“The Secret History of the Jersey Devil: How Quakers, Hucksters, and Benjamin Franklin Created a Monster” by Brian Regal and Frank J. Esposito, dispels myths about the ‘Jersey Devil’. Rooting the legend in 17th-century quarrels, politics and media-driven hoaxes, they argue that the monster is a misinterpretation of stories from the Leeds family, rather than a supernatural creature.
Check out my recommended lists of books for the serious and credible ghost researcher.
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.
Kingsbury examines sociological aspects of the pararnormal and those who pursue it.
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 »
A review of the keynote lecture on occulture and modern paranormal investigation.
I received a personal message from a paranormal investigator who thought it was a shame I didn’t believe in the validity of spirit communication. He pointed me to a video he made that he said was the clearest responses he’s ever received in an EVP recording.
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 »
A trip to the first CryptidCon reveals how these mysterious monsters are represented in modern culture.
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 »
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 Stone Tape “Theory” is touted regularly as a potential explanation for residual hauntings. Is it scientific? What does a geologist think about it?
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 »
Supernatural America: A Cultural History by L.R. Samuel (2011) Supernatural America is one of a few books that aim to take the reader on a tour of the country’s paranormal history to end up where we are today. I’ve not read many good ones. (Paranormal Nation by Fitch was possible the WORST. Steer clear of that… Read More »
Dr. Darren Naish has a new post out on the Minnesota Iceman. It’s adapted from his book Hunting Monsters which is soon to be out in hard copy (already in electronic format). Good news! However, the cryptozoological go-hards don’t generally like the scholarly-type books which often carry a more skeptical tone. They tend to go… Read More »
Talk about a flashback! In my latest podcast interview with Jason Colavito, we are discussing the alien-Bigfoot connection (in the context of Bigfoot as Nephilim) when Jason mentions the TV series Six Million Dollar Man that featured Bigfoot as a recurring character in four episodes, and once on the Bionic Woman show from 1976 to… Read More »
What a very strange “President’s Letter” is in Issue 77 of the Paranormal Review published by the Society of Psychical Research (Winter 2016). I read and re-read it trying to make heads or tales out of Dr. Poynton’s meaning and assertions. He seems to despise the application of reason and questioning, wishing the stodgy “pathological” scientists and… Read More »
Gary Campbell is the keeper of the Official Sightings Register at Loch Ness. In an article today in the Daily Record, he says that even after 20 years of this project, sightings still continue. Gary Campbell, keeper of the register, said the fascination of Nessie was showing no signs of abating. He accepted five sightings for… Read More »
Nick Redfern’s latest, The Bigfoot Book, has a sound premise and great potential. It’s all about stuff you may never have heard about or saw relating to the Bigfoot phenomena. This is a collection of small articles on topics related to the Bigfoot phenomenon – an “encyclopedia” (though not comprehensive by any means) written in… Read More »
In January 2013, I wrote about Immanuel Velikovsky, Worlds in Collision, and pseudoscience, referencing Michael Gordin’s excellent book The Pseudoscience Wars (2012). Well, I’m writing about it again, to be included in a book about amateur investigation groups “sounding sciencey” and fooling the public. I went back to some of my old sources and found a good one. It’s… Read More »