Brandon Massullo's Blog

Poor Afterlife Logic: Author of 'Robinson Crusoe' talks Ghosts

Daniel Defoe was an English trader, writer, journalist, and spy. He is most famous for his novel Robinson Crusoe, which is second only to the Bible in its number of translations. Defoe was a prolific and versatile writer, producing more than three hundred works—books, pamphlets, and journals—on diverse topics, including politics, crime, religion, marriage, psychology, and the supernatural (Wiki).Defoe’s book An Essay on the History and Reality of Apparitions was published in 1727 and offers a glimpse into Defoe’s thoughts on the origins of ghostly phenomena such as crisis apparitions, hauntings, angels, and evil spirits. Bainey (1962) describes Defoe’s An Essay on the History and Reality of Apparitions as “the most interesting and possibly the most important” of Defoe’s nearly 300 publications (p. 335). Bainey (1962) goes on to state that this book is “essential” in understanding the supernatural beliefs of the 18th century (p.335).Defoe appears to have had a lifelong fascination with the supernatural as he published several books on the topic including; The Political History of the Devil (1726), A System of Magick, or a History of the Black Art (1726), and Vison of the Angelic World (1720). According to Defoe;“Of all the Arcana of the invisible world, I know no one thing about which more has been said, and less understood, than this of Apparition” (p.1)Defoe defines apparitions or spirits as “ the invisible inhabitants of the unknown world, be they who they will, assume human shapes, or other shapes, and show themselves visibly to us, so as that we can see them, speak to them, hear them speak, and the like” (p. 16). While Defoe believed that people experience true apparitions or spirits, he did not believe that these apparitions were the souls of departed friends or relatives. “Defoe was a Puritan Christian and a providentialist, that is, someone who believes that God has a plan for each of us” … “and that at the moment of death the soul is rapt away into another realm” (Coetzee,2009; p.92-93) either heaven or hell with no way (or need) to return. In essence, Defoe believed that the deceased, who are happy, have no reason to return to Earth and those, who are unhappy, are fixed to their eternal fate and are unable to return to Earth.Since ghosts are not deceased souls of the departed, they must be, according to Defoe, either angels or demons. Throughout An Essay on the History and Reality of Apparitions, Defoe gives numerous examples of angels and demons appearing in human form (disguised as friends or relatives) to warn, deceive, or guide us. Defoe talks at length regarding the intentions of these apparitions writing extensively on the ‘etiquette’ for speaking with these spirits as well as tips to determine if one is interacting with a demon (evil spirit) or angel (good spirit). Much of Defoe’s beliefs regarding the afterlife are strongly influenced by his religious views (not uncommon at that time) and the Bible, however Defoe does have some theories and thoughts regarding ghostly phenomena which were ahead of his time and focus more on human psychology, specifically one’s conscience.What does my conscience have to do with ghosts?Conscience is our inner voice or sense that is responsible for telling us what is right or wrong. If it’s working appropriately it compels us to do what is morally and ethically right in a situation. Conscience is often confused with conscious as they look and sound similar. Being conscious is simply be awake and aware whereas conscience has to do with determining right vs wrong actions (from a moral perspective). Think back to those old cartoons which depict a person trying to make a decision. Typically the cartoon character has a devil on one shoulder and an angel on the other giving them advice on what to do. This is basically one’s conscience. Often, we hear someone say ‘I have a clear conscience” meaning they feel free of guilt or responsibly believing they acted in the right and moral manner. Defoe believed that one’s conscience is the reason that we see ghosts or spirits.“Conscience makes ghosts walk, and departed souls appear, when the souls themselves know nothing of it” (p.100)Defoe is basically saying that one’s guilt, ruminations, and regrets regarding our actions towards others ‘haunt’ us, therefore one can be “tortured with the terrors of his own thoughts, haunted with the ghosts of his own imagination” (p. 104). Defoe give a lengthy case example regarding a man who committed murder and was haunted by the apparition of his victim for several years. The torment and distress from this apparition ultimately led him to confess. Defoe argues that this is not the soul of the deceased victim exacting revenge but rather the murderer’s own conscience causing the phenomena. Defoe believed that the souls of victims seek no revenge as they are at peace in their eternal state (Heaven) and have no vengeance only happiness. “Men’s guilt crowds their imagination with sudden and surprising ideas of things, bring spectres, and apparitions into their eyes, when there are really no such things; forms ghosts and phantoms in their very view, when their eyes are shut” (p110).In summary, if one is tormented by a ghost of a friend or relative there is a strong possibly that the genesis of this ghost is in the psyche. Unresolved emotions towards the deceased can create the apparition. “This thing called conscience is a strange disturber, it works upon the imagination with an invisible force; like faith, it makes a man view things that are not, as if they were; feel things that are not to be felt, and hear things that are not to be heard; it commands the senses, nay even the tongue itself “ (p101).Why Departed Souls don’t return to EarthDefoe believed that the idea of departed souls returning to earth to seek revenge or to complete unfinished business was utter non-sense and borderline delusional; “I believe that there are few speculative delusions more universally received than this, that those things we call spectres, ghosts, and apparitions, are really the departed souls of those persons who they are said to represent” (Defoe, 1727; p. 95).Defoe argues that at the moment of death all one’s earthly concerns, hatred, regrets, and injustices simply perish leaving no motivation or need to complete unfinished business. In theory one wouldn’t care if one were murdered, wronged, unable to complete a task, or if one’s family never found their inheritance or will because one’s soul is in Heaven, at peace, and has no concerns with these trivial earthly matters. He believed the notion that a ghost “cannot rest” until a task is complete is irrational and inconsistent with the purpose of Heaven and Hell. Defoe believed if an injustice was great enough than God would send angels (good spirits) to right the wrong. Defoe looked at the afterlife like a corporation with God being the CEO and making all the decisions regarding retribution and retaliation for wrongs, noting God would send angels rather than recently departed souls for this task. He argued that if every departed soul had the power to return to earth to right a wrong, give trivial messages, seek vengeance, or harass the living there would be chaos resulting in the Earth being overrun with vengeful ghosts.Who would decide what constitutes a wrong? Why should one soul be allowed to exact revenge or send a message and another be denied? Defoe states “In a word, it would invert the order of eternal justice, for it would make this Earth be the place of rewards and punishments, and take the executive power out of the hands of the great governor of the world (God)” (p.116).In sticking with the notion of the afterlife being a corporation Defoe asserts that there is a specific department of angels assigned with earthy affairs;“There is an angelic world, an invisible world of spirits, some of whom being placed by their merciful Maker as an advanced body at or near the outer circumference of the earth's atmosphere, have a power given them at least to take cognizance of human affairs; and to converse with this world, either by apparition, voices, noises, good or bad omens, or other sensible conveyances to the mind, by which they can give notices of good or evil, and can intimate to man many things useful to him in the conduct of his life” (p. 179).Defoe asserted that these special angels would often take the shape and voice of our departed friends and relatives to carry out their tasks as needed.Defoe also addressed the belief that a soul could not “rest” or move on to Heaven if proper burial rites are not performed. Certain religions have asserted that the soul of the deceased remain close to earth until the proper burial rites are performed at which time, they “move on”. It has been suggested that if proper burial rites are not performed these departed souls haunt the earth. Defoe again is very critical of this belief implying that this is irrational as it entrusts the eternity of a soul into the hands of the living. Defoe finds flaws in this logic stating that one’s enemies or relatives if inclined can keep a person’s soul out of Heaven. If one leads a very gracious, generous, and overall perfect existence while not performing any ill to others … should one’s eternal soul be in the hands of those who are left to care for my body? What if I die in a boating or other accident where burial rites are not possible? What if I am murdered unjustly? Should my soul be damned to haunt the earth for this? Even though I did nothing wrong … seems unfair. Even modern-day ghost stories and hauntings revolve around the notion of a victim being killed and buried or burned in the house or backyard, therefore never being able to rest. Defoe would rule out these types of stories, not for the supernatural properties, but for the lack in ‘afterlife logic’.Defoe does leave some wiggle room in regards to ghosts or the souls of the deceased returning to Earth, however states that this only occurs in the form of a miracles. According to Defoe; “The diminished, departed, unembodied spirits, which we call souls of men, whether happy or miserable, can by no means appear among us, all apparition of that kind are fictious and imaginary … except once by miracle, and never can again be practical, and therefore is not to be expected” (pg 125). He is speaking about the resurrection of Christ and the rising of the dead during this miracle.Baine, R. (1962). Daniel Defoe and "The History and Reality of Apparitions". Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society,106(4), 335-347.Coetzee, J.M. (2009). [Review of the book An Essay on the History and Reality of Apparitions]. Common Knowledge 15(1), 92-93.Defoe, Daniel, An Essay on the History and Reality of Apparitions (London: Warwick-Lane, 1727).

Do Ghosts Know What's Best for Them?

