All normal experiences resemble one another, but each paranormal experience is paranormal in its own way. And paranormal experiences are by definition unrepeatable. So those who don’t experience an encounter with aliens, hear the clank of spectral chains or meet a yeti, are condemned – or delighted – to rely on anecdotal evidence. I offer these fragments of my family folklore partly to show how intrinsically slippery anecdotal evidence is, and partly to show how even the presumed causes of these reported events may depend on the nature of the story (and the storyteller). Nonetheless, these are true stories. That is, they are told by reputable people of impeccable social standing – 'credible witnesses', in the jargon – who believe they are reporting what actually happened to them.

THE VIRGIN AND THE SAILOR

My dad, Hector Lachlan Frank Brookesmith, was known to his immediate family as 'Dooley' and Frank to everyone else.