Thursday, March 08, 2007
Well, wasn't the Most Haunted investigation at Cammell Lairds interesting! The online reviews say it all so I won't bore you with further comments here.
Nowadays, the group is well spread around the region and even the country. So our monthly meetings are normally quiet affairs where those members who live locally swop gossip and tall tales. When I turned up for this weeks meeting I therefore got a bit of shock to find the room packed to capacity, with lots of new faces all anxiously looking back at me. We had spent most of that day in Manchester lecturing to Psychology undergraduates so hopes for a quick run through the 'Parish Notices' were immediately dashed along with any chance of seeing the missed episode of Haunted Homes - one of the worst 'investigation!' shows ever to grace our screens but one that strangely I do watch whenever I get the chance (Masochistic tendencies?).
The meeting turned out to be a really good night with lots of interesting chat by both members and visitors and one of the best we have had for a long time.
Speaking of TV - again! This week we were treated to a TV special on Ch.4 'Interview with a Poltergeist' which was a review of the famous Enfield case. The programme featured interviews with both of the girls involved and many of the witnesses and chief investigators including the late and much lamented Maurice Grosse. Like other recent Ch.4 offerings this was a well-balanced presentation and one that should not have been missed. The following night I caught what may have been the funniest paranormal documentary ever made. As part of the series 'A Haunting' on Discovery Civilisations, the episode featured The Wheatsheaf pub in West Boldon Tyne & Wear. Obviously made for a US audience, the show contained interviews with pub staff and witnesses but it was the reconstructions of the major events of the case where the humour lay. As I'm sure you can imagine, the witnesses all had strong North East (Geordie?) accents that we in the UK are familiar with. The reconstructions were filmed back in the USA using American actors who had obviously been told that they needed to do an English accent for the role. What followed was sidesplitting as the actors all delivered their lines, each sounding exactly like Dick Van Dyke as the Chimney sweep in Mary Poppins.
The team is out again this week investigating 2 locations back to back on the same day (& night).
We do have the added complication however at the 1st location of a bit of a media frenzy to deal with. TV & local newspapers have been invited along by location owners to cover part of the investigation, a few years ago this would have been unthinkable but these days I suppose we have to accept that Ghosts are newsworthy.
Nowadays, the group is well spread around the region and even the country. So our monthly meetings are normally quiet affairs where those members who live locally swop gossip and tall tales. When I turned up for this weeks meeting I therefore got a bit of shock to find the room packed to capacity, with lots of new faces all anxiously looking back at me. We had spent most of that day in Manchester lecturing to Psychology undergraduates so hopes for a quick run through the 'Parish Notices' were immediately dashed along with any chance of seeing the missed episode of Haunted Homes - one of the worst 'investigation!' shows ever to grace our screens but one that strangely I do watch whenever I get the chance (Masochistic tendencies?).
The meeting turned out to be a really good night with lots of interesting chat by both members and visitors and one of the best we have had for a long time.
Speaking of TV - again! This week we were treated to a TV special on Ch.4 'Interview with a Poltergeist' which was a review of the famous Enfield case. The programme featured interviews with both of the girls involved and many of the witnesses and chief investigators including the late and much lamented Maurice Grosse. Like other recent Ch.4 offerings this was a well-balanced presentation and one that should not have been missed. The following night I caught what may have been the funniest paranormal documentary ever made. As part of the series 'A Haunting' on Discovery Civilisations, the episode featured The Wheatsheaf pub in West Boldon Tyne & Wear. Obviously made for a US audience, the show contained interviews with pub staff and witnesses but it was the reconstructions of the major events of the case where the humour lay. As I'm sure you can imagine, the witnesses all had strong North East (Geordie?) accents that we in the UK are familiar with. The reconstructions were filmed back in the USA using American actors who had obviously been told that they needed to do an English accent for the role. What followed was sidesplitting as the actors all delivered their lines, each sounding exactly like Dick Van Dyke as the Chimney sweep in Mary Poppins.
The team is out again this week investigating 2 locations back to back on the same day (& night).
We do have the added complication however at the 1st location of a bit of a media frenzy to deal with. TV & local newspapers have been invited along by location owners to cover part of the investigation, a few years ago this would have been unthinkable but these days I suppose we have to accept that Ghosts are newsworthy.
