The Spiritlove Meet-Up 2011

1. Seriously Strange brings together 20 of the most respected researchers of our times. The latest thinking and research on a range of topics from ghosts to UFOs, hauntings to mediumship, vampires to consciousness.

2. There are live experiments and research to take part in, or watch. ASSAP is famed for its range of fun, hands-on research experiments that bring paranormal research to life. With new experiments this will be the biggest live research we have ever done.

3. Seriously Strange is huge, fun event in a beautiful city. Bringing like-minded people together in an accessible way, with cheap accomodation on campus. There will also be a party, with food and dancing. All in this historic, beautiful city setting of Bath.

4. There will be one or two surprises. Including an announcement that will change the future of ASSAP and paranormal investigation and research for good.

5. Seriously Strange is open to all, and marks the 30th anniverary of the education and research charity ASSAP, the Association for the Scientific Study of Anomalous Phenomena.

At a Glance: Dr O'Keeffe is noted researcher and TV personality

Biography: Dr. Ciarán O’Keeffe provides a sceptical voice to various ‘paranormal’ shows (e.g. Living's Most Haunted, and Jane Goldman Investigates). An Applied Psychologist operating on the fringe of science, he's been involved in many unusual projects: the physiological effects of infrasound; ghost investigation of Hampton Court; an exorcism ‘training day'; qualifying as a “Demonologist”(!); and lie detecting for the movie Spy Game.
He is currently employed as a Research Associate with Université de Toulouse (Le Mirail) which, aside from researching Parapsychology & Investigative Psychology, primarily involves translating/editing psychology articles (French/English) and being Editorial Assistant for the Revue Européenne de Psychologie Appliquée (European Review of Applied Psychology), a leading international bilingual scientific journal. His paranormal research has focussed on testing mediums and psychics in the laboratory and also field-work examining haunting experiences. Additional research has included psychic criminology and ‘Christian’ parapsychology (i.e. exorcism, possession, miracles and stigmata). Aside from academic research, which he has published and presented at numerous conferences, more recently he has participated in various documentaries with National Geographic and Discovery examining the use of psychics in criminal investigations and the role of infrasound in understanding haunting experiences and provided accounts of his daily activities in order to inform the lead in a popular ITV paranormal drama about the afterlife.

At a glance: Paul Devereux is a prolific author on the subject of Earth Mysteries and many others.

Biography: Paul Devereux is managing editor of the academic publication, Time & Mind – The Journal of Archaeology, Consciousness and Culture (http://www.bergjournals.com/timeandmind), a research affiliate with the Royal College of Art, a Senior Research Fellow of the International Consciousness Research Laboratories (ICRL), Princeton, and the Director of the Dragon Project Trust.
He has written a great many articles for general publications and a string of peer-reviewed papers. He is author of 27 books, dealing variously with the anthropologies of consciousness, archaeoacoustics and other aspects of ancient sites, landscapes and lifeways, as well as anomalous geophysical phenomena and parasychology. He lectures worldwide.
His latest book is Sacred Geography and his website is: [Only admins are allowed to see this link]

At a Glance: Mark has been an author and columnist in publications such as The Guardian and Fortean Times.

Biography: Mark Pilkington is a writer, publisher, curator and musician with a particular interest in the fringes of knowledge, culture and belief.
He was written two books, Mirage Men (2010) and Far Out: 101 Strange Tales from Science's Outer Edge (2007), the latter collecting articles written for the Guardian newspaper. His writing has been published in numerous magazines and anthologies, including The Anomalist, Celeste, FHM, Fortean Times, Frieze, Sight and Sound, The Wire, the Time Out Book of London Walks Vol.2 and London Noir. Mark also runs Strange Attractor Press and edits its acclaimed anthology, Strange Attractor Journal.

At a glance: Alan is a barrister and Chair of the Ghost Club.

Biography: Alan Murdie LL.B, Barrister is chairman of the Ghost Club (founded in Cambridge in the 19thcentury) and a member of the Society for Psychical Research, chairing its Spontaneous Cases Committee. He has personally investigated numerous cases of alleged haunting in Britain and abroad, and has written and broadcast extensively on paranormal topics. The author of ten books, including four on haunted cities in the UK, he also writes a monthly column devoted to ghosts for the magazine Fortean Times.

