Some Other Sphere

Episode 129 - Dr Ed Barnhart - The Maya Civilisation

My guest for this episode is archaeologist, explorer and educator Dr Ed Barnhart.
Ed specialises in studying the ancient civilizations of the Americas and has over twenty years of experience working at archaeological sites in North, Central, and South America. Of particular interest to him during his career have been the Maya, who are is the main subject of the interview.
In 1994, Ed discovered the ancient city of Maax Na, a major center of the classic Maya period in northwestern Belize. Later on he was invited by the Mexican government to direct the Palenque Mapping Project, a three-year effort to survey and map the unknown sections of the ancient Mayan city’s ruins. The resultant map has been celebrated as one of the most detailed and accurate ever made of a Mayan site.
In 2003, he became the director of Maya Exploration Center, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the study of ancient Maya civilization through study-abroad courses for college students and tours for the general public in the ruins of the ancient Americas.
He also presents the ArchaeoEd podcast, in which he shares his knowledge and experiences of the awe-inspiring civilisations he has researched.
We start off the interview for this episode by discussing how his career as an archaeologist began, what drew him to civilisations such as they Maya, and what his first experiences of visiting their ancient sites were like. After that I talk with Ed about the Maya themselves – who they were and still are, their customs, incredible talent for mathematics and astronomy and their fantastic architecture. Our conversation also includes their spiritual beliefs, and some of the supernatural beings that were part of their culture just to make sure this episode still has a little fortean flavour.
Further details about the Maya Exploration Center are available at https://www.mayaexploration.org/ and you can find out more about Ed's ArchaeoEd podcast at https://archaeoed.com/.
If you like what I do with Some Other Sphere and would like to support its upkeep you can make a donation via Ko-fi. To buy the podcast a coffee go to https://ko-fi.com/someotherspherepodcast. Thank you!
 
The Some Other Sphere theme music is taken from 'Window Area', from the album 'Close Encounters of the Pennine Kind' by The Night Monitor. You can find out more about The Night Monitor's music at https://thenightmonitor.bandcamp.com/.
 

Episode 128 - Elin Heron and Callum James - Magic, Landscape and the Dead

Joining me as my guests for this episode are Elin Heron and Callum James.
Elin is returning to Some Other Sphere, having first been interviewed by me in the very early days of the podcast. She is a writer and musician, a talented tarot reader and a speaker of Welsh. Callum is a poet, artist, bookseller and magical practitioner.
Both have long been close friends and 2024 saw them each publish new works - Jude by Elin, which is her debut novel and The South Downs: Paths of the Dead by Callum, which details his experience of completing the South Downs Way, an ancient walking route in Southern England.
In Jude, Fifteen-year-old Nick has just finished his GSCEs and is stuck at home in the seaside village of Brexenham. What starts as a boring summer quickly transforms, as he meets Jude Fletcher, a wild and otherworldly boy. Nick is pulled into another world, but the disappearance of local girl, Jemma Cox, hangs over the community, and is something that runs farther back than anybody realises.
The South Downs is partly a grimoire of the walk Callum undertook, partly a linear topography, and partly a treatise on necromancy. It recognises the folklore, spirits, and the magic of a place and Callum writes as one who does this magic, speaks to these spirits, and follows this lore.
In the interview I talk with Elin and Callum about their writing and their friendship, how the ideas for their recent publications came about and how their approach to writing them developed. This leads into a wide-ranging discussion, covering themes such as the role of the imagination and imaginal thinking in otherworldly encounters, the connections between the dead and the landscape, and the nature of otherworldly entities such as The Green Man, a character who features prominently in Jude. I also get to share a couple of my own unusual experiences with them as part of our conversation.
Further information about Elin can be found at her website https://www.elinheron.co.uk/ and you can order a copy of Jude from her publisher, Lucent Dreaming.
Callum's website is https://www.mercurysbrother.com/ and you can order a copy of The South Downs: Paths of the Dead from Broken Sleep Books. 
If you would like to support the upkeep of Some Other Sphere you can make a donation via Ko-fi. To buy the podcast a coffee go to https://ko-fi.com/someotherspherepodcast. Thank you!
 
The Some Other Sphere theme music is taken from 'Window Area', from the album 'Close Encounters of the Pennine Kind' by The Night Monitor. You can find out more about The Night Monitor's music at https://thenightmonitor.bandcamp.com/.
 

