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!
Between 19 and 21 October the ‘Unsolved’ Crime & Mystery Festival is running at Haddo House near Ellon in Aberdeenshire, one of the National Trust for Scotland’s premier stately homes. On the Saturday (20th October) I’ll be lurking in the library and giving a talk by the name of ‘Sex, Lies and Poltergeists’, which will unveil the secrets of poltergeist cases from the seventeenth century to the present day in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire.
The cases are all from my forthcoming book Poltergeist Over Scotland, and feature typical polt activity such as showers of stones, destruction of property, unexplained noises, flying objects, oozings of blood and other noxious substances – not to mention their fair share of sex and lies.
The talk starts at 4pm, and tickets are £6 (£4 for concessions). Full booking details can be found at the official website, which also tells you about the other tempting events on offer, from crime-solving tours to talks by writers of both fictional and true crime.
May the polt be with you.
This week we officially release the feature length presentation by Geoff Holder on ‘Haunted St. Andrews’. Filmed on in February 2012, in front of a live audience, Geoff covers topics from the philosophy of belief to mummies and apparitions, to poltergeists and timeslips.
If you’d like to see Geoff in action, make sure and keep up to date with the events calendar on the site, and come along to a talk near you. Alternatively if you’d like to book Geoff for an event, or invite him to speak for a group of society in which you are involved, head over to our ‘Get in Touch’ page!
Carlisle, I see you. On Saturday 21st April I’m doing a book signing for Paranormal Cumbria at the Waterstones bookshop, 66-68 Scotch Street, Carlisle. I’ll be there from 11am to 3pm, so come along for a chat – but if you can’t make it on the day, call 0843 290 8217 to reserve a copy of the book and I’ll sign it for you to pick up later.
Paranormal Cumbria covers subjects such as the Cursing Stone of Carlisle – which brought beliefs from the Middle Ages into the Millennium – plus witchcraft and folk magic, twentieth-century sightings of fairies, examples of psychic powers, the phantom airships of World War One (which seem to be cultural precursors of the phantom UFOs of later decades), and the enduring mystery of the ‘Cumberland Spaceman’. The book has been covered recently on both BBC Radio Cumbria and Lakeland Radio.
And talking of matters Cumbrian and strange, the next edition of the Fortean Freak Out podcast is up and running, and its subject is taken from Paranormal Cumbria – the infamous Vampire of Croglin Grange. Which was probably not a vampire. Listen to my conclusions here.
On Saturday 17th March I was delighted to return to The Ghost Club, this time with a talk on ‘The Jacobites and the Supernatural’. My previous talk for the august institution (founded 1862 and still as sprightly as ever) was ‘Aleister Crowley and the Hauntings of Boleskine House’.
The Jacobite rebellions of the 17th and 18th centuries convulsed Scotland, Ireland and England – almost leading to regime change in Westminster – before the cause was extinguished at Culloden, the last pitched battle in Britain. The adventure was also steeped in supernatural belief, from magical healing and witchcraft to second-sight, crisis apparitions and deals with the Devil. Drawing on my book of the same name, ‘The Jacobites and the Supernatural’ was a journey through battlefield phantoms, Black Dogs, haunted castles, holy wells, water turned into blood, and, yes, endlessly multiplying spectres of Bonnie Prince Charlie.
The event was for memebers and guests only, but joining on the door is always an option. The event took place at 2pm, in The Committee Room at The Victory Services Club, 63 Seymour Street, just off Edgware Road, London, W2 2HF. A kind thanks to all those in attendance.
For more information on the Ghost Club, visit – www.ghostclub.org.uk
On Thursday 23rd February I’ll be in the St Andrews Public Library giving an illustrated talk on ghosts.
Entitled ‘Haunted St Andrews and Area,’ and based on the book of the same name, the talk will feature such supernatural denizens as:
The White Lady and The Haunted Tower
The event starts at 7.30pm and tickets (which are selling fast) are £3.50. Call 01334 659378.
Location: St Andrews Library, Church Square (off Church Street, between South Street and Market Street), St Andrews, KY16 9NN. More details and map here.