Q: Hi Phil, happy new year and thank you
for the chance to talk with you today. Firstly
congratulations on the success of Dead Haunted
Nights, can we ask what’s it like
going out with the public to such renowned
sites as Galleries Of Justice and Woodchester
Mansion in comparison to with a full TV
crew and renown psychic?
A: Hi all, and Happy New year to you too!
In some respects going to locations with
the general public is actually easier than
with a film crew. Filming a TV show is much
more constructed and tighter with the way
things are run and you are always having
to think about what you are saying and doing
as if you get it wrong it can be very time
consuming. Whereas with the public you can
relax more, have a laugh (vital if someone
is frightened about doing an investigation
to chill them out a little) and not worry
about fluffing what you say. I find it fascinating
seeing how people cope with being in such
places as those that you mention…lol.
Q: How did Dead Haunted Nights come about
and how did you meet Chris, Nick and Vince,
and how do they find working with you and
your zany sense of humour?
A:
Lol…Dead Haunted Nights came about
in 2004 when I was chatting to Ian Lawman
concerning working together on projects.
There were a couple of groups already doing
overnight events and we just thought ‘we
can do that…’, so we did. Of
course people had the added bonus of asking
either myself or Ian about our TV experiences.
I met Nick and Chris in June / July 2004.
Nick works in one of the stores in Lincoln
city centre and I met him when I went into
where he works, and from there I met Chris
who is a friend of his. Chris does the DHN
website updating etc. Vince actually came
on a location with us as a paying member
of the public, where I got to know him and
eventually asked him to become a DHN team
leader. He’s a member of Swadlincote
Paranormal Investigation group too. I must
admit they are all great and without them
DHN would have struggled…cheers guys!
As for my sense of humour…we’re
all similar in that dept, so they cope fine!
Q:
Which places are you looking forward to
investigating with them this year?
A:
I’m looking forward to doing Margam
Castle in Wales as well as the Coalhouse
Fort (Essex). We’re really lucky this
year as we have some great new venues coming
up which I can’t wait for. We’ve
also got Darlington Civic Theatre (Darlington)
and Valentines Mansion (London) as well
as old favourites the Galleries of Justice
(Nottingham) and The Red Lion (Avebury).
Should be interesting!
Q: Do you feel that the highlighted interest
in the paranormal due to programmes such
as Most Haunted and Dead Famous has been
positive or detrimental to professional
paranormal investigation and why ?
A:
I think it has done no harm at all. After
all, the paranormal subject was something
that people did not really understand and
a few people even looked on it and frowned.
However, that has all changed and in no
small part to the screening of such programs
as MH and DF. It is always hard to get the
mix right in a TV show – some will
love it, others hate it – but it does
not stop paranormal investigators getting
out there and doing what they enjoy!
Q:
Do you miss the limelight of television
and do you have any plans to return to our
screens? We know you did a pilot of your
own programme called Spirit Seekers, what
progress is there with it?
A: I do miss it…who wouldn’t.
But the general public have been very kind
to me and sometimes it still amazes me at
their generosity, it’s like I’m
still on the box every week and people are
constantly stopping me for a chat! ‘Spirit
Seekers’ has gone to the great graveyard
in the sky reserved to pilot shows…lol.
Looking back at it I did enjoy doing it,
but I would have done things differently
(I even asked if I could help direct / produce
the pilot using the knowledge gained from
MH, but was turned down!).
Q:
Of all the sites you have investigated over
your career we must ask what’s the
most memorable experience and why?
A:
Crikey…erm…tough question! This
tends to change each time I am asked this
as I usually remember another incident,
lol. I have had a couple of strange experiences
at Peterborough Museum, very recently too.
The first was when I was in one of the rooms
and I was sat talking to one of the guests
on an event DHN held there. As I turned
to face the chap in question I saw a bare
arm, bent at the elbow, right in front of
my face! I don’t normally mention
an experience if I am not certain I witnessed
it, but this I swear was there. The other
was in the cellar at the museum. A group
of us were sat in there when something quite
heavy was thrown onto the materials in front
of us…made us jump I can tell you!
Brannigans nightclub with MH was one location
I will always remember, very spooky and
only the second one I ever did with them!
Q:
Reading many investigation reports there
are always references to orbs and light
anomalies, what’s your professional
view towards them? Are they all purely reflections
of light on dust? If not how do you distinguish
between the two?
A:
I’m not an orb fan myself well, not
of 90% of them at least. I think there are
far more down to Earth explanations for
these anomalies like dust or other airborne
particle. However, I have seen some on TV
programs that are very intriguing. These
are normally larger than the usual little
things seen frequently on cameras, and tend
to zip about and change direction at pace
before vanishing. I haven’t seen many
though in all honesty. But, I’m not
here to persuade you one way or the other,
so please come to your own conclusions (as
with all paranormal incidents).
Q: What have you ever caught on camera or
film yourself that is beyond rational and
scientific explanation?
A: I was at a famously haunted location
in Goosnargh (Lancashire), and I took two
35mm Infra-Red B/W shots, one right after
the other, of the stairway there. I’m
quite a keen photographer. When the film
was developed there was a blur of ‘something’
coming from the middle of the stairs towards
me and then bending to the right, at the
point approximately where I was stood. To
the right of me was an open doorway. Was
this something coming down the stairs towards
me and evading me by going out the door?
The next shot in the sequence was fine by
the way…I have been lucky enough to
do this location a number of times, each
one had a strange incident or two.
Q: What is your view on using psychics on
investigations? We are aware you have worked
with the Psychic Bad Boy Ian Lawman, how
do you rate his ‘gift’ and how
was it working professionally with him?
A: This is always a difficult question to
answer as far as rating someone’s
psychic ability / awareness is concerned.
I don’t discount anyone’s claims
of psychic powers as there is not one person
of a medical / scientific standing that
can categorically say 100% that these abilities
are not possible within the human makeup.
I think Ian is very talented and I always
found it immense fun working with him.
Q:
Is there anyone in the paranormal field
today that you would like to work with on
an investigation and why?
A:
I have always admired Peter Underwood. He
has done so many investigations one could
learn a lot from him. It would be interesting
to attend an investigation with Peter. My
ultimate would have been Harry Price, whose
book’s I remember reading when young…especially
concerning Borley Rectory.
|
