oh yeah ...

And a pic just in case!

SPOOKED .... and me!

Ok so I may not have been updating this much but I have been busy .... check me out in this project!

Spooked is an Irish reality style documentary where six carefully selected young people are placed in a "haunted" house for the weekend. There they discover if the house is truly haunted or not. Will the sceptics remain sceptic when they stay in this haunted location? A psychologist will feature in the programme and will assess the participants over the weekend. There will also be a number of paranormal investigators and a medium involved, to help tell the ghostly stories of the house or the location. This is a light hearted documentary on how the mind works and responds to suggestion.

Now here is the promo .... I'm the handsome guy with the glasses standing behind the chair @ 0.05!



Episodes: 1 - Tuesday 5th October, 10.00pm RTÉ TWO

SYWBAGH comes to Dublin!

This is a unique field investigation training day for those who want to be a Ghost hunter. This popular fully interactive course is run jointly by Dr. Ciarán O’Keeffe and Steve Parsons and draws upon their unique combination of skills to provide the perfect foundation for anyone who is interested in developing their ghost hunting. Beginners and experienced investigators alike have benefitted from So You Wanna Be A Ghost Hunter.
To be part of this please join the Facebook Page. Tickets cost €100. Limited to 30 places.

Dublin Paranormal Convention 2010

The Dublin Paranormal Convention is Ireland’s largest event for those with an interest in ghosts, hauntings, ufology, the unexplained, psychic phenomenon, spirituality, mediumship, cryptozoology, paranormal investigation and much much more! Details of the 3rd Dublin Paranormal Convention are coming thick and fast now! ParaCon will take place on Saturday the 6th November 2010 at the National Leprechaun Museum (you heard right!) on Jervis Street!

Heres the Line up of speakers:

STEVE PARSONS
Talk: Orbs Or A Load of Balls?
Steve Parsons is considered by leading Parapsychologists & peers as perhaps the UK's foremost Psychical Researcher and Investigator. With his background in Physical Science & Medicine he has been uniquely placed to pioneer and develop new methods in modern ghost hunting techniques. Co founder of Para.Science, Steve has contributed to many TV & Radio shows including a number of documentaries for the Discovery Channel & National Geographic. He was also for a time the paranormal investigator on Most Haunted.

Dr. CAIRAN O'KEEFFE
Talk: Psychic Criminology
Ciarán O'Keeffe is a British parapsychologist and member of the Society for Psychical Research and a consultant of the Ghost Club. He is best known for his appearances on Living TV's paranormal television series Most Haunted and Jane Goldman Investigates where he performs the role of parapsychologist and paranormal investigator. He also featured in National Geographic Channel's 2005 series Paranormal?. He is an open-minded skeptic on most paranormal phenomena.

RICHARD JONES
Talk: Jack the Ripper

DAVID M. KIELY
Talk: The Dark Sacrament: Exorcism in Modern Ireland
David Kiely was born in Dublin in 1949. He travelled extensively before settling in Northern Ireland and marrying fellow-author Christina McKenna. The co-authored "The Dark Sacrament: Exorcism in Modern Ireland" in 2006. HarperOne, San Francisco, subsequently did two American editions. David has an abiding interest in the paranormal. This was sparked when, aged 17, he had the first of many out-of-body experiences. He went on the study magic, joining a circle in Amsterdam, where he completed a Dutch translation of "The Book of the Law", supposedly transmitted by the angel Aiwass. He has recently finished a time-travel adventure set in New York and is presently working on his retelling of the legend of Faust, the medieval doctor who sold his soul to the Devil.

PAUL O'CONNOR
Talk: Remote Viewing

Coco TV to produce Paranormal RTE show!

Applicants are being sought (must be over 18) for RTE2 show. Heres an article from todays Herald:
A Dublin-based production company wants paranormal believers and non-believers to sign up for the show called Spooked. A pilot programme due to be broadcast on RTE2 next October will offer six applicants the chance to spend the weekend in a haunted house.

But the makers are remaining tight-lipped about where exactly the ghostly production will be filmed. "I can't reveal where it is going to be yet -- not even the county -- as we really want to keep the mystery," said a spokeswoman for Coco Television.

"We're only at the pre-production stage so it's very early to give many details. "I can say that we'll have paranormal investigatory in the house with them and the six chosen applicants will be doing experiments and tasks."

Thrill-seeking candidates expressed their interest for the upcoming show as soon as details were released by the production house. "The response is looking good so far. People are clearly interested in this new type of show," the spokeswoman said.

"We contacted Movie Extras with details of Spooked on Wednesday night and we'd already received quite a few applications by Thursday morning. "We want to get a broad range of people and hear from anyone who will be interested before choosing who will get through. "Believers, non-believers, those sitting on the fence ... It will be exciting for anyone who gets through."

Coco Television is hoping to have Spooked candidates accompanied by a medium, who would be able to assist them -- or convince the most sceptical. "It's very early days -- nothing is set in stone but we're thinking about having medium there who will be able to tell us more about the house and any paranormal activity going on."

Applicants must be 18 years old or above as the project may be upsetting for younger people. The production team will make sure to have help on hand should successful candidates feel troubled once they get on the site.

"We will make sure that there is a psychologist at hand to counsel the people who get in, to make sure it all goes smoothly", the spokeswoman said. The lucky chosen few will be briefed before they get into the house to ensure that they do not bring anything harmful to the set.

Hopefuls must tell why they should be picked to go into the haunted house ahead of other candidates on camera. They must also answer a series of questions regarding their fears and scary experiences that will determine their suitability for the show.

www.paranormal.ie

Bound

So when people in "the biz" talk about spirts they talk about all sorts, not least of which are Earthbound Spirits". Usually they speak of unfinished business or a strong connection which the deceased is reluctant to to break.

