About me
I'm John Ambrose Martin, a writer, researcher, storyteller and musician based in Co. Laois, Ireland. For more than twenty years I've been drawn to old places and the stories that cling to them: the history, the folklore, and the people whose lives became part of them.
It started at home. My grandfather's tales of local history, folklore and ghosts lit something in me as a child, and a love of history at school gave it roots. Since 2004, that curiosity has taken me into castles, gaols, abbeys and forgotten corners across Ireland and the UK, working alongside paranormal teams, historians, authors, museum staff, heritage organisations, tour operators, and the owners and custodians who care for these places.
Over the years my focus has grown beyond paranormal investigation. What draws me now is the whole story: who lived in these places, the world around them, what they believed, and the folklore that outlived them.
Since 2022 I've written features and interviews for the online magazine Spooky Isles, speaking with people like parapsychologist Ciarán O'Keeffe and astronomer Dr Eamonn Ansbro. I've also been interviewed for features in the Irish Independent and the Sunday World.
Music has been part of my life since childhood. At school I'd turn my lessons into songs and rhymes, because that's how they stuck, and I still do the same with history. My original songs tell the stories of real people, legends and dark history, in the hope they'll send listeners off looking for the rest of the story.
In October 2026 I launched Soul-O Xperience to bring all of this together in one place: articles, interviews, photography, video and music. I also host Soul-O Xperience: The Podcast, where I talk with the people who keep these stories alive. My very first guest was Chris McKinnell, grandson of Ed and Lorraine Warren.
My approach
Research the story, explore the location, experience it first-hand, and tell it with context.
Before I visit anywhere, I dig into its history, its folklore and the people connected to it, and wherever I can, I talk to those who know the place best.
I come to unusual or reported experiences with an open mind and a grounded, sceptical outlook. I don't claim to have the answers. I respect people's experiences, and I weigh up the logical explanations too.
For me, visiting a place is about more than seeing it. I try to picture the life once lived there: the fires and the food, the work and the talk, the fears and the stories of the people who once filled those rooms.
My goal
I want to work hand in hand with the people who care for these places, the owners, custodians and heritage teams, to help bring their history and folklore to a wider audience.
Everything I make aims to respect each place, its rules and its people, while helping others feel the same pull I feel when I step through an old doorway: the sense that there's a story here, and it's worth hearing.