Simon Marsden

The Latest News

NEW BOOK
RUSSIA:
A WORLD APART
World Apart Cover

Russia: A World Apart is a haunting evocation of the ruined country estates of the Russian aristocracy of the 18th and 19th centuries. Revolution, civil war, invasions, anarchy and casual indifference have conspired against many of the grand buildings of Russia's rich and complex past. The architectural riches of Moscow and St Petersburg still exist for everyone to see, but when photographer Simon Marsden and author Duncan Mclaren entered the Russian countryside, away from the obvious tourist trails, they encountered a very different world.

The publication serves as a tribute to Simon who died age 63 in January 2012

COPIES WILL BE AVAILABLE FROM THE WEBSITE WWW.SIMONMARSDEN.CO.UK FROM 9TH MAY 2013

MA-RU-178 MA-RU-071 MA-RU-059 MA-RU-036 MA-RU-042 MA-RU-070 MA-RU-174 MA-RU-039 MA-RU-082 MA-RU-163

Photographs from the book will be available for sale and editorial use through
The Marsden Archive picture library
www.marsdenarchive.com


AVAILABLE NOW

New calendar of Simon Marsden's photography

THE HAUNTED REALM 2013

cal_2013_haunted-realm_cover_450

For information on content and pictures click here
To order pictures directly click here

And visit:

www.marsdenarchive.com

for

Haunting HALLOWEEN Images


Nikon Owner magazine celebrates
the life and work of Sir Simon Marsden

nikon-owner-039-cover

Please click the image to view the articles from the magazine.


NEW BOOK
VAMPIRES:
THE TWILIGHT WORLD
Vampires: The Twilight World
'The Vampire lives on, and cannot die by the mere passing of time'
Dracula, Bram Stoker
A NEW BOOK BY
SIMON MARSDEN
Publication details:

UK: PALAZZO EDITIONS LTD 6th October 2011
GERMANY: KNESEBECK VERLAG 13th September 2011
USA: PALAZZO EDITIONS LTD
Distributed by TRAFALGAR SQUARE December 2011
The book will be available in the English Language throughout the world via
PALAZZO EDITIONS international marketing forces
www.palazzoeditions.com
info@palazzoeditions.com
For press enquiries please contact Chloe Pew Latter chloe@palazzoeditions.com
Copies will be available from Simon Marsden's website from 1st October 2011
www.simonmarsden.co.uk
Photographs from the book will be available for editorial use through Simon's picture library THE MARSDEN ARCHIVE from the 10th September 2011
www.marsdenarchive.com

THE HOLIDAY OF A LIFETIME
A unique & exclusive opportunity to take part in the making of a film with professional film makers & actors
MA-FR-609_1200_200MA-FR-615_1200_200
- ghost story titled The Scenic Route to be shot in France over 2 weeks between 4th June - 18th June
The photographer, author and film maker Sir Simon Marsden will be the special guest speaker and art director during the second week of filming (8th - 15th June)
www.simonmarsden.co.uk
Accommodation at the beautiful Chateau de la Loubière in Provence
www.laloubiere.com
Only 10 places available on a first come first served basis so book now to avoid disappointment
For further information, prices and booking details visit: www.theholidaymoviecompany.com

AVAILABLE NOW
New Calendars of Simon Marsden's Photography

Haunted Realm 2012 CalendarPoetry of the Dark 2012 Calendar

NEW BOOK
MEMENTO MORI
- CHURCHES & CHURCHYARDS OF ENGLAND
Memento Mori
Published by ENGLISH HERITAGE on 30th October 2007
All the pictures in the book, over 100, are available for sale and for editorial use through the picture library at www.marsdenarchive.com
Copies of the book are available for sale at www.simonmarsden.co.uk
MA-ST-044MA-CH-009
MA-T-010MA-ST-049
MA-EF-028MA-T-007
MA-CH-007MA-T-003MA-EF-022
'While I thought that I was learning how to live, I have been learning how to die'
Leonardo da Vinci, 1452-1519
There is but one certainty in life - that we will all die. All around us, in the churches and churchyards of England, are reminders of this inescapable fact in the form of simple stone gravestones, weird gargoyles, fantastically ornate carved memorials and glowing stained-glass windows. They all seem to proclaim Memento Mori - the Latin for 'remember you will die'.
Simon Marsden, who has gained worldwide renown for his evocative photography, has always been fascinated by English churches and churchyards and their funereal art and monuments. So, on his most recent tour of the country, he selected his favourite examples to photograph - and this book is the result. The use of colour images combined with his distinctive black & white photographs adds an effective dimension to his work. Each atmospheric illustration is accompanied by a poem, prose extract, anecdote or epitaph that appropriately complements the photography.
This book manages to convey many emotions in both the images and text and makes the subject of Death intriguing, inspiring and somehow beautiful.

