I Ain't Afraid Of No Ghost

Did a particular television programme or film inspire or fuel your interest in the paranormal? I dare say quite a few people were inspired by the X-Files and more recently Most Haunted. Personally it was Ghostbusters that got me hooked. Still looking for a slimer though

My grandad bought me the weekly series of The Unexplained when I was 11 or so. No idea why, I guess the pictures of UFO's matched his view of my interest in Science Fiction. Still, pictures of alien creatures scared the hell out of me, but I was hooked from then on. Maybe the scary pictures put me off actively investigating until now though!

For me it would the Usborne book, Mysteries of The Unknown: Monsters, Ghosts & UFOs, that Auntie Lynda and Uncle Martin bought me one Christmas. I was only about nine or ten and although the book was written to tickle the imagination of a schoolboy readership, there was some good reading in there, such as the legend of the Lambton Worm, the village of Pluckley, various UFO sightings and more. At the time I was into the likes of Warhammer, Fighting Fantasy adventure gamebooks and Star Wars, so tales of ghosts, aliens and the like appealed. It has never inspired me to actively research the paranormal like you folks do, but I loved it for what it was and enjoyed it while it lasted.

I still have that book Neil. It's great and as far as books go it was probably one of the key early texts that first interested me in the paranormal. I think the book is actually my brothers but we'll keep quiet about that.

I think I read that as a kid too - btw I just went to my parents home this week and got offered an old case of mine, and it has all my back issues of The Unexplained in it! GREAT - I'd forgotten where I put them - only 50p a copy then, better than the Dandy

For me, as a child. i was in awe of the idea of a giant stay-puff marshmallow man. That documentary that came to the cinema called "Ghostbusters" certainly made me question whether or not the paranormal is a real thing. Its all fascinating, ectoplasm, Egon's haircut, and who could have guessed that Rick Moranus is infact the key to another dimension!

It is highly improbable that ghosts exist. Any such occurences are easily explained by enviromental phenomena or imperfections within the human psyche. Therefore, it is illogical to be afraid of entities that are unreal.

Now...mind-melding with a red hot rock monster is something to be afraid of...if you were human of course. Personally, the experience it was far-out man!

I'm an X-Files man myself.

Hmmm... Star Wars! Probably... And Gwangi, Clash of the Titans, Sinbad, in fact any and every other Ray Harryhausen film. Ever since I was a kid, even though being scared witless by horrors, I always loved monsters (and dinosaurs!). I was brought up with some folky stories as well, so I was told about the Loch Ness Monster from an early age. And then my childminder's son used to show me movies like Aliens and Predator and stuff when I was 6. Then of course Matchbox released those superb Monster in my Pocket figures. It kind of spawned from there. By time the X-Files came to British shores I was about 11, so it was really my interest in the Paranormal that got me into the X-Files!

Urisk wrote:

Then of course Matchbox released those superb Monster in my Pocket figures.

Ah yes, Monster in my Pockets have a lot to answer for for my interest in mythology, folklore and ghostly things too! I was an avid collector. In fact... I have to confess that only a couple of years ago I was bidding on ebay for those few hard to find monsters to complete my collection.

TV/films wise, it was the Hammer horrors that really sparked my interest in vampires, witches, demonology etc. I still love the Hammers - even though they look a bit creaky these days when you see the prop bats getting reeled into to Dracula's castle on invisible wire!

I can't say if a film attracted my attention to the paranormal, i'd personally have to blame Iannathrop Turtlethrone the Ever Living Source of Evil for my interest in all things odd

Piggins wrote:

Urisk wrote:

Then of course Matchbox released those superb Monster in my Pocket figures.

Ah yes, Monster in my Pockets have a lot to answer for for my interest in mythology, folklore and ghostly things too! I was an avid collector. In fact... I have to confess that only a couple of years ago I was bidding on ebay for those few hard to find monsters to complete my collection.

Nothing to be embarrassed about They're pretty much collectors items now. It's if you have the bit mountain carry case thing, then thigns get a bit weird...

To be completely honest with you it was an episode in my life.
I was six years old and I was with my whole family in an Alpine sky resort, since my father wanted me to learn skying (never properly learnt... and proud of that!). My father had already set out to start skying and I was with my mother and brother. We went to buy some croissants and pastries at a local baker's shop.
As we were entering the the shop I was last in line and I felt the urge to look upward. I stopped, turned... and there it was!
In the perfect blue Alpine sky there was a oval shaped UFO, just standing there; it was giving off a weird yellow-green colour and was standing perfectly still above a mountain top.
I remember every single detail: all the passerbys were looking at it, murmuring, there was a sweet smell in the air (coming from the bakery) and a patrol car stopped by a few feet from me, the policeman jumped down talking in the radio asking his superior what to do.
Then it vanished. It didn't speed away or fade from view, it just disappeared all of a sudden.
That's how it all began.