This Halloween I’m giving a series of talks on spooky subjects at various places in Scotland. Zombies, poltergeists, vampires, witchcraft – there’s something for everyone.
1. SUBJECT: SUPERNATURAL SCOTLAND
WHEN: Tuesday 28th October, 7pm
WHERE: ABERFELDY – Breadalbane Campus, Aberfeldy, Perth & Kinross PH15 2DU
DETAILS: A medieval monk describes an outbreak of zombies in the Scottish Borders. A poltergeist case in
Edinburgh ends up in court. The Maggie Wall Witchcraft Monument in Perthshire is a complex fake. A ghost
sighting in Dundee provokes a mini-riot. And hundreds of Glasgow schoolchildren invade a graveyard hunting a
vampire with iron teeth. Based on meticulous original research, prolific author (and highly entertaining speaker) in
this Halloween special Geoff Holder reveals some of the historical and modern mysteries of the Scottish
paranormal experience. Welcome to Supernatural Scotland. It’s stranger than you can imagine.
COST: £5
MORE INFO: http://www.pkc.gov.uk/article/9844/Supernatural-Scotland-with-Geoff-Holder
2. SUBJECT: ZOMBIES FROM HISTORY
WHEN: Thursday 30th October, 7.30pm
WHERE: EDINBURGH – Skeptics in the Pub, Banshee Labyrinth, 29-35 Niddry Street, EH1 1LG (just off the Royal Mile).
DETAILS: It’s the night of the living dead… Zombie culture didn’t start with George Romero. Here be medieval
chroniclers’ sworn-to-be-true tales of the plague-spreading undead, including the pugilistic zombie of Paisley and
the zombie monk of the Scottish Borders; archeological evidence from graveyards of Anglo-Saxon and Romano-
British fear of the walking dead; several ‘Ladies with the Ring’, all supposedly revived in the grave by jewel-stealing gravediggers; the men who were hanged and buried – and then revived; the Cumbrian Crusader whose corpse
was still bleeding 800 years after his death; and the ancient bog body that accidentally solved a modern murder
mystery.
Warning: contains corpses.
COST: FREE
MORE INFO: here
3. SUBJECT: SEX, LIES AND POLTERGEISTS! at the FIRST EVER SCOTTISH PARANORMAL FESTIVAL
WHEN: FRIDAY 31ST OCTOBER, 3.30PM
WHERE: Albert Halls, Albert Place, Dumbarton Road, Stirling FK9 4LA
DETAILS: Activity which has baffled paranormal investigators for centuries. Focusing on Scotland, Geoff will
discuss the earliest recorded Scottish poltergeist, a witchcraft episode from Stirling, and an Aberdeenshire
example kickstarted by young lust.
A canvas of commonsense-defying mysteries that stretches from the year 1635 to the present day.
COST: £5
MORE INFO: http://www.paranormalscotland.com/presentations/geoff-holder-sex-lies-and-poltergeists/
Are you in Scotland and looking for a speaker during Halloween week? In the last week of October I’ll be knocking the French mud off my boots and venturing back to Scotland for a series of talks, and there are a few gaps in the
schedule, so I’m looking for some other opportunities.
Here’s the skinny:
On the evening of Tuesday 28th October I’m talking about ‘Supernatural Scotland’ at the Breadalbane Library in
Aberfeldy, Perth & Kinross.
On Wed 29th (evening) I’m presenting my crowd-pleasing ‘Zombies from History’ to the Edinburgh Skeptics at the Banshee Labyrinth. Warning: may contain corpses.
Thurs 30th (evening) I’m in Perth with the Filmmakers Club.
And in the afternoon of Friday 31st, Halloween itself, I’m at the (drum-roll) Scottish Paranormal Festival in Stirling,
giving a talk entitled ‘Sex, Lies & Poltergeists’: expect scenes of destruction, pointless violence and icky fluids from the very beginning.
So, if you are looking for a Halloween speaker on all matters ghoul and ghast anytime between Monday 27th
October and Saturday 1st November, please get in touch.
My latest book, The Little Book of Scotland, has just been published. Here’s the blurb:
The ultimate compendium of trivia miscellany about Scotland’s unusual history
Take a funny, fast-paced, fact-packed look at the most frivolous, fantastic, or simply strange information that there
is to tell about Scotland. Here we find out about unusual crimes and punishments, eccentric inhabitants, famous
sons and daughters, and literally hundreds of other wacky facts about Scotland. This book contains historic and
contemporary trivia, including such gems as the real story of William “Braveheart” Wallace, which king was
murdered in a barn, and where the World War II Commandos were formed. With subjects ranging from Sir Walter Scott to Sir Sean Connery, Queen Victoria to Mary Queens of Scots, this remarkably engaging compendium is
essential reading for travelers and Scots alike.
The book has already picked up a fair amount of press interest in Scotland: here’s the full-page feature from
Saturday’s Scottish Sun. No doubt more to come.
The Little Book of Scotland can be picked up online here or here or at your favourite bricks-and-mortar bookshop – support bookshops, people, especially independent bookshops, they are Good Things.
On Tuesday 12th November I’m giving a talk on ‘Zombies from History‘ for the Edinburgh
Fortean Society. You can expect:
Archaeological evidence for belief in the walking dead in Romano-British and Anglo-Saxon times
Medieval accounts of plague-spreading, people-battering zombies
People who have returned from the dead after being hanged or buried (or both)
And the exploding corpse of William the Conqueror…
Warning: contains corpses.
Venue: The Counting House, West Nicholson Street, Edinburgh.
Time: 7.30pm, Tuesday 12th November.
Cost: £1.
There’ll be books for sale on the night.
This month’s issue of Fortean Times (FT302, June 2013) contains a 9 out of 10 review of Poltergeist over Scotland. Some choice quotes:
“High quality…it takes the reader on a fascinating journey.”
“It’s also an entertaining read, which helps in getting to grips with the unpredictable nature of poltergeists.”
“Does what it says on the tin – and very successfully.”
The full review can be read here, courtesy of the reviewer, Mandy Collins of www.spookyisles.com, and of the peerless Fortean Times.