Legendary Australian executioner, Kurdaitcha, has walked the Earth since the beginning of time, tracking victims by stealth and never leaving any evidence behind. Kurdaitcha is known as a silent assassin who takes random victims in the Outback. This tale of an ancient serial killer is about to come alive again in a new book with a contemporary narrative.
Of course, every part of Australia was Outback sixty thousand years ago. Until Europeans colonised it two centuries years ago, if you weren’t on a beach, you were already in the Outback. Today’s Outback is a bit further away than that. Drive inland for three hours and the familiar commercialised version of the Outback comes to light. It’s dry, flat (mostly) and unpopulated.
The descendants of Australia’s earliest inhabitants are well aware of the ominous creature they named Kurdaitcha. They recall a story of the Outback assassin who is said to wear feathers on its feet so as to remain quiet while stalking its prey. Apart from feathers and a murderous outcome to every encounter, there are few details available that describe what Kurdaitcha actually looks like. Without leaving any evidence or witnesses in its wake, HE could be a SHE. It could be six feet tall or the size of a leprechaun. We can’t even be sure if the killer is human. All we know is that it has some feet. Kurdaitcha has remained a mystery for sixty millennia. The story is written into Australian (European) folklore.
I’ve spoken about the vastness of the Outback before. It’s possible to drive for days without seeing another soul. This is partly because of Australia’s size but also due to its low-density population. If you were a killer, that’d sound like the perfect hunting ground. There are two problems with this premise. Such a killer would have a hell of a job finding a person to murder in the first place. Next, creeping up on unsuspecting prey would be near impossible to do on the sparse, flat and open land of the Outback. A victim would be able to see someone coming to them long before they heard their footsteps, whether feathers suppressed their sound or not.
Nevertheless, I love the idea that a mysterious, unseen creature can pop up anywhere, do its thing l and then disappear without a trace. When writing SEETHINGS, I had to bring my Kurdaitcha to the city and let the local indigenous community name the murderer. Eventually, the police unit that’s assigned to investigate the serial killings adopt the name and call their task: Operation Kurdaitcha. This is in opposition to the news outlets where the reporters consistently refer to the villain as The Stormfront Killer and have done so since the second murder. At first, the police officially deny the weather link but, by the discovery of the fourth victim’s body, it’s clear that thunderstorms play a vital part in each murder. For the reader, you’ll discover that it’s not just any storm. Only one type of storm matters and only one part of each storm resurrects Kurdaitcha.
It seems there’s another storm forecast and it’s waiting for you. Download and read SEETHINGS for free (limited time) and get ready for the downpour. I can’t wait for you to get lost between the raindrops.
-Michael Forman (Author – Dark Fiction)
Five women’s bodies are discovered after the nights of thunderstorms. Their spouses are suspected of the crimes, but it becomes clear that someone else is responsible. There’s no blood and few clues. A storm photographer specialising in taking lightning pictures may be the only witness.
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