Very strong phase and amplitude perturbations (Trimpis) of the very strong VLF transmission from NWC received in Darwin, Australia, enabled accurate measurement of the amplitude and phase of the scattered signal and of the time variation of these. The amplitude of the scattered signal decays as the logarithm of time, quite at odds with the exponential decay observed on classic Trimpis. During the amplitude decay, the phase of the scattered signal decreased at a decreasing rate. This is shown to be consistent with scattering from a bundle of sprite-like, conducting columns extending some 50 km below the base of the ionosphere. ¿ 1997 American Geophysical Union