NEW BOOK
GHOSTHUNTER
- A JOURNEY THROUGH
HAUNTED FRANCE

French versionEnglish version

Who better than Simon Marsden, the highly-respected author of ten books in the genre, published in five languages, to take us on a journey seeking out the spirits that haunt the châteaux, castles, abbeys and churches of France? No other photographer has the same passionate interest that has driven him through the landscapes of England, Scotland and Ireland, to the source of the Dracula legend in Romania, and the hidden, side of Venice. In this new volume, he invites us on an eerie tour of the French countryside, as exciting as it is unnerving. From Versailles and the châteaux of the Loire to Norman abbeys. Exploring the menhirs of Brittany and the Cathar castles of the Pyrenees. Discovering the secrets of the infamous Knights Templars (recently featured in the controversial book and film The Da Vinci Code) and the ancient lore of alchemy. His unique photographic reportage is accompanied by personal texts describing the disturbing stories of ghosts and other supernatural phenomena that still haunt these locations, as well as his own sometimes terrifying encounters with the supernatural.

Hardcover, 192 pages
140 black & white illustrations

To be published in October 2006 by:

FLAMMARION - FRANCE, LUXEMBOURG & BELGIUM

RANDOM HOUSE/RIZZOLI INTERNATIONAL - USA & CANADA

NILSSON & LAMM BV - NETHERLANDS

THAMES & HUDSON LTD - UK & ALL OTHER COUNTRIES

All the pictures in the book will be available for sale and for editorial use at www.marsdenarchive.com from 20th September 2006

Copies of the book will be available for sale at www.simonmarsden.co.uk from 20th September 2006


NOW AVAILABLE TO ORDER
3 DIFFERENT IMAGES AS

POSTERS

Gothic Window, Castle Bernard, Ireland Duntroon Castle, Argyll, Scotland
MA-I-088 Gothic Window, Castle Bernard, Ireland MA-C-122 Duntroon Castle, Argyll, Scotland
Graveyard, County Mayo, Ireland
MA-G-808 Graveyard, County Mayo, Ireland

Size: 60 cms (24 ins) x 90 cms (36ins)

Price: £12.50 each

Shipping:*

UK EUROPE USA/REST OF WORLD
£2.80 (1st Class) £4.00 (Airmail) £6.00 (Airmail)

* If two or more posters are ordered the shipping fee reduces by 50% each poster after the first (e.g. for 2 posters to UK - £4.20, 3 posters - £4.90 etc.)

Payment: online by credit/debit card via the PayPal facility from this page or by cheque payable to SIMON MARSDEN at the following address:

THE MARSDEN ARCHIVE
2 Grove Cottages, Grove Road, West Barsham, Fakenham,
Norfolk NR21 9NT ENGLAND

Delivery: within 28 days

Enquiries: email info@marsdenarchive.com or telephone +44 (0) 7765 116384


"THE JOURNAL OF A GHOSTHUNTER"
Moydrum Castle (MA-C-014)
SIMON MARSDEN
will be giving the Annual Exhibition Lecture at the
Bromley Camera Club
founded in 1896
Thursday 27th April 2006 at 8pm
Whitfield Hall, United Reformed Church, Widmore Road, Bromley, Kent
Tickets £10 each
advanced booking recommended from:
Mr J Bartlett, 28 Lee Terrace, Blackheath, London SE3 9TZ
Please include SAE with your request
Telephone: 020 8852 7162
www.bromleycameraclub.org.uk

SIMON MARSDEN is an internationally recognised photographer who has devoted his life to capturing mesmeric images of ancient ruins and landscapes in his distinctive, gothic style. In this illustrated lecture he talks about his photographic techniques, how he plans his books, his beliefs, and the many strange and disturbing experiences he has encountered. He will also answer your questions and sign copies of his books.

BROMLEY CAMERA CLUB was founded in 1896 The first President was Samuel Blatchford Weber, a retired goldsmith, who was regarded as one of the best amateur photographers of his time. William Willis, a founder Vice President, was the inventor of the platinotype photographic printing process (using platinum salts instead of silver) which won him the Royal Photographic Society Progress medal. Early meetings were mainly technical lectures or practical demonstrations, either by experienced amateurs or photographic equipment manufacturers. In the summer outings were organised in order to take photographs, with cameras the size of suitcases and vast wooden tripods.

