Some Other Sphere

Episode 30 - Christopher Josiffe - The mystery of Gef the Mongoose

In the early 1930’s, a very odd story emerged from the Isle of Man, a small island located in the Irish Sea between Britain and Ireland. A man called James Irving had reported to his friends that an unusual animal similar to a weasel had taken up residence on his farm. Although the scratching sounds and other weird noises were relatively explainable, what was remarkable in this instance was that, according to Irving, this creature could talk, and perform a range of unusual feats.  
It would eventually come to be known as Gef, who identified himself as a mongoose who had been born in 1852 in Delhi, India. His activities with the Irving family over the next few years after would baffle and intrigue a variety of interested parties, including Harry Price, perhaps the most famous investigator of the paranormal in Britain at the time.
Despite this interest, a satisfying conclusion to the mystery was never reached, yet the case of the ‘Dalby Spook’ still fascinates people all these years later, including my guest for this episode, Christoper Josiffe, who in 2017 released his book Gef! The Strange Tale of an Extra-Special Talking Mongoose, a brilliantly researched and definitive account of this case.
I’ve been fascinated by the story of Gef for many years and it was a real pleasure to get Christopher onto the podcast to talk all about him.
For more information on Christopher's book and to purchase it, please visit https://gefmongoose.co.uk/book/.
 
The Some Other Sphere is from https://www.purple-planet.com/
'Hubbub' by Chris Martin/Geoff Harvey
 
 

Episode 29 - Sara Schick - Mother Joseph and the Hidden bricks

My guest for this episode is witch and paranormal researcher, Sara Schick. Sara lives in the city of Vancouver in Washington State and recently started investigating the legacy of a mysterious figure from the towns past called Mother Joseph, a remarkable renaissance woman and visionary who played a huge part in bringing the city into existence.
Integral to this were the Hidden family, who Mother Joseph transformed from farmers to expert brick-makers. Years later, the buildings made from those bricks which have survived into the present almost all have a reputation for being haunted and the ‘Hidden Bricks’, as they been named, are well known in local folklore.
Sara’s research is fascinating,  and a great example of what can be uncovered when someone takes an interest in their local history. Lovely stuff…about bricks!
For more information on Sara's research, visit her excellent blog https://weirdlifepdx.blogspot.com/.
 
The Some Other Sphere theme is from Purple Planet Music
'Hubbub' by Chris Martin/Geoff Harvey
 

Episode 28 - Dick Khan - DMT and My Occult Mind

My guest for this episode is Dick Khan, author of the DMT & My Occult Mind book series. In those texts, Dick documents his personal research into the effects of using the drug Dimethyltryptamine, which is a powerful hallucinogen and a key component in Ayahuasca, a drink used by several indigenous tribal cultures in South America as part of their spiritual practises. It is often referred to as “The Spirit Molecule”.
Dick’s books also detail the encounters he had while taking DMT with a variety of unusual entities, which inhabited the occult reality that his use of the drug enabled him to experience and ponder on their nature. They’re a fascinating insight into one persons occult studies and this subject matter made for a really great interview. Enjoy!
Dick's books can be bought from Amazon here and he can also be found on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
 
The Some Other Sphere theme is from Purple Planet Music
'Hubbub' by Chris Chris Martin/Geoff Harvey
 

Episode 27 - Matt Hopewell - Gorillas and ghostly gloves

For the first time here at Sphere HQ, we have a returning guest, Matt Hopewell, who was on the show last year to talk about Discordianism.  This time around we’re discussing some of the unusual phenomena he’s experienced over the years and his thoughts on what might have been happening. This includes a discussion on Gorillas, which I’m not sure either of us anticipated, but was just as fascinating as the poltergeist Phenomena and possible Fae encounter he also describes in this episode.
Fun stuff as ever, especially if you like Gorillas!
Enjoy!
 
Matt's excellent blog can be found at https://www.apstrange.com/ and for more information on the Liminal Earth project, visit https://liminal.earth/.
Some Other Sphere intro music is from https://www.purple-planet.com/
'Hubbub' by Chris Martin/Geoff Harvey
 

Episode 26 - Dr Amy Hale - The Magical Life of Ithell Colquhoun

Hello! In this episode I discuss the life and work of the artist, writer and occultist, Ithell Colquhoun with Dr Amy Hale.
Ithell Colquhoun is perhaps best known as a member of the surrealist art movement in the 1930’s and 40’s both in London and Paris but she was also deeply interested in a variety of esoteric subjects and her art was part of a larger, long term magical practise that encompassed an range of unusual projects, exploring the magical qualities of colour and shape as a means to engage with other worlds and dimensions.
Amy is a scholar of occult, esoteric and marginal cultures, with a PhD in Folklore and Mythology from UCLA. She has written on a range of diverse topics, including modern Druidry, colour theory, the occult, and extremist politics in modern Paganism.
2020 will see the publication of her biography of Ithell Colquhoun, Genius of the Fern Loved Gully, a work twenty years in the making and something I think is both very much worth the wait, and timely (for more information on Amy and her work, you can find here excellent website here).
We had a really lovely chat, I think this is a great episode to kick off 2020 with.
Enjoy!
 
