Derren Brown - The Events

I have watched with interest the reaction to Derren Brown’s most recent project ‘The Events’. As usual Derren uses a mixture of magic, misdirection, nuerolinguistic programming, suggestion etc and despite Derren clearly stating that he is not a believer in the paranormal or psychics several commentators have expressed views that he is somehow manipulating the known laws of science…..

The most recent episode I watched was ‘How to be a psychic spy’. In this episode he seemingly influenced people into drawing the same shape (concentric circles) that had been painted a week earlier by a volunteer from the science museum. Lots of people both in the audience at the science museum and in homes all over the country seemed to draw circles or Stonehenge.

The programme was recorded prior to it’s showing on television and I for one noticed many circles which were promanate on the programme and prior to it. In the Science museum itself there were several circles on the wall to the left of the seemingly hidden picture (signs to celebrate 100 years of the museum. There were also several circles in the architecture (the railings) of the wall that Derren stood in front of. When we were shown, very prominently, the woman’s eyes they were in a close up shot and were very striking (I initially thought she was wearing contact lenses to enhance them) which made her pupils seemed very dilated and reflected the camera which was filming her. When giving the instructions he did tell people at one point (and as part of a longer spiel) to draw ‘…multiple shapes’ he also told people to use multiple pieces of paper (if you draw enough pictures surely one will eventually draw a circle?). He also asked people at the start pf the drawing phase to to imagine a map, then imagine it's the UK, then London, then the science museum...almost as if zooming in on a TARGET (almost like a bulls-eye). There were also several adverts during the program which featured circles (this may or may not be a coincidence) also when he later interviewed Kish he was shown in a stone circe? (Maybe I am reading more into this than I should?).

Derren claimed the way he had achieved the illusion was that he put adverts into national papers telling people to draw circles (not been a paper reader I cannot verify this myself although I have no reason to doubt him) I do however sincerely doubt that this in is how he did it.

The final twist – that the isolated woman who had drawn the picture was in Stonehenge was clever but does in fact show that Derren must have ether influenced her choice of picture before she painted it or had had a sneaky peek!

However he did it was good entertainment and I for one am still a massive fan but I was intrigued and interested in the blind man called Daniel Kish who has developed a human form of echolocation. Using clicking sounds produced by his mouth and tongue he uses his hearing to build up a picture of his environment. His demonstration of this was amazing and really shows what humans are capable of when they put their mind to it.

Parapsychology Msc

This week has seen me starting my (second) masters level degree (this time an Msc) with Coventry University in Parapsychology which I am very excited about. The first module involves study of the history of Parapsychology, from the historical perspectives of paranormal events, through the growth of scientific method and more scientific thinking, through to Mesmer and his development of 'mesmerism' through to the start of spiritualism (all very interesting and fortunate for me, the topics overlap with my previous study with Edinburgh University - the parapsychology correspondence course). The next few weeks however will be much more challenging for me as we delve into the more 'philosophical' aspects of the module covering topics and theories such as materialism, idealism, natural monism and dualism; things I know absolutely nothing about. More on this soon....

Loch Ness Monster?

Fifty years ago sightings of the Loch Ness Monster were common but sightings of ‘Nessie’ have decreased over the last few years and extensive and thorough scanning of the Loch Ness by scientists and researchers have failed to produce any evidence of a creature despite what the local businesses tell you. This has led many to believe (sadly), that if a gentle, secretive creature had ever lived in Loch Ness then it had passed on.

So what could the monster have been? Loch Ness is huge; It is 23 miles long and about one mile. It is 786 feet at its deepest point and is the deepest and one of the largest bodies of fresh water in Britain. The loch is home to Atlantic salmon, charr, eels, minnows, large pike, sticklebacks, sturgeon, trout and various other fish. Seals and otters also live in Loch Ness, but are rarely seen.