The Annual Exhibition is the highlight of the club's year and approximately 200 prints (a mixture of colour and black & white), and 200 colour slides are on show. On selected evenings an illustrated talk is given by a distinguished speaker attracting a large audience from the many photographic societies in the south east, as well as members of the general public.


SPECIAL OFFER from 22nd September 2005 - 6 free assorted Greetings Cards (130x180mm) with every new print, book or dvd order up until and including 31st October 2005

FountainBeachForelacka
Fountain (SSM 004)Beach (SSM 001)Forelacka (SSM 006)
StepsTombWindowRollright
Steps (SSM 014)Tomb (SSM 002)Window (SSM 003)Rollright (SSM 015)
TombWindowStonehenge
Icknield (SSM 016)Avebury (SSM 024)Bamburgh (SSM 031)

See this page for details of greetings cards.


THIS SPECTRED ISLE
A Journey Through Haunted England
The Spectred Isle
Photographs by Simon Marsden
Text by Val Horsler & Susan Kelleher
Published by ENGLISH HERITAGE on 1st June 2005
Copies are now available from www.simonmarsden.co.uk
Price £20 + p&p (retail price £22.99)
All the images - over one hundred - are now available for editorial use through the picture library www.marsdenarchive.com
Bolsover Castle, Derbyshire (MA-C-114)
Layer Marney Towers, Essex (MA-H-033)Netley Abbey, Hampshire (MA-A-020)
Helmsley Castle, Yorkshire (MA-C-118)Statue, Anglesey Abbey, Cambridgeshire (MA-ST-023)
Wooden Head, The Gatehouse, Stokesay Castle, Shropshire (MA-ST-025)Standing Stones, Avebury, Wiltshire (MA-SS-708)
‘I believe that another dimension – a spirit world – runs parallel to our own so-called real world and that sometimes, when the conditions are right, we can see into and become part of this supernatural domain. For me it is a question of how receptive we are willing to be how far we are prepared to open our minds to this intermingling of physical and paranormal worlds. Walk through the creaking door of an old ruin and experience what science can never define – the overwhelming silence of our past. Here you are part of something far more tangible and evocative than the present, and as twilight descends feel the invisible shades of our ancestors watching you from within the dark passageways, a reminder of your own mortality.’
From the FOREWORD by Simon Marsden

***AVAILABLE FROM 1st DECEMBER 2004

The long awaited DVD of
THE TWILIGHT HOUR
VISIONS OF IRELANDS HAUNTED PAST

The Twilight Hour DVD cover

This is an all region PAL DVD

Price: £15.99

Shipping:

UKREST OF EUROPEREST OF THE WORLD
£3 (1st class)£4 (airmail)£6 (airmail)

Payment: online by credit/debit card via the PayPal facility from this page or by cheque payable to SIMON MARSDEN at the following address:

THE MARSDEN ARCHIVE,
2 Grove Cottages, Grove Road, West Barsham, Fakenham,
Norfolk NR21 9NT ENGLAND

Delivery: within 28 days of payment

Enquiries: email info@marsdenarchive.com or telephone +44 (0) 7765 116384


THE ENGLISH PREMIERE OF
THE TWILIGHT HOUR
CELTIC VISIONS FROM THE PAST

(82 minute documentary/drama based on Simon Marsden’s latest book of the same title.
Directed by Jason Figgis and featuring readings by John Hurt)

will be screened at

THE ELECTRIC CINEMA, 194 Portobello Road, Notting Hill, London W11

Thursday 30th October 2003
(12.30 – 3.30pm)
Food & drink provided

Simon Marsden will be present to sign copies of the book

Film showing at 1.30pm prompt/Food served from 12.45pm

Tickets £15 per armchair or £20 per sofa
There are 98 leather armchairs and a pair of 2-seater sofas
(only 102 tickets available)

ALL TICKETS MUST BE BOOKED IN ADVANCE
For information please phone +44 (0) 7765 116384
or email info@marsdenarchive.com


The Twilight Hour will also be shown at THE CORK FILM FESTIVAL in Ireland on Saturday 18th October 2003
www.corkfilmfest.org

&

THE GHOST CONFERENCE 2003 in Nottingham on Saturday 1st November 2003
www.ghost-con.com


The Twilight Hour
Visions of Ireland’s Haunted Past

AN 80 MINUTE DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

The Twilight Hour

The documentary follows Simon Marsden, the acclaimed photographer of the fantastic and the supernatural as he explores some of the darkest and most disturbing corners of Ireland. We see him working in the country’s myriad ruined castles, eerie mansions and ivy-clad mausoleums, collecting haunting photographs for his forthcoming book, THE TWILIGHT HOUR - Celtic Visions From The Past.