Some Other Sphere intro music is from https://www.purple-planet.com/ 
'Hubbub' by Chris Martin/Geoff Harvey
 

Episode 25 - Kiki Dombrowski - A Curious Future

My guest for this episode is Kiki Dombrowski. Kiki is a spiritual researcher and explorer, and has spent her life studying mythology, magic, witchcraft and the supernatural. She has been reading Tarot for over 25 years and is the author of two books, the latest of which, A Curious Future is a guidebook to some of the more unusual techniques people have used over thousands of years to try and predict the future.
Currently living in Nashville TN, Kiki is also a really positive and generous presence on social media when it comes to all things weird and wonderful and it was a delight to get her on the podcast, to talk about her life and work.
To find out more about Kiki I recommend you visit her excellent website which can be found here and you can find her on Twitter too. Her book, 'A Curious Future' can be purchased via Amazon online.
 
Some Other Sphere Intro Music is from  https://www.purple-planet.com/ 
'Hubbub' by Chris Martin/Geoff Harvey
 

Episode 24 - Listener Stories - Steve Mills

My guest for this episode is Steve Mills, a listener to the podcast who contacted me with details of ghostly phenomena he and some friends encountered in Birmingham, England back in the 1980’s that is intriguing to say the least.  
I talked with him about those experiences and his thoughts on their nature, and what it might suggest on a broader scale when it comes to trying to understand the supernatural. It was a really fun chat.
If you’ve had had a similar experience and would be interested in discussing it in an episode, you can email me at someothersphere@gmail.com.
Enjoy!
 
Some Other Sphere theme music is from https://www.purple-planet.com/
'Hubbub' by Chris Martin/Geoff Harvey
 

Episode 23 - Dr Kate Laity - Leonora Carrington and The Hearing Trumpet

In this episode I talk about the life and works of the artist Leonora Carrington with Dr Kate Laity.
 
Leonora Carrington is often considered part of the surrealist movement of the early 20th Century but her artwork is full of purposeful, esoteric symbology and otherworldly creatures, and often related to deeply personal events from her very eventful life. She also had a deep interest in mythology and the occult and this would inform her creative output throughout her career.
 
Alongside her art she was also an accomplished author with her most famous work perhaps being The Hearing Trumpet , a novel centered on nonagenarian Marian Leatherby, who is gifted the eponymous trumpet, and her adventures at the very unusual old peoples homes she is banished to by her family. Like her artwork, the book is full of mysticism and mystery.
 
Kate, my guest is an award winning author, scholar & critic, serving both as History Witch for Witches & Pagans and as Associate Professor of English at the College of Saint Rose. She recently gave a talk about Leonora Carrington at the fantastic Treadwells bookshop in London, which was the inspiration for this episode. 
 
You can find out more about Kate and her work at her website https://kalaity.com/.
 
Enjoy!
 
 
 
Episode Image: 'Self Portrait' by Leonora Carrington
Some Other Sphere theme music is from https://www.purple-planet.com/.
'Hubbub' by Chris Martin/Geoff Harvey
 

Episode 22 - Andy Burnham - The Old Stones

My guest for this episode is Andy Burnham, creator of the Megalithic Portal website. What started out as a small database of ancient sites in the late 1990’s is now an extensive and detailed Archaeological resource, lovingly sourced by people like Andy who are interested in the myriad ancient stone circles, Henges and other such structures that dot the landscape.
The website was such a success that it led to the publication in 2018 of a book called The Old Stones, a beautiful field guide to the Megalithic sites of Britain and Ireland that was named Current Archaeology’s book of the year for 2019.
Whilst providing a comprehensive level of information about Neolithic and Bronze Age sites across the British Isles, it also includes articles that speculate about the phenomenology of these places, the people who built them and the artifacts they left behind, and what such sites might tell us about the cosmology, religion, magic, science and culture of those times. It’s a lovely book and it was great to talk with Andy about what led to its creation.
Fascinating stuff all round,  Enjoy!
 
'The Old Stones: A Field guide to the Megalithic Sites of Britain and Ireland' can be found at the Megalithic Portal website, on Amazon here and at all good book shops.
Some Other Sphere theme music is from https://www.purple-planet.com/
'Hubbub' by Chris Martin/Geoff Harvey
 

Episode 21 - Ailish Jane - What is a sense of place?

"Do you ever go somewhere, and have a strong emotional response to it, such as happiness, nostalgia or fear? Have you ever wondered why we look for meaning in places and develop stories or legends about them over time? Well these behaviours are known as a sense of place..."
Those are the words of my guest for this episode, Ailish Jane, creator of the excellent Sense of Place Podcast.
Ailish has interviewed a fascinating array of people on subjects that relate to the effect that certain sites can have on people and communities,  going past the tangible and towards something more sublime, where buildings and other places can develop their own personalities and character, and myths and legends can emerge.
Even once gone, such places can still have their own ghosts which haunt the area they once occupied, and be mourned by the people that remember their passing.
In the episode we talked more about what a sense of place is and how it manifests, it’s importance in helping people form a connection to their local area and maintain a sense of community, as well as preserving the heritage of our towns and cities and creating new folklore. Lovely stuff!
 
Background sounds at beginning of episode: https://freesound.org/people/meisterleise/sounds/353259/
Some Other Sphere theme music is from https://www.purple-planet.com/
'Hubbub' by Chris Martin/Geoff Harvey