Author Archives: Paul Weatherhead

Some Headless Xmas Ghosts

Hannah Grundy – the Headless Ghost of Staithes If you take a night walk on the beach near the North Yorkshire fishing village of Staithes at Christmas, you might see an eerie transparent figure floating down from the towering coastal cliffs. As the shape comes closer, it crosses a bridge and comes onto the beachContinue reading “Some Headless Xmas Ghosts”

The Skoptsy – Russia’s Weird Castration Cult

This may sting a little. Away from the prying eyes of the orthodox authorities, a group of believers gather secretly in a Saint Petersburg cellar. They chant the name of Jesus Christ as if it were a mantra and enter a state of rapturous exaltation before dancing and spinning like dervishes singing, prophesying and howlingContinue reading “The Skoptsy – Russia’s Weird Castration Cult”

Monster Bats Attack!

Here are some gobbets of strange and horrible vampire history from the late nineteenth century… Monster Bat Attacks Baby In Hampshire in November 1880, a woman put her baby to sleep in its cradle one afternoon. The room had an old fireplace but no fire, so the woman put a paraffin lamp on the hobContinue reading “Monster Bats Attack!”

How I Built a Portal to Another Dimension in my Teenage Bedroom

If you want to build one for yourself, then read on. In my early teens I devoured books on the occult, UFOs, ESP and especially astral projection. Astral projection is where your astral body, a kind of spooky facsimile of your physical body, floats free of your corporeal self. This means you can fly aroundContinue reading “How I Built a Portal to Another Dimension in my Teenage Bedroom“

The Bound and Gagged Girl ~ A Lancashire Mystery

Hilda Sharrock (18), a domestic servant living in Rufford, near Ormskirk in Lancashire had failed to come home at her usual time after meeting a friend. By 11.15pm, her father and stepmother were becoming concerned – Hilda was a home-loving young woman, fond of knitting and engaged to a young haulage driver who was awayContinue reading “The Bound and Gagged Girl ~ A Lancashire Mystery”

Splatter Platters – Top Ten Teen Tragedy Death Discs

Weird Musical History #6 One of the strangest sub-genres of pop music and one that I have a macabre affection for is the death disc – songs of teenage tragedy – that rode high in the charts of the early 1960s. These splatter platters told tragic stories of teenagers and their loved ones meeting stickyContinue reading “Splatter Platters – Top Ten Teen Tragedy Death Discs“

The Blue Hand ~ a Hebden Ghost

A grave danger faced the terrified pupils of Central Street Infants School in Hebden Bridge in the early 1970s: The Blue Hand. This ghostly hand scuttled around the school’s corridors and was apt to pounce on unsuspecting children, especially if they were alone in the toilet. The spectral hand would gouge out the little one’sContinue reading “The Blue Hand ~ a Hebden Ghost”

Top 5 Cannibal Zombie Movies from the Golden Age of Gut-munching

In recent decades there have been some fine zombie films, but these mainstream offerings tend to suffer from one fatal flaw: respectability. The zombie films from the golden age (which I’ve taken as being from the late 60s to the early 90s) are different. They are gloriously disreputable, so much so that many were bannedContinue reading “Top 5 Cannibal Zombie Movies from the Golden Age of Gut-munching“

Experts are full of sh!t and here’s why…

According to Harvard biologist George Wald, civilisation will end in 15-30 years without immediate action. Ecologist Paul Ehrlich says up to 200 million will starve to death in the next ten years due to population increases, which will also cause the deaths of 65 million Americans. Furthermore, oil will be all gone in the nextContinue reading “Experts are full of sh!t and here’s why…”