I’m a Harvard-educated researcher with a long-time interest in the intersection of eerie phenomena and history. Since the 1990s, I’ve explored related topics – especially ghosts – in books and articles.
(I may be best known for my connection to the Mandela Effect. If I had a time machine and could return to our 2009 conversations, or at least 2010 when I launched the related website, I might handle that subject a bit differently.)
Above all, I approach paranormal research as a skeptic. I only consider the possibility of ghostly phenomena when no reasonable, science-based explanation seems credible.
While I rarely share every detail of my research process, it’s firmly grounded in history, science, and firsthand observation.
History is what interests me.
I love visiting sites with rich and intriguing histories. Of course, many of them have their own “ghost stories.
I enjoy sharing those stories with others. My first ghost-related articles were published in Fate magazine in the late 1970s. Because I was writing for an audience eager to believe in haunted places, I emphasized each site’s eeriness while conveying factual information.
In the mid-1990s, I started a related website, first at GeoCities (an early blog community). A few years later, I launched HollowHill.com.
In that era, mine was among the few websites sharing practical how-to advice for paranormal researchers. So, HollowHill.com is where many TV and YouTube stars learned basic and innovative ghost investigation approaches.
However, my intent for HollowHill.com was to explore the connection between unexplained phenomena and documented history.
(Likewise, MandelaEffect.com was intended to explore the roots of why people have conflicted—but eerily aligned—memories of the past. Once that topic went viral, the site’s original context seemed overlooked… and sometimes deliberately misunderstood.)
The “hollow hills” reference Irish history related to the Tuath Dé Danann, which—in turn—shares common ground (no pun intended) with research by innovators like Graham Hancock.
I’m currently compiling my past research into books. However, I still enjoy visiting historic “haunted” sites and—as time permits—working as a production consultant.
Speaking of the media…
I’ve been on a major TV series just once, and never in movies.
At this point, I’ve turned down so many TV shows, I’ve lost count. (About 10 years ago, I was on a History Channel series. That was enough.)
I’ve been portrayed in movies but never contacted by producers, directors, or anyone associated with those movies. I never gave my permission, and so far, I’ve avoided seeing how I was represented.
In real life, I choose not to be in front of the camera. I like my privacy. I’m not quite a recluse, but I like going to the grocery store wearing my most comfortable clothes, and nobody asks for selfies or autographs.
For me, the trade-offs are worth it.
I’ve been featured at…
… and a lot more, as you’d probably expect, after so many years in this field. At least once a week, Google Alerts tells me about another time I’ve been mentioned – by name – in national media.
(In 2023, when I was the subject of a Today Show piece, I was astonished… and then laughed. Until then, I’d thought the Good Housekeeping mention was bizarre enough.)
BIO
Fiona Broome is an author, researcher, and media consultant. She specializes in historical and paranormal research in the U.S., the U.K., and Ireland.
Fiona is the founder of HollowHill.com, where – starting in 1999 – her articles were among the very first to share paranormal research techniques. Since then, she’s written more than 1,000 articles for magazines and websites, mostly about historical and “haunted” sites.
Fiona is the author of several books. She’s also contributed to the “Weird U.S.” book series and “Armchair Reader” books.
Fiona has been a speaker and panelist at international events including the New England Ghost Conference, GhoStock, Central Texas Paranormal Conference, and Canada’s G.H.O.S.T.S. conferences. She’s also been a celebrity Guest and panelist at Dragon Con.
Fiona’s unique research
- Ley line patterns in ghost research. Using geographical lines (ley lines) and patterns, Fiona was the first to publicly identify sites with unreported (and under-reported) paranormal activity. She’s predicted anomalies from New Orleans’ French Quarter to Salem, Massachusetts, and from Atlanta, Georgia, to Maritime Canada.
- Historical patterns in general paranormal research. For Fiona, this started with her discovery of the connection between Abner Cook, Shoal Creek, and Austin, Texas’ many haunted buildings. Since then, Fiona has been a leading researcher in historical and geographical patterns. Those might explain why some sites seem haunted, but others don’t. (And yes, many of those hauntings might related to infrasound, but why spoil the intrigue?)
- Genealogy as a paranormal research tool. Fiona has pioneered paragenealogy, to document (and sometimes discredit) popular ghost stories, from the Lalaurie Mansion in New Orleans, to the enduring “curses” that followed the Salem Witch Trials.