Episode 127 - Loren Hughes - The Ancients of Avalon

My guest for this episode is paranormal researcher Loren Hughes.
Loren is the creator of 'The Ancients of Avalon', an eclectic amalgam of blog and social media where he shares his own unusual experiences along with the folklore and weird history associated with the area around Glastonbury in Somerset, England where he lives. UFOs, Cryptids, the Fae and of course, the myths and legends connected with King Arthur have all featured prominently.
Our conversation starts off with Loren talking about the background to his interest in the paranormal, how he ended up living in Glastonbury and his experience of moving to a town with such an esoteric reputation.
We talk about a few of the unusual encounters he has had over the years, on Glastonbury Tor and further afield, which leads into a wide-ranging discussion covering the nature of other realms, the beings that inhabit them, the role of meaning, dreams and the imagination in these kinds of encounters and much more. Loren brings the interview to a close with a fantastic ghost story, perfect for this time of year.
You can find Loren's Ancients of Avalon project on X/Twitter at https://x.com/theavalonians.
If you enjoy what I do with Some Other Sphere and would like to support its upkeep you can make a donation via Ko-fi. To buy the podcast a coffee go to https://ko-fi.com/someotherspherepodcast. Thank you!
 
The Some Other Sphere theme is from Purple Planet Music - 'Hubbub' by Geoff Harvey and Chris Martyn.
 

Episode 126 - Timothy Grieve-Carlson - American Aurora

My guest for this episode is historian and author Timothy Grieve-Carlson. Tim’s work focuses on the intersection of esotericism, ecology, American religious history and the paranormal and his writing has appeared in magazines like Hellebore and in academic journals such as American Religion, Correspondences: A Journal of Esotericism, and Magic, Ritual, and Witchcraft.
2024 saw the publication of his first book, American Aurora: Environment and Apocalypse in the Life of Johannes Kelpius – which is the subject of this episode.
Johannes Kelpius is an enormously influential but comprehensively misunderstood theologian, born in what is modern-day Romania in 1667. His time studying at university would expose him to esoteric ideas and religious practices that would prove influential in his life, leading him to eventually settle outside of Philadelphia from 1694 to 1707. By the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, his legacy began to warp under the scrutiny of both enlightenment historians and antiquarian authors, entangling him in the legacies of nineteenth century Rosicrucianism and the occult revival.
In the interview I talk with Tim about how he first became aware of Johannes Kelpius and what led him to write a book about the man. From there we discuss the environmental, political and theological upheaval that was happening in Europe in the time Kelpius lived and the esoteric ideas made available to him at university that would pique his spiritual curiosity  and deeply influence the religion he practiced.
Tim also talks about some of the paranormal phenomena Kelpius witnessed in his lifetime, the events that would lead him to travel across the Atlantic Ocean to live a hermit-like existence in the wooded wilderness of Pennsylvania, and how we should view Kelpius’ legacy today.
Further details about American Aurora are available on the Oxford University Press website here and you can find out more about Tim and his work at https://www.timothygrieve-carlson.net/.
If you enjoy what I do with Some Other Sphere and would like to support its upkeep you can make a donation via Ko-fi. To buy the podcast a coffee go to https://ko-fi.com/someotherspherepodcast. Thank you!
 
The Some Other Sphere theme is provided by Purple Planet Music - 'Hubbub' by Geoff Harvey and Chris Martyn.
 

