Triangle Trope of Vermont: Bennington
The Bennington Triangle in Vermont has a foundational narrative of real life murders, disappearances, and an abandoned village. A corpus of exaggerated tales grew from it.
Tag Archives: Paranormal
Strange Times for 4 August 2024
In the news: The werewolf/dogman stuff is still steadily rolling out and gaining momentum. A new crop circle cost the farmer some significant damages. And, an excessively exaggerated “haunted” location now has another kooky claim.
The Triangle Trope
The list of paranormal “Triangles” continues to grow. While the stories of mysterious activity, supernatural portals, and strange phenomena lack solid evidence and rely on pattern-seeking, they continue to gain popularity. The “Triangle” trope is driven by media and public fascination.
Location and imagination equals ‘cryptid’
Cryptids have increasingly become associated with location and entertainment and less connected to the failed scientific endeavor of cryptozoology. Long live the cryptids!
Ghost belief in the US varies widely by year and source
U.S. surveys results for the question “Do you believe in ghosts?” vary widely every year showing there is no discernible increase or decrease in paranormal belief.
Dogs, not a lizardman, will rip your car apart
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.
Gef gets a movie
The legend of Gef, a talking mongoose on the Isle of Man, is a famous mystery in the field of parapsychology. Now, this complex story has been made into a movie.
Paranormal Vortex Areas
It’s a common claim by paranormalists that there are special places on earth where “energy” whirls are responsible for strange phenomena reported at those locations. They are called paranormal or energy “vortex” areas. The crystallization of the “vortex” idea in this context began with a popular proponent of mysterious subjects who identified twelve equidistant areas around the globe with peculiar characteristics. Since then, the idea of a paranormal vortex has evolved.
The odd and clunky guide to researching the paranormal – Book Review
Researching the Paranormal: How to Find Reliable Information about Parapsychology, Ghosts, Astrology, Cryptozoology, Near-Death Experiences, and More By Courtney M. Block, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2020. 342pp. There has not previously been a book specifically about how to research the paranormal. Academic librarian Courtney Block aims to help those who may feel embarrassed or confused… Read More »
Ghost Studies and Lightforms: A review of two paranormal research books
Long ago, my interest in paranormal topics became jaded because popular books were repetitive, full of the same information and stories as the last one. For decades, books written on cryptozoology and ufology advanced no closer to definitively documenting or explaining these phenomena. Some advocates are persuaded that the many similar stories and imaginative speculation,… Read More »
Paranormal tourism paper shows themed tourism is popular and profitable
I collaborated on a new paper now online for Cornell Hospitality Quarterly about paranormal tourism called “Paranormal Tourism: Market Study of a Novel and Interactive Approach to Space Activation and Monetization”. Abstract We review the premise, popularity, and profitability of paranormal tourism, which involves visits to any setting or locale for the explicit purpose of encountering… Read More »
Supernatural Creep: When explanations slide off to the fringes
Originally published as Supernatural Creep: The Slippery Slope to Unfalsifiability for my column Sounds Sciencey on csicop.org May 29, 2013. I’m taking a step beyond sciencey with the following topic. What happens when science doesn’t cooperate with your subject area? Researchers of unexplained events may get frustrated and disenchanted with the scientific process when the eyewitness accounts they collect are too weird to explain via… Read More »
Paranormal education classes showing up at major universities
Paranormal subjects typically lie outside the circle of academic respectability. One can argue that they have been deliberately marginalized to keep them diminished in credibility. But, with the majority of the population of the U.S. subscribing to at least one paranormal belief, I’d argue we should be discussing these phenomena in an intellectual context. Things… Read More »
Doubt and About: Revisiting Fort and more short book opinions
It’s been a long while since I did a “doubt and about” post detailing what’s going on. I’m in a weird space right now. I don’t really feel like talking about anything but I also want to share some things. Going by that last sentence, I am admitting that I am inconsistent. I have internal… Read More »
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 is a critic of organized skepticism, he’s just as much a critic of shoddy paranormal research. And, his criticism of CSICOP is not unjustified, for… Read More »
Believers are the majority: Paranormal acceptance in America is rising
The results of the 2018 Chapman University survey of American Fears have been released and they suggest that America (that is, even well-educated America) is even more accepting of the paranormal than in the past three years. You can view the entire survey here but let me highlight the major points as well as some… Read More »
Supernatural in Society conference: Bader on Bigfooters
There is a lot of new research happening in academia about paranormal culture and belief. I kid you not. Scholars in sociology, psychology, religious studies, and media studies are noticing that millions of people are deeply affected by paranormal beliefs and personal experiences. There is so much happening, especially regarding ghostly episodes, that it’s difficult… Read More »
UFO reports declining: Several social factors involved
An article in Gizmodo today focused on the question of why UFO sightings (reported to NUFORC and MUFON – the major U.S. organizations who record these claims) are in decline since 2012 – a 30 to 40 percent drop from 2012 to 2017. When Jennings Brown, the journalist, contacted me Friday to talk about it,… Read More »
Reading list for paranormal investigation and research
Check out my recommended lists of books for the serious and credible ghost researcher.
A rarity: An impressive and useful ghost guide (Book Review)
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.