The film reveals the stories behind these ill-fated castles, mysterious ruins and ancient standing stones that have stood vigil through the ages, giving voice to the restless souls whose presence is both legendary and documented: the reckless child; the victim of a husband’s rage; the family of violent, murderous men; the simple housemaid who was frightened to death, and now returns to terrify those still living.

The Twilight Hour
The Twilight Hour

First-time director Jason Figgis of OCTOBER ELEVEN PICTURES was intrigued by Marsden’s abiding impression that he is often not quite alone during his solitary photographic journeys, and that he sometimes has the uncomfortable feeling that he is being followed by some unseen presence.

THE TWILIGHT HOUR attempts to capture this sense of another realm infringing on our own with the subtle and shadowy presence of ‘something not quite right’ that disturbs the natural world. This small essence which Simon describes as ‘almost intangible, but none the less real’ is suggested in the film by shadowy forms crossing shallow pools, eerie mirror reflections and the frenetic reactions of the natural world to its sinister presence.

From the very start of the production, in March 2001, Figgis tried to marry Marsden’s highly idiosyncratic approach to photography with a new style of digital film making. Figgis’s unique camera work has recreated the stark ultraviolet black and white which infuses much of Marsden’s work. This integrated technical and visual approach creates the sense that Marsden has become part of the landscape of his own creations, portrayed within his own photographic style. It often feels that his pictures have taken on a life of their own in which Marsden himself embodies the brooding presence he seeks to capture.

The colour footage never dispels the feel of the dark and atmospheric surroundings. Figgis utilised an array of dark hues (blues and greens) and then, at other points, a panoply of vibrancy and colour. Creative director Alan Foley worked intensively on the visuals, refining the film in post production. Paddy Gibbons’s sound enginering (designed by Ann.P.Murray and Jason Figgis) reinforces the sense of forlorn solitude, calling on the great richness of natural sound. The sighs of wind, the calls of birds and the flows of rivers add a forbidding dynamic to the magnificent, and sometimes disturbing ruins that Marsden visits.

Marsden shares both his incredible knowledge of supernatural folklore and his own innermost fears, while Figgis artfully recreates the alternate reality captured in Marsden’s mystical photographs. Acclaimed actor John Hurt adds to the macabre atmosphere with readings from Edgar Allan Poe.

The Twilight Hour
The Twilight Hour

THE TWILIGHT HOUR powerfully argues that unseen spirits can reside in the architecture of the past. It’s a guided tour through ominous places that generations have felt to be haunted. This glimpse into a profoundly disturbing nether world reveals an Ireland where the line between real and unreal is as indefinable as that between darkness and light. THE TWILIGHT HOUR brings us face to face with the frightening events and sensations that can await anyone who ventures alone into the unknown. It is a truly haunting film.

The Twilight Hour is a production of October Eleven Pictures in association with Piranha Bar and Pop Twist Entertainment Inc.

Sales of the film were recently launched by Doug Zwick of Pop Twist Entertainment at the Mipcom Festival in Cannes, with the moody, gothic film generating substantial international interest.

Zwick, a former senior programmer at the US Disney Channel, where his projects won numerous Emmys and an Academy Award, is spearheading The Twilight Hour’s commercial release. In addition to television and home video release, Zwick is looking for selected festival exposure and potentially a specialised theatrical release in selected territories.

Details of home video/dvd versions of THE TWILIGHT HOUR will be posted on this site as soon as they become available for sale.

Contact:
Doug Zwick, Pop Twist Entertainment (http://www.poptwist.com/twilight/), dzwick@att.net Phone: 00-1-818-990-8461
Jason Figgis, October Eleven Pictures, jasonfiggis@rci.ie Phone: 00-353-1-296-5998

A charity screening of THE TWILIGHT HOUR took place at the spectacular and exclusive setting of CHARLEVILLE CASTLE in Tullamore, County Offaly on Saturday 14th December 2002.

The Twilight Hour

Approached along a flaming torch-lit driveway the doors of the haunted castle (which features in the film) were opened by masked footmen. The candle-lit evening with blazing log fires featured an exhibition, poetry reading, wine and canapes before a talk by Simon Marsden on the making of the film. The evening then continued with chat, food and drink in the cavernous basement of the castle.

The event was in aid of the restoration fund for the Charleville Castle Chapel roof.

For further information call CHARLEVILLE CASTLE on 00-353-0506-23040.

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