‘A Haunting Interest.’

Ah, Dear Reader! Welcome back. Today I want to take you back into the world of the Paranormal. Now you may remember a few weeks back, I explained my interest in the Paranormal in my post ‘Things That Go Bump In The Night’ which also touched on the reasons as to why I turned in the direction of not believing, and you’ve read how the tours of York based Dorian Deathly has reignited my interest in the subject. Well, that refreshed interest has been solidified by an unexpected source. So come with me, Dear Reader, and let me tell you about it.

So before we carry on, I feel its worth noting that even though my curiosity has been reactivated in the subject, I’m still quite skeptical and haven’t been reconverted back to being a believer. But, my mind has definitely been reopened to the possibility that there are things that are greater in the world than our understanding can conceive at the moment. However, the unexpected source was Most Haunted. This series began in 2002 and is still in production and has aired on two different channels. It has had its ups and downs and has had many question ihe shows validity and integrity over the years and it has drawn accusations of faking it’s evidence. Real or not, its an entertaining show and over the years I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it.

I recently discovered that the shows creators (former Blue Peter presenter Yvette Fielding and her husband Karl Beattie) had started a Youtube channel called Most Haunted Official , at first they videos posted seemed to be more of a series of blogs, which makes sense really as they have been in Lockdown with the rest of the country and have been unable to make the show. I nearly unsubscribed from the channel, until I looked a bit deeper into their collection of videos and found a series of shorter investigations they’ve called ‘Most Haunted Shorts’. The team do there investigating, but it’s stripped down the team is in a smaller number than the on the TV version. The team also seem to be returning to places where they’ve been before. The shorts have also evolved into ‘Most Haunted Extra’. It’s the same premise as the shorts, but these are episodes that are over an hour long and each episode at most cover three locations. But what is it that I’m finding interesting.

As I mentioned, its the stripped down nature of the show. Of the episodes I’ve seen so far, at most they’ve only had a team of four and that reduced number of team members lessen the possibility of any deception, they’ve also dispensed with Yvette’s pieces to camera talking about the history of the location they are in, they just go straight into the investigation. Technology wise, at most they have a laptop with recording software to try and capture Electronic Voice Phenomena, other than that just night vision cameras. To me it increases their integrity and the teams reactions seem more genuine than in the main show, In one of the ‘Extra’ episodes one team member becomes so scared he struggles to keep his camera steady he was shaking. It’s recaptured me in a way I didn’t think was possible these days and it feels how the earlier series felt before the controversy of the TV series started.

Now, special mention has to go to another paranormal Youtube channel called ‘Are You Haunted?‘ Fronted by Most Haunted Alum, Phil Whyman. This is also another series with a stripped down investigation style even though they do try and debunk things and eliminate anything earthly before settling on anything ghostly.

It’s a really interesting concept and I’m feeling like I would rather see Most Haunted go forward in the ‘Most Haunted Extra’ Format and maybe stick to Youtube, it seems to fit the platform. Plus, they have more scope to go in depth with their investigations as they’re not restricted to add breaks or a running time. So once things are safer and they can get back to investigating, it’ll be interesting to see how the Most Haunted Official channel is developed.

I think that’ll be it for now, Dear Reader, I hope that at least I’ve given you some extra viewing if you are still at home during this period. Regardless of where your beliefs lie these are interesting, captivating and entertaining shows, and at the end of the day isn’t that all we want, a bit of entertainment to divert our attention.

See you Thursday.

The Dark World of Dorian Deathly.

All pictures used in this post are used under the kindest permission of Mr and Mrs Deathly.

Hello, Dear Reader! welcome, come in, come in. What’s that? Why have I asked you to a spooky looking house in York? Well, lets head to the sitting room. Today dear reader, I want to introduce you to someone. An expert in the macabre, A tour guide who works in the darker hours of the day. This, dear reader, is a shadowy flight into the world that not many men dare step foot in. This man is Dorian Deathly! And he’s on the other side of this door. Let me get it for you [door creaks open] . Go on, guests first! What? What do you mean what do I mean guests first? And no, I’m not scared…The cheek of it!

