An ex-Tullibody man will host two lectures at the first ever Scottish Paranormal Festival (TSPF) in Stirling this weekend.

Malcolm Robinson (57) will give separate talks on ghostly images as well as UFO sightings on Saturday and Sunday (1 and 2 November).

In addition, he is inviting people to join him for a UFO skywatch on Saturday night near Bonnybridge, location of many UFO reports.

Founder of the Strange Phenomena Investigation (SPI) society, Malcolm is a renowned speaker and author of various articles and books on the subject.

He also appeared many times on TV, not just in the UK, but all around Europe as well. Malcolm, who lives in England now, is very excited ahead of the festival, saying: “I am very happy to be coming back to Scotland to lecture on matters very dear to my heart, those of UFO and paranormal events.

“I will be showing some of the best ghost photographs taken from around the world, one of which was taken right here in Alloa back in 1972 where an Alloa woman took a photograph of her young son sitting outside in the back garden, however, when she got the photo developed, lo and behold there is a secondary ghostly face looking up at her son.” Starting on Thursday (30 October) and running until Sunday (2 November) Stirling will be host to a variety of events across numerous venues as TSPF is promised to be the biggest, most eclectic and significant paranormal festival around the UK.

It is hoped that the event will bring a financial boost for the historical town of Stirling and even the country as a whole.

With speakers and guests arriving from overseas, organiser and festival director Peter Broughan hopes to make TSPF the biggest paranormal festival in the world, with Stirling the “only place to be during Halloween”.

Years ago Malcolm set out on a crusade to prove strange things like ghosts and UFOs do not exist, but once he got involved he became completely fascinated with the subject.

He explained: “I will also tell the Stirling audience not to believe all they see as things can be deceptive and the human eye sometimes struggles to make sense of various shapes which can be misconstrued as a fanciful ghost or UFO.” He also invites sceptics and cynical adults, adding: “Sceptics are fine, we simply must remain sceptical until such times as the evidence is so overwhelming that we can’t ignore it.

“Science will never ever progress if we turn our backs on subjects such as this.” Other presenters at the festival include Christina Stewart, Nick Pope, Gordon Smith and James Fox.

Besides talks and lectures, the festival will also showcase films about the paranormal.

There will be theatre, music, storytelling, psychics, the Caledonian Vampyre Ball on Halloween evening and even comedy.

Venues and locations include the Albert Halls, Tolbooth, The Smith Art Gallery Museum, Cowane’s Hospital and more. For more information go to www.paranormalscotland.com.