On Thursday 25th October I’ll be lurking with intent at the Bellshill Cultural Centre, talking about the history of Scottish bodysnatching, possibly with an element of audience participation.
The event starts at 7pm and is free, Booking not essential but advisable, on 01698 346770. The illustrated talk is part of the North Lanarkshire Cultural Festival, Encounters.
Is that graveyard dirt on your hands, sir…?
My thanks to everyone who came along to Haddo House on Saturday 20th October, for my talk on ‘Sex, Lies and Poltergeists’. Good audience, good questions.
Thank also to the organisers, Public Image Events and the National Trust for Scotland, as well as the writer Allan Burnett, who gave us an excellent ‘Crime Tour of Haddo’ after the event.
Below you’ll find a few quick snaps from the event!
A quick reminder that on Saturday 20th October I’m appearing at ‘Unsolved’, Aberdeenshire’s Crime & Mystery Festival, which is taking place at the stately home of Haddo House near Methlick. Amidst the murders and crime writing, the films, and CSI tours of the house and gardens, at 4pm you can find me in the grand library (sadly without Colonel Mustard and a candlestick) talking about ‘Sex, Lies and Poltergeists’.
Aberdeenshire has the second oldest poltergeist case in Scotland, and I’ll be giving details of episodes from the 17th century to the present day, drawn from Haunted Aberdeen, The Guide to Mysterious Aberdeen, The Guide to Mysterious Aberdeenshire (all for sale on the day) and the forthcoming Poltergeist Over Scotland. Expect rains of stones, inundations, apports, wall-shaking noises, flying furniture and other inexplicable terrors, plus a fair dose of poltergeist hoaxing and fraud, as well as sexual shenanigans.
Tickets are £6 (£4 for concessions) and can be secured via the National Trust for Scotland website www.nts.org.uk/unsolved, or by phoning 0844 4932179. #
Programme for the weekend – Unsolvedleaflet2012
This week there’s a long piece on The Bloody History of Scotland: Edinburgh on STV’s online magazine.
Poisoning, murderous madams and ghastly torture and punishment all feature, adding greatly to the gaiety of nations. Don’t forget I’m giving an illustrated talk based on the book at Blackwell’s Bookshop on South Bridge on 6th November.
There was a feature on Bloody History of Scotland: Edinburgh in the Edinburgh Evening News on Saturday 13 October. Entitled “‘Edinburgh is a blood-soaked place’: An alternative history of the Capital,” the piece covered topics such as public executions, heads on spikes and the cannibal Earl of Dunlanrig, and also included an interview with the humble author in which I actually manage to sound semi-coherent.
You can see Jen Lavery’s article at:
The latter part of October sees the publication of my latest attempt at world literary domination, The Bloody History of Scotland: Edinburgh. The book is a speedy and sanguinary sprint through the city’s dark past, taking in everything from massacres and murders to witchcraft, torture and executions.
Events commence in the Dark Ages with the annihilation of the Goddodin warrior tribe, and continue through medieval wars and sieges onto dastardly deeds surrounding Mary, Queen of Scots, and a veritable rogues’ gallery of assassins, rioters, pirates, hangmen and cannibals. Bodysnatchers, serial killers, poisoners and Zeppelins bring up the rear, and, for light relief, there is also a diversion into Edinburgh’s nineteenth-century brothels and houses of pleasure, with their associated crimes, court cases and general depravity.
You can find more about the book through Facebook and from the website of the publishers, The History Press. Upcoming media coverage includes features in The Edinburgh Evening News and The Scottish Daily Mail. There’s also a free illustrated talk on the book taking place at the splendid Blackwells Bookshop on South Bridge in Edinburgh on Tuesday 6 November. The humble author will be waving his arms about and bellowing on about grisly deeds and ghastly anecdotes from 6.30pm, and signing books after the talk as well.
There shall be blood!