Category Archives: Paranormal Culture

They must have changed the definition of “true”: The Conjuring 2

By | March 28, 2016

So, I just watched the trailer for The Conjuring 2 in which crack self-righteous demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren investigate the Enfield poltergeist case in the U.K. It begins by stating the story is based on the “true case files” of the Warrens. Yeah, no. Nothing about this is “true” in the conventional sense of the… Read More »

The State of the Science: Parapsychology (Book Review)

By | March 11, 2016

In October of last year I wrote a blog post about a review of a new parapsychology compendium. Finally, I’ve gotten to read the entire book referenced for myself, cover to cover, 400+ pages. Parapsychology: A Handbook for the 21st Century (2015) edited by Etzel Cardeña, John Palmer, David Marcusson-Clavertz It took about 7 weeks… Read More »

A Guide to Ghost Hunting Guidebooks: NO MORE! Please!

By | January 16, 2016

This might come as a shock to the millions of ghost enthusiasts out there: The scientific consensus is that ghosts are NOT spirits, remnants of the dead, recordings of energy, or supernatural entities. Our existing knowledge about nature does not point to a conclusion that ghosts are a single definable thing, paranormal or normal, that you… Read More »

The stupidiocy of Ancient Aliens for kids (Book Review)

By | December 4, 2015

There are few good skeptical books for kids. But there are a shit-ton of terrible books promoting mystery and pseudoscientific nonsense aimed at kids or those getting started exploring a paranormal topic. I often peruse the 001 section of Juvenile Literature in the library. Mostly, I’m sickened. Occasionally, I’m surprised. There is a need for better… Read More »

Media as ‘medium’: Review of Paranormal Media and the good and bad of ghost hunting

By | November 6, 2015

It’s not news that the paranormal is mainstream, which is ironic since we commonly understand the paranormal to be events that are NOT normal yet the discussion about it is an everyday occurrence. If you follow TV ghost hunters or paranormal researchers, “evidence” is all around us. So much for it being all that “extraordinary”.… Read More »

Parapsychology continues to fail to impress reviewers

By | October 18, 2015

A correspondent clued me in to what he called a “devastating commentary on parapsychology.” I agree. The review on the Magonia Review of Books meshes with what I had written in June 2014 when I looked into parapsychology, comparing then and now. It’s helpful to see an independent critique that notes the same flaws as you did. I’m not the… Read More »

“True Jersey” NJ.com published a stinker of a story on the Jersey Devil

By | October 13, 2015

A paranormal investigator who writes a column called Paranormal Corner for NJ.com broke a story this weekend that was both a coup for web hits and an utter disaster for her credibility. Kelly Roncace received an email with a photo of what the sender said was the Jersey Devil. The JD is one of the… Read More »

If you think Bigfoot is an interdimensional being, you’ve lost your footing

By | October 6, 2015

A person making an extraordinary claim may feel very special. A couple that I met recently who do paranormal research described some acquaintances’ behavior during an investigation of a supposedly haunted place : a woman “swooned” as the spirit overcame her. It was all very dramatic, they said. I’ve seen similar when one ghost hunter of a… Read More »

Sciencey: People get it

By | September 7, 2015

In the course of writing, there are times when you have to either create a new word because there isn’t just the right one coined yet or you adopt a word, use it three times, and make it your own. My research and writing for the public has often been about how activities, advertisements, and… Read More »

Cryptozoology and Myth, Part 1: The Illusion of Facticity in Unknown Animal Reports

By | August 19, 2015

What can we make of folklore tales that cryptozoologists use to support claims that an unknown animal has been historically reported and remains to be identified? Cryptid researchers say that modern reports of Bigfoot-Sasquatch, lake monster, sea serpents, giant flying animals, and elusive land creatures are supported by the stories of native people, legends or… Read More »

I know, not just believe, this book is nonsense: Book Review

By | March 14, 2015

Sometimes publishers and authors send me stuff. I’m not sure why they think I’ll suddenly be open to unscientific, fringe ideas about how the world works and overthrow what we know via just one book. Yes, that’s right, KNOW. This book, Paradigm Busters, from the Atlantis Rising magazine library, starts off by confusing conditional scientific… Read More »

Neutrality and the wood ape report

By | March 12, 2015

It’s very difficult to be truly neutral. In most situations, you can only get somewhere by taking a side and exploring it. Last week’s hubbub regarding the Wood Ape report that I posted on Doubtful News was illustrative of a number of different issues that arise when attempting to learn more about and assess an… Read More »

Sykes paper is a clarion call for higher standards for cryptozoology

By | July 2, 2014

The highly anticipated paper from B. Skyes regarding DNA testing of anomalous primates has been published and is, thankfully, freely accessible. In 2012, the team from University of Oxford and the Museum of Zoology, Lausanne, put out a call for samples of suspected anomalous primates – Yeti, Bigfoot/Sasquatch, Almasty, orang pendek. The samples, if accepted,… Read More »

Unexplained terminology Explained: ‘Paranormal’ versus ‘Supernatural’

By | March 5, 2014

Paranormal investigators say they look for evidence of paranormal activity. That phrase always confounded me. I don’t quite get it. What does it mean when someone says they have evidence of “paranormal activity”? And, how do you know it’s not normal activity that you just couldn’t ferret out? There is a problem with how the… Read More »

A ruse by any other name still stinks

By | January 10, 2014

As one who runs a website about weird news, it’s been a crazy start to the year. A number of hoaxes proliferating around the media the first week of this year. They are passed on almost with the same respect as actual news. If you resolve to do anything this year, resolve to doubt the… Read More »

American gypsy psychics: Book review

By | October 6, 2013

I was enticed to read this book, American Gypsy, by Oksana Marafioti,  after the Rose Marks trial. Marks was from an infamous Romani family who had repeatedly been charged and now found guilty of fraud due to their psychic-related business dealings. I didn’t know if this book had anything regarding the Romani [Gypsy] culture but… Read More »