Deborah Hyde is an author, presenter and producer. She wants to know why people believe in the supernatural, and uses psychology, cultural anthropology, history and folklore to shed light on this intractable strand of human nature.
She has written for periodicals such as The Guardian and The Fortean Times and has contributed material to book anthologies. The latest is about the cryptozoological ‘Hull Werewolf’ which will appear in Werewolf Legends (ed. Willem de Blecourt, Palgrave Macmillan). For ten years, Deborah was Editor-in-Chief of The Skeptic and is a fellow of The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry.
She makes frequent TV appearances, being a regular contributor to Strange Evidence and Mysteries at the Museum, and has presented sceptical insights in two of BBC iPlayer’s most successful recent podcasts Uncanny and The Battersea Poltergeist.
Deborah’s relaxed and humorous speaking style has taken her from Las Vegas to New York City, from Wroclaw, Poland to Sofia, Bulgaria. She regularly hosts events for Conway Hall, the oldest surviving freethought organisation in the world, and for Fortean London’s special annual events there.
In a parallel life, Deborah has provided production management and coordinator services in the film industry for the past thirty years.
She occasionally strays to the wrong side of the camera, most notably as the five-hundred-year-old Thurlingian Queen in Terry Gilliam’s Brothers Grimm and (according to Deb) puppeteered the ‘best leaf’ on the Devil’s Snare Plant in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.
Deb lives in West London with her partner and their Staffie-Ridgeback cross, Bella.
