Peter Underwood (parapsychologist)
Encyclopedia
This article is about the English paranormalist. For the Chief Justice of Tasmania, see Peter Underwood (judge)
.
Peter Underwood FRSA is an English
author
, broadcaster
and paranormalist. Underwood was born in Letchworth Garden City, Hertfordshire
on May 16 1923. He is a prolific author on books covering ghosts by region of the United Kingdom. He is a leading expert on Borley Rectory
.
, Underwood had his first paranormal experience at the age of nine, when he claimed to have seen an apparition of his father, who had died earlier the same day, standing at the bottom of his bed. During his childhood, his maternal grandparents lived for a time at Rosehall, a seventeenth century Hertfordshire house which it was claimed was haunted, supposedly having a bedroom in which guests claimed to have seen the figure of a headless man. Underwood's interest in hauntings and psychic matters began to take root at that time.
At the beginning of the Second World War, Underwood joined the publishing firm of J.M. Dent & Sons in Letchworth Garden City. In January 1942 he was called up for active service with the Suffolk Regiment
. However, after collapsing at a rifle range at Bury St Edmunds a serious chest ailment was diagnosed which rendered him unfit for active service. Underwood was discharged from the army and returned to Dents. On 15 July 1944 Underwood married his wife Joyce at St. Mary's Church in nearby Baldock
. She died in 2003 after having suffered with Parkinson's Disease
for 14 years.
haunting, where, over a period of years, Underwood traced and personally interviewed almost every living person who had been connected with what the press had dubbed the 'most haunted house in England'. He built up a volume of correspondence with paranormal investigator Harry Price
and after Price's death, he became literary executor of the Harry Price Estate. Underwood is a long-standing member of the Society for Psychical Research
.
For some years Underwood was the Honorary Librarian of the Constitutional Club
and the Savage Club
, where he is a former Member of the Qualifications Committee. In 1976 a bust of Underwood was sculpted by Patricia Finch, winner of the Gold Medal for Sculpture in Venice
.
in 1992), who term him the King of Ghost Hunters, and he has recently accepted an invitation to be the Patron of Paranormal Site Investigators
(UK).
At present Underwood is co-authoring two new books, and has written a Foreword to Damien O'Dell's "Ghostly Hertfordshire" - his home county.
Underwood is also the author of many books, mainly relating to the paranormal.
Peter Underwood is also Harry Price's literary executor.
Peter Underwood (judge)
Peter George Underwood AC is currently the Governor of Tasmania. He was formerly the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Tasmania from 2004 to 2008, having been a judge of that court from 1984....
.
Peter Underwood FRSA is an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, broadcaster
Presenter
A presenter, or host , is a person or organization responsible for running an event. A museum or university, for example, may be the presenter or host of an exhibit. Likewise, a master of ceremonies is a person that hosts or presents a show...
and paranormalist. Underwood was born in Letchworth Garden City, Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
on May 16 1923. He is a prolific author on books covering ghosts by region of the United Kingdom. He is a leading expert on Borley Rectory
Borley Rectory
Borley Rectory was a Victorian era mansion located in the village of Borley, Essex, England. It was constructed in 1863, on the site of a previous rectory, and destroyed by fire in 1939....
.
Early life
Born into a family who were Plymouth BrethrenPlymouth Brethren
The Plymouth Brethren is a conservative, Evangelical Christian movement, whose history can be traced to Dublin, Ireland, in the late 1820s. Although the group is notable for not taking any official "church name" to itself, and not having an official clergy or liturgy, the title "The Brethren," is...
, Underwood had his first paranormal experience at the age of nine, when he claimed to have seen an apparition of his father, who had died earlier the same day, standing at the bottom of his bed. During his childhood, his maternal grandparents lived for a time at Rosehall, a seventeenth century Hertfordshire house which it was claimed was haunted, supposedly having a bedroom in which guests claimed to have seen the figure of a headless man. Underwood's interest in hauntings and psychic matters began to take root at that time.
