Speakers and Talks
The following eight experts will come
together for this unique event examining the science and history of ghosts.
The event will consist of a morning and afternoon session, with four speakers
in each session.
Download a PDF of the schedule here
and a word version here.
Investigating
'haunted' locations:
A
scientific approach
Professor Richard Wiseman
University of Hertfordshire psychologist, best-selling author, and lead
researcher on the record-breaking investigation into Edinburgh's Underground
Vaults, uncovers the science of hauntings.
Imaging
the impossible:
The truth about spirit photography
Gordon Rutter
Photographer, founder of the Edinburgh Fortean Society, and head of the
Charles Fort Institute, reveals whether spirit photography is the gateway
to the afterlife.
Things
that go bump in the mind:
The psychology of apparitions
Dr Caroline Watt
Psychologist from the Koestler Parapsychology Unit (Edinburgh University),
and co-author of the world's best-selling textbook on parapsychology, searches
for the ghosts lurking deep within our brains.
The
Haunted:
A social history of ghosts
Professor Owen Davies
University of Hertfordshire historian, international expert on witchcraft
and magic, and author of 'The Haunted: A Social History of Ghosts', discusses
ghosts through the ages.
'No
More Ghosts!':
The Regency Phantasmagoria
Dr Mervyn Heard
Historian, performer and author of 'Phantasmagoria: The Secret Life of the
Magic Lantern', explores the popular predeliction for ghost-raising with
the magic lantern at the start of the 19th century and its unfortunate effect.
"Dialogue
with the Dead":
Creating ghosts for television
Stephen Volk
The writer of Ken Russell's 'Gothic', the highly controversial cult BBC
hoax documentary 'Ghostwatch' , and ITV drama' Afterlife' reveals how best
to conjure spirits on the small screen.
Grappling
with Ghosts:
Staging ghost effects in the modern theatre
Paul Kieve
Illusionist, magical consultant ('The Invisible Man', 'Lord of the Rings',
'Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban'), and author of 'Hocus Pocus:
A Tale of Magnificent Magicians', explores the smoke and mirrors used to
create spectres on stage.
Inside
Most Haunted
Dr Ciaran O’Keeffe
Psychologist, author ('Ghost Hunters: A Guide to Investigating the Paranormal'),
and regular contributer to Living TV's Most Haunted takes you on a backstage
tour of one of the most watched programmes
about the paranormal.