Welcome to my website
I am course leader and senior lecturer in journalism at Sheffield Hallam University where I teach media law and investigation skills. Prior to teaching journalism skills I worked as a news reporter for The Sheffield Star and Yorkshire Post and spent four years working as a Press Officer in local government. My Ph.D is in Folklore and was completed at the National Centre for English Cultural Tradition, University of Sheffield, in 1999. My interest in folklore and the supernatural goes back to my childhood and I've been researching and writing about strange phenomena for as long as I can remember. Since 2008 I have been working with The National Archives (TNA) as their consultant for the ongoing release of the UFO files created by Britain's Ministry of Defence. My book, The UFO Files, was published by TNA in September 2009.
Magonia Blog- WATCH THE SKIES - AND YOUR BACK! May 27, 2012
- LIFE BEFORE DEATH May 22, 2012
- HAUNTED SKIES - ENTER THE SEVENTIES May 19, 2012
- GHOST OF A SCIENCE May 16, 2012
- A VERY PALE UTOPIA May 14, 2012
- Bob Sheaffer’s Bad UFOs
- "Top Ten" UFO Case - Yukon, Canada, 1996 - BUSTED! April 30, 2012
- Archive Documents Show Klass Did NOT Try to Bribe Travis Walton Witness April 17, 2012
- Leslie Kean Update: the Fly is Still Flying High! April 14, 2012
- The Day the Skeptics Society Wasn't Skeptical - "Best Evidence for UFOs" April 2, 2012
- Flying Saucer, or Fly? Is this the case UFO skeptics have been dreading? March 21, 2012
- Andrew May’s Forteana blog
- Alien skull simulacrum May 27, 2012
- Bacchus and Ariadne May 20, 2012
- Futuristic gadgets of the 1930s May 13, 2012
- Ambiguous Symbolism May 6, 2012
- Enigmatic Art April 29, 2012
Author Archives: Dr David Clarke
Saucer Sam – the UFO story that convinced a Government minister
The second edition of my book The UFO Files – based on the latest documents released by The National Archives – is published by Bloomsbury in September. And today one of the most interesting stories from the book has been … Continue reading
Spring-heeled Jack is back
2012 is shaping up as a leap year in more ways than one. Back in February I posted news of the return of the Victorian bogeyman Spring-heeled Jack. A mysterious leaping figure scared a family as it vaulted over the … Continue reading
Friday the 13th
Every year I receive requests from journalists who want to know where the idea of Friday the 13th being unlucky originated. So here’s a summary of the lore which surrounds this widely held superstition. The idea that Friday 13th is unlucky … Continue reading
Mystery Booms
It’s a familiar story. Police and emergency services inundated with phone calls from concerned members of the public who have heard or seen something unfamiliar in the sky. Last month it was a spectacular fireball meteor. This month it was … Continue reading
Farewell to the Solway Spaceman?
Retired fire fighter Jim Templeton died on 27 November last year. His name will mean little to all but the more ardent students of Forteana and UFOlogy. But the ‘freak’ photograph he took in May 1964 on the Solway Marshes, … Continue reading
Emails from the dead
Supernatural folklore is a dynamic force. It adapts to new technology but incorporates traditional beliefs that date back thousands of years. Soon after the invention of photography in the 1850s, the first photographs of spirits appeared. Following the invention of … Continue reading
Fireball lights up northern sky
Hundreds of people reported seeing a fireball meteor that lit up the night sky across parts of northern England at 9.40 p.m. on Saturday, 3 March. Some excellent footage of the fireball has been posted on YouTube and can be … Continue reading
Olympic Games UFO plot
One of the more barmy 2012 ‘end times’ predictions is for a fake alien invasion at the opening ceremony of the London Olympics. But perhaps the New World Order’s dastardly plans are already well underway…. On the night of Saturday … Continue reading
