About Michael Szul
I have been captured by the awe and magic of philosophy, religion, and the occult since a very young age, crediting my first revelatory experience to a sixth grade Sunday school teacher whom everyone referred to as Mr. R. Though very young at the time, I had a great understanding of prophetic works and religious mysticism.
My high school years were spent aimlessly unsure of which winding road to take until I observed Chris Carter's television series Millennium, and gained inspiration from Lance Henriksen's character Frank Black.
After deciding not to attend to Mercyhurst College to study in their Research Intelligence Analyst Program (RIAP) - under a former director of counter-terrorism for the FBI - due to several of the college's regulations and conditions, and an overwhelming desire not to remain eight hours away from home, I settled on studying religion and philosophy at Rutgers University in Camden, New Jersey. When work in the technology industry sidetracked my educational pursuits, I continued my higher education with night courses at Burlington County College (under the exceptional tutelage of Dr. Francis "Rusty" Conroy) before finally returning to Rutgers.
While in college, I was able to tirelessly pour over complex philosophical and religious works gaining proficiency in many areas, including Kierkegaardian existentialism.
It was during my college years that I began work on my Internet magnum opus, the Mad Ghoul. This web site became a staple for the strange and unusual, documenting many of my occult investigations and arcane research. Thanks to the success of the Mad Ghoul, my occult and philosophical works have been published in Konton Magazine and the occult anthologies Magick on the Edge and the Pop Culture Grimoire, and I have even been interviewed by shock rocker Alice Cooper for the Nights with Alice Cooper syndicated radio show. This has led to other ventures, including co-founding and publishing the online counterculture magazine Key 64 (previously published under the title Key 23).
I have always been quick to learn and catch on to complex things. As a result, I taught himself how to program computer applications through books and experimentation rather than higher educational training. This ultimately led to my employment at various information technology companies, building a career. It was because of my valued experience and skills in the computer industry that I was able to attend college studying the courses that I wanted, rather than ones I thought I had to pursue. I am an experienced Java, C# Python/Django and Ruby on Rails developer with a high proficiency in utilizing JavaScript and AJAX in applications.
I am currently writing a semi-autobiography of my paranormal and occult experiences, as well as tinkering with my first fictional novel. In addition, I have been spending many long hours working on several different web applications that will be completed in the near future.