Chasing the Dark: Encounters with the Supernatural

Date & Time

Thu Sep 25 2025 at 07:00 pm to 08:30 pm

UTC+01:00

Location

Conway Hall | London, EN

Chasing the Dark: Encounters with the Supernatural
Advertisement

Details

The Society for Psychical Research was founded to shine light on the shadowy world of the supernatural. Distinguished members have included prime ministers and Nobel Prize-winning scientists. But the most prolific of all the SPR’s paranormal investigators was a young British naval officer named Tony Cornell. A rationalist and a sceptic he became haunted by a wartime encounter in India that changed everything. 
Between 1950 and 2010 he became perhaps the world’s most prolific investigator of psychic phenomena and paranormal events. Alongside his colleague the psychologist Alan Gauld they combined the roles of detectives exorcists and psychiatrists returning time and again to the unsettling spaces that exist on the very periphery of our tidy rational lives: Ghosts. Poltergeists. Psychic powers.
Drawing on a previously untapped archive of Cornell’s case files which survive as a unique repository of encounters reported by ordinary people Ben Machell will explore the compelling story of our relationship with the supernatural. What do these atmospheric and often chilling cases teach us about who we are and the anxieties that consume us? And why do the dead still find ways to make themselves known? Ben will discuss what was within these files with artist and paranormal researcher Sarah Sparkes.
Ben Machell has worked for The Times since 2005 and is a principal feature writer interviewer and columnist for the award-winning Times Magazine. His debut book The Unusual Suspect was widely acclaimed and shortlisted for the Gold Dagger at the 2022 Crime Writers’ Association Awards. The drama rights to The Unusual Suspect have been acquired by Pathé UK who are to produce the story into a major TV series. 
He is the author of Chasing the Dark: Encounters with the Supernatural which will be available to buy on the night.

Event Location

Conway Hall, 25 Red Lion Square, London, WC1R 4RL, United Kingdom

Event Host

Scott Wood
Scott Wood

Explore more by tags

Ghost-hunts in London

Let's share with friends

Discover More Halloween Events in London

Halloween Party, Welcome Drink & Happy Hour Till 10pm at The Roxy Soho
Sat, 25 Oct at 07:30 pm Halloween Party, Welcome Drink & Happy Hour Till 10pm at The Roxy Soho

The Roxy

PARTIES HALLOWEEN
UK GARAGE HALLOWEEN BOAT PARTY
Sat, 25 Oct at 08:00 pm UK GARAGE HALLOWEEN BOAT PARTY

Festival Pier Southbank

BOAT-PARTY PARTIES
Don't Go Into The Cellar - Sherlock Holmes vs Dracula
Fri, 10 Oct at 08:00 pm Don't Go Into The Cellar - Sherlock Holmes vs Dracula

Tea House Theatre

THEATRE PERFORMING-ARTS
Sinistry Halloween: A Nightmare at XOYO
Sat, 01 Nov at 01:00 pm Sinistry Halloween: A Nightmare at XOYO

XOYO

HALLOWEEN TECHNO
An Orchestral Tribute to Tim Burton & Dark Fantasy by Moonlight: The Clapham Grand, London
Wed, 22 Oct at 07:00 pm An Orchestral Tribute to Tim Burton & Dark Fantasy by Moonlight: The Clapham Grand, London

The Clapham Grand

CONCERTS ORCHESTRA
Period Costume Figure Drawing
Wed, 20 Aug at 06:30 pm Period Costume Figure Drawing

Cosprop's Annex Studio

FASHION ART
CRYPT SERMON \/ HORRENDOUS - LONDON
Sun, 10 Aug at 07:00 pm CRYPT SERMON / HORRENDOUS - LONDON

The Black Heart

ROCK-MUSIC CONCERTS
M\u00d8NSTER QUEEN PRESENTS: YEARS OF DENIAL(LIVE)
Sat, 09 Aug at 10:30 pm MØNSTER QUEEN PRESENTS: YEARS OF DENIAL(LIVE)

49, Chalk Farm Road, London

PARTIES PERFORMANCES
HALLOWEEN SECRET RAVE - London
Fri, 31 Oct at 10:00 pm HALLOWEEN SECRET RAVE - London

Secret Venue

PARTIES HALLOWEEN
The Psychedelic Furs in London
Fri, 31 Oct at 07:00 pm The Psychedelic Furs in London

The London Palladium

CONCERTS LIVE-MUSIC