The Loch Ness Monster may have been sighted as early as the 6th century, but Nessie as we know it today is largely a product of the 20th century. On May 2, 1933, an Inverness newspaper ran an article called "A Strange Spectacle on Loch Ness" that described how Mrs. Aldie Mackay encountered the creature on the Scottish lake near Aldourie Castle. This was not the first sighting of the Loch Ness creature, but it was in that year that it was dubbed a monster and the report was widely circulated. Later that year (22^nd July 1933) a Mr and Mrs Spicer saw something while passing the loch on their way to London from Northern Scotland, the couple saw the large creature crossing the road in front of them. Mr. Spicer told the newspaper that it looked like a large prehistoric creature and was carrying a small lamb or some other animal in its mouth. He described it as being about 25 feet long with a long neck. He believed it disappeared into the loch. In November of that year the first photo of the alleged monster was taken by Hugh Gray. The creature was even said to have been spotted in 1972 by a monk at the Fort Augustus Abbey, Father Gregory Brusey, was walking with an organist when they both saw the neck and head of the creature protruding about 6 feet above the loch's surface. They said it moved through the water, turned on its side and submerged.

So assuming no such creature actually exists or ever existed (there have been thorough sonar examinations of the Loch which have found nothing) what could people be seeing?

Having spent a week at the Loch’s side, the water does look odd in places and it is easy to see how this could be interpreted as a creature. The Loch is tidal and has currents which often make the water seem part or have something small protruding out of it – the Loch is not well lit (our cottage was completely dark once the sunlight had gone and the weather in this area of Scotland is turbulent) which could alter peoples perceptions. Once one person has said they have seen something strange others might interpret their visions in the same way. Mass hysteria (however mild) is something that any serious student of the paranormal or other such odd occurrences should be wary of.

Another idea that has been theorized is that a majority of ‘zooform’ creatures are ‘tulpas’, or unintentional manifestations created by the human psyche. There is also the possibility that such phantasms, or monsters from the id, can be created intentionally. One such example was researched by George Foot Moore, an American Orientalist and religious historian, who died in 1931, who took on the view that ‘monsters’ are mental projections, (although it has never been explained as to how several people can muster a creature). However, over the centuries such ‘monsters’ have been born in the form of dragons, fairies, phantom hellhounds and the like, to the modern day manifestations known as Mothman, the Jersey Devil and the Bray Road Werewolf of Wisconsin.

Polish expert Julian Ochorowicz coined the term ‘ideoplastic’, which he used to describe the unconscious power of a medium to create tangible and apparently autonomous physical forms. Another Polish researcher, Franek Kluski was said to have caused the materialization of more than two-hundred apparitions, mostly in the form of animals. His most famous manifestation, or projection was the shaggy ape-man which appeared at a séance on 20th November 1921, under the supervision of Professor Geley. The bizarre beast materialized and Geley felt the apparition rub shoulders with him, and also give off a pungent stench. This monster resembled a similar ape-man conjured on August 10th 1923, and was said to have lifted several chairs (which women were sitting on at the time) and also overturned a sofa. Famous ghost hunter Harry Price also partook in several séances where ‘ghosts’ of children were manifested.

Whatever is in the Loch (or not) it is a beautiful pace to visit. Why not go and see if you can spot ‘Nessie’ yourself?

Rosslyn Chapel

Having returned recently from my summer holiday in Scotland I thought I would blog about some of the more ‘unusual’ things we did whilst there.

On the way to Edinburgh we paid a visit (£7.50 for adults!) to Rosslyn chapel. I had first come across Rosslyn at a lecture given by Gorden Rutter and Scott Russell at a Fortean Unconvention and then later through Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci code. I had expected a few carvings but was blown away by the place. The building itself is redolent with history; even the name Rosslyn is perhaps significant. According to research conducted by Robert Lomas and Christopher Knight for The Hiram Key (1997), the word can be broken into its two syllables, 'Ros' and 'Lyn' which have their roots in the Gaelic 'Ros', meaning ancient knowledge and 'Lyn', meaning down the ages. It can therefore be argued that even the name of the place is telling us what it is: a library carved in stone ciphers; an attempt to impart arcane knowledge in something more durable than paper – knowledge available only to those with the intellect to decode it. . Rather, the building was designed and left for posterity as a learning tool, a coded book constructed in the most durable medium available – stone.

Rosslyn Chapel is still a working church (the Collegiate Church of St Matthew) but it is also something much more than that, to me it seemed to be a pantheistic temple which was later called a church in order to secure it’s survival, I have never seen a Christian church so covered with pagan symbols, images of Lucifer, dragons, plants, fields of flowers, sins and death. The carvings cover every inch of the small chapel and trains of intricate patterns and a large number of splayed crosses mark this place as an important meeting place of the Knights Templar. The splayed cross is also part of the Sinclair family’s insignia.

