This Friday (28th October) I’m the guest of the Breadalbane Heritage Society in Aberfeldy. I’ll be talking about the Maggie Wall Witchcraft Monument, 19th century bodysnatching, and alleged supernatural encounters. The event is open to the public – everyone welcome.
7:30PM, Aberfeldy Town Hall, Crieff Road, Aberfeldy, PH15 2DU._
On Monday 24th October I’m the guest speaker at the AGM of the West Stormont Historical Society. And the subject of my talk will be ‘Ghoulish Tales of Bodysnatching in Perthshire’.
Perthshire has the physical remains of many relics from the bodysnatching era, from watch-houses to several fine examples of morthouses and mortsafes. I’ll be covering these examples of ‘dark heritage’ and examining the economic and social factors behind bodysnatching.
The meeting starts at 7.30pm at Kinclaven Church Hall, between Stanley and Meiklour. Visitors and non-members welcome. For more info, see http://www.stanleydevelopmenttrust.org/west-stormont-historical-society/_
Wednesday 19th October 2011
7.00pm, The Ladywell, 268-270 High Street, Merchant City, Glasgow G4 0QT. Tickets £7 – limited numbers available, so please call 0141 552 7810 in advance to reserve your ticket.
In this intimate setting (see www.theladywell.com) I will be giving an extensive talk on the topics covered in Paranormal Glasgow:
Following the talk there will be time for questions. Copies of all of my books will be available for sale and signing.
These are the local mysteries I’ll be covering in the talk ‘Perthshire Mysteries and Murders’ on Wednesday 12th October in Coupar Angus Library. Geographically, the subjects range across East Perthshire, from Blairgowrie and Coupar Angus to Alyth and Meigle. If you’re in the area, please come along – all are welcome.
The details: Coupar Angus Library, Union Street, Coupar Angus, 7.30pm, Wednesday 12th October. Tickets on the door. Contact 01250 872905.
I’ve just been booked for another author’s visit to one of Her Majesty’s Prisons. This will be my fourth talk behind bars – and this time, by request, I’m doing it on vampires, which is a popular subject with the inmates of this particular prison.
So the Vampire with Iron Teeth (from Paranormal Glasgow) will be featuring, as well as the Vampire of Croglin Grange (from Paranormal Cumbria, which will be out in 2012) and an alleged vampiric attack in Highland Perthshire, which I covered in The Guide to Mysterious Perthshire.
I’ll also be dealing a little bit with the early history of vampires in English literature, noting how the vampire of East European folklore – basically a stupid, smelly peasant – became the suave, sophisticated aristocrat familiar from Dracula and similar fictions. I blame John Polidori (and if you say who? I would in normal circumstances suggest that you attend the talk; but as this would involve committing a serious crime and then getting banged up in the Big House, perhaps this is not a recommended course of action).
As you might imagine, you can’t just waltz into a prison. Checks are made, paperwork is processed, and the prisoners themselves have to be available on the day and time specified. Then you find yourself leaving your mobile with a reception guard and being escorted through a labyrinth of doors and corridors to a room in which sit 25 prisoners, many of whom are avid readers. Usually the prison librarian has circulated my books before the visit, and so as soon as I say “Any questions?” at the end there is a forest of raised hands.
I’ve enjoyed every prison talk I’ve given, one of which brought up one of the strangest personal encounters I’ve ever been told by an audience member. Usually people describe their experiences of seeing a UFO or a ghost – but this particular prisoner told me that, driving fast on a road in Fife one night, he passed a figure complete with scythe, black cloak and skull face – Death himself…
On Tuesday 13th September I’m giving a talk to the Perth Burns Club at the Salutation Hotel, South Street, Perth. The last time I gave a talk to this organisation it was 2007 and I’d had just one book published, The Guide to Mysterious Perthshire. A further 21 books later and I’m back, this time to talk about big cats, witchcraft and encounters with supernatural entities, all taken from Paranormal Perthshire, which came out earlier this year. The event kicks off at 7.30pm and the Burns Club are happy to welcome new members at the door.
The second talk of the week is on Friday 16th September, this time for the Auchterarder Local History Society in The Institute/Aytoun Hall on Auchterarder High Street. Start time is 7.30pm and non-members can attend for £2 on the door. For this talk I’ll be concentrating on witches. There’s the Maggie Wall Witchcraft Monument in Dunning – I’ll be revealing when it was built and by whom, thus dispelling a mystery that has perplexed people for generations – and the legend of Kate McNiven , the Witch of Monzie, which will include unveiling the whereabouts of the lost ‘Witch’s Stone’, a jewel she was said to have spat out during her alleged execution. So if you fancy some world-class wibbling on witchcraft, come along!
As usual, I’ll have books for sale at both talks. My thanks to both organisations for inviting me. __