Discussing Things That go Bump in the Night: A Conversation with Gordon Rutter

In the aftermath of a family tragedy, an aspiring author is torn between love for her childhood friend and the temptation of a mysterious outsider. Trying to escape the ghosts of her past, she is swept away to a house that breathes, bleeds…and remembers.
In Crimson Peak, Dr. Alan McMichael (Charlie Hunnam) is a ophthalmologist interested in ghost photography which he shares with Edith Cushing (Mia Wasikowska).
The Fan Carpet‘s Katy Peakay interviews renowned ghost specialist Gordon Rutter, author of Ghosts Caught On Film 3 about ghostly goings on…
Now you are the author of Ghosts Caught On Camera 3 and a guy held in great respect for his knowledge of all things ghostly so you seem the perfect person to have a chat about the new chilling horror Crimson Peak with?
Well yes ghosts have always been a great interest of mine.
So you say it’s an interest did your curiosity stem from a particular event or experience that happened to you?
You know, I wish I could say there was a time when I was walking through such and such a place and this really amazing weird thing happened to me and I met a ghost or whatever but I can’t. I was just very interested in it and found some really good books and then discovered more books and more information and thought ‘wow this really interests me, I’m hooked!’
Well that’s fair enough and I can completely understand that everyone has things that interest them more than others.
Well exactly.
So since growing in knowledge and reputation and meeting and sharing information with other supernatural believers are you in a place now where you can totally stand there and 100% say you believe in ghost existence?
I have been to some of the most haunted places in the world and though I can’t say first hand I believe I have seen a physical ghost, I know a lot of people; regular people that I know socially; not from the television and not high profile and saying it for attention but just regular people that have seen ghosts.
I’m not that narrow minded that I dismiss there first-hand account I listen and think about other research I have down and really think about their stories as after all it’s a witness account something that stands up in a court of law if it was recounting anything. It’s the same with some of the mediums I’ve seen are usual people I’d happily go out and have a drink with.
Okay so would you say that people need a special sort of power or ability to see a ghosts or be a medium or have some training or is it just about your mind being open to it?
To be honest I believe it’s all about being in the right place at the right time and I mean there’s accounts of people seeing ghosts from every walk of life and every corner of the earth so I think they are all just people that are willing to accept that what’s happened to them could have been something special and extraordinary.
I mean at the same time it’s understandable also that the same things happen to others that are dismissed as just tricks of the light or shadows. So definitely the first step for anyone who thinks they’ve seen anything is to open their minds to the possibility.
Very interesting. Now have you had the chance to see Crimson Peak.
Yes I have.
Great because the characters Edith and Dr McMichael definitely belong in the open minded category of people you just mentioned as we see Edith’s interest displayed early on with her book publishing ambition and then again in her scene with McMichael discussing the glass picture slides.
Oh yes, well I think Edith would have definitely had more luck getting her book out there with the internet if it was set today and as the following for Ghost stories is now a huge market for entertainment and interest.
Oh absolutely, in the glass slides McMichael talks about the Latent Image. Can you tell us a bit more about what this is and if it’s factual ghost terminology?
Well Latent image by definition is just an image that’s not specifically there until something happens to bring it forward to uncover it, so it terms of ghost and ghost photography it could be that the ghost is just waiting to reveal itself and it’s not when the picture’s taken but only when it’s developed in this case that it’s seen.
Do you think that the films production team did a good job of revealing and creating ghost visuals for us. Would you consider them realistic?
Well actually some of the pictures used are from actual claims of ghost sightings, but you know everyone has their own way of seeing things in their mind so with things like trying to physicalise the supernatural it’s very difficult because the expectation is high but not clear. But yes I think they did do a stunning job; the set and eery cold weathered house was visually stunning.
Speaking of weather, are there any common reported environmental changes that happen when a ghost is present or someone is claiming to connect to the other side?
Well yes actually just like in Crimson Peak, whenever a sighting is reported one of the things that often connects them all is that the reporter commenting on the temperature drop at that time.
So I think the way the weather is so involved in Crimson Peak is great and the effort they’ve gone to for the beautiful shots of the wind roaring around and blowing the leaves through the place really adds a wonderful sense of strangeness.
Crimson Peak Film Page | Crimson Peak Review
CRIMSON PEAK IS AVAILABLE ON BLU-RAY™ AND DVD ON 15TH FEBRUARY COURTESY OF UNIVERSAL PICTURES (UK)
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