At a glance: Lionel is a veteran broadcaster and is honourary President of ASSAP and BUFORA

Biography: Lionel started as a Journalist in Cromer. Then ten years as a Headmaster (Principal) of a big Comprehensive High School in Cardiff.
Lionel is now a popular TV and Radio presenter and celebrity guest on chat shows, as well as a fully ordained Anglican Priest. He’s a qualified weight–training instructor and a Dan Grade martial arts instructor.
With 50 years in print and having written well over 250 books as well as numerous, columns, articles and features you might wonder how he manages to fit so much in...
Lionel is part of a team, Patricia, his wife for over 50 years is his agent, manager, business partner and PR exec.

At a glance: Dr Pincott is honourary Vice President of ASSAP and served as a Director for 29 years

Biography: Dr Hugh Pincott is a chartered chemist by training and worked for 24 years in the oil and petroleum chemicals industry. Latterly he is a data processing quality manager, working under contract for several prestigious companies. Hugh's paranormal career spans 4 decades, and he was once Honorary Secretary and Treasurer of the Society for Psychical Research.
A founder member of ASSAP, Dr Pincott was on its Executive from 1981 to 2010, holding various positions including General Secretary, Chairman and National Research Co-ordinator. He is currently Vice-President.
Hugh's research interests focus on altered states of consciousnes, including mediumship and hypnosis. He led the 1980s team that undertook research into "past lives", with intriguing results. Currently Dr Pincott is an active member of ASSAP's Plymouth Group, which is working to drive similar studies forward.

At a glance: Paul co-hosts 'The Bigfoot Show' podcast.

Biography: Paul is an independent Forensic Computer Expert Witness by profession, specialising in criminal defence cases, but he also managed one of the world's most popular bigfoot websites [Only admins are allowed to see this link] until last year and co-hosts 'The Bigfoot Show' podcast. He's made several trips to the United States over the years gathering evidence and is widely regarded as the most credible authority on the subject to be found this side of the Atlantic. A natural sceptic, Paul errs on the side of caution when it comes to Bigfoot evidence and reports, but as someone who works with forensic evidence on a daily basis, he says that some of the evidence for the existence of Bigfoot is compelling but he will reserve judgement until he has seen one for himself.

Biography: Chris Jensen Romer has been involved in research in to the paranormal since 1987 when he had a strange apparitional experience at Thetford, Norfolk. Seeking answers he joined the Society for Psychical Research and has since been involved in a number of local groups, conducting a number of investigations and making a number of media appearances. He currently works as a writer for the roleplaying games market, and maintains a blog on Poltergeist phenomena at [Only admins are allowed to see this link] His major interests include attempting to bridge the gap between local ghost groups and the parapsychological community, and exploring the limitations of current models of apparitional experience. In this talk he intends to discuss how assumptions inherent in the pioneering research of the late 19th century may have led ghost research in to a blind alley, and explores possible alternative ways to investigate hauntings.

At a Glance: John is author of the 'Ghost Hunting Survivor's Guide'

Biography: Johns first investigations into the unexplained were in the 1980s whjen he joined when he joined a brand new orgainisation called 'ASSAP' a few months after it formed. Amongst other things he assisted Hugh Pincott and others in hypnotic regression experiments which provided very interesting results.
John moved on to the Ghost Club after swapping theories with Peter Underwood on the legendary 'Sandwood Bay' haunting, where he served for a number of years as Vice Chair (Investigations).
He is currently serving on the Council and the 'Spontaneous Cases Committee' of the Society For Psychical Research, and has recently published a book 'Ghost Hunting a Survivors' Guide' which looks behind the justifications for that age old fascinating endevour to explain the strange phenomina known as 'Ghosts' .
Outside of the paranormal John is also interested in politics having stood as a Parliamentary Candidate and assisted in various international roles for the Liberal Democrat party in the past.

At a glance: Dr Sherwood is based at the University of Northampton at the Centre for the Study of Anomalous Psychological Processes.

Biography: Simon Sherwood is a Senior Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Northampton where he specialises in teaching and supervising undergraduate and postgraduate research in parapsychology and the psychology of anomalous experiences.
He completed the Summer Study Program (SSP) in parapsychology at the Rhine Research Center in 1994 and gained a PhD in Psychology from the University of Edinburgh under the supervision of Professor Robert Morris at the Koestler Parapsychology Unit in 2001.
He has conducted surveys into hypnagogic/hypnopompic and sleep-related experiences and anomalous beliefs, carried out experimental Ganzfeld and dream ESP research, and collected reports of apparitions of Black Dogs. He has also been involved with the investigation of allegedly haunted locations.