Johann Heinrich Jung-Stilling (1740-1817) was a physician and Professor of economics, public finances, agriculture, veterinarian medicine, and political science. He was a well-known oculist and an outstanding cataract surgeon interlinking medical treatment and spiritual guidance in his ophthalmological work. You can say that he had a real ‘eye’ for the paranormal … get it? … he’s an ophthalmologist. Never mind.Jung-Stilling had written extensively on numerous topics including apparitions and optical visions (hallucinations) eventually developing the “Theory of Pneumatology”. Pneumatology is the study of the Holy Spirit, spirits, and spiritual beings. Jung-Stilling’s writings and beliefs are heavily influenced by his faith going as far as to believe that God encouraged him to publish his findings. His book "Theory of Pneumatology: In Reply to the Question, what Ought to be Believed Or Disbelieved Concerning Presentiments, Visions, and Apparitions, According to Nature, Reason, and Scripture" was edited and translated to English by Rev. George Bush, who is actually an ancestor of both President George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush.In this article we are going to discuss Jung-Stilling’s “Theory of Pnuematology” which reads like a manual to aid the living in helping lost souls or ghosts. Jung-Stilling’s perspectives on the proper way of interacting with ghosts goes against common themes and beliefs of most psychics, mediums, reality television ghost hunters, and pop-culture TV shows. There are numerous common themes which are believed to cause a location to be haunted or for a ghost to appear. Among those themes are improper burial, violent death, suicide, or some type of unfinished business (revenge, warn others, etc.). It is often believed that once the ghost is able to complete their unfinished business they can finally ‘cross-over’ or ‘rest’. Jung-Stilling believed that this approach is completely backwards and causes more harm to the ghost than good. His perspective is that spirits are mistaken on what is beneficial to them and are misinformed in their belief that they cannot rest until some earthly deed is completed. True redemption (i.e. crossing over) relies on not being obsessed or infatuated with earthly attachments. Jung-Stilling gives several examples and reasons why the living should not follow through with spirits requests (as they are misinformed) and instead help educate the spirit encouraging them to detach themselves from these earthly obsessions.Let’s get to know Jung-Stilling’s theory more in-depth before we tackle the previous statement in more detail..Theory of PnuematologyJung-Stilling points to early Christian beliefs up until the Reformation to better understand the invisible world of spirits. In doing so he proposes that the invisible world of spirits consists of three different regions; Heaven, Hell, and hades. In great detail he discusses these regions and actually identifies the physical locations of Heaven, Hell, and hades. Those souls suffering in Hell are physically located in the center of the Earth, those enjoying eternal bliss in Heaven reside above the Earth’s atmosphere (space, stars, etc.), and those in hades live ‘in-between’ with some souls being closer to Hell and others closer to Heaven (depending on the lives they lived). Hades is the middle ground and these souls aren't necessarily in pain or being tortured, however are tormented or long for things or feelings associated with the earthy realm (i.e. money, power, revenge, pleasure). It is these earthly attachments along with sins which led to placement in hades. Hades is referred to as the “receptacle of the dead, in which those souls, which were not ripe for either destination (i.e. Heaven of Hell) reside” (Jung-Stilling, 1851; p.8). Apparitions, ghosts, spirits, and hauntings are the result of those souls that reside in hades.In order to understand Jung-Stilling’s theory we must first delve into his beliefs on the human soul. He believed that physical bodies are important as they are needed for one to experience the visible world, however our spirit belongs too and is connected with the invisible world. In essence, while alive we are made up of an outward mechanical body and an internal/immortal spirit. Important in the theory of Pneumatology is the ethereal fluid which connects the visible (material, body) to the invisible (spirit). This ethereal fluid is not accurately defined however Jung-Stilling states “Light, electric, magnetic, galvanic matter, and ether, appear to be all one and the same body, under different modifications. The light or ether is the element which connects soul and body and the spiritual and material world together” (Jung-Stilling, 1851; p.227). Ether fills time and space, meaning it is the space that surrounds us and includes air, electricity, magnetic fields, geo-magnetic fields, light, etc. He believed that our bodies are in constant contact with ether and actually need it to survive, sense, and experience life. “The brain and nerves of man are filled from his birth with this ethereal fluid; they attract it to them from its material side and make it their own, so that it is identified with their internal formation and arrangement” (Jung-Stilling, 1851; p.36). We are swimming in ethereal fluid at all moments of our life. This ethereal fluid is also an important aspect of the human soul.Some clarification is needed as the term ‘spirit’ is different than ‘soul’ in the views of Jung-Stilling. According to Jung-Stilling (1851) the immortal spirit of man is created in the image of God with the purpose to seek God’s worthiness. It is the combination of the ethereal fluid and the spirit together, which makes up the human ‘soul’. According to Jung-Stilling (1851) “The human soul is present in every part of its body; it is conscious of itself in every part … it sees with the eyes, hears with the ears, smells with the nose, tastes with the tongue and palate, and feels with the whole skin” … “it is an intelligent being, that is capable of knowing and loving God, and of ripening to an angel, but also of becoming a devil” (p.36). According to Jung-Stilling when we die, we essentially lose consciousness and fall into a trance or deep sleep. Our soul remains attached to the body until “the brain and the nerves lose their warmth and become frigid” (p.39). Through death the soul continues to recall one’s earthly existence down to every detail. At the moment of death judgement occurs and one is either placed in Hell, Heaven, or hades.So, what are the criteria to get into Heaven and avoid hades? According to Jung-Stilling (1851) “ He that has entirely dedicated himself to the Lord, committed himself wholly to him, and found forgiveness of sins in his atoning death, who leaves behind him no unexpiated crimes, and possesses no longer any predominant earthly passion, no attachment to any sensible object, soars immediately, on awaking from death, through hades, to the realms of light, and to the presence of Jehovah” (p.184).An important part of Jung-Stilling’s belief regarding ascension into Heaven relies on relinquishing all earthy attachments (money, revenge, power, injustice, pleasure, etc.,). If this is the case than if a ghost appears before the living and asks for help to; find their will, give them a proper burial, avenge their murder, or tell their families some important piece of information, if we comply, are we actually helping them ascend to Heaven? Or are we hindering them by catering to their compulsions to hold onto to earthly attachments?Am I helping a ghost that asks for a favor ?The theory of Pneumatology basically states that there are a bunch of detached souls hanging around in hades, who have earthly attachments which keep them from ascension into Heaven. It is in hades where they can work to detach themselves from earthly desires and ascend into heaven. This process may take months, years, centuries, or millennial. A unique twist is, for the living who interact with these spirits, it’s only through NOT fulfilling the spirits’ requests that we can truly help them. Jung-Stilling cautions anyone who interacts with a spirit or attempts to help them “cross-over” as this may not aid the spirit but rather hinder the spirit’s ascension to Heaven.Let's say I'm addicted to and obsessed with Reese's Cups (i.e. earthly attachment). All I think about is how many I have left, eating them, and when my next fix will be. This has negatively impacted my health, my relationships, and my career. I use Reese's Cups to cope and believe they are the answer to all my problems. Is my obsession helping me? Are my thoughts helpful to my future? The answer is no, however I adamantly believe eating Reese's Cups will solve all distress. Jung-Stilling believes that spirits' unrealistic perceptions, obsessions, and infatuation with the idea that their earthly attachments or unfinished business will help them is, in reality, their main obstacle to crossing-over. (like my Reese's Cup addiction). So if my ghost asks for a Reese's Cup don't give me one because I have to detach from my earthly obsessions to crossover (one couldn't hurt).Spirits are mistaken on what is beneficial to them and believe that they cannot rest until some earthly deed is completed, however redemption instead relies on not having these attachments and compulsions to complete earthy tasks.We often hear ghost stories which revolve around proper burial being needed for a spirit to rest. One of the earliest accounts of a haunted house was told by Pliny the Younger (61 B.C.E.- 112 A.D.). He wrote of a ghost who would appear nightly in chains, moaning and haunting the inhabitants of the house for many years. One resident upon following this ghost noticed that it always stopped at the same spot in the yard. After digging at that spot, human bones wrapped in chains were discovered. Once these bones were given a proper burial, the ghost never returned. The implied lesson from this story is that improper burials cause spirits or ghosts to haunt a location and only through proper burial can the spirit ‘cross-over’ or rest. Jung-Stilling would argue that proper burial has no bearing on ascension or ‘crossing-over’, however for the spirit it is the idea or fixation on improper burial, which torments them and causes the haunting and placement in hades. Therefore, proper burial will not appease the spirit or lead to ascension. It is only through understanding that proper burial is not needed for ascension that will aid the spirit. He gives some ‘tips’ on how to interact or aid a spirit who may believe that proper burial is needed. One of these tips is through education and examples of prominent saints who did not receive proper burials as they were burned or devoured by animals, however this did not impact their spot in Heaven. On a personal note, I always found the notion that my afterlife was determined by how the living handled my dead body as unfair and bizare. Just doesn’t make sense.In his book Jung-Stilling goes over several examples of the benefits of education vs automatically fulfilling a ghost's request.Overall, I don’t endorse or agree with most of Jung-Stilling’s thoughts, however he has given me some ‘food for thought’ and challenged some societal themes on ghosts.Jung-Stilling, J.H. (1851) Theory of Pneumatology: In Reply to the Question, what Ought to be Believed Or Disbelieved Concerning Presentiments, Visions, and Apparitions, According to Nature, Reason, and Scripture. New York: J.S Redfield. Book was translated and edited by George Bush

Ghosts are Stupid : Don't listen to their nonsense.

