Dogs were caught on camera doing surprising damage to cars. It’s yet another reminder that we do not need to invoke monsters as the cause of mysterious situations.
Tag: Cryptozoology
My three favorite vintage books on monsters and the paranormal
Every once in a while, I remember one of the books from my childhood that I recall with great fondness. Thanks to the Internet, I can usually find a blurb […]
Perhaps you can never organize paranormal research
I am enjoying my latest read. It’s George Hansen’s The Trickster and the Paranormal (2001). George and I met years ago at a parapsychology conference in Gettysburg. Even though he […]
Legitimizing ghost research: Scientism, sensitives, and cultural authority
As I wrote yesterday, sociologists and ethnographers are paying greater attention to paranormal communities. I commented on Bader’s analysis of Bigfoot seeking groups and their mix of naturalistic and paranormalist […]
Can you make a good paranormal-themed TV show?
A recent discussion with a person who pitches ideas for TV shows got me thinking about what a solid, informative, program about the paranormal would look like. The bottom line… […]
Observing Paranormal Investigators: An ongoing research project at SFU
Kingsbury examines sociological aspects of the pararnormal and those who pursue it.
Paranormal investigators and Velikovsky sound similarly sciencey
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 […]
Cryptozoology treated as zoology – Shadows of Existence (Book review)
Speculating can be fun. But it’s nicer when you aren’t making stuff up out of thin air based on wishful thinking. Scientific underpinning is comforting. That’s why I liked Shadows […]
Paper on Amateur paranormal investigation groups: Being Scientifical
I finished my thesis last year on amateur paranormal investigation groups. Many of you have requested copies. It can be purchased but not many would want to spend the money […]
Research groups’ useful social function is not “being scientific”
The LA Times reports on the MUFON conference with the headline “convention emphasizes scientific methods”. The reporter then skewers this idea by showing how at least some of the attendees […]
Studying modern day amateur scientists and researchers or “What the hell was that?”
I’m off inside my own head these days… My main project is my Masters’ thesis in Science and the Public. I started gathering data this summer; fall will be consumed […]