William St Claire commenced the building of the chapel in 1442. It took around 40 years to build and was still not totally complete when he died. His family line has remained intact since and the St Claire’s still own the chapel today. The family are traditional Grand Masters of the Masons of Scotland since the charter was granted to Sir William Sinclair of Rosslyn in 1630. There a many references to freemasonry in the church and its history.

The unfortunate attempts at restoration in the 1960’s have left the stone a dulled colour – covered as it is in a cement wash. The original yellow and pink sandstone would have been much more beautiful and luckily in a few places you can see the original colours. It is also interesting to note that the religious stained glass windows, Virgin Mary statue above the first altar and font at the back were late Victorian additions. The original chapel had clear windows and no overarching Christian regalia.

Theories about the importance and hidden treasure of Rosslyn Chapel are plentiful and popular, especially since the publication of The Da Vinci Code, it is frequently claimed that there is a great and profound secret hidden in Rosslyn Chapel, a secret that has so far remained tantalisingly elusive. But if there is a secret, what kind of secret is it? Is it the contents of the Templar preceptories, hastily removed from France immediately prior to the order’s arrest and imprisonment in October 1309? Or is it the lost gospels of Christ appropriated from beneath Solomon’s Temple by the Knights Templar during their lengthy sojourn in the Holy Lands? Another school of thought argues that the Holy Grail itself lies hidden beneath the floor of this mediæval / Renaissance chapel. Yet others are sure that Rosslyn’s secret treasure is the Ark of the Covenant, and there are even those who hold that the mummified head of Christ (or alternatively John the Baptist) is hidden there but what it is, and whether it has any relevance in the 21st century, is the vexed question lying at the puzzle’s very core.


Some things you will see if you visit the chapel include:

The Green Man: a pagan figure representing fertility. He has vines growing out of his mouth and around his face and there are over 100 carvings of him in the Church. The guide told us this is a very unusual thing to find in a Scottish Church.

Lucifer: an upside-down angel wrapped in rope and representing the fallen angel sent to hell.

Robert the Bruce: the face of Robert the Bruce is carved into the easternmost part of the Church. He looks pretty squished-in despite his importance in history. He was related to the St Claire family.

Carvings of American plants which predate Columbus’ “discovery” of America: The Chapel was finished just after 1484. Columbus landed in America in 1492. The exotic plants featured in the chapel include corn (maize), aloe vera and a third plant with a latin name which I can’t remember. I was sceptical about the explanation given by the guide that the St Claire’s who built the chapel were descended from Vikings and may have landed in America before Columbus had seen the plants. A much more simple explanation is that these carvings were added later. The masonry is certainly uneven on particular parts and looks as though it may have been cut out and put back in.

The Nativity: Figures from the nativity on top of an eight pointed star – the “star of Bethlehem” according to the guide books. Apparently the star of David (six-pointed) does not appear anywhere in the Church and had to be added by the filmmakers of “The Da Vinci Code”.

The Musical Boxes: 213 boxes carved on the edges of ribs around the vaulted pillars. Each one has a carving but the carvings do not follow an obvious pattern along the ribs. One theory is that each box represents a musical note and a Father/Son team of musicologists spent years trying to crack the code. They developed a scheme of tapping a tuning fork on a metal sheet covered in sand. The sand would then allegedly form a pattern which matched the carvings telling you which note to play. The legend goes that if the music of Rosslyn Chapel is ever played in the chapel, then the chapel will reveal its secrets. The Rosslyn Motet has been performed in the chapel three times and nothing has happened.

The Dance of Death: people from all strata of society being pulled into the next world by Death, depicted as a skeleton.

The Apprentice Pillar: the most elaborately decorated pillar in the Church was alleged to have been carved while the master mason was on a research break in Rome. His apprentice had a dream and completed the pillar in his masters’ absence. Upon his return, the master flew into a jealous rage and struck the apprentice with a mallet, killing him. The master was said to have been hung for his crime and the faces of the apprentice, apprentice’s mother and the master are said to be the faces at the back of the Church. It appears there may be more to this simplistic story.

There is a lot of symbolism around the chapel and I would love to know what it all means.

According to the guide, a plumbline from the keystone points to a stone in the floor which covers the treasure of Rosslyn. He says that the St Claire family won’t let anyone lift up the stones because their ancestors are likely to be buried underneath. Many of the important floor stones are covered with red carpet.

