Eddie Brazil

I was born in Dublin in 1956, and was later raised in London. It was my Grandmothers story telling around the fire which awakened in me a love for the supernatural and all things uncanny and ghostly. Her tales from the wild and mysterious west of Ireland had a strange fascination for me. Accounts of Banshees, death coaches, evil leprechauns and haunted houses held my Brothers and I in quaking awe.

In 1963 my Family moved in to an 18th century house in the Stockwell district of south London. It was hear that I got my first taste of true paranormal phenomena when I heard the sound of disembodied footsteps descending the stairs. An experience which not only unnerved me but, also opened the gates of curiosity in to the supernatural. I read all I could on ghosts and hauntings. Yet, it was while I was playing truant from school in my local library in 1968 that I came across the book which would ultimately direct me down a path which would lead to writing and a serious, and active interest in psychical research.

"The most haunted house in England", Harry Prices 10 year study of The Haunting of Borley Rectory captivated me like no other case of the Paranormal . I believe my fascination with the haunting has to do with the fact that it ticks all the right boxes when one thinks of a ghost story. A remote, gloomy old house, phantom coaches, spectral nuns, mysterious lights, unseen footsteps, the bonus of a haunted church, and peopled by strange ,quirky characters seemed to combine all of the best of my Grandmothers eerie tales and the thought-provoking subject of a genuine haunting.

Even though Psychical Research and the paranormal is an continual fascination for me, other interests which keep me sane are a love of photography, music and the past. In 1983 I wrote the theme music to the film "Expresso Splasho", a British comedy movie featuring many up and coming home grown talents including Daniel Peacock, Perry Fenwick and Gary Oldman.

History, in particular that of the English parish church, and also accounts of battles in Britain has me often traipsing across remote areas of the country with camera and note pad. I am also a great fan of the tales of ghost story writer, M.R.James, and one of my abiding memories from my youth is watching the TV adaptations of James stories in the "Ghost story for Christmas" series on Xmas eve with my family. I am a great lover of Prog rock. That bombastic, over the top style of rock music in the European symphonic tradition exemplified by bands such as Genesis, The Nice and King Crimson.

As for my dislikes; well they could fill a large library. Suffice to say that politicians,The EU, reality TV, overpaid football players, soap operas, modern high street development, the concreting of the countryside, Monday mornings, boy bands, strictly come dancing etc, etc would all find a place in my room 101.

Also included here are three photos from my forthcoming book, "The ghosts of M,R,James, and other haunted landscapes".Those of you who know James stories will recognise, " A school story", " A neighbours landmark" and "Oh Whistle".Another photo is my interpretation of a frightful aparition which was encountered by a young woman in the fields near Penn in Buckinghamshire in 1987. The strange account is included in my book, Haunted High Wycombe.Included also are two colour pictures from a work in progress ,"Dreamscapes".

I am at present working on three new books." The Ghosts on the marsh, The haunting of Langenhoe".The first complete study of one of England's most haunted churches. "Haunted Camberwell and Peckham", And "The ghosts of M,R,James, and other haunted landscapes", a volume of photographic interpretations of James's ghosts stories. Both will be published in 2014.

Further info can be accessed at these web sites.

www.cspr.org.uk www.harrypricewebsite.co.uk/eddiebrazil/maingallery.htm

www.harrypricewebsite.co.uk