Death and the Supernatural

Available for 29 days

We’re talking about the dead and the supernatural on the morning of Samhain, the Gaelic festival marking the end of harvest and the beginning of winter. Why are so many of us afraid to talk about death and dying? We’re speaking to Jennifer Hamilton who managed a community crematorium and accompanied the departed on their final journey, speaking to the person in the coffin as she got them ready to leave this world. Our panel will unpack how modern society treats death, the language we use (and don’t use). Does belief in the everlasting change how people view death and their legacy? And how do we speak about what should happen ‘in the event of my death’? Questions that will be tackled by funeral celebrant Rachel Smith along with theologians Dr Elaine Storkey and Dr Joy Allan. Finally, Audrey Carville has been talking to historian Dr Martha McGill who studies the supernatural and explains how religion has shaped views of fairies, ghosts and the devil.