The idea of a ghost being bound to this world as a form of punishment may seem very outdated but recent discussions about Tuatha de Danann (Irish Otherworld beings, Sí or Fairies) brought up some elements of mythology about Iron that had us joining dots.

(..... I need sleep so I'll come back and edit in more to this!)

Missing in Action!

Yeah I know I've sort of abandoned things here for a while now but in my defense I've been looking for a job for a year now and real life has been a major hassle!

But all thats changed now that I have a job that, while the hours and pay suck, suits me really well. I get to talk to visitors all day about folklore and mythology so you could say I'm in much better mood of late. Despite being exhausted.

So being Irish and interested in folklore I'm never stuck for things to interest me but I've had the chance to talk to a lot of people from other countries this week and have been asking them if they have any characters similar to the Irish Leprechaun. So far my favourites have to be saci-pererê from Brazil and the tokolosh from South Africa.

They are what I'm gonna blog about next ... after I grab some food and do some house work!

Slán

Doppelgangery!

Lets get something clear straight off, if you see yourself and you’re not looking in a mirror …… its a bad thing! For most people a Doppelganger is simply a look-alike but what people fail to grasp is that these “double goers” are harbingers of misfortune and even death!

There are reports from all over the world of people seeing their double (or one of a friend/family member). Some of these are taken as accounts of bi-location where the person is in two places at once, often completely unaware. Then there are cases of crisis apparitions where, in times of mortal peril, a living loved one appears bringing with them a sense of calm.

Traditionally only the person can see their double, which is said to be a sign of impending death but in cases of it being seen by a friend or family member it means danger and bad luck will follow.

But lets be honest, its the darker side of this phenomenon that we’re interested in, right? Stories that practitioners of the dark arts would purposely create spectral versions of themselves, with the ability to act independently, to carry out unspeakable tasks. Its this “intelligence” that scares me the most, a manifestation of our darker side who, in some cultures is set on bringing out our untimely death so that they can step into our shoes. They haunt their flesh counterpart, pushing them to the edge of sanity. Often taunting them until there is only one way out. Edgar Allan Poe’s William Wilson, in an attempted to rid himself of his Doppelganger, stabbed himself to death.

The English poet Percy Bysshe Sheely once saw his Doppelganger in Italy. The ghostly double gestured towards the sea. Shortly after this in 1822 Shelly died in a sailing accident in the Mediterranean. Similarly prior to the death of Queen Elizabeth I she reported seeing her double laid out on her bed.

Without using the term Doppelganger the phenomenon is still referenced in modern culture. My most recent glimpse of this was in the hit show LOST where we see a yet unidentified evil taking on the form of the character John Lock in an attempt to mislead and bring about the downfall of the shows mysterious Jacob.

So what is the correct response to seeing your double? Beheading could lead you to legal problems if it turns out to just be someone who looks like you. But with how we are as people now the response would probably to pose in a photo with them and upload it to facebook!

If you have seen your double, a darker version of yourself which haunts you to the point of distraction then just make sure you submit your encounters to http://www.paranormal.ie

Paranormal.ie gets its belly rubbed!

Paranormal.ie has been a little project I've been working on with big hopes. So for the last week I've been giving it so much needed attention. Yeah there are tweaks to made but I'm happy with it. Very happy.

We've lots of group sites in Ireland but I wanted to make a central reference site for all things Paranormal in Ireland. It contains a catalogue of hauntings from around the country listed by Province (Leinster, Munster, Connacht and Ulster). There is a Submissions page for people to send me their own experiences or stories from their area to get added to the list.

People visiting Psychics, Mediums and Readers of all discription is fairly common in Ireland but a big problem is getting contact details for well known Psychics. After years of looking at people requesting the same phone numbers over and over again on message boards I thought it was time to build a directory. So thats what I'm doing. Am I endorsing these people? No. I'm outting out information that people are looking for.

I've included weekly Horoscopes on the front page.

Catalogue of Hauntings in Ireland.

As a designer its important for me that the site looks good too. I think it does but am always looking for feedback.

Tudor Ghost shakes his booty?

So Andrew Kitt (a photographer from Norwich) was out taking hots at Cinema City in Norwich and noticed something in one of the photos. Below is the picture containing a shadow which Kitt believes looks like a hunched figure in Tudor-style dress. 'The hairs on the back of my neck went up when I first saw it. I’m keeping an open mind. I’m not saying it’s a ghost or anything, but it is certainly strange, it is not a hoax and the photograph has not been tampered with.' says Kitt.

Bar and restaurant manager Steven Smith said: ‘One of the projectionists was closing down one night and heard a whisper in one of the cinemas. It just said “Get out!” so he did, as fast as he could run. I’m here early in the morning but I’ve never come across anything eerie myself.'

Now I'm ok with the story, he's a trained photographer and as he says he's not claiming its a ghost. My problem is the bit about Tudor-style dress ..... ok when someone says it to you you can sort of see it (cos you're looking for it) but its a detail that just doesnt need to be added ..... unless you're trying to make it seem more "ghostly"?

Its like an inkblot test. Just have a look at the two angry old men arguing below.

Poltergeist Hoax: How I think it was faked

I was shown this video and told it was a fake. I dont doubt for a second that its fake but I've seen people try to figure it out and I have to laugh that they presume its edited video or the audio is tampered with.

Heres how I think he did it: He has a guy behind the door. As he walks around closing the doors the other guy opens them again. Notice as he leaves the room he points the camera down so you dont see anything. Guy goes behind the door again. Simple.

On a side note ..... that guy needs to get to the shops! Also whats with all the empty 2lt milk containers on the counter? Lastly, fcuk the kitchen did you see the mess the poltergeist made of his sitting room?!