Johann Heinrich Jung-Stilling (1740-1817) was a physician and Professor of economics, public finances, agriculture, veterinarian medicine, and political science. He was a well-known oculist and an outstanding cataract surgeon interlinking medical treatment and spiritual guidance in his ophthalmological work. You can say that he had a real ‘eye’ for the paranormal … get it? … he’s an ophthalmologist. Never mind.Jung-Stilling had written extensively on numerous topics including apparitions and optical visions (hallucinations) eventually developing the “Theory of Pneumatology”. Pneumatology is the study of the Holy Spirit, spirits, and spiritual beings. Jung-Stilling’s writings and beliefs are heavily influenced by his faith going as far as to believe that God encouraged him to publish his findings. His book "Theory of Pneumatology: In Reply to the Question, what Ought to be Believed Or Disbelieved Concerning Presentiments, Visions, and Apparitions, According to Nature, Reason, and Scripture" was edited and translated to English by Rev. George Bush, who is actually an ancestor of both President George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush.In this article we are going to discuss Jung-Stilling’s “Theory of Pnuematology” which reads like a manual to aid the living in helping lost souls or ghosts. Jung-Stilling’s perspectives on the proper way of interacting with ghosts goes against common themes and beliefs of most psychics, mediums, reality television ghost hunters, and pop-culture TV shows. There are numerous common themes which are believed to cause a location to be haunted or for a ghost to appear. Among those themes are improper burial, violent death, suicide, or some type of unfinished business (revenge, warn others, etc.). It is often believed that once the ghost is able to complete their unfinished business they can finally ‘cross-over’ or ‘rest’. Jung-Stilling believed that this approach is completely backwards and causes more harm to the ghost than good. His perspective is that spirits are mistaken on what is beneficial to them and are misinformed in their belief that they cannot rest until some earthly deed is completed. True redemption (i.e. crossing over) relies on not being obsessed or infatuated with earthly attachments. Jung-Stilling gives several examples and reasons why the living should not follow through with spirits requests (as they are misinformed) and instead help educate the spirit encouraging them to detach themselves from these earthly obsessions.Let’s get to know Jung-Stilling’s theory more in-depth before we tackle the previous statement in more detail..Theory of PnuematologyJung-Stilling points to early Christian beliefs up until the Reformation to better understand the invisible world of spirits. In doing so he proposes that the invisible world of spirits consists of three different regions; Heaven, Hell, and hades. In great detail he discusses these regions and actually identifies the physical locations of Heaven, Hell, and hades. Those souls suffering in Hell are physically located in the center of the Earth, those enjoying eternal bliss in Heaven reside above the Earth’s atmosphere (space, stars, etc.), and those in hades live ‘in-between’ with some souls being closer to Hell and others closer to Heaven (depending on the lives they lived). Hades is the middle ground and these souls aren't necessarily in pain or being tortured, however are tormented or long for things or feelings associated with the earthy realm (i.e. money, power, revenge, pleasure). It is these earthly attachments along with sins which led to placement in hades. Hades is referred to as the “receptacle of the dead, in which those souls, which were not ripe for either destination (i.e. Heaven of Hell) reside” (Jung-Stilling, 1851; p.8). Apparitions, ghosts, spirits, and hauntings are the result of those souls that reside in hades.In order to understand Jung-Stilling’s theory we must first delve into his beliefs on the human soul. He believed that physical bodies are important as they are needed for one to experience the visible world, however our spirit belongs too and is connected with the invisible world. In essence, while alive we are made up of an outward mechanical body and an internal/immortal spirit. Important in the theory of Pneumatology is the ethereal fluid which connects the visible (material, body) to the invisible (spirit). This ethereal fluid is not accurately defined however Jung-Stilling states “Light, electric, magnetic, galvanic matter, and ether, appear to be all one and the same body, under different modifications. The light or ether is the element which connects soul and body and the spiritual and material world together” (Jung-Stilling, 1851; p.227). Ether fills time and space, meaning it is the space that surrounds us and includes air, electricity, magnetic fields, geo-magnetic fields, light, etc. He believed that our bodies are in constant contact with ether and actually need it to survive, sense, and experience life. “The brain and nerves of man are filled from his birth with this ethereal fluid; they attract it to them from its material side and make it their own, so that it is identified with their internal formation and arrangement” (Jung-Stilling, 1851; p.36). We are swimming in ethereal fluid at all moments of our life. This ethereal fluid is also an important aspect of the human soul.Some clarification is needed as the term ‘spirit’ is different than ‘soul’ in the views of Jung-Stilling. According to Jung-Stilling (1851) the immortal spirit of man is created in the image of God with the purpose to seek God’s worthiness. It is the combination of the ethereal fluid and the spirit together, which makes up the human ‘soul’. According to Jung-Stilling (1851) “The human soul is present in every part of its body; it is conscious of itself in every part … it sees with the eyes, hears with the ears, smells with the nose, tastes with the tongue and palate, and feels with the whole skin” … “it is an intelligent being, that is capable of knowing and loving God, and of ripening to an angel, but also of becoming a devil” (p.36). According to Jung-Stilling when we die, we essentially lose consciousness and fall into a trance or deep sleep. Our soul remains attached to the body until “the brain and the nerves lose their warmth and become frigid” (p.39). Through death the soul continues to recall one’s earthly existence down to every detail. At the moment of death judgement occurs and one is either placed in Hell, Heaven, or hades.So, what are the criteria to get into Heaven and avoid hades? According to Jung-Stilling (1851) “ He that has entirely dedicated himself to the Lord, committed himself wholly to him, and found forgiveness of sins in his atoning death, who leaves behind him no unexpiated crimes, and possesses no longer any predominant earthly passion, no attachment to any sensible object, soars immediately, on awaking from death, through hades, to the realms of light, and to the presence of Jehovah” (p.184).An important part of Jung-Stilling’s belief regarding ascension into Heaven relies on relinquishing all earthy attachments (money, revenge, power, injustice, pleasure, etc.,). If this is the case than if a ghost appears before the living and asks for help to; find their will, give them a proper burial, avenge their murder, or tell their families some important piece of information, if we comply, are we actually helping them ascend to Heaven? Or are we hindering them by catering to their compulsions to hold onto to earthly attachments?Am I helping a ghost that asks for a favor ?The theory of Pneumatology basically states that there are a bunch of detached souls hanging around in hades, who have earthly attachments which keep them from ascension into Heaven. It is in hades where they can work to detach themselves from earthly desires and ascend into heaven. This process may take months, years, centuries, or millennial. A unique twist is, for the living who interact with these spirits, it’s only through NOT fulfilling the spirits’ requests that we can truly help them. Jung-Stilling cautions anyone who interacts with a spirit or attempts to help them “cross-over” as this may not aid the spirit but rather hinder the spirit’s ascension to Heaven.Let's say I'm addicted to and obsessed with Reese's Cups (i.e. earthly attachment). All I think about is how many I have left, eating them, and when my next fix will be. This has negatively impacted my health, my relationships, and my career. I use Reese's Cups to cope and believe they are the answer to all my problems. Is my obsession helping me? Are my thoughts helpful to my future? The answer is no, however I adamantly believe eating Reese's Cups will solve all distress. Jung-Stilling believes that spirits' unrealistic perceptions, obsessions, and infatuation with the idea that their earthly attachments or unfinished business will help them is, in reality, their main obstacle to crossing-over. (like my Reese's Cup addiction). So if my ghost asks for a Reese's Cup don't give me one because I have to detach from my earthly obsessions to crossover (one couldn't hurt).Spirits are mistaken on what is beneficial to them and believe that they cannot rest until some earthly deed is completed, however redemption instead relies on not having these attachments and compulsions to complete earthy tasks.We often hear ghost stories which revolve around proper burial being needed for a spirit to rest. One of the earliest accounts of a haunted house was told by Pliny the Younger (61 B.C.E.- 112 A.D.). He wrote of a ghost who would appear nightly in chains, moaning and haunting the inhabitants of the house for many years. One resident upon following this ghost noticed that it always stopped at the same spot in the yard. After digging at that spot, human bones wrapped in chains were discovered. Once these bones were given a proper burial, the ghost never returned. The implied lesson from this story is that improper burials cause spirits or ghosts to haunt a location and only through proper burial can the spirit ‘cross-over’ or rest. Jung-Stilling would argue that proper burial has no bearing on ascension or ‘crossing-over’, however for the spirit it is the idea or fixation on improper burial, which torments them and causes the haunting and placement in hades. Therefore, proper burial will not appease the spirit or lead to ascension. It is only through understanding that proper burial is not needed for ascension that will aid the spirit. He gives some ‘tips’ on how to interact or aid a spirit who may believe that proper burial is needed. One of these tips is through education and examples of prominent saints who did not receive proper burials as they were burned or devoured by animals, however this did not impact their spot in Heaven. On a personal note, I always found the notion that my afterlife was determined by how the living handled my dead body as unfair and bizare. Just doesn’t make sense.In his book Jung-Stilling goes over several examples of the benefits of education vs automatically fulfilling a ghost's request.Overall, I don’t endorse or agree with most of Jung-Stilling’s thoughts, however he has given me some ‘food for thought’ and challenged some societal themes on ghosts.Jung-Stilling, J.H. (1851) Theory of Pneumatology: In Reply to the Question, what Ought to be Believed Or Disbelieved Concerning Presentiments, Visions, and Apparitions, According to Nature, Reason, and Scripture. New York: J.S Redfield. Book was translated and edited by George Bush

That donkey just saw a ghost!

I know what you are thinking … how does this ass … know that ass … saw a ghost?Just let that joke marinate for a bit … good stuffI promise that’s the last “ass” joke I will use when describing the donkey’s ghostly encounter.Many of us understand that ghostly phenomena are not exclusive to humans. There are countless reports of animals witnessing apparitions or experiencing haunt-type phenomena. However, in my experience, it is often cats and dogs who are believed to have the most paranormal experiences. When I came across an encounter in which a donkey supposedly saw a crisis apparition, I knew immediately that I to share this with the world.The following is the account taken from Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research (Vol 5; 453-454). It should be noted that the account took place in 1869 and in an effort to improve flow I updated some language and terminology.“At Midsummer, 1869, I left London for Naples. Crossing by steamer, I slept one night at Casamicciola, on the coast, and walked next morning into the town of Ischia ... I fetched my small amount of luggage by help of a man, who returned with me on foot beside an animal which I rode—one of the fine, sure-footed, big donkeys of the country. When I arrived at the hotel, I was sitting perfectly still in my saddle talking to the landlady when the donkey went down upon his knees as if he had been shot or struck by lightning, throwing me over his head upon the lava pavement" ... In an effort to save myself my right hand was badly injured. It soon became swollen and very painful.""Three or four days after my accident I awoke, as it seemed, at the sound of my own voice, saying: "I know I have lost my dearest little May." Another voice, which I in no way recognized, answered: " No, not May, but your youngest boy." The distinctness and solemnity of the voice made such a distressing impression upon me that I slept no more. I got up at daybreak, and went out, noticing for the first-time telegraph-poles and wires. Without delay I communicated with the postmaster at Naples, and by next boat received two letters from home. I opened them according to dates outside. The first told me that my youngest boy was taken suddenly ill; the second, that he was dead.” Mr. Goodall’s son was not sick or ill when he left for his trip and he had no reason to suspect that his son could die. Based on the information in the letters that he received from home. Mr. Goodall’s impression was that the time of his son’s death coincided with the time of his accident on the donkey.Mr. Goodall believed that the mule's sudden fall—otherwise inexplicable—may have been due to terror at some apparition of the dying child. In other words, the donkey saw an apparition of Mr. Goodall’s son at the time of his death which freighted the donkey so much he threw Mr. Goodall to the ground. If true, this would be an example of a crisis apparition which are commonly reported phenomena. Crisis apparitions involve witnessing an apparition or other haunt-type phenomena (voice, touch, smell) which coincide with a family member or friend’s death or crisis.In this case the apparition was obviously not meant for the donkey, but rather the son's father. Somehow the message was sent however the father didn't receive it, but unfortunately for the donkey it did. Here is another example of a crisis apparition which involves a prominent lawyer and his horse." While camping out in the wilds of the Adirondacks, one day his horse became, excited and refused to advance when urged. While engaged in the contest with the horse, the lawyer saw before him the apparition of his friend with blood pouring from his mouth, and in an interval of the effusion he heard him say, ' I have nothing against you.' Soon afterwards he heard that his friend had at that time died during a discharge of blood from the lungs” … “The extraordinary features are the coincidence of time and manner between the vision and the death, with the added circumstance of the alarm of the horse previous to the apparition. (Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research, Vol 5, 454)In other words, both the lawyer and his horse witnessed the apparition of the lawyer's friend with blood pouring out of his mouth. At the time of this apparition his friend had died and discharged blood from his lungs.Crisis apparitions are remarkable and provide great evidence of the survival hypothesis, entanglement, telepathy, or any type of communication at a distance during crisis or traumatic events. What are the odds that someone sees an apparition that coincides with a friend or family member’s death or trauma? What is even more amazing in the case above is that not only did the person connected to the deceased see the apparition but the horse saw it as well. This means that the apparition was not subjective, a hallucination, or created by the lawyer's subconscious as there were two separate witnesses. What are the odds of that happening by chance? Even more amazing is in the case of the donkey, the human actually never saw the apparition.The moral of the story is: If you see a ghost … don’t be an ass and tell somebody.

