The Great Richard Wiseman

Well, I'm surprised. Went to Richard Wiseman's "How to be Great" yesterday evening in Winchester. The second half was about sleep research, and he promised the best night's sleep for the audience that night.

Got back home after midnight (after a curry with friends), and followed just a couple of the points he mentioned in his talk. Results: woke up once during the night, and then slept through till morning (no alarm), knowing that I'd slept well, even if only five and a half hours. And so far I've not even opened his book (signed, of course).

After my disappointment with the Dream:On iPhone App this is a refreshing improvement.

Here are some pics of the event:

https://flic.kr/s/aHskkhDqqX

Beyond the Veil — this Saturday at Conway Hall

Apparently there's still time to get tickets to this whole-day event, organised by Stephen Law (who was also responsible for the Conspiracy Theory Day last year, of which the videos of the various talks are now available.)

It's a good line-up — I'm looking forward to it.

Wanna hear a spooky story?

I don't believe in ghosts. I'm extremely skeptical of the "supernatural", whether we're talking fairies, spirits or gods. But I love a good horror story.

PodCastle is a free audio fiction podcast that serves up a short fantasy story every week, and though it's mainly devoted to fantasy (that is, not horror), about this time each year — approaching All Hallows' Eve — it naturally gravitates towards stories of a ghoulish nature.

I've a soft spot for PodCastle as I was honoured to be asked to narrate its inaugural episode back in April 2008, "Come Lady Death" by Peter S. Beagle. Since then I've narrated a few more, and the most recent has just gone live, "The Gateway of the Monster" by William Hope Hodgson.

Even though I don't believe in ghosts, reading a good horror story several times in preparation for narration, then actually narrating it, and then spending a good deal of time editing the audio, can be a very immersive process — so much so that I can well imagine what it must be like to believe such things are real....