Melvyn Willin - Psychical Researcher

Melvyn John Willin was born in St Albans, Hertfordshire. He was educated at Francis Bacon Grammar School and then took degrees at several British universities. In 1971 he started teaching the guitar and formed the world touring Essex Guitar Orchestra soon after. His other musical activities included teaching in schools, colleges and a prison and demonstrating a large collection of ethnic instruments many of which he plays himself.

Melvyn played the double bass in a youth symphony orchestra for a few years and possesses a large collection of recorded music. He has published three guitar tutor books and other music arrangements. Recordings include both solo and ensemble works. Melvyn has performed with the Guitar Orchestra in numerous locations in the UK as well as in the USA, Australia, India, China, Romania, Hungary, Tunisia, France, Germany and Greece.

He currently devotes a large amount of his life to the study of psychical research. Melvyn is the Honorary Archive Liaison Officer to the Society for Psychical Research and was for many years the Events Officer and Editor of the Ghost Club magazine. On several occasions he has received awards from the Perrott-Warrick Foundation for his research. His viewpoint on the investigations of alleged paranormal activity is sceptical, but with a considerable degree of humility; he often says, 'we don’t really know anything...'

His doctorates, in paramusicology, were supervised by Eric Clarke (Heather Professor of Music, Oxford University), Bob Morris (late Koestler Chair of Parapsychology, Edinburgh University) and Ronald Hutton (Professor of History, Bristol University)

Melvyn frequently speaks at conferences and publishes articles in academic journals.

At the relatively late age of about fifty he started training in a variety of martial arts and notably Wing Chun and the combat system Krav Maga both of which he has been graded in. He also became interested in witchcraft and Wicca, and having been accepted into a practicing coven he was duly initiated as a first, second and finally third degree witch in the Alexandrian/ Gardnerian tradition.

He is a dancing member of the Thaxted Morris side and a dancer and musician with the Wicket Brood Border Morris and Belchamp Morris teams. He also plays and dances with Good Easter Molly.

He lives in Forncett St Peter in Norfolk (UK) with full and half-sized triceratopses (and a hundred or so smaller ones!) and a large dog (Bonzo).