Episode 125 - Allison Jornlin - Catherine Crowe and the Night Side of Nature

Joining me as my guest for this episode is paranormal historian, researcher, writer and speaker, Allison Jornlin.
Allison has been investigating strange phenomena for more than twenty years. Inspired by Chicago’s Richard Crowe, who kick-started U.S. ghost tourism in 1973, she developed Milwaukee’s first haunted history tour in 2008. Allison currently works as a professional weirdo, speaking throughout the U.S., writing for a variety of publications, and developing haunted history tours for American Ghost Walks.
In addition, she is a passionate champion of important female figures from the history of paranormal research and investigation, whose contributions to these fields have often been unfairly overlooked. Allison’s Paranormal Women blog highlights the groundbreaking work of people such as Lahe Gay, Zora Neale Hurston, Eleanor Sidgwick, Thelma Moss and Catherine Crowe, who is the main subject of our conversation in this episode.
Born in 1790, English mystery writer Catherine Crowe became fascinated with the work of German doctors and scientists who dared look into the realm of unexplained phenomena beginning in the 1820s. She strived to make their research available to ordinary English readers by writing two non-fiction books – the second of which, The Night Side of Nature became immensely popular. This 400-page work combines the stranger elements of classical history, shares discoveries by top German researchers, and compiled worldwide paranormal accounts from antiquity to Cathrerine's time. It played a crucial role in popularising terms such as Poltergeist and Doppelganger and was very much ahead of its time.
In 1854, Catherine conducted the first recorded single-blind study of a haunted house. Unfortunately, the chance for further investigation was curtailed after she was sidelined by a trumped-up scandal, which ultimately led to her fall into obscurity.
I start the interview by talking with Allison about how own her career as a professional weirdo began. From there we move on to Catherine Crowe, discussing her background and what prompted her interest in paranormal research and writing what is perhaps her best-known non-fiction work, The Night-Side of Nature. Allison tells the story of Catherine’s Haunted House investigation, and the sad events soon after that which led to her contributions to paranormal research being overlooked for so long.
You can find out more about Allison and her work (including further details on Catherine Crowe) at her website https://paranormalwomen.com/.
If you enjoy what I do with Some Other Sphere and would like to support its upkeep you can make a donation via Ko-fi. To buy the podcast a coffee go to https://ko-fi.com/someotherspherepodcast. Thank you!
 
The Some Other Sphere theme is provided by Purple Planet Music - 'Hubbub', by Geoff Harvey and Chris Martyn.
 

Episode 124 - Greg Eghigian - After the Flying Saucers Came

My guest for this episode is Greg Eghigian, who joined me to talk about his new book After the Flying Saucers Came: A Global History of the UFO Phenomenon.
Greg is a Professor of History and Bioethics at Pennsylvania State University. An expert on the history of the abnormal and the paranormal in the modern world, his research has been supported by NASA and the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. 
After the Flying Saucers Came begins with the 1947 Kenneth Arnold incident near Mount Rainier in Washington State and traces how that incident sparked an international drama involving shady figures, questionable evidence, suspicions of conspiracy, hoaxes, new religions, scandals, unsettling alien encounters, debunkers, and celebrities. It examines how descriptions, theories, and debates about unidentified flying objects and alien abduction changed over time and how they appeared in the United States, Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Russia. It also explores the impact UFOs have had on our understanding of space, science, technology, and ourselves up through the present day.
In the interview I start off by talking with Greg about his background and what drew him to write a book on the subject of UFOs. We talk about Kenneth Arnold’s sighting, and the remarkable way that the term ‘Flying Saucer’ helped launch Ufology as the latest incarnation of humanity’s fascincation with visitors from the stars. Later on we discuss the way the book looks at the subject matter from a cultural context and talk further about how that viewpoint can help us to understand the human experience and meaning of encounters not just with UFO’s, but otherworldly, strange phenomenon in general.
Further information about After the Flying Saucers Came can be found at the Oxford University Press website here and to find Greg on X go to https://x.com/GEghigian.
If you like what I do with Some Other Sphere and would like to support its upkeep, you can make a donation via Ko-fi. To buy the podcast a coffee please visit https://ko-fi.com/someotherspherepodcast. Thank you!
 
The Some Other Sphere theme is from Purple Planet Music - 'Hubbub' by Geoff Harvey and Chris Martyn.
 

Episode 123 - Ruth Roper Wylde - Researching Hauntings and High Strangeness

Joining me for this episode is returning guest, paranormal researcher and author Ruth Roper Wylde. Ruth has written extensively on strange happenings in Britain, beginning with her book The Ghosts of Marston Vale and continuing with titles such as The Almanac of British Ghosts, The Roadmap of British Ghosts and These Haunted Times, with the latter two titles extending into multiple volumes since I first spoke with Ruth back in 2021.
In the interview we talk again about her life-long interest in the paranormal, which began with poltergeist activity in her family home. We discuss her approach to researching reports of hauntings and recording those details and some of the bizarre experiences reported to her, including an encounter with a dog-man like entity, and a potential time slip experience at a long abandoned RAF airfield.
You can find details of how to purchase Ruth's excellent books here.
If you would like to support the upkeep of Some Other Sphere you can make a donation via Ko-fi. To buy the podcast a coffee go to https://ko-fi.com/someotherspherepodcast. Thank you!
 
The Some Other Sphere theme is from Purple Planet Music - 'Hubbub' by Geoff Harvey and Chris Martyn.
 

