Colin Wilson : Strange is Normal

One of the original Angry Young Men along with luminaries such as John Osbourne (see Thomas Maschler's book Declaration), Colin Wilson first tasted fame with his book The Outsider, a treatise on outsider genius. As is the way, the mainstream elitist press turned on this working class self taught prodigy and hounded him out of London's class based literary scene.
He fled to the West Country and London's loss was Cornwall's and The World's gain. For over 50 years and 150 books he led us through science fiction (Mind Parasites) and esoteric knowledge (The Occult Trilogy). Truly a man before his time, in the age of The Internet, his philosophy will inform us for centuries to come. Strange is Normal is a late documentary containing interviews from his home in Cornwall with himself and his wife Joy.
Note: There is background music to some of the interviews. Anyone handy with a film editor feel free to remove and upload.

[@michaelzonta]

Colin Wilson is a really interesting person. The loud "spooky" background music is a real distraction.

[@spartan.falbion2761]

The sound levels are usually an afterthought, even in high budget productions. Because it's presumed people have low attention spans, everything from sealions mating to Dr.Who taking a shit requires BGM (background music).

[@GuyLegge]

Well said!

[@markportwood4045]

Such an incredibly clever and decent man. Thank you for sharing.

[@zippgunz]

Colin Wilson is hero of mine. This is the best treatment I've seen of him, plenty of time for Mr Wilson to tell us about himself and his philosophies. As he says, he was never an "angry young man;" he got the label simply because he was working class , young, wrote an innovative first book, and emerged as a writer at the same time - approximately - as the likes of Osborne, Braine etc

[@Paddyllfixit]

Thank you for uploading. I shudda got this years ago. Colin is my all time fave author. Been reading his works since I was thirteen. I'm now fifty. Thank you Colin.

[@charliemorris2338]

I read "The Outsider" when I was 20, inspired me to become an artist and I have had a magical existence just like he described in his writings.

[@voidisyinyangvoidisyinyang885]

Colin Wilson has some interesting info but he's "so close yet so far." haha

[@ajs41]

I've just ordered the book.

[@darkarts59]

Worth reading? ​@@ajs41

[@marksweet6298]

I enjoyed this series of interviews very much. The music should be removed and it would make watching this even better.

[@ranrum9145]

Great interviews. Much underrated thinker and writer. His Occult trilogy turned me on to classic literature and philosophy. In spite of antipathy from the London literary glitterati (which continued with 3rd rate snide reviews from people like Toby Young as late as 2007), he stuck to his beliefs and pursued a successful life in writing with over 100 books to his name. He will be re-evaluated in years to come and will be venerated as a man of great insight and forsight. If you only read a few of his books, read The Outsider, The Occult, Mysteries, Beyond the Occult, Voyage to a Beginning and The Angry Years.

[@Dellen-Roger]

Hello. Is Colin a athiest?

[@oneoflokis]

@@Dellen-Roger Yeah, I think he was. Though a very spiritual one!

[@swordghoti]

This guy is an inspirational figure, a true working class hero.

[@timmccaffrey1326]

I often wondered why no comprehensive interviews were ever recorded with Colin Wilson and this excellent one was recorded just in time. There's no doubt that he was a gifted writer in the sense that his down to earth unpretentious style meant that he could impart sometimes complicated ideas to a very wide audience. I imagine like many people who will watch this excellent upload, I have read most of Mr Wilson's non fiction books and I regard them as very important to me personally for two reasons. When I read his Occult book and those that followed I began to look at various happenings in my own life with a deeper interest and a more open mind. Also I have Colin Wilson to thank for introducing me to a great many other writers and books I would never otherwise have heard of. It was Colin Wilson who brought T.C. Lethbridge back from the edge of obscurity and helped to make him into the almost cult like figure he is today. But of course Mr Wilson was human and he had his faults, the greatest of which as a writer was undoubtedly his tendency towards naivety which never left him. He took far too many accounts of unusual or paranormal occurrences at face value when perhaps it might have served him better to try and find some first hand evidence and experience this subject on a more practical level. But of course that's only a minor criticism and should not detract in any way from the importance of his books. Times of course have changed dramatically since his Occult book was published in 1970 and it's doubtful that such a book would enjoy the same success today as it did when it was first published. The field of the paranormal seemed to be about to enter a great new period of discovery in the 1960s but it petered out and once again discarded by science it retreated back into the fog of relative obscurity and there it has remained populated by all kinds of con men, and women and not a few outright cranks. But as Colin Wilson often said, a personal experience of the paranormal can alter a persons perspective on life and of course he was right. We had an experience with a poltergeist many years ago and it was fascinating, but I don't think our particular example was caused by a 'noisy spirit'..Thanks a million for unloading this and I'm sure Colin Wilson's many fans will appreciate it greatly.

