Sunday, February 15, 2009

Science of Hauntings Conference in Edinburgh

HAUNTINGS: The Science and History of Ghosts

On 4th April 2009, psychologist Professor Richard Wiseman and a host of leading experts will gather to examine the science and history of hauntings.

This unusual event will explore the results of scientific investigations into 'haunted' houses, how the brain can be fooled into seeing apparitions, whether spirit photographs offer evidence of the afterlife, and how poltergeists once panicked the nation. There will also be a unique opportunity to witness a genuine Victorian phantasmagoria, and meet the man who creates ghostly goings-on in Harry Potter movies.

The event will take place in the University of Edinburgh's Anatomy Lecture Theatre - an atmospheric, spectacular and historical venue not usually open to the public.

Talks:

Investigating haunted locations: A scientific approach (Prof Richard Wiseman: Uni of Hertfordshire)

Imaging the impossible: Investigating spirit photography (Gordon Rutter: Writer)

Things that go bump in the mind: The psychology of apparitions (Dr Caroline Watt: Univ of Edinburgh)

The haunted: A social history of ghosts (Prof Owen Davies: University of Hertfordshire)

"No more ghosts!": The regency phantasmagoria (Dr Mervyn Heard: Historian and performer)

"Dialogue with the dead": Creating ghosts for television (Stephen Volk: Writer of Ghostwatch and Afterlife)

Grappling with ghosts: The practicalities of staging ghost effects in the modern theatre (Paul Kieve: Illusionist and film consultant)

Hauntings is part of the Edinburgh International Science Festival.

Further details at: www.scienceofghosts.com

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