Multi-talented Mark Rose-Christie, is academically a sociologist & psychologist, a professional TV/film-maker, theatrical producer/director/actor, South Africa's leading illusionist, and the country's only university degreed para-psychologist (paranormalist), his work appearing in several books on the topic of ghosts in South Africa, and him acting as an expert for just about all of the country's paranormal Facebook groups and Paranormal Investigation teams.
As a sociologist he lectured at the University of Port Elizabeth (today NMMU), and continued studying at Rhodes University towards a Master of Arts degree, whilst also producing the shark movie “White Death” (a parody of the movie “Jaws”), plus magazine programmes for the launch of the SATV-2 Xhosa-Zulu channel back in its day in South Africa, under the mentorship of the late Bill Faure.
In the theatre, having been grounded in classical theatrical productions such as Shakespeare’s "Hamlet" from an early age, he went on to stage rock opera’s, where he produced, directed & starred in the singing role of 'Judas' in the award-winning and national media acclaimed South African National Premiere of “Jesus Christ Superstar”, with the famed British actor, Gary Bryden, playing 'Jesus'. Mark is also an accomplished pianist & dancer.
As an illusionist he launched the first-ever illusion spectaculars for South Africa, of the same epic scale as those of David Copperfield overseas, having been invited to perform for presidents such as George Bush Sr. overseas, and Thabo Mbeki in South Africa. The media hailed Mark as "The David Copperfield of South Africa" and his shows as "Sheer Las Vegas". By age 24 he had already won international acclaim with his autographed photograph being hung in 'The Hall of Fame' at Hollywood's "Magic Castle" (the international home to magicians), and his name being entered into the world's original magic circle's - The London Magic Circle's, book "Who's Who of Magic in the World".Mark brought about many changes to the art of magic, making him the only illusionist worldwide to date to be able to claim the title “Illusionist of the 21st Century”, where he gave the art a long-awaited facelift with his multi-dimensional shows, entirely new illusions (which he invented), and which were presented in the modern idiom - appealing to a broader & modern audience "more than David Copperfield could achieve" it was emphasised by his peers overseas. A video clip of his last illusion spectacular “Magic Of The Future” can be viewed here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xrd61J_EyCE
The famous international ghost hunter of his day, Peter Underwood, said that to properly investigate the paranormal, one has to be a "detective" (with a knowledge of science), a "magicianr" (to detect hoaxes), and a degreed "psychologist" (in order to tell the difference between hallucinations and real psi phenomena). Mark happens to be all three, and more. He is also a degreed sociologist (with the ability to compare ghosts from different cultures), an entertainer (allowing for dramatic story-telling), and a quantum physics enthusiast (which he studied after doing physics as a subject at school), and which has greatly assisted his understanding of the many different types of ghosts, and other aspects of para-psychology.
He recently struck up a colleagueship with Dr Rupert Sheldrake, who has been the only para-psychologist to sit around the table with leading scientists in the world - both sceptics and believers in psi-phenomena - and whose work is seen as credible by several academics today. Mark has introduced his own academic views regarding psi research.
During a near-fatal road traffic accident some years ago, Mark suffered some spinal injuries, which prevented him from pursuing his mainstay career of illusion, but the spinal injuries don't affect his ghostly productions. Due to the road accident, Mark prematurely launched the "Mystery Ghost Bus of South Africa" in 2001 - a concept which he had devised in 1988 when he, his cousin & some friends, boarded the original London Ghost Bus in that year. Being hailed by the media as "a man of many firsts" for his pioneering efforts in launching novel concepts & productions for South Africa and worldwide, Mark decided to add additional aspects to the concept of a ghost bus, where he added the science of the paranormal, use of dowsing rods by guests, some dramatic entertainment, a few clever scares, and other info-taining aspects.
Today Mark runs both the "Mystery Ghost Bus" and the "Mystery Ghost Jaunts", plus a spin-off production called "Ghost Stories Around The Fire". In the year 2020, Mark began to produce & host online paranormal videos, which also feature short video segments of the works of Dr Rupert Sheldrake, who became famous for his books such as "Seven Experiments Which Can Change The World", and "The Science Delusion" (the latter which was written in opposition to Richard Dawkins' "The God Delusion" and the many scientists who still cling to Materialism, despite the findings of Quantum Physics and a new physics to examine 'The Hard Problem of Consciousness').
Due to Mark's early pioneering efforts dating back years ago, he has inspired many magicians & illusionists to perform professionally, whilst his work in parapsychology has seen many paranormal investigator groups, paranormal social media groups, and haunted walking tours, spring up around the country over the years - and he tries to assist all of them. Mark has contributed to several books regarding ghosts in South Africa (eg: "Ghosts of South Africa" by Pat Hopkins, and so on), and the Mystery Ghost Tours have become such a household name, that they even feature in SA TV soap operas like "7de Laan". The ghost tours have also received international awards, such as the Luxury Global Travel Award (three years in a row).
Mark, along with other paranormal groups are starting a Paranormal Wiki for South Africa, which will list the country's leading paranormal social media groups, investigators, ghost tours, SA's haunted locations, and other pertinent information. Mark also contributes 'credible' stories to the leading (and more longer lasting) paranormal social media groups in SA, and remains the only academic go-to expert in the country, appearing on many TV and radio stations in SA and overseas.
On a more personal note...Mark has other diverse interests, some of which he adds to the ghost productions for additional info-tainment. Unlike our mono-culturalistic world today, and instead, more like the ancient Greeks (who gave the world much of its culture), Mark has been as 'encyclopaedic' as them, even from school days ie: he partook in all three (3) of the major fields of academics, sports and the arts at school, and thereafter.
Some of his other interests are public lectures (on various topics), the paleo-sciences, fossils, rock art, mythology, astrophysics, philosophy, sexology (human & animal), camping, hiking, caving, swimming (the sport which exercises the most body muscles), with a deep love of animals and nature (where he feels the most at ease and connected to the universe). Mark is presently studying architecture, astronomy, geology, the extended family, and other subjects. There is little which Mark doesn't have an interest in. He even loves cooking, however on a comical note he stopped eating snails ever since he discovered that they came from the garden, and not the sea.
Mark likes most music. His favourite song to play on the piano, and sing, is "Piano Man". His favourite movies are the cult movies which arose around the same time (late 1960s / early 1970s), which involve the three (3) so-called forbidden subjects which one shouldn't talk about in general conversation viz: politics ("Hair"), sex ("The Rocky Horror Picture Show"), and religion ("Jesus Christ Superstar") - where no other such movies (or their musical play versions) have come anywhere close to these cult classics to this day. His favourite book is "The Tao of Physics" by Fritjof Capra, which Mark calls "The Bible of the Universe (and everything else)" (the book combines all of the three major disciplines of Philosophy, Science and Spirituality).
Although a deep-thinking individual, Mark is simple in his general outlook on life, where his motto is "Follow Your Bliss" (as advised by the famous world mythologist, Joseph Campbell, who was so revered that he inspired the "Star Wars" movie series, and the mythotype characters therein - from villians to heroes, from trickster deities to a universal God for all, and back again - where Campbell's understanding of the psychology of human behaviour is ranked as being equal to that of Shakespeare & Freud in the West, and Loa Tse in the East).
"There is more in heaven and on earth than is dreamt of in your philosophy, Horatio" - Hamlet to Horatio in Shakespeare's "Hamlet"