The annual Liverpool LightNight is a fun, free event that takes place across the city and I always check for its weirdest events, such as ‘The Cryptid Petting Zoo’ (FT333:52-53). Back in 2019, my attention was drawn to ‘Torquemada: In The Mind Of The Inquisitor’ delivered by Dr Matteo Borrini.1 The packed room was thoroughly entertained by a terrific blend of stage magic and a history of the rituals and practice of mediæval witchcraft, witch-hunting and the Inquisition. In addition, as the theme of the event was ‘Ritual’, Dr Borrini had organised, in another room, a Cabinet of Curiosities that included: a mummified fairy; a vampire hunting kit; an alleged impaled vampire heart; Victorian spiritualistic paraphernalia; and an original witch bottle. I subsequently discovered that Matteo is actually a colleague of mine at Liverpool John Moores University, albeit in a different Faculty: he is Principal Lecturer in Forensic Anthropology. He is also President of the Liverpool Mahatma Magic Circle.2 It was clear that an interview with someone called Gandy was predestined!
ROB GANDY: What exactly is forensic anthropology?
: Forensic anthropology is the analysis of human skeletons for legal purposes. As forensic anthropologists, we reconstruct the ancestry, sex, age at death, and marks of physical stress or disease of an unknown individual to give them an identity. We
