Talks

CURIOSITIES OF DUDLEY

A talk about the curiosities & oddities wrapped up in Dudley's history, using dozens of images from a huge collection of engraved prints, postcards, photographs, maps and memorabilia from the town. Including the Castle and Castle Hill, the old town hall & market place, the fountain & many old shops and buildings now long gone.

ONE HOTEL AND TWO THEATRES – A BRIEF HISTORY OF DUDLEY CASTLE HILL

Centred at the bottom of Dudley Castle Hill, this includes the building of the railway station, the Station Hotel, the Dudley Opera House & finishing at the opening of the Dudley Hippodrome.

MY LIFE AS A GHOST

A "behind the scenes" look into "The Original Dudley Ghost Tour", from it's creation in 1993 to the present day. Anecdotes both funny and bizarre, the making of a ghost mask and costume, addressing the question, "What exactly is a ghost?" and finishing with a picture gallery of some extraordinary (and sometimes disturbing) pictures taken on the tour by the public. This talk can be accompanied by a small (optional) exhibition of masks and costume from the tour.

VAMPIRES – THE TRUTH BEHIND THE LEGENDS

This is nothing to do with Hollywood movies, but every mythical creature has a basis in historical fact – even Vampires! Exploring the events that inspired the novel "Dracula", vampire mythology from around the world, and how and why so many people really believed in them! This covers 12th Century England to 18th Century Serbia, 19th Century America, and even beyond (believe it or not!) into the 20th Century.

FROM KATE'S HILL TO CALIFORNIA – JAMES WHALE, THE "FATHER OF FRANKENSTIEN"

How did a working class lad born into 19th Century Dudley become, for his time, the highest paid director in Hollywood? This tells an extraordinary life story that goes from a factory to a war, through art to the theatre, to the making of some of the most influential horror movies of all time, and yet ultimately to a heartbreakingly tragic end. Available as a single 60 minute version (just the highlights) Or hear his full story as 2 separate talks – both 60 minutes each Part 1; From Kate's Hill to California & Part 2: The Hollywood Years