Tag Archives: Paranormal

In which the Author is interviewed by Scotcampus Magazine…

 

 

The February issue of the free student magazine Scotcampus features a Q & A style interview with the humble author, entitled ‘Spooky Scotland’. I ramble on about loch monsters, vampires, Jacobites and the supernatural, ghosts, and other examples of Scottish paranormalism, with particular reference to Dundee, Glasgow and Iona.

 

Free copies can be picked up from this week (15th February) at student-frequented bars, cafés, record shops and arts venues. The online link is here:

 

http://www.scotcampus.com/2012/01/spooky-scotland-qa-geoff-holder/

In which the author adds more details about zombies and theatre…

 

A few more details have been added to the schedule for the workshopiing on Monday January 30th).

 

As well as ‘I Walked With a Zombie’ there will be two parallel workshops on new writing by Stewart Ennis and Cicely Gill. The three directors working on the workshops will be Kenny Miller, Jennifer Hainey and Marcus Roche. The scenes for the workshops were chosen by Chris Dolan, who will be facilitating the creative outputs on the night.

 

Zombies, of course, are shuffling brain-dead quasi-humans driven solely by appetite.

 

But less of my working day…

 
 

In which the author has a play at the Playwrights’ Studio ‘Stage to Page’ workshop…

On Monday 30 January one of my plays, ‘I Walked With A Zombie,’ will be workshopped at the ‘Stage to Page’ event in premier Glasgow venue The Arches.

 

‘I Walked With A Zombie’ centres around a group of art students making a short film in homage to classic zombie movies such as Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead. But during the filming, all the participants are visited by their own personal zombies…

 

‘Stage to Page’ describes itself as “A chance for writers, actors and directors to collaborate by workshopping scenes from a new work together.” Each month, a guest director chooses scenes from an unperformed play, and actors turn up, are randomly allocated roles, and then collaborate in workshopping the scenes before performing them to everyone present.

 

The event is at The Arches, 253 Argyle Street, Glasgow G2 8DL (under Central Station). It starts at 7pm on Monday 30th and entrance for all is £3, which includes a drink (you can just turn up to observe the proceedings without participating, and many people do just that, to watch the creative process in action).

 

More info at www.thearches.co.uk/events/arts/stage-to-page. Stage to Page is an initiative of the Playwrights’ Studio, www.playwrightsstudio.co.uk/stagetopage.htm.

 

If you come along, I’ll be the zombie-like individual wearing the idiot grin.

In which the author launches Haunted Dundee with a signing at Waterstones…

 

My next book, Haunted Dundee, is published on 26th January. So, manic grin in place, I’ll be signing copies that day in the Dundee Waterstones branch.

 

The book explores several centuries of Dundonian hauntings. There are stories of poltergeists, malevolent entities, apparitions, strange sounds, doppelgangers, visionary experiences and much more. The incidents range from 1706 to the present day, and include the tales of the White Ladies of Coffin Mill and Balgay Bridge, the hauntings of the historic ships Discovery and Unicorn, and a host of personal ghost sightings told to me by contemporary eye-witnesses.

 

Other cases include some truly bizarre episodes of apparent hallucinations of ghostly individuals investigated by a distinguished psychiatrist who was also a member of the Society of Psychical Research.

 

To celebrate, I’ll be signing copies on Thursday 26th January at the Waterstones branch at 35 Commercial Street, Dundee. Map here!

 

 

I’ll be in store between 1 and 2.30 p.m. Ish. If you can’t make it at the time, you could always call the shop on 0843 290 8287 and ask them to reserve a copy, which I’ll sign for you to pick up later. (They’ll probably have copies of Paranormal Dundee for sale as well.)

 

Watch the trailer for Haunted Dundee now!

 

In which the author finishes writing another book…

 

I’ve just put the final touches to Haunted St Andrews & District, book number 23 in the list they are all calling ‘Geoff Holder’s List of Books What He Has Wrote’.

This has been a terrific book to research and write. St Andrews is a wonderful place to wander round, and the stories are fascinating, ranging from medieval spectres of monks, murderers and archbishops, to ‘undergraduate legends’ transmitted via online student message-boards.

I also spent time investigating the famous White Lady and the mummies of the Haunted Tower, as well as the Veiled Nun, the Grey Lady, the Library Ghost, and other Fife phantoms. Not to mention a trio of poltergeists (including the polt of Pitmilly House, officially recognised by an insurance company payout).

Haunted St Andrews & District will be published in the summer of 2012.

 
 

In which the author enjoys some vampires…

 

There’s a new feature on the website – My Top Ten. I’ll be regularly adding ‘Top Ten’ lists from the world of the supernatural, the mysterious and the macabre.

 

The first My Top Ten is ‘My Top Ten Vampires’. And no, RPat and the poutsters from The Vampire Diaries do not make the list…