Haunted History Chronicles

Can paranormal investigators ever truly separate what they observe from what they already believe? And what happens when the search for answers begins to influence the evidence itself?
In this episode of Haunted History Chronicles, I welcome back psychical researcher Ciaran Farrell for the first instalment of a fascinating series exploring contamination in paranormal investigation and the often-overlooked influences that can shape our understanding of extraordinary experiences.
Drawing on his own remarkable childhood encounters with unexplained phenomena and decades of involvement in psychical research, Ciaran reflects on the experiences that first led him to question how paranormal claims are investigated, interpreted and reported. From his earliest attempts to make sense of seemingly impossible events to his growing interest in scientific methods, he reveals why the relationship between personal experience and objective enquiry is far more complicated than it might initially appear.
Our conversation explores how assumptions, expectations and established ways of thinking can influence both witnesses and investigators. We examine the importance of credibility, the difficulties of distinguishing observation from interpretation, and the challenges of gathering reliable evidence when the people involved inevitably bring their own experiences and perspectives to an investigation.
But contamination is not simply a matter of mistakes or misleading evidence. It raises deeper questions about the nature of investigation itself, the influence of the observer and whether the methods we use to examine the unexplained might sometimes shape the conclusions we reach.
Join us as we begin a thought-provoking exploration of one of the most important challenges facing paranormal research. Are we investigating the phenomena as they are, or are we sometimes finding what we have already been conditioned to expect?
This is Part One of our series exploring contamination in paranormal investigation with Ciaran Farrell.
My Special Guest Is Ciaran Farrell
Ciaran Farrell is an experienced psychical researcher who has served for many years as a Council member of the Society for Psychical Research (SPR) and on its Spontaneous Cases Committee.
His interest in ghosts, poltergeists and other unexplained phenomena began in childhood, following a series of personal experiences that inspired him to develop his own theories and investigative approaches. These included encounters he interpreted as apparitions and poltergeist activity, as well as experiences involving dreams that appeared to convey information about the deceased.
In this new series, Ciaran brings his experience and critical reflections to the wider question of how paranormal investigations can be influenced, compromised or contaminated, and what researchers might do to recognise and address those challenges.
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What if understanding a haunting means looking beyond the ghost?
A shadow glimpsed in an empty room. An object moving without explanation. A sudden sensation that someone, or something, is watching. For centuries, experiences like these have inspired ghost stories, fuelled investigations and divided opinion. But what actually makes an experience a haunting? Is it something within the environment, something about the person experiencing it, or an interaction between the two?
And perhaps just as importantly, how do we begin to separate what happened from what we believe happened?
In this episode of Haunted History Chronicles, I'm joined by Dr Brian Laythe, forensic psychologist, paranormal researcher and co-author of Ghosted!
Together, we explore Haunted People Syndrome, the significance of transliminality, the influence of belief and expectation, and what research into electromagnetic fields might actually tell us about unusual experiences. We also consider the challenges of investigating hauntings scientifically, the limitations of popular ghost-hunting technology, and why understanding the people involved may be every bit as important as studying the places themselves.
Because behind every haunting is an experience. Behind every experience is a person trying to make sense of it. And somewhere between the evidence, the interpretation and the unexplained lies a far more complicated story than simply asking whether ghosts are real.
My Special Guest: 
Dr Brian Laythe is a social psychologist, forensic psychologist and researcher whose work explores the fascinating intersections between psychology, religion, belief and paranormal experience. He is the founder and director of the Institute for the Study of Religious and Anomalous Experience in Indiana and a partner at Iudicium, a forensic psychology consultancy.
His research spans social and forensic psychology, the psychology of religion and ideology, and anomalistic psychology, with a particular interest in hauntings and extraordinary human experiences. In 2022, he co-authored Ghosted! Exploring the Haunted Reality of Paranormal Encounters.
Brian's wider research includes studies of magical practitioners, the relationship between belief and anomalous experiences, and investigations into reported poltergeist activity, including the South Shields Poltergeist case.
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Links⁠ For The Book ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Ghosted: Exploring The Haunting Reality Of Paranormal Encounters
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ghosted-Exploring-Haunting-Paranormal-Encounters/dp/1476685770/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2ZBEPLVQCF3H6&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Qt7iSreKHgkre5ZeKSJDWpsjhG0UWkgYbwKI54PQ_1A.dycuVJnLqO7bE_bjlkkZoJWcqz0xPEWZCE5gLe-_K60&dib_tag=se&keywords=ghosted+brian+laythe&qid=1792588443&sprefix=ghosted+brian+%2Caps%2C128&sr=8-1&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.95fd378e-6299-4723-b1f1-3952ffba15af   
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What if everything you thought you knew about Voodoo was wrong? Beyond the Hollywood curses, sinister dolls and frightening stereotypes lies a spiritual tradition shaped by resilience, powerful women, ancestral connections and the belief that death need not sever our relationships with those who came before us.
This week, we return to New Orleans to explore the history, rituals and mysteries of Voodoo, from the enduring legacy of Marie Laveau to extraordinary first-hand accounts of spirit possession, sacred ceremonies and an unsettling haunting that called for the intervention of a Voodoo priestess.
Dr Rory O'Neill Schmitt returns to Haunted History Chronicles to take us beyond the myths and misconceptions, drawing on the research she undertook with her mother, Dr Rosary O'Neill, for their book New Orleans Voodoo. Together, we uncover the significance of ancestor veneration, the spiritual authority of women, the symbolism of altars, charms and ritual objects, and the powerful role of music, dance and prayer in ceremonies intended to invite the spirits into the world of the living.