Zofia Weaver, BA PhD

Zofia has been a member of the SPR since 1982. One of her main areas of interest in psychical research is the investigation of famous Polish psychics. Her paper on the Polish physical medium, Franek Kluski, was published in the JSPR in 1992 and, together with Mary Rose Barrington and Professor Ian Stevenson, she has written a comprehensive study of the Polish clairvoyant Stefan Ossowiecki. She served as the Editor of the Society's Journal in the years 1999-2002, and currently chairs the SPR's E-Communications Committee.

At a Glance: Val was a researcher and Director of ASSAP for 25 years

Biography: Val missed out on the birth pangs of ASSAP in those heady days of 1980 and 1981, when a bunch of revolutionaries in the SPR wanted to do things differently and found themselves blocked. Still a student in 1981, she clipped an article from an issue of Psychic News announcing the formation of a new research body that planned to break down barriers between fields of study. Finding herself at a loose end in late 1982, she dug out the clipping and joined up. She was quickly spotted as someone with too much time on her hands and living close to the hub of activity in North London. Her first active engagement was stuffing newsletters into envelopes at the home of Dennis Bury in Crouch End, together with Alan Cleaver and David Salt. And then came that fateful meeting at BP in the City, with Hugh Pincott and Maurice Townsend, among others. From there it snowballed. Initially she found herself organizing ASSAP conferences, but her main role was editor of ASSAP News for 12 years, plundering her own life for copy. Now living a quiet life in Croydon, away from the ASSAP hustle and bustle, she still takes the odd photo of the ASSAP Blogger, but is content to sit back and watch everyone else do the work.

At a Glance: Trystan co-hosts the popular Righteous Indignation podcast

Biography: A critical thinker with far too much time on his hands, Trystan Swale immersed himself in the world of paranormal and Fortean investigations for the best part of half a decade.
For his efforts he emerged with headaches, lots of enemies and a sideline in hoaxing.
He is the founder of the Righteous Indignation skeptical podcast and remains dedicated to solving the mysterious case of the Wye Valley Duckman.

At a Glance: Dr Gilbert is co-creator of the Exploring the Extraordinary network.

Biography: Hannah Gilbert has a BA (Hons) in Anthropology from Durham University, and was awarded a PhD in Sociology at the University of York in 2010. Her doctoral project looked at experiences and representations of the spirit world in British spirit mediumship.
She is currently writing a book about death, emotion and representations and experiences of the dead. In 2007, she and her colleagues in the Anomalous Experiences Research Unit (AERU) at York created Exploring the Extraordinary, an interdisciplinary researcher network whose third annual conference is due to take place in York in September 2011.

At a glance: Steve is a founder of Para.Science and runs the So You Want To Be a Ghost Hunter study days

Biography: As a youngster Steve would often ask 'If he could go and look for the Ghosts' in old buildings. Dismantling toys and a love of 'science & techie' stuff also kept him busy. Later it seemed only logical to combine the two interests. Following (unsteadily) in the footsteps of perhaps the Greatest Ghost hunter of them all - Harry Price.
Qualifications gained as an Instrumentation Technician within the Petrochemical Industry provided Steve with essential knowledge about the measurement of environment processes including; temperature, pressure, flow and sound: Later, he qualified as a Registered Nurse. His career choices and a lot of time spent in haunted buildings, investigating the claims of ghosts (and making of few mistakes along the way) has given Steve an invaluable set of skills that he can bring to bear in the search for answers and (occasionally) explanations.
After a brief but unsatisfactory time spent with a couple of local Ghost hunting groups he co-founded Para.Science; described by Parapsychologist Dr. Ciarán O’Keeffe as “Undoubtedly the leading haunting investigation group in the world". Para.Science is recognised by its peers and academic professionals for the high quality and strict adherence to a sound methodology in all its investigations and associated research.
Ghosts, Hauntings, Poltergeists and related phenomena occupy much of his time - in the form of both research and investigation. Steve also continues his focus on Infrasound and its associations with paranormal phenomena and has recently completed an experiment that demonstrates the Orb Phenomenon has a mundane rather than paranormal explanation. He is a member of The Spontaneous Case Committee for The Society for Psychical Research and an Advisor for The Ghost Club.
Steve can also draw upon an extensive media experience and has appeared and advised on many TV and Radio programmes including those for the BBC, The Discovery Channel together many other UK and international broadcasters. He has also contributed to many books, magazines and journals over the years, working alongside some of the leading International Academic Parapsychology Departments.

