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.
What is Folklore?
Once upon a time… ‘Folklore’ meant ancient ballads or fairy tales or the peculiar superstitions and customs of ‘primitive’ peoples. Today folklore is a tool for studying custom and belief, urban legends, modern myth and even rumours spread via the internet. Much folklore can be found online and buried in the narrative content of media and social networking - from legends and reports of ghosts, UFOs and 'big cats' to language, customs and traditions. The study of folklore is centrally and crucially important 'in our attempts to understand our own behaviour and that of our fellow human beings' according to one scholarly definition. Folklore is a vital and ongoing area of study and one of the few academic disciplines that engage, in a fundamental way, with everyday life.My Tweets
- RT @pressgazette: Judge allows identification of teen who murdered six-year-old Alesha MacPhail after bid from 'substantial majority' of Sc… 14 hours ago
- RT @BBCBreakfast: Tony Foulds... Legend 👏🏼❤️ Here's his story 👇🏼 #RememberTheTen #TonyGotAFlypast #BBCBreakfast https://t.co/jMYXGq0sph 14 hours ago
- Alesha MacPhail murder: Judge lifts ban on naming killer Aaron Campbell bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotla… 17 hours ago
- RT @ladaprice: Proud of my city. Lovely to see all my neighbours and friends come out and honour the 10 pilots. BBC News - Sheffield bomber… 20 hours ago
- RT @mrdanwalker: I knew Sheffield wouldn’t let us down. Wow! This is the most incredible thing I have ever been involved in. From asking To… 21 hours ago
Blog Stats
- 602,747 hits
Snopes.com – Rumour has it…
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Magonia Blog
- MIND: HOW YOU GO February 18, 2019
- THE SUPERNATURAL IN WARTIME February 12, 2019
- SLENDERMAN - LIVING THE LEGEND February 8, 2019
- MAD ABOUT MONSTERS February 2, 2019
- THE WORLD OF SCIENCE January 22, 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
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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
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Curt Collins on saucers in pop culture
- 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
- UFOs and Alien Monsters from Outer Space October 24, 2018
- Jessie Roestenburg’s 1954 UFO Encounter and Beyond October 19, 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: Harry Grindell-Matthews
Britain’s secret ‘Death Ray’
The Sunday Express has published a story based upon the British military’s work to create a high energy ‘death ray’ weapon for use in the Falklands War. A document written by the former Secretary of State for Defence, Michael Heseltine, for … Continue reading