it just felt different. The isolation effect, I suppose. And I was also aware that for thousands of years a people had lived there and seemed to have been wrongly removed, it seemed to haunt the island, something unsaid mostly. I think it was Richard Flanagan who made a comment along the lines that it was a place that has never known what to do with its past.
In addition to that I think in the popular Australian imagination it's the place which most seems like England/Europe/North America (cold weather, dark winters, thick forests) and therefore feels most appropriate for ghost fiction or Scandi-noir dramas.
Mitchell wrote: "In addition to that I think in the popular Australian imagination it's the place which most seems like England/Europe/North America (cold weather, dark winters, thick forests) and therefore feels m..."
Yes, and add nineteenth-century architecture like the sandstone buildings, bridges etc.
I suppose the question is how organic has this been?
zed wrote: "... I suppose the question is how organic has this been?"
You mean: green tea, kombucha, tofu w/ brown rice, and brown-eyed women and red grenadine wearing peasant blouses and wraparound skirts with thong sandals? 🤔
Charles wrote: "zed wrote: "... I suppose the question is how organic has this been?"
You mean: green tea, kombucha, tofu w/ brown rice, and brown-eyed women and red grenadine wearing peasant blouses and wraparou..."
Organic in the historical–cultural sense, Charles, not the Birkenstock-and-kombucha aisle at the local organic shop. 😉
zed wrote: "...Organic in the historical–cultural sense..."
You mean like Crocodile Dundee or Battle of Fromelles historical-cultural? 🤔
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Charles
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Jan 13, 2026 06:27AM
So, why is it, that when folks in the northern hemisphere see media on or set in Tasmania, its made to seem like a spooky place?
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Charles wrote: "So, why is it, that when folks in the northern hemisphere see media on or set in Tasmania, its made to seem like a spooky place?"I suppose a blend of things.
End of the world in various areas such as its geographical location, literature wise as well so in the imagination of both reader and writer.
The treatment of the indigenous peoples and the convicts. Port Arthur was damn right spooky the day I made a visit, and of course that had the terrible slaughter many years back that highlighted its convict past.
Weather wise it can be spooky, changes to the appearance that seem unsettling.
Plenty of local ghost stories. A fella I worked with swore his bed moved at a farm house he stayed at. One can read about that type of thing in the media.
The first time I went there for work purposes, it just felt different. The isolation effect, I suppose. And I was also aware that for thousands of years a people had lived there and seemed to have been wrongly removed, it seemed to haunt the island, something unsaid mostly. I think it was Richard Flanagan who made a comment along the lines that it was a place that has never known what to do with its past.
In addition to that I think in the popular Australian imagination it's the place which most seems like England/Europe/North America (cold weather, dark winters, thick forests) and therefore feels most appropriate for ghost fiction or Scandi-noir dramas.
Mitchell wrote: "In addition to that I think in the popular Australian imagination it's the place which most seems like England/Europe/North America (cold weather, dark winters, thick forests) and therefore feels m..."Yes, and add nineteenth-century architecture like the sandstone buildings, bridges etc.
I suppose the question is how organic has this been?
zed wrote: "... I suppose the question is how organic has this been?"You mean: green tea, kombucha, tofu w/ brown rice, and brown-eyed women and red grenadine wearing peasant blouses and wraparound skirts with thong sandals? 🤔
Charles wrote: "zed wrote: "... I suppose the question is how organic has this been?"You mean: green tea, kombucha, tofu w/ brown rice, and brown-eyed women and red grenadine wearing peasant blouses and wraparou..."
Organic in the historical–cultural sense, Charles, not the Birkenstock-and-kombucha aisle at the local organic shop. 😉
zed wrote: "...Organic in the historical–cultural sense..."You mean like Crocodile Dundee or Battle of Fromelles historical-cultural? 🤔