- Trivia: Fiona is descended from Oliver Cromwell’s first cousin, Thomas Cromwell. He fled the controversy stirred up by Oliver’s “Godly Reformation” and the English Civil War. Thomas and his family sought a devout, Christian community with a simpler focus, and less religious hyperbole. Alas, early Salem was not a wise choice.
Fiona’s genealogical notes: The Broome (also Broom, Brome, Brougham) surname may come from the broom plant, of the Genisteae family.
However, SurnamesDb.com says, “This name is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and is either a locational or a topographical surname. If the former, it derives from any one of the various places called Broom (in Bedfordshire, Durham and Worcestershire), Broome (in Norfolk, Shropshire and Warwickshire), and Brome, in Suffolk.”
I’m pleased that the Broome (with an E) spelling is connected to an ancestral pilgrimage to the Holy Land and the Crusades.
(Also, the name Fiona – which, since 1999, has been among the United States’ top 500 most popular baby names – comes from fionn, which is Irish/Gaeilge for fair.)
- The Mandela Effect is a phrase Fiona popularized in 2009 to describe quirky, synchronous historical memories that differ from what’s widely accepted. There may be multiple explanations. Depending on the memory, any or all of them could be correct. For Fiona, this has nothing to do with conspiracies.
- “Sparkles,” a specific camera effect. In the late 1990s, Fiona coined the term “sparkles” to describe phenomena that can indicate the likelihood of photographic anomalies. The term has since been adopted throughout the field, and used as a predictor in paranormal investigations.
Additional info, if you’ve read this far…
Fiona Broome was the inspiration for the “Fiona” character in Trickery Treat, the final novel in the first Charmed TV series books.
Conferences, Conventions, and Symposia
Fiona has been a regular, invited guest at many local events and international conferences. Here are some of the earliest:
- In 2003, Fiona was the opening speaker for the New England Ghost Conference. (John Zaffis – among Fiona’s favorite friend – was the closing speaker.)
- During 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010, Fiona was an invited Guest and speaker at Dragon Con, talking about paranormal, sci-fi, and speculative topics. By 2011, she felt the crowds were a bit much, and the popularity of the oft-misunderstood “Mandela Effect” made public appearances less attractive.
TV and Radio
Fiona has been a location scout and consultant for producers, cast, and crew of TV shows on SyFy, Travel Channel, and History Channel, etc.
She’s also appeared on a few regional TV shows.
- TV: Hollywood New England, and Chronicle (various throughout New England).
- Radio: Coast to Coast AM with George Noory, Para-X Radio, Blog Talk Radio (several, including Haunted 911), Darkness Radio with Dave Schrader, Psychic Sundays with Gavin Cromwell, The Spiritual View with Dr. Kevin Ross Emery, and Just Energy Radio with Dr. Rita Louise.
Fiona has never appeared in movies. She’s been represented by actors pretending to be her, but no one ever asked her permission or consulted her.
If you hear an odd-sounding recording of “Fiona,” ignore it. Or if it’s very worrisome, report it.
Magazines and Newspapers
Fiona and her research projects have been featured in hundreds of magazines and newspapers. Some articles were more accurate than others. These are among the earliest:
- Haunted Times magazine: Fear the Darkness of Falstaff’s Experience (Fall 2008).
- Phylllis Hoffman Celebrate Magazine, Haunted Happenings in Salem (Halloween 2010).
- NH Magazine: Nine Bone-Chilling Questions with a Granite State Ghost Hunter (Oct 2002), Unearthly Encounters (Oct 2010), Haunted Cemeteries (Oct 2012).
- Boston Globe newspaper, Boston, MA: Inside the T’s Tunnel of Doom (Halloween “City View,” Oct 2002).
- Nashua Telegraph newspaper, Nashua, NH. Encore cover story, Do you believe in GHOSTS? (27 Oct 2000), The Haunting of Tyng Mansion (31 Oct 2002), NH Ghost Hunter Reports Ghoulish Prank (12 May 2003), Spirits & Hauntings & Pukwudgies, Oh My (10 Oct 2010).
- You’ll also find Fiona mentioned in: Medical News Today, Healthline, Kenbridge Victoria Dispatch, ZME Science, The Jerusalem Post, Upworthy, Parade magazine, Times Live, Good Housekeeping, The Hollywood Reporter, Art & Object, Press and Journal, Reader’s Digest, Snopes, The Mirror (UK), Independent Australia, artnet News, Mental Floss, Daily Mail, The Independent, and… well, you get the idea.