Show Notes
Season 2 Episode 8 ‘The Ghost Experience’
Today my guest is Ciaran O’Keeffe. Ciaran is an Associate Professor of Education and Head of the School of Human & Social Sciences at Bucks New University. He is a popular sceptical voice on various paranormal shows and podcasts. Ciaran has become best known for his regular appearances on Living TV’s Most Haunted and later for featuring on the popular BBC podcast and TV show Uncanny, which is now in its second series on BBC 2.
Ciaran’s paranormal research has focussed on testing mediums & psychics in the lab and also field-work examining ghostly experiences. It has been reported in The Psychologist, The Times, The Independent, New Scientist and elsewhere. He has been involved in many unusual projects: physiological effects of infrasound in the Royal Festival Hall; ghost investigation of Hampton Court Palace; an exorcism ‘training day’; Hostage Negotiation simulations and lie detecting for the film Spy Game. He has written a number of ‘paranormal’ books including GhostHunters: A Guide to Investigating the Paranormal and is a co-author of the key work Ghosted!: Exploring the Haunting Reality of Paranormal Encounters.
The main focus of today’s fascinating talk is the ghost and poltergeist experience. Ciaran draws upon his extensive knowledge as a psychologist and parapsychologist, and on decades of talking to eyewitnesses of extraordinary and unsettling events. We discuss ‘Haunted People Syndrome’ and why it’s important to ‘loosen up’ when considering fantastic claims. We also discuss a shared love of the 1984 movie Ghostbusters!
Resources
Ciaran’s Linktree page, with details of his writing and projects.
Page at Buckinghamshire New University:
https://www.bucks.ac.uk/about-us/our-staff/ciaran-okeeffe
Books
Laythe, B. et al. (2021). Ghosted!: Exploring the Haunting Reality of Paranormal Encounters. McFarland.
Fielding, Y. & O’Keeffe, C. (2006). Ghost Hunters: A Guide to Investigating the Paranormal. Hodder & Stoughton.
TV Shows/Podcasts
Uncanny (with links to TV show and podcast).
Most Haunted official YouTube channel.
The Battersea Poltergeist (BBC Radio 4).
2:22 A Ghost Story official website.
IMDB Page for Cleanin’ Up the Town: Remembering Ghostbusters (2019 making of documentary).
Other Resources
Alan Gauld (Psi Encyclopedia entry).
Tony Cornell (Psi Encyclopedia entry).
The Enfield case (Psi Encyclopaedia).
Poltergeists in general (Psi Encyclopaedia).
Books
Cornell, T. (2002). Investigating the Paranormal. New York: Helix Press.
(Includes the account of ‘the seen and unseen ghost,’ discussed in the episode).
Gauld, A., & Cornell, A.D. (1979). Poltergeists.Routledge & Regan Paul.
Title Music: ‘Stranger things’ by Music Unlimited on Pixabey.
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