[@oneoflokis]

Nah, The Occult is really good: & so is his later Poltergeist! They both are very thoughtfully - and penetratingly - written, & hold up today, imo. Who cares what professional skeptics such as Richard Wiseman think? 🥱

[@oneoflokis]

What was your poltergeist caused by then? (Spiritualists, mediums and psychic writers say that there are only 2 basic kinds: 1) spirit entities (could have once been human, might not be) using a living child or teen as a focus; and 2) the teen themselves has psychokinetic powers; and it is their unconscious frustrations working themselves out through the manifestations. In both cases, someone with some kind of psychic talent is required as a focus. The "larger" manifestations (floating sofas etc) almost always have disincarnate spirits at the centre. (Because living humans only have puny PK powers.) I've never seen a poltergeist (though Wilson says they are really common); but I shall know one immediately I do see it (not in my house please! 😏) because I've read about a million books on them. That's my summary.

[@gnupf]

Thanks a million for uploading this.

[@benhackett5430]

cheers,great couple of hours,a 'peak experience',indeed time to start a book...

[@charliemorris2338]

There is an old "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" called "the Hitchhiker" where a young teen gets into a car with a rather stuffy, straight laced old timer,and the kid pops the question,"are you an insider or an outsider?" A reference to a parlor game people used to play inspired by Colin's first book ,"The Outsider."

[@magwildwood9816]

I love everything Colin Wilson did but my favourite book was his bio of Crowley. It's so drily witty and he really understood what drove Crowley. He just wanted to shock the fuck out of people, wake them up. Too bright by half, a natural antipathy to cant and humbug, a thirsty desire to try everything 'forbidden' and the classic assertive ego coupled with low esteem one finds with a true artist. Emotional development stops about 15 but his powerhouse intellect never rested. I understand why he died a penniless heroin addict in a Hastings boarding house but it still grieves me. Crowley and Wilson came from completely different backgrounds but I think he wrote the best, and shortest, bio. Wilson never needed to inject his own ego into his subjects lives. Super interview. Thanks for posting.

[@andrewslk]

Colin Wilson was my undergraduate tutor at Manchester University for 2 years, 1974-76. He interviewed me for my university place in 1972. There was only 4 of us on his course , it was 8 out of 200 applicants, which dwindled to 4 very soon. He ditched the syllabus and spent 2 years opening our minds to all the things that interested him, and gave us a lifelong interest. My query is, with no formal education, how dod he become a university tutor with his own office in the medical department. My course? Neuropsychopharmacology.

[@mgrainger3805]

Did you ever have the chance to ask him that

[@Sr19769p]

'Dreaming To Some Purpose' is a great & humble autobiography. 'Ritual In The Dark' is a great, underrated forgotten novel. Not sure about the music, but otherwise a great upload 👍

[@marclayne9261]

Excellant....One of best documentaries, i have watched......Thanks for uploading!

[@DarcyDigs]

I'm afraid I don't see the point of the eerie soundtrack and strange psychedelic effects, all they do is distract and impinge on an otherwise brilliant interview and tribute to a great man. Shame.

