I purchased a copy of Picnic at Hanging Rock for my eldest.

It’s a classic gothic-horror set just outside Melbourne.

Here’s a one paragraph synopsis of the book from DeepSeek:

On Valentine’s Day in 1900, students from Appleyard College, a strict Australian boarding school, picnic at the ancient and eerie Hanging Rock. Four girls—Miranda, Marion, Irma, and Edith—along with their teacher, Miss McCraw, venture up the rock, only to vanish mysteriously amid strange occurrences: watches stop, time seems distorted, and Edith flees in terror with no explanation. Irma is later found unconscious with no memory, while the others disappear without a trace, sparking a frantic but futile search. The school spirals into chaos, with one student dying under suspicious circumstances and the headmistress unraveling, all while the rock’s ominous presence lingers. The novel ends ambiguously, leaving the fate of the girls open to supernatural interpretations—time slips, alien abductions, or the rock itself consuming them—heightening its haunting, Gothic atmosphere.

I’m sure he’ll like it.

Here’s a cool picture of the rock formation from the Macedon Ranges official tourist website:

What I remember being cool about the story is that we never get a clear idea of what happen to the girls.

Here’s the major paranormal theories (that I like), summarized by DS:

  1. Time Slip or Dimensional Portal

    • Many readers speculate that the girls entered a rift in time or slipped into another dimension. The strange behavior of the rocks (warped watches, sudden disorientation) suggests a temporal anomaly.
    • Some theories propose that Hanging Rock exists outside normal time, absorbing the girls into a different era or parallel reality.

  2. The Rock Itself is Alive/Sentient

    • The novel hints at an ancient, almost malevolent presence within the rock. Indigenous Australian perspectives (though not heavily explored in the book) often treat such formations as sacred or spiritually powerful.
    • The idea that the rock “took” the girls—either as sacrifices or simply because it could—fits with the eerie, dreamlike tone of the story.

  3. Alien Abduction

    • Though not a dominant theory, some interpretations suggest extraterrestrial involvement, given the sudden disappearance and the lack of physical traces. The girls’ trance-like state before vanishing could imply an otherworldly influence.

  4. Supernatural Vanishing (Fairy Abduction or Spirit Realm)

    • Folklore often speaks of people being taken by fairies, spirits, or elemental forces. Miranda, described as ethereal and “Botticelli angel-like,” might have been a target for otherworldly beings.
    • The novel’s dreamy, unresolved ending supports a mystical, rather than rational, explanation.

  5. Voluntary Disappearance (Into the Earth or Another Plane)

    • Some interpretations suggest the girls willingly transcended their physical forms, perhaps ascending to a higher state of being. The novel’s themes of repressed Victorian sexuality and liberation tie into this—Miranda’s last words (“Everything begins and ends at exactly the right time”) hint at a metaphysical departure.

  6. The “Lost Chapter” (Cut from Final Draft)

    • Joan Lindsay originally wrote a final chapter (published posthumously as The Secret of Hanging Rock), which provided a concrete, albeit bizarre, explanation involving a time-loop and geological phenomenon. Many fans reject this, preferring the mystery.

Nice.

Time loop is fun.