In MR James’ ghost story, ‘A View from a Hill’ a character named Fanshawe, comes to a viewpoint on top of a hill. From there he admires the beautiful English countryside. However, upon pulling his binoculars up to his eye, he is met with a horrifying visual, a wooded hilltop is stripped of its trees and a gibbet appears, from which a man is hung. Bringing the binoculars down the horrific scene vanishes and the landscape returns to its former ‘lovely’ form. (Macfarlane, 2015) This story speaks to the inherent eeriness of the countryside and rural landscapes. Every hill has a story, some more eerie than others. Some refer to this as ‘unquiet nature’ (Marshall, 2021), the idea that nature isn’t always comforting. Robert Macfarlane talks about the eerie as if it is running ground water as opposed to an aboveground river. ‘Surging out here and there’ (Macfarlane, 2019). 

The Landscape Clicking Back is an experimental photo-book, complete with a series of essays that allow the reader to gain a deep understanding of the eerie in contemporary landscape art. It encourages the reader to reconsider their own surroundings and develop a deeper connection with the Irish landscape. Promoting the eerie as an interaction, sending a few clicks into the unknown and seeing what clicks back.