Mediums, Skeptics, and William Crookes …. Oh My

William Crookes (1832-1919) was a physicist, chemist and member of the Royal Society (which is the oldest national science institution in the world) who contributed a great deal to science. Crookes is credited with the discovery of Thallium, being the first to identify helium, inventing sunglasses as well as other contributions to chemistry and physics such as vacuum tubes and the Spinthariscope (i.e. device used to study nuclear radioactivity) (Gay, 1996). Crookes was also the individual who first coined the term ‘psychic force’ and carried out experiments in the controversial area of spiritualism.While Crookes maintained his distance from the spiritualist views he did come to conclusions that went against the prevailing psychological and naturalistic views of the time. Crookes’ journey into the investigation of spiritual phenomena began when he announced his intention to investigate spiritualistic phenomena, which was followed by his first experiments with D.D. Home (medium). These experiments were designed to test two types of phenomena, which included Home’s ability to play musical instruments without human interaction and Home’s ability to affect the weight of physical objects. In the first experiment Mr. Home held an accordion inside a cage that was underneath a table with one hand at the opposite end of the keys. According to the witnesses present, which included three observers including Dr. Huggins, Sgt Cox, and Crookes’s assistant the accordion began to play music and at one point Home removed his hand altogether and the accordion still expanded and contracted while playing music (Crookes, 1974). In the second experiment Home placed his fingertips at the extreme end of a wooden board and was able to exert downward pressure on the opposite end of the board moving the self-registered weight index (Crookes, 1974).Following these experiments Crookes conducted further experiments regarding psychic force with different and more objective measurements and apparatus all of which gave further proof to Crookes’s psychic force.These experiments were conducted during the Victorian period, which has been called the age of science due to the increasing beliefs in naturalistic laws rather than supernatural agencies or superstitions (Noakes, 2004). Scientific practitioners and investigators of Spiritualism believed that the phenomena of the séance could be reduced to natural laws; however Spiritualism became so popular it was represented as beyond natural laws and science (Noakes, 2004). According to Noakes (2004) the belief that Spiritualism was beyond the reach and explanation of science posed a threat to Victorian scientists because if these phenomena were real they called into question orthodox science’s credibility, claims, and expertise. Orthodox science was forced into the business of debunking spiritualistic phenomena in an effort to uphold their natural laws and since Crookes’s new psychic force lay outside these natural laws his research was severely criticized. The first part of this article will discuss how Crookes presented his experiments into a psychic force as scientific and objective as a way to display his results as being in accordance with orthodox science. The second part of the article will focus in on how Crookes’ experiments were received by orthodox science. The third part of the article will illustrate how similar patterns of presentation and reception of unorthodox claims still exist in modern science using the example of parapsychology.Presentation of Crookes’ ExperimentsThe presentation of experiments including measurements, methods, and conclusions is important in regards to how the experiment is received and viewed. In the next section we will look at how Crookes presented his experiments which follow the pattern of describing his version of proper science and scientific methods, justifying his investigations into the phenomena, and finally application of his version of science and the scientific method. It should be noted that an agreed upon scientific method had not been established during the Victorian period (Noakes, 2004), therefore Crookes presented what he believed was the most scientific approach to test the phenomena and his expertise in this approach.Crookes (1874) begins by announcing his intention to investigate spiritualistic phenomena and clarifying “what experimental proof would be needed before admitting a new department of knowledge” to science. (p.4) Crookes also emphasizes that his version of science will be congruent with the “modes of thought current amongst those who investigate science” (p.4) In other words Crookes was stating that before he began his investigation into the phenomena he wanted to make clear what would suffice as good enough scientific evidence to warrant further investigation. The phenomena would have to pass Crookes’s version of science to be deemed worthy. Lamont (2007) points out that Crookes’s version or mode of science was based on two central themes, which included accurate observation and lack of preconceptions about what is possible. In an attempt establish his expertise and experience in accurate observation Crookes (1874) states that “his whole scientific education has been one long lesson in exactness of observation.”(p.4) Crookes further points out the importance of accurate observation in the following examples; “the supremacy of accuracy must be absolute” (p.4), “imperfect observation may cause infinite trouble to thousands” (p.5), “accuracy and knowledge stand foremost among (…) scientific men.”(pp.4-5) Crookes (1874) then stresses that accurate observation can only be found when human senses are not the primary mode of conclusion. In discussing the imperfection of relying only on human senses Crookes states “We ask for instrumental means to increase their [human senses] sharpness (…) when [they] are liable to be off balance.”(p.5) Crookes presented his version of science to include accurate observation which includes objective measures and strict testing conditions. He believed that any force that could “toss a heavy body up to the ceiling” could surely “cause a delicately-poised balance to move under test conditions.”(Crookes, 1874, p.6) At this point Crookes has established himself as a scientific man with experience and expertise in observation, who is capable of utilizing objective measurements. Crookes then points out the contrast between his version of science and the “pseudo-scientific spiritualists” version of science. Crookes points to the pseudo-scientific spiritualist’s lack of “calculations”, “hard experiments”, and “laborious readings” (p.5) as leading to unscientific conclusions. By Crookes emphasizing science as opposite of the techniques of pseudo-scientific spiritualists he further implies that his version of science is an abundance of calculations, hard experiments, and labours readings. At this point Crookes has stressed that in order for science to accept any knowledge it first must be investigated with accurate and objective measurements, under strict test conditions by those with scientific knowledge and reasoning. According to Lamont (2007) by presenting science as based on accurate observation Crookes is able to build up the authority of scientists over spiritualists and establish himself as being qualified to carry out investigation of the phenomena.Along with accurate observation Crookes’s version of science was presented as including no bias or preconceptions (Lamont, 2007). Crookes (1874) attempted to present his experiments making clear the fact that he did not currently “adopt any explanation which has been suggested” regarding the causes on the phenomena. (p.3) He believed the natural explanations were “easy, but miserably insufficient” and that the spiritual hypotheses were “sufficient, but ponderously difficult.”(Crookes, 1874, p.3) Crookes (1874) states “In the present case I prefer to enter into inquiry with no preconceived notions.”(p.4) Crookes emphasized that his purpose was to “bring light in any direction” and further emphasized his lack of preconceptions stating “I care not in what direction.”(p.4)Crookes also presented in his writings justification for investigating spiritualistic phenomena. While Crookes was clear in that he was not bias he also had to prove why investigating these phenomena is important to science, rather than a waste of time. Crookes’s (1874) first view regarding justification was the belief that it was the scientific man’s duty “to investigate the phenomena, which attract the attention of the public.” (p.3) Crookes’ second justification was that the current research on spiritualistic phenomena is inadequate. According to Crookes (1874) “scientific reasoning is misunderstood by spiritualists” and “truly worthy scientific minds are reluctant to investigate.” (p.3). Crookes (1874) further warrants his investigation by inferring that he is not the only scientist with this opinion stating “I began an inquiry suggested to me by eminent men exercising great influence on the thought on the country.” (p.7)So far Crookes has provided a description of his view of science which is based upon accurate observation and lack of preconceptions (Lamont, 2007) as well as justified his investigation into the phenomena. The next step is the development and application of his version of science to his experiments (Lamont, 2007).In Crookes’s (1874) first experiments he presents his first task as identifying and testing phenomena which he believes could be “tested with scientific accuracy.” (p.10) Crookes (1874) then describes the two phenomena he will investigate which include the alteration in weights of bodies and the playing of musical instruments without human interaction. Once it is clear what phenomena he is studying he develops two different apparatus and experimental procedures for objective measurement of the phenomena (for a more detailed description of apparatus and procedure, see Crookes, 1871). Mr. Home was able to demonstrate his abilities under controlled test conditions; therefore, Crookes presented his results stressing his accurate and objective observations. Detailed illustrations, witnesses (Dr. Huggins & Sgt Cox), “carefully arranged apparatus” and “copious notes written at the time of the occurrences” where presented as evidence to this accurate and objective observation (Crookes, 1874, p.16). Lamont (2007) argues that Crookes’ experiments and results were also designed and presented in a fashion to counter against a number of potential criticisms such as misremembering (i.e. notes written at the time of occurrences), exaggerations (i.e. ‘plain unvarnished facts’), dishonesty (i.e. ‘irreproachable witnesses’), and bias (i.e. ‘investigator should be cold and passionless’).In Crookes’s second series of experiments his presentation still remains consistent with his version of science. In these experiments Crookes improved his apparatus and procedure to increase accurate and objective observation and further rule out natural explanations regarding movement of the measurements. For example in these experiments Home never touched the board and in one experiment was 3 feet away, however still caused a weight change in measurements. Crookes’ illustrations of his apparatus were also more technical and specific as Crookes answered some early criticisms of his first experiments. Crookes (1871) also conducted experiments with another subject besides Home to rule out possibility of fraud on Home’s part. Crookes (1874) further warrants continued investigation into the phenomena stating that “experiments similar to his” have shown similar results, which provide evidence for replicability. (p.27)According to Lamont (2007) Crookes, in presenting his experiments in the fashion that he did, was able to “present himself as an exemplary scientist and his experiments as the product of proper scientific enquiry, while inoculating against a range of potential criticisms” that they were not carried out scientifically. (p.43) As will be discussed in the next section his inoculation attempts were minimally effective as critics painted Crookes’ measurements, apparatus, and results as flawed due in part to his incompetence and bias views. Reception of Crookes’s ExperimentsAs mentioned in the previous sections Crookes presented his experiments in a fashion that can be argued as being scientific and lacking bias. Orthodox science’s response, however was to criticize the very things that Crookes tried to inoculate against. The reception of the experiments led to responses from critics that called into question Crookes’s lack of preconceptions, accurate observation, and justification for investigation. His critics tactics generally fall into three categories which include; professional and personal attacks (i.e. bias, scientific incompetence); natural explanations for Crookes’ results (i.e. fraud, mesmerism, and apparatus flaws); and insignificance (i.e. experiments were waste of time, unimportant, and trivial). Personal and professional criticisms against Crookes as well as those who witnessed and verified the experiments mainly focused on their alleged bias, incompetence, and gullibility. According to an article entitled Spiritualism and its Recent Converts an anonymous reviewer (it was later revealed to be W.B. Carpenter) focused on Crookes’ witnesses stating “Dr. Huggins is one of a class of scientific amateurs” and Sgt. Cox “is one of the most gullible of the gullible.”