Tag Archives: geoff holder

In which the Author sees another book swim into view…

 

My next book, Poltergeist over Scotland, will be published at the end of January. It is the first-ever survey of Scottish poltergeists, with 134 cases stretching from 1635 to 2012. Illustrated with images and distribution maps, and with cases in Shetland, Orkney, the Western Isles and the Highlands, as well as all the Lowland counties and the major cities, this should be the definitive work on the topic of Scottish polts.

New research throws light on a number of well-known episodes, from the Edinburgh ‘Egyptian curse’ poltergeist to the Trinity case that famously ended up with one of the participants suing the other in court. In addition, many cases have been rescued from dusty obscurity, while others have either not seen the light of publication for centuries, or are previously unpublished.

You can order Poltergeist over Scotland here.

Meanwhile, a series of interviews with the humble author on the subject of poltergeists can be found on this very website here and also on YouTube.

Hallelujah, it’s raining polts.

 

 

 

In which the Author talks poltergeists on the Paranormal Podcast…

 

The estimable Jim Harold, host of that splendid internet radio institution known as the Paranormal Podcast, has just upped a 30-minute interview with the humble author, Jim’s first post of the New Year. Poltergeists are discussed in detail, with reference to areas such as ‘polts are demons’, ‘polts are ghosts’, ‘polts are vampires’ and such like. Yes, it’s gone polt-shaped around here.

See http://jimharold.com/the-paranormal-podcast/what-is-a-poltergeist-with-geoff-holder-paranormal-podcast-267/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In which the Author talks about poltergeists on YouTube…

 

To mark the fact that I’ve got two books on poltergeists coming out, a series of interviews with the humble if prolix author have been posted on that there YouTube.

The interviews concentrate on both the ebook What is a Poltergeist? – Understanding Poltergeist Activity and the conventional book Poltergeist Over Scotland. For the former, which will be available for download soon, I discuss the nine different theories/beliefs that have been put forward over the centuries to explain poltergeists:

  1. Demons
  2. Witchcraft
  3. Ghosts
  4. Fairies
  5. Vampires
  6. Psychokinesis (powers of the mind)
  7. Tulpas (thoughtforms)
  8. Hoaxes
  9. Natural forces (electromagnetism, geomagnetism, earth movements etc.)

These are illustrated with cases from throughout the world, including America, Europe and Asia.

When discussing Poltergeist over Scotland I talk about some of the 134 cases I’ve uncovered over the past 400 years. This is the first ever history of Scottish poltergeists.

The interview clips are being released in 16 parts over the next week or so, both on this website here and on YouTube. Collect the set!

In which the author bloodies up Blackwell’s Bookshop in Edinburgh…

 

Battles. Massacres. Murders and assassinations. Beheadings and hangings. Fire and plague. Religious strife and clan enmities. Urban warfare and suicide squads. Pirates and riots. Bodysnatching and heads on spikes. Gunpowder plots. Sea battles inside Leith harbour. Witchcraft burnings on Castlehill. Breaking on the wheel. Drowning alive in a coffin in the Nor’ Loch.

 

Edinburgh hasn’t always been the Light in the North. Its past is a blood-splattered horrorshow of dark deeds, and on Tuesday 6 November I’ll be launching my new book The Bloody History of Scotland: Edinburgh with an illustrated talk at the famous Blackwells Bookshop on South Bridge, Edinburgh. This saunter through the sanguinary excesses of the city’s unsavoury history will cover everything from brothel creepers to the location of a cannibal’s oven – not to mention a mysterious medieval knight who turned out to be a woman.

 
 
 

In which the Author talks about Haunted St Andrews on Halloween…

 

 

Poltergeists. Secret mummified corpses in the Haunted Tower. Apparitions of the White Lady and other distaff spectres. Death warnings. Doppelgangers. Vortices of invisible evil.

 

All these subjects will be present and correct on Halloween night when I’m the guest of Abertay Historical Society at the St Andrews Preservation Trust Museum, 12 North Street, St Andrews, KY16 9PW.

 

The illustrated talk starts at 7.30pm and a small charge is made for non-members. Places are limited – it’s a small museum – so book a place at 01334 477629, or email curator@standrewspreservationtrust.org. Copies of Haunted St Andrews will be available for sale on the night.