At the beginning of the Second World War, Underwood joined the publishing firm of J.M. Dent & Sons in Letchworth Garden City. In January 1942 he was called up for active service with the Suffolk Regiment
Suffolk Regiment
The Suffolk Regiment was an infantry regiment of the line in the British Army with a history dating back to 1685. It saw service for three centuries, before being amalgamated with the Royal Norfolk Regiment as the 1st East Anglian Regiment in 1959...
. However, after collapsing at a rifle range at Bury St Edmunds a serious chest ailment was diagnosed which rendered him unfit for active service. Underwood was discharged from the army and returned to Dents. On 15 July 1944 Underwood married his wife Joyce at St. Mary's Church in nearby Baldock
Baldock
Baldock is a historic market town in the local government district of North Hertfordshire in the ceremonial county of Hertfordshire, England where the River Ivel rises. It lies north of London, southeast of Bedford, and north northwest of the county town of Hertford...
. She died in 2003 after having suffered with Parkinson's Disease
Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system...
for 14 years.
Investigating the Paranormal
One of his early investigations was the Borley RectoryBorley Rectory
Borley Rectory was a Victorian era mansion located in the village of Borley, Essex, England. It was constructed in 1863, on the site of a previous rectory, and destroyed by fire in 1939....
haunting, where, over a period of years, Underwood traced and personally interviewed almost every living person who had been connected with what the press had dubbed the 'most haunted house in England'. He built up a volume of correspondence with paranormal investigator Harry Price
Harry Price
Harry Price was a British psychic researcher and author.-Early life:Although Price claimed his birth was in Shropshire, he was actually born in London in Red Lion Square on the site of the South Place Ethical Society's Conway Hall. He was educated in New Cross, first at Waller Road Infants School...
and after Price's death, he became literary executor of the Harry Price Estate. Underwood is a long-standing member of the Society for Psychical Research
Society for Psychical Research
The Society for Psychical Research is a non-profit organisation in the United Kingdom. Its stated purpose is to understand "events and abilities commonly described as psychic or paranormal by promoting and supporting important research in this area" and to "examine allegedly paranormal phenomena...
.
For some years Underwood was the Honorary Librarian of the Constitutional Club
Constitutional Club
The Constitutional Club was a London gentlemen's club, now dissolved, which was established in 1883 and was disbanded in 1979. Between 1886 and 1959 it had a distinctive red and yellow Victorian Neo-Gothic terracotta building at 28 Northumberland Avenue, off Trafalgar Square.The Club was closely...
and the Savage Club
Savage Club
The Savage Club, founded in 1857 is a gentlemen's club in London.-History:Many and varied are the stories that have been told about the first meeting of the Savage Club, of the precise purposes for which it was formed, and of its christening...
, where he is a former Member of the Qualifications Committee. In 1976 a bust of Underwood was sculpted by Patricia Finch, winner of the Gold Medal for Sculpture in Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
.
Recognition
Having been invited to join the Ghost Club by Harry Price, Underwood was its President from 1962 to 1993, when he left the group to found the Ghost Club Society of which he is the Life President. In recognition of his more than seventy years of paranormal investigations, Underwood accepted the invitation to be the Patron of The Ghost Research Foundation (founded in OxfordOxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
in 1992), who term him the King of Ghost Hunters, and he has recently accepted an invitation to be the Patron of Paranormal Site Investigators
Paranormal Site Investigators
United Kingdom charity Paranormal Site Investigators is dedicated to advancing education, research and heritage in the area of anomalous experience. The charity has a membership of around 1400...
(UK).
At present Underwood is co-authoring two new books, and has written a Foreword to Damien O'Dell's "Ghostly Hertfordshire" - his home county.
Underwood is also the author of many books, mainly relating to the paranormal.
External links
- Official website
- Peter Underwood
- PSI (Patron) Website
- The Borley Rectory Companion - The Complete Guide to the 'Most Haunted House in England' by Paul Adams, Eddie Brazil and Peter Underwood New book on the Borley Rectory case co-written by Peter Underwood, published by The History Press in April 2009.
Peter Underwood is also Harry Price's literary executor.