(Carpenter, 1871, p.341) Carpenter (1871) also chooses to point out that Sgt. Cox was fooled by a previous clairvoyant, George Gable, who turned out to be a fraud. Some examples of Crookes's incompetence include; “Mr. Crookes is entirely ignorant of the previous history on the subject” (Carpenter, 1871, p. 328); “we speak advisedly when we say that this distinction [Fellowship of the Royal Society] was conferred upon him with considerable hesitation” (Carpenter, 1871, p 343); “part at least of this predisposition [towards Spiritualism] depends on the deficiency of early scientific training.”(Carpenter, 1871, p. 351) Carpenter (1871) implied bias regarding Crookes by stating “He entered into the inquiry (…) with an avowed forgone conclusion of his own (...) this obviously deprives his conviction of their objective reality” (p. 343) Other personal attacks that were focused on Crookes and his witnesses included categorizing them as only being trained and competent to study specialized areas in science. Carpenter (1871) states “A man may have acquired a high reputation as an investigator in one department of science and yet be utterly untrustworthy in regard to another.”(p. 340) In other words Carpenter is acknowledging the importance of Crookes’ and Dr. Huggins’ accomplishments in chemistry and astronomy, however implies that they are only competent in those areas. Carpenter (1871) states that Crookes is a “special among specialists” and his results are untrustworthy “in any inquiry that requires more than technical knowledge.”(p. 343) A great deal of orthodox scientists were quick to point out possible natural or physical explanations for the results reported by Crookes in his experiments. Professor Stokes in a letter to Crookes points out “possible sources of error (…) with reference to your first apparatus” and goes on to explain how physical pressure could have explained the weight change (Crookes, 1874, p.28). In a lecture at Velsey Hall in Chelsea Carpenter was quoted as saying “anyone who had a pair of scales in the house could make an experiment to prove the fallacy of one of the points in Mr. Crooke’s paper.”(Crookes, 1874, p.73) Coleman Sellers, an American engineer, questioned how controlled the experiments with Home were and implied fraud. (Crookes, 1874). Carpenter (1871) points out natural explanations (i.e. unconscious muscular actions) and fraud, using examples of other mediums (Mrs. Hayden and Mr. Foster) that were caught cheating. (Crookes, 1874, p. 32) Professor Balfor Stewart believes that a possible cause was that Home “possesses a great electro-biological power, by which he influences those present” (Crookes, 1874, p.33)There were also criticisms which focused on the absurdness and unimportance of the experiments to science. Statements such as; “This thing is too absurd to be treated seriously” (Crookes, 1874 p. 22); “It is impossible therefore cannot be” (Crookes, 1874, p.22). J.P. Earmaker (1871) believes that the experiments were “inaccurately performed (…) the detail not sufficiently examined (…) obvious errors apparently avoided (…) they [experiments] are not worthy of scientific consideration.”(p. 279) Charles Wheatstone who was a member of the Royal Society in a letter to Crookes stated “your experiment (…) does not offer an iota of proof in favour of (…) you psychic force” (Crookes, 1874, p.76) Criticisms focusing on the experiments triviality and unworthiness to science had a huge impact as they were used to refuse acceptance of papers into the Royal Society. In reference to reasons why Crookes’s experiments were not accepted by the Royal Society Professor Stokes states “don’t see much use discussing the thing in sections, crowed as we are” and “the subject seems to be investigated in a philosophical sense”(Crookes, 1874, p.32) He goes on to suggest that Crookes start a committee, however is clear in stating that “he [Stokes] would not give his time to such a committee” (Crookes, 1874, p.32) Carpenter adds in a public lecture that “it was unanimously resolved that the paper be returned (…) as in the opinion of the Royal Society it was good for nothing.”(Crookes, 1874, p.73)Similar Patterns in Modern Day Boundary WorkThe presentation and reception of Crookes’s experiments remain a valid example of how unorthodox scientific claims are treated even in contemporary times. It has been over a hundred years since Crookes’ experiments, however unorthodox and orthodox sciences continue to utilize the same tactics. It seems that unorthodox scientists will present their findings as scientifically and objective as possible and orthodox scientists will attempt to poke holes in the alleged science and objectivity of the findings.In more recent times Parapsychology has been attempting to establish the existence of paranormal phenomena (psi) and orthodox science has been attempting to deny this phenomena’s existence. In order to deny the legitimacy of parapsychology’s claims orthodox science is using tactics that can easily fit into the categories discussed earlier (personal/professional attacks, natural reasons for results, and insignificance of claims and results).In 20th century Germany those who believed in or studied paranormal phenomena were deemed to have a “psychological weakness” and their mental stability was questioned (Wolffram, 2006, p.244). Albert Moll (1929, as cited in Wolffram, 2006, p.251) argued that those in parapsychology lack “the qualities essential for scientific research.”Natural explanations regarding parapsychology’s positive results have focused on poor controls, statistical flaws, experimenter fraud, and participant cheating (Collins & Pinch, 1979). According to Ransom (1979) a major criticism of parapsychology is that parapsychologists interpret the evidence of their data improperly and jump to conclusions. Deception, psychological tricks, hysteria, hypnosis, and Le Bon’s crowd psychology hypothesis (magnetic influence over people in crowds by speaker) were other natural explanations (Wolffram, 2006). These explanations are remarkably similar to accusations of mesmerism and Professor Stewart’s claim people were electro-biologized in Crookes’ experiments.Insignificant, unimportant, unworthy, and trivial are all categories critics of parapsychology have placed the discipline’s results and claims. In 1958 the Vice President of the American Associations for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) stated in regards to the existence of psi “I cannot believe it” and goes on to say that not “even the evidence of his senses would lead me to believe.” (Collins&Pinch, 1979, p.244) Dr Rawcliffe states (1959, as cited in Ransom, 1979, p.417) that the ”ESP movement (…) is basically a cult.” The view of parapsychology as unworthy, unimportant, and insignificant may also be tied with lack of publication in orthodox journals, which is similar to the reasons regarding denial given by the Royal Society regarding Crookes’s experiments. Collins and Pinch (1979) point to survey work which indicates a bias against publishing the positive results of parapsychologists in orthodox journals.Parapsychologists have undertaken and presented their research and results in the same manner as William Crookes as they incorporate current legitimate scientific methods and rely heavily on meticulous observations in a controlled environment. According to Collins and Pinch (1979) “parapsychology comprises some of the most rigorously controlled and methodologically sophisticated work in the sciences” (pp.244-243) Like Crookes modern day parapsychologists are also attempting to justify the legitimacy of their discipline as well as the investigation into psi phenomena. Collins and Pinch (1979) believe that parapsychologists have been in metamorphosis, which is the process of changing into and presenting themselves as legitimate scientists. Parapsychology has acquired university posts, PhD students, and in 1969 the Parapsychological Association was accepted into the AAAS (Collins&Pinch, 1979). ConclusionWilliam Crookes’ experiments in 1871 revolved around the controversial topic of spiritualistic phenomena. Crookes presented his experiments and results into these phenomena stressing the importance of accurate observation, lack of preconceptions, objective measurements, controlled test environments, reliable witnesses, and significance of phenomena to science. Crookes in a sense was making his experiments, procedures, and results as scientific as he possibly could as a way to counter potential criticisms (Lamont, 2007). Orthodox science responded by criticizing the very things that Crookes tried to inoculate against. Orthodox science accused Crookes of being bias and his results and experiments as being flawed and the results of fraud, incompetence or natural explanations. Examples of the same presentation tactics of unorthodox claims and criticism tactics of orthodox science can be seen over a hundred years later regarding Parapsychology. Parapsychologists attempt to present their positive findings regarding the existence of Psi in accordance with current scientific methods, objective measures, and lack of preconceptions and their critics respond by implying bias and suggesting that positive results are due to methodological flaws, lack of expertise, fraud, or natural explanations.ReferencesCarpenter, W.B. (1871) Spiritualism and Its Recent Converts. Quarterly ReviewCollins, H.M. & Pinch, T.J. (1979) The Construction of the Paranormal: Nothing Unscientific is Happening. In Wallis, R. (1979) On the margins of science: the social construction of rejected knowledge (pp 237-269). Great Britain: J.H Brookes Ltd.Crookes, W. (1874). Researches in the phenomena of spiritualism. London: London.Earmaker, J.P. (1871) The New Psychic Force. Nature, 92, 278-279Gay, H. (1996) Invisible Resource: William Crookes And His Circle of Support, 1871-1881. British Journal for the History of Science, 29, 311-336.Lamont, P. (2007) Discourse Analysis as a Method in the History of Psychology. Journal of the History and Philosophy of PsychologyNoakes, R. (2004). Spiritualism, science, and the supernatural in Mid-Victorian Britain. In Brown, N., Burdett, C, & Thurschwell, P. (2004) The Victorian Supernatural (pp. 23-43). Cambridge; Cambridge University Press.Wolffram, H. (2006) Parapsychology On The Couch: The Psychology Of Occult Belief In Germany, C. 1870-1939. Journal of the History of the Behavioural Sciences, 42, 237-260.