At a Glance: Ann is a long-standing researcher of paranormal experiences

Biography: Ann is an independent researcher who describes herself as a Psychical Phenomenologist, to reflect her research interests in how witnesses describe and interpret their apparent paranormal experiences. She graduated from Liverpool John Moore's University in 2010 with a BSc (Hons.) in Applied Psychology.
As well as being a member of ASSAP, Ann is an Associate member of the Parapsychological Association and a member of the Society for Psychical Research.
Ann's recent work includes a study of reported time slip experiences, a survey of paranormal experiences, and an analysis of how paranormal experiences are interpreted and assimilated. Currently she is extending the work she did for her dissertation, looking at the effects of belief on response bias.

At a glance: Cal is based at Sheffield Hallam University and is a parapsychological researcher.

Biography: Cal Cooper has a long standing interest in the history of haunted locations and the investigation of spontaneous cases. In 2009 he received the Eileen J. Garrett Scholarship from the Parapsychology Foundation and is the current student representative of the Parapsychological Association along side Evrard Renaud. He graduated from The University of Northampton with a BSc (Hons) in Psychology.
Cal has written on numerous topics concerning parapsychology and has been involved in many projects including investigating purportedly haunted locations, Ganzfeld research and exploring new methods of testing the sense of being stared at. He is involved in the media now and then as a representative for parapsychology. Currently, Cal is based at Sheffield Hallam University reading for an Master of Research (MRes) in Psychology.

At a glance: Jack is editor of the Journal of Paranthrapology.

Biography: Jack Hunter has a degree in archaeology and anthropology from the University of Bristol.
His undergraduate dissertation took the form of an experiential investigation into contemporary trance and physical mediumship at a private home-circle in Bristol. He is currently conducting research on contemporary Spiritualism for his MLitt/PhD in Social Anthropology at the University of Bristol.

At a glance: Having run a noted paranormal investigation group for 25 years, David is a stalwart of the speakers scene and media

Biography: David is Chair of Parasearch which he founded in 1986 to investigate anomalous experiences in the Midlands. He is Editor of the Unitarian Society for Psychical Studies journal and is Central England Co-ordinator for The Ghost Club. He is also on the the Editorial Board for ASSAP as well as being an ASSAP Approved Investigator. In 2009 he was awarded the Michael Bentine Memorial Shield by ASSAP. He is also member of the Society for Psychical Research, The Alister Hardy Society and the Churches Fellowship for Psychical & Spiritual Studies. David has appeared on television and radio relating to the paranormal and has lectured to a variety of organisations, including the National Trust, ASSAP, The Ghost Club and the Fortean Times UnConvention. He is author of two books on hauntings and apparitions and his research has appeared in a variety of books.

In his presentation David will talk about the famous Hexham heads case and his research for a book on the subject.

At a glance: Dr O'Callaghan lectures at the University of Lancaster.

Biography: Sean O'Callaghan gained his PhD in Theology from the University of Liverpool. His PhD examined the interaction between Missiology and Christology in nineteenth and twentieth century British Theology.
Sean continued to apply his PhD research to his interest in New Religious Movements and the emergence of new spiritualities and has written articles on several esoteric and occultic movements. He co-moderated a web forum discussing esoteric issues for several years as well. He has written a book on world religions for Lion which was published in 2010.
He is currently a visiting lecturer at the University of Lancaster, where he teaches on aspects of occulture and the relationship between religion and popular culture.

Stephen Volk was the creator/writer of ITV1's multi award-winning paranormal drama series Afterlife starring Lesley Sharp and Andrew Lincoln, and the notorious (some say legendary) BBCTV "Halloween hoax" Ghostwatch, which spooked the nation, hit the headlines, and caused questions to be raised in Parliament.

His latest feature film, The Awakening, is a supernatural mystery and stars Rebecca Hall (The Prestige, The Town), Dominic West (The Wire) and Imelda Staunton (Vera Drake). Co-written by director Nick Murphy (Occupation), it will be released in 2011.

Other credits include Ken Russell's Gothic, a trippy retelling of the Mary Shelley/ Frankenstein story starring Gabriel Byrne, Natasha Richardson and Timothy Spall; The Guardian, directed by William Friedkin; Superstition starring Mark Strong and Charlotte Rampling; and Octane starring Madeleine Stowe and Jonathan Rhys Meyers. For television, he has written stand-alone scripts for C4's Shockers and BBC1's Ghosts.

He also won a BAFTA for his short film script The Deadness of Dad starring Rhys Ifans.