From the history of Congo Square to the continuing spiritual legacy of Marie Laveau, this is a journey into a New Orleans where faith, folklore, history and the supernatural are closely intertwined — and where the dead are not necessarily regarded as absent, but as ancestors whose presence may still be felt.
My Special Guest: 
Dr Rory O’Neill Schmitt is the author of six books exploring history, culture, art, and the enduring mysteries of place. Much of her work is rooted in New Orleans, where the past is never entirely past: its houses, streets, legends, and larger-than-life figures continue to inspire stories of hauntings and restless memory.
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Guest Links:
Websites: 
⁠https://www.rorystoryandscreen.com/⁠
YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASIF-xhxB34⁠ 
Links to Books:
⁠https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Rory-ONeill-Schmitt-PhD/author/B0H12BW2GN?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1788528634&sr=1-1&shoppingPortalEnabled=true⁠
Those interested in purchasing a signed copy of The Blood of the Baroness may contact either of these bookstores:
The Garden District Book Shop
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Toll-free: 888-560-9919
Email: sales@poisonedpen.com
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What is it about Jamaica Inn that refuses to let people go?
Standing amid the rugged landscape of Bodmin Moor, the Inn has become inseparable from tales of smugglers, travellers, ghosts and, of course, Daphne du Maurier. Yet beneath the legends lies something even richer: generations of people whose lives became entwined with the building, fragments of history still waiting to be recovered, and an extraordinary collection of paranormal reports stretching across decades.
In this episode of Haunted History Chronicles, I am joined by Karin Beasant and Lisa Holman, co-authors of Jamaica Inn: The History, Hauntings and Folklore, to journey beyond the familiar legends and discover the people and stories behind one of Britain's most famous historic inns.
There are some places where history never seems entirely finished. Jamaica Inn is one of them.
My Special Guests Are Karin Beasant and Lisa Holman: 
Karin Beasant is a long-standing paranormal investigator, historian and passionate researcher of Jamaica Inn. She has spent more than a decade running the Jamaica Inn paranormal team, developing an extraordinary knowledge of the building, its history and the experiences reported there. Alongside Lisa, she also works as a paranormal consultant, helping heritage and charitable locations approach paranormal investigation in a way that protects both their history and their integrity. 
Karin's extensive research forms a major foundation of Jamaica Inn: The History, Hauntings and Folklore. Her determination to separate documented history from later stories is central to the book: folklore is preserved and celebrated, but not presented as established fact when the evidence cannot support it. 
Lisa Holman is an author and paranormal investigator who has been investigating the paranormal for nearly fifteen years and has been a member of the Jamaica Inn paranormal team since 2018. Jamaica Inn: The History, Hauntings and Folklore is her third book, and her experience as a writer helped transform years of research, archival discoveries, witness accounts and paranormal material into the finished volume. 
Together, Karin and Lisa combine historical research, first-hand knowledge of Jamaica Inn, years of paranormal investigation and a deep respect for the people connected with the building.
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Guest Links⁠ For The Book ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
Facebook:
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What happens when the Devil enters the courtroom?
For centuries, that wasn't simply a theological question. There were times when courts treated Satan, demons and witchcraft as very real forces capable of corrupting bodies, destroying crops, causing death and driving human beings towards terrible acts. But as society changed, so too did the Devil — and so did the law.
In this episode, we follow that extraordinary transformation through centuries of legal history. From the brutal machinery of the European witch trials and the strange familiars of English witchcraft cases, to the emergence of forensic psychiatry and the increasingly difficult question of whether someone was bad, mad... or possessed. We encounter a murderer who wrote to the Devil in his own blood, the tragic case of Anneliese Michel, the Amityville murders, the infamous claim that “the Devil made me do it”, and the Satanic Panic of the 1980s.
But beneath these extraordinary cases lies a much more unsettling question. When societies put witches, demons and the Devil on trial, what were they really judging?
But beneath these extraordinary cases lies a much more unsettling question. When societies put witches, demons and the Devil on trial, what were they really judging?
Perhaps the Devil has never simply represented evil. Perhaps, changing shape from one century to another, he has also reflected the things we fear, the people we blame, and the explanations we reach for when human behaviour becomes almost impossible to comprehend.
So tonight, the Devil is in the dock. But by the end of this conversation, we may have to ask whether he was ever really the one on trial.
My Special Guest Is Naomi Ryan  
Naomi Ryan is a criminal barrister and lover of all things macabre. After qualifying with a Masters in Law from St Catherine’s College, Oxford, she taught criminal law to undergraduates at St Hilda’s College Oxford and University College London before embarking on her career as a criminal barrister, where she both prosecuted and defended. She later moved into the Civil Service, where she has advised an array of senior government and legal figures on matters of constitutional, public and criminal law. She continues to work as an advisory lawyer whilst regularly giving talks about the darker side of legal history.
Listener discretion: This episode contains a very short audio recording connected to the case of Anneliese Michel which some listeners may find distressing. It is included not for sensationalism, but to provide context for the difficult evidence later placed before the court. At the centre of this case was a young woman experiencing profound suffering, and that should never be forgotten. If you would prefer not to hear the recording, please skip ahead when advised. 
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