Welcome to my website
I am a Research Fellow in Journalism at Sheffield Hallam University where I specialise in teaching media law and investigation skills. Before I entered academia 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. 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 latest book, How UFOs Conquered the World: the history of a modern myth, was published in 2015.
Snopes.com – Rumour has it…- An error has occurred; the feed is probably down. Try again later.
- Magonia Blog
- SOLVING THE PROBLEM OF EXISTENCE March 17, 2019
- COWBOYS AND ALIENS March 14, 2019
- HOW TO LOSE FRIENDS AND INFLUENCE SCIENCE March 10, 2019
- PASSING THROUGH PASCAGOULA March 4, 2019
- HOLY GHOST February 23, 2019
- Mark Pilkington & John Lundberg – Folklore & Deception in the UFO Age
- Mirage Men in The Guardian August 18, 2014
- Mirage Men Double Disc DVD June 16, 2014
- UFOs and F-14s over Iran May 2, 2014
- We have lift off! March 27, 2014
- Mirage Men revealed by Greenwald? February 25, 2014
- Bob Sheaffer’s Bad UFOs
- An error has occurred; the feed is probably down. Try again later.
- The Skeptic magazine
- Ooops! TWO errors in previous message! October 1, 2015
- October Spookiness! October 1, 2015
- Empirical Sex Talk on Dacryphilia, tonight October 1, 2015
- Little Atoms 393 – Timothy Snyder & Black Earth September 30, 2015
- Ash Pryce on "How to talk to the dead" @ Greenwich SitP, 7:30 pm, 7/10/15 September 30, 2015
- Charles Fort Institute Blog
- An error has occurred; the feed is probably down. Try again later.
- Curt Collins on saucers in pop culture
- The US Government’s Cash-Landrum UFO Investigations, Part Two March 7, 2019
- The US Government’s Cash-Landrum UFO Investigations March 7, 2019
- Philip Klass on the Cash-Landrum UFO case February 8, 2019
- The Cash-Landrum-McDonald UFO Incident of 1980 December 14, 2018
- Skeptoid Challenges the Cash-Landrum UFO Incident December 7, 2018
- Andrew May’s Forteana blog
- Pseudoscience and Science Fiction October 9, 2016
- Astronomical debunking October 2, 2016
- Contradiction - the All-Video Murder Mystery September 25, 2016
- Sacred Porn September 18, 2016
- Astronomical computers (old ones) September 11, 2016
- Paul Kimball’s The Other Side of Truth: Don’t believe, don’t disbelieve. Think
- Project Blue Book - A Review January 28, 2019
- Stan Friedman Retires March 13, 2018
- Halifax gets Haunted! September 29, 2017
- Haunted Extra, Vol. 1.01 - Queen's County Museum Revisited August 17, 2017
- 2017 East Coast Paraconference - Remote Viewing Panel August 15, 2017
Tag Archives: Arthur Machen
The Bowmen of Mons and Mars
Originally published in Fortean Times 319 (October 2014) this blogpost ponders the origins of the phantom bowmen imagined by two fantasy authors at the outbreak of the First World War. ‘They were like men who drew the bow, and with another shout, … Continue reading
On Tour With The Angels
August-September marks the 100th birthday of ‘the greatest urban legend of the 20th century’ – The Angels of Mons. The inspiring tale of desperate Tommies saved from annihilation by the Kaiser’s troops via the intervention of shining angel warriors – … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Angel of Mons, angel warriors, angels of mons, Arthur Machen, battle of Mons, Czech Republic, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Folklore Society, Fort Armherst, International Society for Contemporary Legend Research, ISCLR, Jeremy Harte, London Evening News, Mons, Prague, The Bowmen, War in legend and tradition
Leave a comment
Angels makes FT Top 40
My investigation of the First World War legend, The Angels of Mons, is among the top ‘all time favourite stories’ chosen by a panel of contributors to Fortean Times magazine. ‘Angels of the Battlefield‘ – published in 2003 – came 4th … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged 4th Middlesex Regiment, angels of mons, armistice, Arthur Machen, Battle of Mons remembrance trail, BBC, Belgium, British Expeditionary Force, city of Mons, European Capital of Culture, Fortean Times, George Ellison, John Parr, Maurice Dease, Mons-Conde canal, phantom bowmen, Saint Symphorien cemetery, Ted Harrison, The Bowmen, urban legends, Victoria Cross, WW1 centenary
Leave a comment