The Earliest Haunted House

While reading Christopher Moreman’s Beyond the Threshold: Afterlife Beliefs and Experiences in World Religions I stumbled across the mention of “the earliest haunted house story in Greek or Roman Literature”.1 The story Moreman is referencing is a play entitled Mostellaria which was written between 200-194 B.C.E. This of course makes this haunted house story over 2,000 years old. As Moreman only briefly mentions the earliest haunted house story I had to check his reference section and thanks to the Cleveland Public Library I had a copy of Haunted Greece and Rome: Ghost Stories from Classical Antiquity by Debbie Felton in a couple weeks. Having a background in research psychology, parapsychology, and clinical counseling my grasp of early Roman and Greek literature is severely lacking. However, Debbie Felton does a great job helping the layperson understand the intricacies of classical ghost stories. So, without further ado let’s get to the earliest haunted house story.Mostelleria which translates from Latin as “The Haunted House” is a play written by Plautus between 200-194 B.C.E. This play is considered to be a main literary source for Roman afterlife beliefs before the 1st century. While the story is fictitious it gives us a view into early Roman beliefs about haunted houses.2 One of the characters in the play named Tranio makes up a story about the house being haunted to deceive the owner of the house who had returned early from a business trip. He is attempting to deceive the owner in hopes that the owner will be scared enough to leave the house so he will not find out about the owner’s son and his extravagant party. The owner’s son is actually hiding in the house with the other party guests.2 Is it weird that classical Greek literature seems like a scene out of a wacky 1980’s movie? Nonetheless, what is important is that the story itself has been regularly accepted as a traditional haunted house story of its time and has many common themes that are relatable to haunted houses to this day.Before we get to the story, I want to stress we are talking about phenomena associated with haunted houses or locations. These types of phenomena are different than mediumship, seances, crisis apparitions, death-bed visions, or warnings from the dead. The assumption with a haunted location is that the ghost is attached to a certain location and manifests on numerous occasions to different people. Often the ghosts that manifest are not related to the witness and the phenomena experienced often include; sense of presence, auditory phenomena, tactile phenomena, temperature changes, visual apparitions, olfactory phenomena, and sense of presence.Upon arrival to the house Tranio tells the owner that his son moved out due to the house being haunted. Tranio states that the son became aware that a murder occurred in the house. He goes on to say the previous owner murdered a guest in the house and buried this man on the property. Tranio tells the owner the murdered man’s ghost appeared to the owner’s son and told him about this tragedy that occurred 60 years ago. Accoridng to Tranio the ghost stated:“I am a visiting traveler from across the sea, Diapintious by name. Here I dwell; this place has been given to me as a home” … “I was to trusting: my host killed me here, and he buried me secretly, without the proper rites, here on these premises, a criminal act, for the sake of gold. Now leave this place! This building is cursed, this dwelling is polluted with crime.” 3The play ends when Tranio calls a noted academic and philosopher at the time named Zakious Bagans and his Ghost Adventures Crew to investigate the house (THIS IS A JOKE). So, what can we learn from this play written over 2,000 years ago? Since literature is often a reflection of real-life, we can to some extent assume that the play is based in some real-life accounts of haunted houses from that period in time. If this is the case, we can see that the experiences and phenomena in 200 B.C.E. are very similar to modern day accounts of haunted locations.Let's look at some common themes in this story, which are relatable to accounts of modern-day haunted house;Terrible crime occurred in the house (murder)Person murdered was buried on the property (improper burial with no burial rites)Murdered person haunts the houseGhost is attempting to communicate crime and tragedy to current inhabitantsReports of visual apparitions and auditory phenomena (knocks were reported in the play as well)Inhabitants are fearful and scared to live in the houseKeep thinking about common themes as I review another haunted house account which occurred about 300 years after the above play around 100 A.D. and I believe is actually based on a real-life account.Pliny's Haunted House Story“Probably the most famous ghost stories from antiquity are those that survive in the letters of Pliny the Younger, which were published between A.D. 100 and 109.”4. Pliny the Younger (61 B.C.E.- 112 A.D.) was a lawyer, author, and magistrate of Ancient Rome. The story was circulated orally and was told to Pliny. I've given you the option to either listen to the audio of the story or read it below.“There was in Athens a house, spacious and open, but with an infamous reputation, as if filled with pestilence. For in the dead of night, a noise like the clashing of iron could be heard. And if one listened carefully, it sounded like the rattling of chains. At first the noise seemed to be at a distance, but then it would approach, nearer, nearer, nearer. Suddenly a phantom would appear, an old man, pale and emaciated, with a long beard, and hair that appeared driven by the wind. The fetters on his feet and hands rattled as he moved them. Any dwellers in the house passed sleepless nights under the most dismal terrors imaginable. The nights without rest led them to a kind of madness, and as the horrors in their minds increased, onto a path toward death. Even in the daytime–when the phantom did not appear–the memory of the nightmare was so strong that it still passed before their eyes. The terror remained when the cause of it was gone. Damned as uninhabitable, the house was at last deserted, left to the spectral monster. But in hope that some tenant might be found who was unaware of the malevolence within it, the house was posted for rent or sale. It happened that a philosopher named Athenodorus came to Athens at that time. Reading the posted bill, he discovered the dwelling’s price. The extraordinary cheapness raised his suspicion, yet when he heard the whole story, he was not in the least put off. Indeed, he was eager to take the place. And did so immediately. As evening drew near, Athenodorus had a couch prepared for him in the front section of the house. He asked for a light and his writing materials, then dismissed his retainers. To keep his mind from being distracted by vain terrors of imaginary noises and apparitions, he directed all his energy toward his writing. For a time the night was silent. Then came the rattling of fetters. Athenodorus neither lifted up his eyes, nor laid down his pen. Instead he closed his ears by concentrating on his work. But the noise increased and advanced closer till it seemed to be at the door, and at last in the very chamber. Athenodorus looked round and saw the apparition exactly as it had been described to him. It stood before him, beckoning with one finger. Athenodorus made a sign with his hand that the visitor should wait a little, and bent over his work. The ghost, however, shook the chains over the philosopher’s head, beckoning as before. Athenodorus now took up his lamp and followed. The ghost moved slowly, as if held back by his chains. Once it reached the courtyard, it suddenly vanished. Athenodorus, now deserted, carefully marked the spot with a handful of grass and leaves. The next day he asked the magistrate to have the spot dug up. There they found–intertwined with chains–the bones that were all that remained of a body that had long lain in the ground. Carefully, the skeletal relics were collected and given proper burial, at public expense. The tortured ancient was at rest. And the house in Athens was haunted no more.”5Let’s break this down quickly for themes;Visual apparition of old manAuditory phenomena of metal clashing and chains clanking throughout the houseAll inhabitants of the house are scared and live in fear; eventually move outHouse is deserted, decrepit, and left to rot (typical description of a haunted house)Unsuspecting or skeptical person buys or rents the house due to the cheap priceUnsuspecting person witnesses the ghostGhost communicates tragedy of some kindMan was improperly buried (perhaps murdered) on the propertyOnce properly buried with burial rites completed the ghost does not reappearLooking at both early accounts of haunted houses that I have presented we see typical haunt-type phenomena reported.We also find that the intent of the ghost is to communicate some tragedy or wrong-doing. Once the tragedy, improper burial, or wrong doing is resolved the ghost in essence “crosses over” and is never seen again. Sound familiar? It is exactly every episode of "The Ghost Whisperer”. The idea of ghosts hanging around to complete unfinished business is almost part of our culture. Many TV shows, movies, and haunting documentaries use this premise often. The idea being that there is a reason for the haunting and once that reason is discovered the ghost or disembodied soul can move on. There is even a specialization in mediumship called Spirit Rescue where mediums are specifically trained in crossing over techniques and tools to help Earthbound Spirits. As we can see this idea, theory, or view is not new and has been around for over 2,000 years. One aspect that has changed in modern times is in regards to finding human remains and completing proper burial rites. I’ve heard occasional accounts from paranormal investigators, TV shows, and movies where actual remains are the catalyst of the haunting however that is becoming rarer. When it comes to real-life investigations of haunted locations the standard resolution is not finding remains and properly burying them but rather psychics helping the spirits “cross-over”, priests, shamans, or demonologist’s exorcising the negative entities, or paranormal teams “cleansing” or “clearing” the house of the spirits.What I found unique about this story is how our hero Athenodorus initially reacts to the ghost. While focused on his writing the ghost appears with all his chains making quite a scene and in a totally boss move Athenodorus, rather than react with shock or fear, actually ignores the ghost and then proceeds to hold up his hand motioning to the ghost to “wait a minute” and then goes back to his writing. I’ve read quite of few ghost stories and even heard hundreds of witness accounts and I’ve never heard this reaction to a visual apparition. Eventually he follows the ghost outside and marks the spot were the ghost disappears. When they dig in that spot they found human bones, which were wrapped in chains. Ghosts appearing in chains is another common theme that was seen in several classic British Ghost stories specifically the ghost of Marley in "A Christmas Carol".In our era of technology it is hard to relate to how people lived 2,000 years ago, however in some regards not much has changed. Even with all of humanity's advances ghosts and haunted houses remain eerily the same. 1.Moreman, C.M. 2ND Ed. (2018) Beyond the Threshold: Afterlife Beliefs and Experiences in World Religions. Landham, Maryland: Rowan & Littlefield. (pg. 29)2. Felton, D. (1999). Haunted Greece and Rome: Ghost Stories from Classical Antiquity. Austin,TX: University of Texas Press3. Ibid., 524. Ibid., 625. http://archaicwonder.tumblr.com/post/...

The Role of the Unconscious in Skeptical and Paranormal Beliefs

The unconscious is basically the foundation of Psychology, which is due in large part to Sigmund Freud. Sigmund Freud is synonymous with psychology. Every introduction to Psychology book must present him and his ideas as they were extremely important in the birth of psychology as a science. Freud’s theories are both complex and extensive, however, his fundamental idea, to which all others extended, was that of the unconscious. Freud’s view is that the human mind has three levels. The first level is the conscious, which is small and contains thoughts and perceptions we are aware of at this moment. The second level is the pre-conscious, which contains memory and stored knowledge. The third level is the unconscious, which contains fears, violent motives, unacceptable sexual desires, irrational wishes, immoral urges, selfish needs, and shameful experiences. The trouble with the unconscious is that it cannot be studied to the extent that is necessary to either prove or deny its existence or purpose. Freud is by no means the creator nor is he the first to study the unconscious, however, if one reads every piece of information regarding different views or perceptions of the unconscious there does exist some overlap. The unconscious can simply be put in terms of processes that occur that are outside the immediate realm of awareness, which effect thoughts, behaviors, emotions and perceptions of an individual leading to self-deception. One cannot deny that there are processes that occur in the mind that we are not aware, however, definite answers as to what propels these processes may never be known. While it is helpful to understand Freud’s views on the unconscious the important concept to grasp is what is meant be the term “unconscious”. The unconscious is a complex process which rises questions such as; How can I have thoughts or “things” happening in my head that I'm unaware of and have no control over? Why in the world would I want to deceive myself? What are the benefits to self-deception? Self-deception is the process of deceiving oneself into believing that a false or unfounded feeling, idea, or situation is true. In my discussions with skeptics they will often state that paranormal believers are “good people but they are deceiving themselves.” This may seem like a condescending statement, however, let’s look a little further at the causes to self-deception keeping in mind that skeptics are guilty of it as well. In regards to self-deception one philosopher states “It is difficult to understand how an individual cannot know or disbelieve something that they already know to be true”.1Merleau-Ponty and Jean-Paul Sartre were both early philosophers who believed that the reason we deceive ourselves or disavow certain behaviors is because they do not fit into our chosen way of being in the world.2 Material is not buried, rather we choose not to look at aspects of ourselves that do not fit into our self-concept. Sartre developed “bad faith”, which can be described as an individual hiding behind identities that they create for themselves.3 Freud’s unconscious is essentially the ultimate self-deception. By this I mean that if the unconscious is true, every action we make is driven by unconscious motivation, therefore we never know the true motivation of any action or decision. A great example of self-deception in Freud’s unconscious theories takes place when we use defense mechanisms to restore balance. These operations operate unconsciously and their purpose is to distort, transform, or falsify reality in some way in an effort to decrease anxiety. In psychology defense mechanisms are very popular coping strategies for individuals. Defense mechanisms sole purpose is to deceive the individual in order to decrease internal conflicts. Examples of self-deception in the form of defense mechanisms include denial, displacement, intellectualization, projection, rationalization, reaction formation, regression, repression, sublimation, and suppression.4 Rationalization is utilizing logical or rational reason as opposed to owning up to reality. An example would be a man who was just fired from his job and proceeds to blame his dismissal on his boss’s personality rather than his poor performance. In this case the truth that he is a poor worker is too difficult to handle so it is twisted to avoid internal conflict. The worker in a way convinces himself that his termination had nothing to do with his personality or work performance, but rather that his boss was incompetent, jealous, or crazy. Intellectualization involves separating oneself from emotional content by focusing on intellectual aspects. A daughter might focus on the details of the funeral for her mother rather than process sadness and grief. It is too psychologically damaging for the woman to face the emotions of her mother’s death so she becomes engrossed in something else to ease psychic conflict. Men are notorious for this coping mechanism. The primary example of self-deception in Carl Jung’s unconscious is the persona. Carl Jung is another prominent psychoanalyst and colleague of Freud. The persona is basically the mask we wear to make an impression on others and conceal the true nature of ourselves.5 Jung professed that whatever one expresses outwardly he is in turn the opposite internally, so the ideal picture of a man outwardly, is internally compensated by feminine weakness. If one plays the role of a strong man, he inwardly becomes a woman, is called anima.6 The anima is unconscious and because the individual is less capable of realizing his weaknesses he identifies more with the persona. One can build up this persona to the point where they actually believe that they are what they pretend to be.7 So why is this a bad thing? If an individual wants to be something and deceives himself into believing he is that something, who gets harmed? Well, according to Jung, the individual gets harmed as unconscious reactions develop including phobias, irritability, addictions, and vices.8 Another form of self-deception involves the archetype of the shadow. The shadow is, in essence, all the nasty stuff about oneself that they wish to deny or hide. The shadow like all other archetypes is unconscious and to become conscious of it involves recognizing the dark aspects of one’s real personality, which Jung believed most individuals are comfortable not knowing.9 The shadow is unique because while we deny the negatives in ourselves, these negatives are projected onto others.10 Projection places onto other people parts of our self that we reject or deny. For instance, if I notice qualities or characteristics in somebody else that just annoy, anger, and frustrate the hell out of me, chances are those qualities, in the other person, make up my shadow. When looking at how self-deception and the unconscious relate it is easy to see some similarities between the views. It seems that we can all agree that humans have the ability to incorporate strategies that help them maintain balance, stability, and psychological well-being; however, the differences come when discussing the processes that are utilized in performing these strategies. Take a moment to think about how the unconscious and self-deception relate to paranormal beliefs. We may unconsciously view events in a certain why to ease our internal emotional conflict. The reason I included such an in-depth analysis of the unconscious and self-deceptions it to make the reader aware that these types of internal processes are constantly occurring in every human. We must be as honest with ourselves as possible and this includes believers and skeptics alike. I will at times browse paranormal and skeptic message boards, forums, and Facebook discussions. I’m amazed at how cruel and dismissive some skeptics can be towards those who believe in the paranormal. My training in psychology often gets the better of me and I start asking myself; Why are they so intent on trying to make others feel inferior or stupid? What motivates them to spend such a significant amount of time arguing with those who are steadfast believers in the paranormal? It’s similar to arguing with a football fan wearing a Pittsburgh Steelers jersey in an effort to convince him to be a Cleveland Browns fan. I often believe that certain skeptics’ actions are based in some unconscious process, some type of defense mechanism, or perhaps they are overcompensating, displaying a persona, or attempting to hide their shadow. The unconscious has always fascinated me and in all honesty is what led me into my psychological studies. I encourage the reader to read more into the unconscious not only in regards to psychology but in philosophy as well.1. Higgins, M.H. (1996). Bad Faith and Kitsch as Models for Self-Deception. In Ames, R.T. & Dissanayake, W., Self and Deception: A Cross-Cultural Philosophical Enquiry. State University of New York Press. Albany, pg. 1232. Butt, T (2004). Understanding People. Palgrave McMillian. Houndmills, Basingstoke3. Ibid.4. Defence Mechanisms (n.d.) In Wikipedia. Retrieved October 2, 2011 from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defence.... Storr, A. (1983). The Essential Jung. Princeton University Press. New Jersey6. Ibid.7. Ibid.8. Ibid.9. Ibid.10. Moreno, A. (1974). Jung, Gods, and Modern Man. Sheldon Press. London