So here we are at the Tuesday post, its a little different this week. It’s part me sharing something that I really like, part review, and part promotion. It’s also a look at how the arts are really good at times like these and how important people sharing their talents and utilizing the means to do so, and one outcome of this has been to have a distraction from all the horrid things happening in the world at the moment, and I think that’s what we need at the moment, good distractions. And this was brilliant, originally streamed on the 31st May 2020 we were given the gift of ‘Tales From the Fireplace’ hosted by one Dorian Deathly. Normally, his natural habitat is giving a guided tour of the ghosts of York on a bus. Now, both he and his good lady wife Mrs. Deadly have brought the tours to Facebook. There have been two walk around tours of York recounting tales of the local ghosts and spirits, they were both well thought out and paced and was gripping through out. Plus, you also got to see York in its splendor. Believe me, it has been lovely to see the city again when all you’ve seen are the same four walls for months and I can highly recommend them too.

Now, I have digressed a little there. So, back to the stream from Sunday. When this was announced there was mention of ghost stories and I assumed it would be a selection of readings of some classic tales. I would have loved that, I love stories, and judging by how well read the short story presented was, it wouldn’t have been disappointing. However, I was pleasantly surprised. We got so much more than what I was expecting. There were three interviews where the interviewees recounted there own paranormal experiences. There was analysis on a collection of photos that had captured ghosts, including one that just seemed a little troubling. The picture was of two ladies each with a child on their lap. the left hand side of the picture had what appeared to be a humanoid figure hanging from the ceiling, it’s hands and head nothing more than a black mass. looking back at the stream as I write this, the image just feels…wrong. Each picture was well researched and the delivery of that information was engaging. The short story was the ‘Monkey’s Paw’ by W.W. Jacobs. As as I mentioned earlier, our host read it beautifully, it was affecting and drew you in to the story leaving you felling more than a little unnerved by the end. This was broken down in to three part across the stream and – as was mentioned in the comments of the stream – at first I felt like maybe this could have been done in one go. On reflection though, I quite liked it broken into parts as it gave you the chance to have a breather as you were presented by the other elements of the show. There was good engagement with the commentors as well where suggestions were noted and question answered.

Technically, I couldn’t fault the production the pacing was great and you weren’t given a chance to get board. At first i worried about the blue and red lighting, I thought maybe it would make set seem too dark. But that worry was short lived, it added atmosphere to the proceedings and the music cues were all timed well, and I have to mention the piece of music that was played on the count down to the start of the stream it was a really nice piece that set the tone for what was to come perfectly. Overall, the whole experience was great. As I mentioned in one of my previous posts about the paranormal, I’ve become more skeptical. I still am, but I had an excited tingle that I haven’t had since watching my first episode from the second series of Most Haunted way, way back when. and I have to say that it’s nice to feel excited about the paranormal again. I really hope they come back to this format as there is so much scope to delve further into paranormal and not just the ghosts of York, it would be really interesting to touch on stories from around the country and the world. I’m really looking forward to more ‘Tales From The Fireside’, I think they hit on potentially engrossing concept that the audience can participate in too.

If this has got you curious about ghosts and the history of York and you have a Facebook account, type in ‘Dorian Deathly’ and the Facebook page should be at the top of the list, this is where you’ll find all the details of upcoming events (I would have put a link in but I haven’t figured out how to do that yet) and all the previous streams. Dorian is also on Twitter and he also has a Youtube channel, however, that appears to just have two videos at the moment, hopefully all the streams will find their way on there for those who may not have Facebook. And to wrap up, please find below the details of the next stream coming soon. I think it’ll be a good one and I hope you’ll join in too.