[@aratrex]

Thank you! I really want to hear this man's story, but it seems the loud music is more important than his words? I just don't get it. I wonder if it's available without the distracting sounds? Or at least turned down?

[@Solaar_Punk]

I'm sure there was an earlier upload of this same video without music

[@davideardley4363]

Yes I totally agree it's stupid Colin Wilson deserves better

[@mwmingram]

Thank you for the upload.

[@themaelstromnotebook]

Colin Wilson was the greatest British writer of prose in the last half of the 20th century, without doubt. His bibliography is vast, with lots of ups and downs... but 'The Mind Parasites', 'The Occult', 'Mysteries', 'The Outsider', 'Religion and the Rebel' and 'Afterlife' are all up there for me (and I've only read a fraction of his output; around 20 books or so) Great to see more video of him available online (even if with thoroughly random and often unsuitable background music hehe)

[@thescriptwriter824]

He was enormously underrated. And his perspective was one that sits at the very centre of philosophical significance, and consciousness evolution .One of the most important British writers, unquestionably. Whose unbreakable cheerfulness, allowed him to follow his own literary path regardless of the disdain he was held in by the literary establishment.

[@Sr19769p]

I'll second that! 'Dreaming To Some Purpose' is a very humble and honest autobiography; 'Ritual In The Dark' is a long-forgotten, underrated novel (You're right about the music as well - it's a tad intrusive, isn't it? 😂)

[@harmoniabalanza]

Sorry--his prose was often awkward and wordy.

[@voidisyinyangvoidisyinyang885]

@@harmoniabalanza He seems to have "discovered" an intellectual life that got him out of his depression or sadness. Then he realized there is a secret force to mental focus. I agree that he never got much beyond that. He did try to dig into some deeper level of analysis but maybe because he lacked any real initiation experience. Western occult is not the real occult. Gurdjieff was his best analysis - Gurdjieff was the real deal. Did Colin Wilson even read Alexandra David-Neel?

[@modularcarpet]

Interesting documentary, but I agree with most people that the music is far too loud and unnecessary. A few subtle tones at key moments would have been much better.

[@tinagarcia9009]

Thank you for the upload,

[@MrMrJameskeegan]

Studying and enjoying colin is far more rewarding and warm an experience, that. Studying icke, Crowley, he is a fascinating conversationalist, and has a warm down too earth way about him.

[@voidisyinyangvoidisyinyang885]

yes Colin Wilson is way better than Icke or Crowley to be sure.

[@qazaqtatar]

Colin Henry Wilson (26 June 1931 - 5 December 2013) was an English writer, philosopher and novelist.

[@Planet432]

I have never heard a more interesting most interesting man and interview just wooWow

[@frankandstern8803]

This was awesome. More of this sort of British Lush needs to be dumped upon the collective memory of the internet during this troubling time of facing the possible Death of Western Civilization as we know it. Not to get side tracked away from the very specific individual that is Colin Wilson. Is it not ironic that the very communities most concerned with the the preservation of (Merry Old) AS IT IS, are the ones who traditionally would not pull a hair for literature but were more concerned with football scores? The wicked world will delve into extreme catastrophe , were it will become unrecognizable within 20 yrs. I certainly have no desire to witness this and realize one of the saddest components of this slow deterioration into cultural depravity will be our fair England.

[@harmoniabalanza]

I will fight against the so called death of western civ until my last breath.

[@voidisyinyangvoidisyinyang885]

The slow middle movements of classical or baroque music is 60 bpm (beats per minute) and the brain at that slow pace naturally subdivides the tempo into 4 beats. So it's an alpha brain resonance at 4 hertz - or theta brain waves. This resonates the heart spirit REM state while awake. I memorized Bach's Italian Concerto in F major - the 2nd slow movement does this.

[@tribequest9]

Wow he was really handsome in his youth, love surprises like that.

