17: Ghosts

WARNING: If you believe in ghosts and want to continue this belief...perhaps skip this episode. Dr David Waldron will drop some logic that may make you re-examine your beliefs.

Two blocks South East lives Dr David Waldron. He is a folklorist and historian with a particular focus on the development of urban legends and popular folklore as a response to traumatic community experiences. David tells us about some of the ghosts in Victoria like the mysterious woman’s face that appears in bath lane; or the terrible true story of Mabel Ambrose who was found by two boys in a box in the Yarra River near the Chapel Street bridge; and the indigenous Gunditjmara man's ghost from Portland in 1876. 

As you will find it's not necessarily the creepy stories that David is interested in, but the intersection of folklore and popular culture that reflect out dark past....and what that means.

Also last year I made a short documentary under Ballarat’ Mechanic's institute with David for the Ballarat Heritage weekend. You view this at https://vimeo.com/420587165