So there you have it Dear Reader. He wasn’t too bad was he, a thoroughly nice chap! Come on, I’ll show you out. I do hope you’ll come by again, and go and give dear Mr Deathly a visit. Whilst your at it maybe go and give Redshirt Films a look on Youtube as well, it’s run by a another chap who looks suspiciously like Dorian. Anyway I hope you’ve enjoyed this one. You what? what do you mean I’ve waffled again?… The cheek of it! See you Thursday.

Things That Go Bump In The Night.

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Image from Pexels.com

In the darkness they thrive, some times silent, some times not. A strange knock here, an object moving with no explanation over there. They are there, watching, waiting behind the veil. Today, I wish to enter the beyond to take a look at spirits and ghouls and other elements that lay waiting for us. Dare you, dear reader, come with me into the world of the Paranormal?

As you would have guessed from my last post, apart from model making you’ll know that I love Science Fiction. Not just that, I love horror too. but as an extension of this, I have an interest in the paranormal, it’s always something that has fascinated me. From reading ghost story anthologies from an early age to eventually having the chance to take part in two ghost hunts myself. The world of the paranormal is such a rich, fertile ground of stories from ghosts, to UFO’s and to cryptozoology. There is so much interesting stuff to get your teeth into that it can be difficult to figure out where to start.

The other curious thing that I find is no matter where your beliefs are on the subject, skeptic or not, you can still be really interested in it. For the longest time I was there, I was a believer. I watched Most Haunted and Ghost Adventures ( and still do) and was captivated by the histories of the locations they would visit and their investigations pulled me in to see if they could get evidence of a ghost. Most Haunted’s investigation during the show second series to The Skirrid Inn was one that still sticks in my mind. Built over 900 years ago in Wales, its history is truly a mix of life and death and a noted place where Judge Jeffery’s know as the ‘hanging judge’ presided over trials. The show made history come alive in a way I never really thought possible. It got me thinking, could the afterlife still run concurrently with our reality that we can’t see? It certainly makes you wonder.

Once that hook of curiosity grips you, you do start scratching more at the surface of the paranormal. I started being enraptured by Cryptozoology, this looks at the existence of entities that are recorded in folklore. Creatures like Bigfoot and the Chupacabra. listening to stories of encounters are always wonderful to hear, the evidence – to me – is always circumstantial, but to these people that have them, they clearly had an encounter with something. In the case of some, their reactions make it hard to dismiss. This is also a subject that could prove the most fruitful to prove that paranormal creatures could exist. We are still finding new species of life in our world, there were at least fifteen new species discovered in 2019 including new species of Sea Slugs, Lizards, Fish and even Flowers. So there is still hope yet for the Yeti.

Aliens and UFO’s, of all the subjects covered by the paranormal, are well documented subject that I won’t dwell on at this time. What I will say is: Yes, I’m a believer. Do I think they have crossed the gulf of space? Well, that I’m not so sure on, but its fun to think they might have.

I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to take part in a couple of vigils with a group call ‘The British Paranormal Society’, there were curious things that happened, were they paranormal? i don’t know. But both evenings were a lot of fun.

Now, there are events that can change your outlook on things and your beliefs. and that is what happened to me. In 2017 my Grandma died. I read account after account of people finding comfort that their lost ones found away to say goodbye or take one final chance to visit before heading on to the great beyond. That never happened to me. I’m not bitter about that, but it did change my belief in the paranormal. I went from an open minded believer to a skeptic in one moment. Those shows I mentioned earlier – Most Haunted and Ghost Adventures – went from being interesting investigations to discovering a truth, to nothing more than a piece of entertainment to be enjoyed and nothing else.

I’m still interested in the paranormal though it did take me a while to come back around to it, but now its more a source of inspiration for my writing. In a funny sort of way I miss the belief that there could be something beyond the veil of life, and maybe there is, but I’m not sure the spirits of the dead are still with us.

This wasn’t meant to be an in depth look into the paranormal, In fact I’d had something different in mind, but it turned out to be about a moment of change, or moments. And in the end isn’t that what life’s about.

And that was the first time I think I’ve spoken about my Gran publicly since her passing.