Author Archives: Sharon A. Hill

About Sharon A. Hill

Strange Claims Adjuster and Spooky Geologist On Mastodon at @idoubtit@mstdn.social

A rarity: An impressive and useful ghost guide (Book Review)

By | March 4, 2018
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Steve Parsons criticizes amateur ghost investigators for sensationalizing paranormal inquiries without adhering to scientific guidelines in his book, ‘Ghostology: The Art of the Ghost Hunter’. He argues that investigations get lost amid personal ambitions, useless data, and lack of awareness about the subject’s history. Parsons calls for practical and ethical standards for paranormal investigations and recommends his book as a guide to help investigators avoid common mistakes and misleading conclusions.

Narcissistic America (Book Review)

By | February 22, 2018
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The book “The Narcissist Next Door,” written by Jeffrey Kluger, explores the concept of narcissism, particularly in figures of authority. It claims Donald Trump as a prime example of an overinflated ego in a leadership role: something that can prevent an organization from functioning efficiently. The book highlights that individuals with narcissistic attributes, such as inflated self-importance and lack of empathy, tend to be influential in various sectors including politics, Hollywood, and academia.

Ghosts as modern history (Book review)

By | February 20, 2018
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Lisa Morton presents another version of the history of ghosts in Ghosts: A Haunted History (Reaktion Books, London, 2015). In this case, it is an international popular history of ghosts in philosophy, literature, movies, television and pop culture. It is general and short, but good. The glossy pages are full of illustrations. The theme of this, and other… Read More: Ghosts as modern history (Book review) »

Sometimes, an alien artifact is just a rock

By | January 3, 2018
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Paranormal investigators often lament the lack of scientific interest in anomalous or paranormal claims. Many have stated they want to contribute to a shift in thinking about these anomalies, to “prove to science” (or scientists) that “the paranormal” exists. Some want to “change the science”. None of this makes any sense, though, since science is… Read More: Sometimes, an alien artifact is just a rock »

Anti-globular convictions: Flat Earth belief explodes in popularity

By | November 22, 2017
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flat earth

The flat earth idea vies for the most alternative geological idea out there. But the spookiest part may be the suggestion that the church, scientists, the government, the media, and private businesses are all conspiring to hide the truth from the rest of civilization. Flat earth ideas have gained traction as they have become political.

Strange lights and levitating rocks at Arkansas crystal mine

By | September 21, 2017
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Board camp crystal mine

Examining the claims from the owners of a crystal mine tourist site in Arkansas who say that strange anomalies, including balls of light and levitation, occur on the site.

Confessions about Confessions of Ghost Hunters

By | July 22, 2017
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There are three books that are explicitly titled “Confessions of a Ghost Hunter” – from 1928, 1936 and 2002. There is also one called “Confessions of a Reluctant Ghost Hunter” by Von Braschler (2014) that I confess I didn’t read. A defunct Facebook page and website also of the same name appears to be related. Several… Read More: Confessions about Confessions of Ghost Hunters »

The manufactured, badly-behaved Ouija demon: Zozo (Book Review)

By | July 2, 2017
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In the classic book Psychology of Superstition, Gustav Jahoda writes that beliefs are not just in our heads, they affect our behavior, and that self-fulfilling prophecy is not uncommon in human affairs (p. 8). Many events seem trivial and unspectacular, but when placed into a paranormal context, they take on a new and enhanced meaning.… Read More: The manufactured, badly-behaved Ouija demon: Zozo (Book Review) »

Misbehaving lakes: Three water bodies that exhale death gas

By | June 12, 2017
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Lake Nyos

In August 1986, approximately 1800 people living in a 15-mile radius of Lake Nyos in Cameroon didn’t live to see the morning, dying by suffocation from toxic gas exhaled from the bottom of the lake.

Haunted rocks: The Stone Tape theory

By | May 11, 2017
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stone tape, spooky geology

The “stone tape theory” is frequently used as a sciencey-sounding explanation to explain residual hauntings – appearances of images, sounds, and apparitions that do not interact directly with people. The premise is that the rock or building materials somehow record the event and play it back like a film. But they never asked a geologist about it.

Arrogant and confused, ghost and ghoul (Book Review)

By | April 7, 2017
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I’m still doing research on the Stone Tape idea, as a paranormally-curious geologist does. I was interested in obtaining a book by T.C. Lethbridge because his name comes up repeatedly as a promoter of the concept. It’s been a tricky thing to trace the origin without having easy access to the literature in print. I’ll… Read More: Arrogant and confused, ghost and ghoul (Book Review) »