The guide said that the owners had allowing a sonar scan of the central Church which revealed a honeycomb-like structure and informed us that there is as much space below the Church as there is in it. We then visited the small crypt at one end of the church. The crypt seemed to be some sort of meeting room (for freemasons?) and would make a great entrance hall for the underground chambers of the Church, as it is so much lower down. The Church being built on a hill, the crypt has a window to the sunlight but backs onto the lower bowels of the chapel.

Rosslyn Chapel is well worth a visit. It is £7.50 for adults and is just off the A701 between Penicuik and Edinburgh. The chapel is currently covered with a tin roof while roofing restoration takes place. This work should be completed by summer 2010 if you want to wait to see the building in its full glory.

Derren Brown - ENIGMA

I went to see the demi-God that is Derren Brown perform his ‘ENIGMA’ show at the Adelph theatre last Thursday night. Having read one of his books and watched endless hours of him perform on you tube I got to see him perform in person and it surpassed all my expectations. The show was amazing with feats of magic, misdirection, suggestion and mental trickery. His cleaver dialogue and stage presence added to the performance and I really enjoyed myself. His simpler tricks involved him guessing a playing card, the number in tinfoil, while other larger stunts involved him attempting to put the entire audience into a catatonic state. The finale of the show left me dumbfounded to say the least and I spent the entire journey home trying to work out how he had done it. However, with my interest in parapsychology, my favourite part of the show was the Victorian spirit cabinet;- three ‘volunteers’ from the audience, who had fallen into a trance state, were placed into the spirit cabinet on stage and they performed several feats which replicated the early Victorian spiritualist séances like writing on concealed slates and throwing objects whilst tied up. I would recommend this show to anyone with any interest in hypnosis, magic, misdirection, parapsychology or those who just want a good old-fashioned night out.

The show really got me thinking about my course (MSc in Parapsychology at Coventry University) which I am starting in September this year. I am really excited about being accepted onto this course and I cannot wait for it to start. The course covers the History, Philosophy and Parapsychology, Anomalous Experiences, transpersonal psychology, survival of bodily death, extrasensory perception and psychokinesis. Doesn’t sound like my kind of thing at all!

UfO Sighted Above East Herts Village

I never set out to be a blogger. I take time thinking about the things I want to write about and I mull ideas over waiting for an idea to seed. Once I’ve decided, I don’t like launching opinions without first applying a protective coating of footnotes and qualifiers. I also write very slowly…

Luckily though my mum put me onto this when I met her last week. Apparently a UFO was recently spotted over a local Hertfordshire village (tenuous link I know but this is where I will soon be working)

UfO Sighted Above East Herts Village

MYSTERIOUS lights have been seen above East Herts again, when an "orange object" was sighted above Standon.

A couple were driving from Standon towards Puckeridge on May 24 when they encountered the UFO at around 10pm. Startled Persephone Adams described seeing a "large orange object hovering in the sky. It looked nothing like a helicopter, plane or even a hot air balloon, and was hovering quite steadily".

The East Herts and Broxbourne area has been a UFO hotspot in recent weeks with sightings of orange lights in Hertford and Cheshunt and a "teardrop shaped bright white" object also flying above Cheshunt. From Herald 24 website

Welcome - Summers here....

I've been expecting you and I have big plans for us!

This blog will be a running account of my interest in parapsychology and unexplained phenomena but will also be a window to my soul and thoughts. This is my first attempt at ‘blogging’ so please be gentle.

Today seemed like a good day to start my new blog, summer seems to have finally arrived and with only three weeks left at school before my summer holiday ‘officially’ starts I want to pay homage to the things I am looking forward to. There will be; long lie-ins and late nights, BBQs that start in the early afternoon and continue way into the night when the bats are flying overhead. Day trips to the beach and a chance to catch up properly with family and friends. Days spent reading in my garden and afternoons spent watching old movies. Shopping trips where I choose and try on but don’t buy! Coffee Light Frappucinos (my guilty pleasure), freshly iced cupcakes and fresh fruit - ice cold from the fridge. Road trips and holidays; this year Scotland (Edinburgh – future blogs on Roselyn chapel and haunted Edinburgh plus Loch Ness) and Munich.

So thanks for showing up on time and ready to go. I’ll be back soon...