Midwinter Tales: Uncanny Cases from the Courts

Lawyers will often claim that the law strives for objectivity and impartiality. They are in the business of making rational and reasoned arguments and have no time for the mysterious or macabre. However, in reality, the supernatural has been a regular topic in legal cases since Henry VIII made witchcraft a criminal offence in 1541. Our courts have seen all manner of monster, from psychics and witches to ghosts and aliens.  They’ve even been called upon to consider the existence of foul-mouthed furry demons. 

Jerome K. Jerome once observed that there is nothing more enjoyable on Christmas Eve than gathering by a fire to regale your friends and family with “authentic anecdotes of spectres”. For lawyers, those anecdotes are even more fun if they involve a sprinkling of legal history and a lively debate over the existence of the supernatural.

Therefore in the spirit of Christmas, please join Naomi Ryan and Middle Temple Library for an evening of mince pies and mulled wine, examining some of the strangest cases in legal history, in which the Fortean meets the forensic, the bizarre is examined by barristers and the strange is investigated by the state. Learn about the Old Bailey’s connection to vampires, decide whether murderous aliens are hovering over Todmorden and most importantly, discover the connection between the Attorney General and foul mouthed demons. 

Naomi Ryan is a criminal and public law barrister. After completing the BCL at St Catherine’s College, Oxford, she taught criminal law to undergraduates at St Hilda’s College Oxford and University College London before embarking on her career as a criminal barrister. She both prosecuted and defended before moving to the Civil Service, where she worked for an array of prestigious departments, including the Attorney General’s Office, the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Court of Appeal. She has since returned to her favourite place, the courtroom, and is a member of Deka Chambers. When she isn’t advising legal luminaries, she delivers spirited (!) talks on macabre events in legal history. She is a regular at her beloved London’s Month of the Dead festival and can often be found addressing museums and other legal and supernatural organisations on the spooky and scintillating topic of ghost law. Her favourite subjects include ghosts as witnesses, the prosecution of fraudulent mediums and the High Court’s treatment of demon mongooses called Gef.

Tickets include a mince pie and a glass of mulled wine or soft drink.