The Worst Paranormal Reality Show

I came across an article titled “Gone Too Soon: The Five Best Paranormal Reality Shows That Should Never Have Been Canceled”by Dana Matthews. I was shocked that she had listed Ghost Stalkers as show that she believed should not have been cancelled.Ghost Stalkers aired for only one season on Destination American in 2014 and featured John E.L. Tenney and Chad Lindbergh. Amazon’s description on the show is as follows;“John Tenney and Chad Lindberg have both had near death experiences, putting them closest to knowing what exists on the other side of death. In GHOST STALKERS, John and Chad travel to some of the most haunted places in America - where "portals" to the spiritual world are believed to exist - to see if they can get a glimpse of the other side.”John E.L. Tenney is depicted as the veteran investigator as he has been in the field for over 27 years. According to his website’s bio “Mr. Tenney has been actively involved in the field of anomalistic, conspiratorial, occult and paranormal research for almost three decades. It is estimated that, over the past 28 years, more than 85,000 people have attended one of John’s signature “Weird Lectures.” John E.L. Tenney’s columns and articles have been printed in magazines and newspapers world-wide, and he has lectured to numerous public and private schools, universities, organizations and clubs.”Chad Lindbergh is an actor whose most notable role was in The Fast and the Furious. They don’t discuss Chad’s experience in paranormal investigation except to say that he had an NDE when he was a child. In the article Dana states “the intriguing premise of the series had both men spending the night all alone inside some of the most haunted buildings in the country. Because of the duo’s varying levels of experience, Chad having been a brand-new ghost hunter at the time, watching them both experience the same place alone differently was one of the most compelling elements of Ghost Stalkers. Tenney’s level-headed approach paired with Chad’s contagious enthusiasm struck a perfect balance, making the series’ six-episode run immensely watchable.”In my interactions with paranormal investigators Ghost Stalkersis often referred to as “The Worst Paranormal Reality Show” . This is mainly because of the absurd amount of times they mention portals, wormholes, and vortices on the show. Another compliant about the show from paranormal investigators is the amount of screaming associated with one of the stars. It seems that many in the paranormal field view fear associated with ghostly encounters as a weakness and unscientific. To be fair to Ghost Stalkers, many who consider themselves paranormal investigators dislike almost every paranormal reality show that exists. Reality based paranormal investigating shows are often called unscientific, fake, and not representative of a proper paranormal investigation. Many people believe that the investigators on the these shows fake evidence or data and are not qualified to investigate the paranormal. I really never had an opinion on paranormal reality shows, however today I decided that I was going to watch every episode of what my paranormal friends had called “The Worst Paranormal Reality Show” and formulate my own opinions.I have a degree in Psychological Research Methods and its no secret I love statistics. I try to keep stats on everything that I do. Well almost everything … I don’t keep stats when I’m drinking because that would be depressing. Anyway, I developed a checklist because I wanted to track the haunt-type experiences that were reported by Chad and John to see if I could identify any patterns. I also tracked some keywords which my paranormal friends had suggested. The key words I tracked were portals, vortex, vortices, wormholes, negative energy, violent, evil, and demons. Along with those I tracked the number of times either Chad or John screamed in fear. I plopped my butt on the couch, turned on my Apple TV, and shelled out $9 for all six episodes. I clicked the play button for Episode 1, kicked my feet up, and hunkered down. As if watching 6 hours of “The Worst Paranormal Reality Show” weren’t enough, as soon as the intro played my dog got up from her sleep and went upstairs. As I yelled “it hasn’t even started yet you traitor!” she looked back, smiled, and farted. This was going to be a long day … and now I was alone with the Ghost Stalkers.My ImpressionsI want to start off my saying that I really enjoyed both John and Chad. I thought that they worked well together and I really felt concerned when they were “in ghostly trouble”. I believe without a shadow of a doubt that they were both genuine, scared, and did not fake or stage any of their experiences. As a matter of fact, both of them were so overwhelmed at points that they can be seen crying. John actually had to leave the prison in Episode 4 due to some sort of panic attack related to the phenomena he was experiencing (I will discuss this later). I find it enduring when investigators get frightened because to me it signifies that they are fearful of the unknown and the events are not staged. It takes courage to remain alone in a scary, dark, and haunted location when one is fearful. I thought both Chad and John showed tremendous courage. Kudos to them.Had the show just been about those two investigating haunted locations I would have been impressed, however the downfall of the entire series has to be the inclusion of David Rountree. David Rountree appeared (very briefly) in all but one episode of Ghost Stalkers and was depicted as the “tech expert” and “wormhole guru”. It appears as if the show was heavily inspired by David Rountree and his portal or wormhole theories related to paranormal experiences. For those who don’t know David Rountree please do your research on him. He is a fraud, liar, and one of the biggest embarrassments to paranormal investigators everywhere. According to reports, he has lied about his educational background, his research, and his military experience. Before you go any further please read here, here, and here for more information on Rountree. It pains me to reference Rountree in something I wrote but I think its important to know about his wormhole theory as it is the basis of the show. According to Rountree in his article Portals, Vortices, and Wormholes:“We have long suspected that there are fixed doorways or portals in certain areas that may allow entities to travel from their domain into our universe. These entities maybe spirits, demons, extraterrestrials, or something we have never even imagined. Repetitive phenomena that persist over long spans of time are likely to be related to portals, as opposed to sites that have been the location of an isolated or otherwise unconnected violent death or tragic accident to which the phenomena can be easy to trace historically. Evidence seems to indicate that many portals are at fixed places all over the world, and that they remain constant. Controlled experiments performed around some of these suspected portals have shown that there are definite unexplained temperature fluctuations, increased low frequency spontaneous EMF readings, increases in negative and or positive ion counts (in some cases like pulses or waves), transient spikes in alpha, beta and gamma radiation, increased background static electricity, and increased electrical as well as magnetic fields.”The show’s basic premise is that in all these haunted locations there is a portal in which ghosts or dark forces manifest or travel through to haunt these locations. Rountree shows up with his “ghost-tech” and purports to be able to measure these portals. I’m not sure if John Tenney believes Rountree’s bullshit or not but he definitely plays along and often mentions how gamma radiation, ion counts, static electricity, and environmental occurrences (i.e. running water and crystals) cause the formation of portals. I want to be “crystal” clear that portals or wormholes aren’t just a theme of the show … they are the star of the show. The first episode was 44 minutes. During those 44 minutes the words portals, wormholes, vortex, or vortices where mentioned 56 times. That means that they were mentioned more than once per minute. Over 6 episodes the words portal, wormhole, or vortex were mentioned 208 times. The agenda was clear that the Ghost Stalkers believe that paranormal and ghostly phenomena are the result of entities utilizing or manifesting as the result of portals, vortices, or wormholes.By Episode 4 it is actually comical and my focus was taken away from Chad and John’s experiences and more on the absurdity of the reliance on portals to explain all paranormal phenomena. It is also in Episode 4 where David Rountree’s antics and “ghost tech” reached a boiling point.Episode 4- Holmesberg PrisonIn this episode John and Chad investigate Philadelphia’s Holmesberg Prison, which was the location of many violent deaths, riots, and trauma. Much like all abandoned prisons this place looks the part of a haunted location. The team settled in on an area called the “terror dome” to be the location of the portal.I’m not entirely sure how they determined where the portals were in any of the locations. Anyway, much like every episode once the location of the portal is determined they call in Rountree to set up his tech and conduct “experiments”.In the previous episode and in this episode Rountree sets up a Tesla Coil and states that he is going to pump “50,000 volts of electricity” into the area to give the portal enough energy to form or in his words “stimulate wormhole formation”. Once the portal is formed the spirits or entities will continue to utilize the electricity to communicate with John and Chad. A Tesla coil is an electrical resonant transformer circuit designed by inventor Nikola Tesla in 1891. It is used to produce high-voltage, low-current, high frequency alternating-current electricity. I want to stress that it’s purpose is to produce high voltage, low current, high frequency AC current. Let me say it again, its PURPOSE is to produce EMF disturbances, specifically high frequency AC current. After turning on the Tesla Coil, Rountree then sets up his equipment to measure any EMF disturbances. Guess what? He found emerging EMF, however this is mainly because he caused these EMF disturbances by pumping "50,000 volts of electricity" into the environment with his tesla coil. Things progress and Chad is hanging out by the Tesla coil attempting to communicate with the ghosts. At this point, Rountree becomes vague stating “weird stuff” is happening, while pointing at his computer noting changes in the high frequency wave forms insinuating that these changes are related to entities or portals and completely ignoring the fact that he has placed a piece of equipment which sole purpose is to produce high voltage, low current, high frequency AC current. Isn’t it possible that the equipment that he is using to “stimulate wormhole function” is perhaps causing EMF and environmental disturbances? In my opinion any subjective experiences that Chad or John have after setting up the Tesla Coil are null and void as they can be attributed to the electricity or EMF fluctuations from the Tesla Coil or “50,000 volts of electricity” that Rountree is pumping into the environment.If you are attempting to study a location with reports of ghostly encounters you want to keep the environment and all variables similar to when the experiences occurred. In other words, if I wanted to determine the average temperature of my house in the summer months I might set thermometers in every room and track the temps over the course of summer. I then could get an average temperature that would be accurate. You wouldn’t start a fire in your living room or jack up the heater to determine the average temperature of your house in the summer because you wouldn’t get accurate data. Rountree is “jacking up” the electricity in the environment which oddly enough causes Chad and John both to start to experience somatic complaints, bodily sensations, panic-like symptoms, and confusion around the Tesla Coil. Those who report to be sensitive to high levels of EMFs often report muscles aches, burning sensations, rashes, anxiety, and foggy thinking when exposed to high levels of EMF. Rountree’s tesla coil may have unknowingly caused every ghostly experience they encountered as well as the panic attack that John had which caused him to leave the prison.Episodes 5 and 6Surprisingly, Episodes 5 and 6 were the best episodes in the season. This is due in large part to the show easing up on portal and wormhole talk. In fact, Episode 6 only mentioned portals 14 times which is four times less than the 56 times on Episode 1. You can see the tone of the show changing as John and Chad are beginning to discuss some interesting concepts related to ghostly encounters such as the role of human dynamics and consciousness. Wait a minute … this show is improving! This is some good shit going on here.If you are familiar with my book or my blogs you know that I’m a strong believer that human emotions, bioenergetics, and consciousness are integral to ghostly encounters. At this point, I’m actually sitting on the edge of my seat as John is discussing how human dynamics can affect the environment and he even suggests how human belief and intent may inadvertently cause paranormal phenomena. In other words, he is suggesting that some phenomena may have some natural causes and not be related to portals, spirits, negative energy, or ghosts. I’m nodding my head and agreeing with John and then the unthinkable happens, something out of a horror movie, something that is so scary it bothers me to even write it …Roundtree shows up with some equipment. Aaghhhhhhhhhhh!I thought we were done with him (he was not in Episode 5). As the camera pans to Rountree’s sweat stained hat, I think to myself if this asshole says portals I’m going to punch the TV and drink a bottle of whiskey. He is holding a blood pressure cuff and some piece of “tech” which looks like a child’s toy. Rountree puts the blood pressure cuff on Chad and tries to convince him that his elevated blood pressure is due to ghosts and portals in the area. No dumbass, his elevated blood pressure is due to him being anxious, fearful, nervous, or maybe even genetics. As absurd as it sounds, Rountree may believe that all elevated blood pressure readings in haunted locations are the result of ghosts and portals. Let me try to tell that to my physician at my next check-up.StatisticsLet’s bring the focus back to John and Chad’s experiences which are the most compelling part of the show. Together they had a total of 135 ghostly or paranormal experiences. They averaged 22.5 experiences per episode. The most prevalent phenomena reported by far was auditory phenomena (46) which includes hearing disembodied voices, EVPs, footsteps, etc. Refer to the graph below for the breakdown of experiences.I attempted to track the number of times they mentioned words which suggested a negative energy, demon, or evil spirit however it got challenging as they often used terms like dark, tormented, etc. and it became difficult to track and would have led to subjective bias on my part so I will not include that data. I did count 45 occurrences of screams in response to paranormal phenomena (mostly Chad). The amount of screaming and “fearful behavior” was a compliant that I head from paranormal investigators about the show. They seem to think that reacting in this manner made the investigation less scientific, however like I said before I disagree with this.ConclusionGhost Stalkers is bad. However, this is not due to John and Chad, but rather the premise of the show which is that ghosts and paranormal phenomena are the result of wormholes and portals. They pushed this viewpoint too much which caused the show to be comical, therefore not taken seriously. The producers should have focused more on paranormal phenomena and the chemistry of John and Chad and less on portals, wormholes, vortices, and Rountree.Is this the “Worst Paranormal Reality Show”?No.Episodes 1-4 were difficult to watch, however the series started to get better in Episode 5 and 6. As a matter of fact, if the show would have steered away from talking about portals and Rountree then I think this show could have been one of the best.I sincerely hope that Chad and John get another chance and perhaps more creative freedom as I suspect that they were not strong proponents of the whole portal and wormhole agenda.Paranormal reality shows can be both entertaining and stay true to the field itself. I think that if producers and television networks are willing to step outside the box in regards to format there can be a whole new movement in reality television shows. If any of those producers or networks are reading this feel free to get in touch because I have several ideas and suggests on how to revamp these paranormal shows.Also please leave some more suggestions in the comments section for the worst paranormal reality show. I'm thinking of reviewing these shows on a montly basis in the hopes of finding the worst of the worst.Please follow me on Facebook @HauntedTheoriesand twitter @HauntedTheoriesYou can also email me at bmassullo79@yahoo.com

