This is the story of the Rochdale quack that cured the King of England.[i] The king was George the Third, the so called mad king who lost America. The quack was John Taylor, one of the so called Whitworth Doctors, an extended family of practitioners based in the village of Whitworth, near Rochdale. The conditionContinue reading “The Quack That Cured The King”
Author Archives: Paul Weatherhead
Demonic Possession in Lancashire ~ The Surey Demoniack
What should you do if your son is possessed by the devil? Why, turn him into a demonic freakshow and invite the drunken public to come and gawp at him as he gibbers, capers and blasphemes, of course! Well, that’s what happened in this weird case of demonic possession from 17th century Lancashire… Richard DugdaleContinue reading “Demonic Possession in Lancashire ~ The Surey Demoniack”
Weird Musical History 2 ~ Musaire! Calderdale’s Unsung Pioneer of Electronic Music
In the spring of 1950, an unsung pioneer of electronic music and variety star returned to his native Calderdale for a series of concerts at the Drill Hall, Halifax as part of the Halifax Home and Industrial Exhibition.[i] His name was Joseph Forest Whiteley, but he was best known by his stage name Musaire becauseContinue reading “Weird Musical History 2 ~ Musaire! Calderdale’s Unsung Pioneer of Electronic Music”
When Ghost Hoaxes Go Bad…
Playing the ghost – dressing in a white sheet, devil mask or animal skin and then jumping out on innocent victims to scare the wits out of them in dark and lonely locations – was a popular but much frowned upon pastime in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It was assumed that delicate ladiesContinue reading “When Ghost Hoaxes Go Bad…”
Weird Musical History 1 ~The Cat Orchestra
It’s the middle of the eighteenth century and an expectant audience is crammed into an exhibition room in London’s Haymarket to witness a bizarre performance that is the talk of London. The audience settles and the show begins. Three cats sit ready to play their dulcimers, their sheet music on little music stands in frontContinue reading “Weird Musical History 1 ~The Cat Orchestra”
Scared… to Death!
A bizarre pastime emerged in the nineteenth and early twentieth century: ‘playing the ghost’. This usually involved a prankster donning a white sheet, perhaps with a scary mask and some devil horns and then cavorting in a spook like manner at a creepy location such as a dark lonely road or grave yard at midnightContinue reading “Scared… to Death!”
Easter Ghost ~ Halifax 1843
At Easter 1843 crowds began to gather round a certain Halifax house, and more curious onlookers joined the throng each day. The house was said to have been unoccupied for 20-30 years and yet strange sights had been seen through its upstairs window: a bed was seen to fly around the room and a ghostlyContinue reading “Easter Ghost ~ Halifax 1843”
The War Between Monkeys and Dogs
At the end of 2021, bizarre reports of a strange war emerged from India: monkeys versus dogs. Villagers in Maharastra state, 300 miles east of Mumbai, claimed that revenge mad langur monkeys were slaughtering puppies by the hundreds. The attacks were so thorough that in Lawul village, every single puppy had been wiped out.[i] AccordingContinue reading “The War Between Monkeys and Dogs”
Banned! The First Alien Abduction was so shocking it was censored!
The first alien abduction case in the UK is usually considered to be that of PC Alan Godfrey in 1980. He was driving his panda car on Burnley Road, Todmorden in the early hours of a November morning when he was confronted with a large diamond shaped craft hovering above the street, or so heContinue reading “Banned! The First Alien Abduction was so shocking it was censored!”
Vampire Hunters and Me
I’ve only ever had any dealings with two vampire hunters. I found myself in the middle of a decades long feud that involved occult duels, black magic, a bishop, vampires, a giant spider, Long John Baldry’s cat and Robin Hood… It all began in 2003 when I was working on the first edition of WeirdContinue reading “Vampire Hunters and Me”
Paul Weatherhead 