[@voidisyinyangvoidisyinyang885]

his discovery of intense concentration creating a luminosity to perception so that everything was fascinating - this is what Gurdjieff calls the "Number 3" person. So then a "number 4" person has the third eye permanently magnetized as a "center of gravity" as Gurdjieff called it. It is explained by quantum biology - study Stuart Hameroff and Roger Penrose. Also nonwestern yoga meditation - I have written on this. The "Peak Experiences" that Colin Wilson discovered can be taken to a deeper level.

[@joekennedy5110]

Thanks

[@2msvalkyrie529]

Colin may have been a genius OR a nut job. That's not important. He made us THINK that the impossible might be possible. He inspired !

[@Solaar_Punk]

I'm sure there was a version of this without music.

[@colski222]

Hi just subscribed.

[@jladimirceroline4535]

great documentary.

[@paulriggall8370]

The actual content of this is as good as it gets. Really good interviewer, nice pace but it is as if it’s been intentionally sabotaged? There’s a mystery here that deserves a book! Why would anyone with the intelligence to edit and produce an interview of this quality wilfully bury it under layers of unnecessary audio? These questions are perhaps for the future man?

[@shelleyisom2639]

The Mind Parasites actually parallels what Carlos Castaneda said about The flyers/energy predators/voladores but Colin Wilson wrote this in 1967.

[@alexcarter8807]

I read it as a teenager. I thought it was OK.

[@harmoniabalanza]

Castaneda's work was exposed long ago as fiction.

[@oneoflokis]

@@harmoniabalanza Fiction with meaning? 🙂

[@exmodule6323]

I kind of like the eerie music - sets the tone for his work, makes me curious

[@MahmoudYahyaoui]

The theme music in the beginning , can anyone find it anywhere - please help :p

[@voidisyinyangvoidisyinyang885]

Ghosts are definitely real. I proved this by doing intensive qigong meditation to finish my Master's Degree at University of Minnesota. I trained with Chunyi Lin of Spring Forest Qigong. thanks

[@oneoflokis]

How does meditation prove ghosts, please? 🧘‍♂️👻🤔

[@ajs41]

Does anyone know what year this interview took place?

[@johnsalisbury785]

2009 or 2010

[@ajs41]

@@johnsalisbury785 Thanks.

[@harmoniabalanza]

I read Poetry and Mysticism at 18--it opened my mind and I'm grateful. Unfortunately, I think Wilson's brilliance was ultimately rather limited--and his literary output very uneven. When I reread him at 40 he seemed a bit muddled. Still--courageous and unique and at times quite true.

[@colinwilson4609]

It's thanks to my namesake that I know the story of the Rev. Harold Davidson, Rector of Stiffkey, and his unfortunate demise in the jaws of a circus lion.

[@christianclement9890]

thx for the uplad:: to thefilmakers:: the music is unbearable and faaar to much, it d be enough some notes here and there::

[@alexcarter8807]

That doesn't look like a good way to store books at all, there at the beginning. It looks very damp and I'm sure I hear water dripping.

[@voidisyinyangvoidisyinyang885]

Marilyn Monroe said she found sex to be too boring. Hilarious. Poor lady. She was objectified by male ejaculation addiction.

[@TheBigdan210]

This nigga be good

[@hethredeeyiideergherhevyii4357]

He meant romantic strange lol, modernism inclines us always to review blatant wisdom. But I geuss that was apparent to US. I seen a few things today that would not make this befit propaganda adverts for the mainstream "strange is normal". Keep it in safe confines sometimes.

[@malcolmlockridge1853]

Do you speak English at all?

[@harmoniabalanza]

WTF?

[@teddy1066]

Good interview; terrible production

[@colinglass1342]

👻 There's no such thing as poltergeist or ghost or haunted houses there all nonsense .I never take any of these stories seriously. Only for entertainment at least there's no adverts interrupting.

[@thereitis2105]

Strange is not normal and normal is not strange

[@sonja9813]

Had you read Wilson, you'd understand what is meant by this.

[@artlein]

Colin Wilson 🙏❤ accompanying music 👎