Episode 122 - Dash Kwiatkowski - Comedy, Paranormal Investigation and Phil Gravy

My guest for this episode is paranormal investigator, writer and podcaster Dash Kwiatkowski.
Prior to their paranormal investigation career, Dash spent a decade as a touring stand up comedian, featuring in festivals around the United States. Now based in Providence Rhode Island, their latest project is the paranormal documentary series 'Liminal', in which Dash and their team search for the connection between queer identity and strange phenomena as they explore the mysterious and magical world of the rural south. 
In the interview I talk with Dash about their background and moving from a career in comedy to paranormal investigation. We also delve further into the Liminal project, the ideas behind it, Dash's investigation team and some of the cases they are involved with in the show - one of which features legendary actor Ray Wise, of 'Twin Peaks' fame.
You can find out more about Dash and the Liminal documentary series at https://linktr.ee/LiminalTV.
If you would like to support the upkeep of Some Other Sphere you can make a donation via Ko-fi. To buy the podcast a coffee go to https://ko-fi.com/someotherspherepodcast.
 
The Some Other Sphere theme is from Purple Planet Music - ' Hubbub' by Geoff Harvey and Chris Martyn.
 

Episode 121 - Amanda Paulson -The Emotional Considerations of Paranormal Investigation

Joining me as my guest for this episode is paranormal researcher and investigator Amanda Paulson.
Amanda has been actively investigating paranormal phenomena since 2008 and since then has visited numerous places with haunted reputations across North America, including locations such as Waverly Hills Sanatorium and the Lizzie Borden house. She specialises in focusing on the emotional aspects of haunted sites and also how that is important in the act of investigating them, which can help to broaden the scope for understanding what might be happening at such places.
In the interview I talk with Amanda about how her career in the paranormal field has progressed, from the early days as part of an investigation team in Montana , to more recently working independently in Spokane, Washington in the Pacific Northwest. We discuss some of the type of places she has investigated, the importance of the symbolic and emotional components of haunted locations, and some of the imaginative techniques she has developed to help with her research.
Our conversation also includes her experience investigating an allegedly haunted doll, and we end the interview discussing the most famous otherworldly being in the PNW, Bigfoot.
You can find more information about Amanda at her website https://www.prettyfnspooky.com/. Her experience with the haunted doll mentioned in this episode is available to watch on YouTube here.
If you would like to support the upkeep of Some Other Sphere, you can make a donation via Kofi. To buy the podcast a coffee go to https://ko-fi.com/someotherspherepodcast. Thank you!
 
The Some Other Sphere theme is from Purple Planet Music - 'Hubbub' by Geoff Harvey and Chris Martyn.
 

Episode 120 - Matt Salusbury - Mystery Animals of Suffolk

My guest for this episode is journalist and author Matt Salusbury, who joined me to talk about his latest book, Mystery Animals of Suffolk.
This catalogues a wide range of yet-to-be identified animals reported in the English county, together with folkloric creatures from local tradition in the region.
It opens with an examination of the mythical entities of East Anglian storytelling, including hairy wildmen known as Woodwoses which survive as carved figures in some of Suffolk's churches. There are accounts too of dangerous freshwater mermaids, as well as encounters with baby-snatching fairies, in particular centered around the town of Stowmarket.
The book also includes reported sightings of Black Shuck – Suffolk’s phantom black dogs, which have been reported reported from ancient folklore tight up to the 1970’s.
The mystery animals surveyed then become progressively more plausible, with the final third of the book devoted to an account of over one-hundred and seventy mystery big cat sightings withing Suffolk.
I start off the interview talking with Matt about his background and the county of Suffolk. We then discuss Mystery Animals of Suffolk itself and some of the creatures that are included in its pages, following the structure of the book, beginning with the mythic Woodwoses and concluding with the multitude of big cat sightings in the county.
Further information about Matt's research can be found at https://bigcatsofsuffolk.com/. Mystery Animals of Suffolk is published by Bittern Books and can be purchased at their website - go to https://bitternbooks.co.uk/product/mystery-animals-of-suffolk/ for more details.
If you would like to support the upkeep of Some Other Sphere you can make a donation via Ko-fi. To buy the podcast a coffee go to https://ko-fi.com/someotherspherepodcast - thank you!
 
The Some Other Sphere is from Purple Planet Music - 'Hubbub' by Geoff Harvey and Chris Martyn.