Former Isle of Man resident and US enforcement officer Paul Hope is to give a talk at the Henry Bloom Noble Library on Thursday December 11th about his experiences of the paranormal, the subject of his book Policing the Paranormal.

Born and raised in Anagh Coar Paul Hope attended Ballakermeen High School then worked at the then Nautilus Fitness Centre in Strand Street, one of the haunted locations described in his book. He also worked at the former Studebakers in the Castle Mona Hotel before meeting his American first wife and moving to the US in 1996.

There he joined the army as an infantryman and after completing a seven-month combat deployment to Bosnia in 1999 was promoted to sergeant. He received an honorable discharge in June 2001 and became a police officer with the Virginia division of Capitol Police in Richmond where he served as a patrol officer until late 2004.  It was while in that role he experienced and learned of others’ experiences of the paranormal activity in and around Virginia’s historic state capitol complex, which led him to write his book.

In late 2004 he joined the Hanover County Sheriff's Office on the outskirts of Richmond, Virginia, serving in several capacities, including patrol officer, narcotics investigator/DEA task force officer, firearms instructor and SWAT team member. In November 2010 he resigned and became a private security contractor in Afghanistan and has been employed in security and close protection since January 2011.

At the end of 2014 he is planning to leave Afghanistan, return to the sheriff's office early in 2015 and continue his law enforcement career.

Policing the Paranormal is Paul Hope’s first major published work.

Hosted by the Society for the Preservation of the Manx Countryside and Environment the talk will start at 7.30pm. Tickets are free but must be obtained in advance from the library’s ground-floor counter.