New and Exciting Theories on Ghostly Encounters

I’ve been fascinated with ghosts and paranormal phenomena for over 20 years, however in the past 5 years I began to get annoyed with how the field was progressing. It was the same old “evidence” and theories on ghostly encounters. Paranormal conventions were also becoming dull as the same 20 people were traveling the country talking about the same things, which usually involved their personal experiences. Granted these speakers, podcasts, and televisions shows are entertaining but there was nothing new, fresh, or exciting. While I love hearing personal encounters and ghost stories the field was missing something. There are millions of us who are looking for more than just ghost stories, tales of haunted locations, or descriptions of personal experiences that para-celebrities had on TV, which led me to delve deep into the depths of ghostly encounters. In doing so I wrote a book with two new perspectives or theories on crisis apparitions and hauntings called The Ghost Studies: New Perspective on the Origins of Paranormal Experiences. Let me briefly introduce you to one of my theories called Spontaneous Apparitional Trace Theory (SATT)Spontaneous Apparitional Trace Theory vs Imprint TheoryOne of the most popular theories on ghostly encounters was developed in the 1920s and is called place theory. Other terms, which are essentially the same idea, are stone tape theory and imprint theory. Place theory states that the environment can hold the memory of past events, which can be viewed, heard, tasted, smelled, or felt at a later time by a person with sufficient sensitivity. This theory is often used to explain residual hauntings. In these hauntings, the ghost is not conscious and is more like a recording that is being replayed. These are not conscious souls, but rather a type of environmental imprint or video. Although there is no specific explanation or mechanism which explains how the environment could hold such events or recordings, the general belief is that there is an extreme amount of energy released during tragic events or deaths that is somehow burned into the environment.A flaw with this theory is that a tragic event or violent death must have occurred at a location for a haunting or haunt-type phenomena to occur. Therefore, if a location doesn’t have this violent history nothing could have been burned or imprinted into the environment which limits the haunting to one particular location. Unlike place or imprint theory, I don’t believe that the event (violent death) is what causes an imprint into the electromagnetic tracings, but rather the telepathic distress message an individual had sent during the traumatic event or violent death, which is subsequently imprinted into the environment.Spontaneous Apparitional Trace Theory (SATT) contends that in every haunted location there was an individual who sent a telepathic distress call to someone with whom they were emotionally linked that has been stuck at that location. Perhaps this telepathic distress call is what sensitives and ghost hunters are encountering in these locations. I think that this hypothesis can account for a great deal of recurrent apparitions and hauntings. According to SATT, a haunting doesn’t have to coincide with the location or origin of the tragic event or telepathic distress message, but can occur at the destination or endpoint of the telepathic message. This accounts for why apparitions of deceased people who never resided in or visited a haunted location appear there. Let’s look into telepathy and then we get back to my theory.What Is a Telepathic Distress Signal?Telepathy is defined as the communication of impressions of any kind from one mind to another, independently of recognized channels of the senses. What is often not discussed is that there are many cases of telepathy which are visual, as well as other cases, which involve hearing sounds and sudden overwhelming feelings of fear, concern, or alarm. For example, having a vision of a friend in trouble or in an accident, experiencing a feeling or hunch that something bad is happening and then later finding out it did, or perhaps seeing a vision of your mother and then later finding out she died at the same time you had the vision.Here is an example of tactile telepathy from Dr. Ian Stevenson’s book Telepathic Impressions;“My daughter was away at college and I started to write her as usual. When I had about finished, my right hand started to burn so intensely I couldn’t hold the pen; the pain was terrific. Less than an hour later we received a telephone call from the college telling us our daughter’s right hand had been severely burned in the laboratory with acid at the same time I was feeling the burning in my own right hand.”This case has no reports of apparitions, auditory phenomena, or other “sexy” haunt-type phenomena. What makes this case interesting is that the mother experienced a pain sensation directly related to her daughter’s accident. There are several cases in literature involving the transmission of physical symptoms and even illnesses. I recall a mother reporting a severe headache and an apparition of her son lying in a river. She later discovered he fell, struck his head, and drowned in a river. What is fascinating in the above case example is that the distress signal is received by the mother and somehow through unconscious processes; this biological or telepathic message is then translated into physical symptoms (pain in hand). Let’s consider that someplace in the mother’s internal cognitive processes, this external message of distress from her daughter was received by her brain, interpreted, and exhibited in the same pain the daughter was experiencing. Can you imagine the tremendous coordination and great amount of cognitive and bodily processes and transmissions that occurred in this situation? You may be thinking people burn themselves, break or strain a joint, stub their toes, and hit their hands with hammers all the time; why aren’t there more reports of transmission of these experiences to others? I suspect that many other variables lined up for this specific telepathiccommunication to occur. For instance, in this case the mother was thinking about the daughter and focusing on her through writing a letter when the accident occurred. This could have increased the likelihood of resonance or synchronizationTelepathy is communication at a distance. Telepathy and thought transference being linked with ghostly encounters isn't new and dates back to the 1800's. This theory is called the Psi hypothesis. The Psi hypothesis contends that ghosts are not so much discarnate beings, but rather, the workings of ESP, telepathy, thought transference, or communication at a distance among the living or recently deceased. The general idea is that person A (agent/sender) sends a telepathic message, usually during a distressful event, which is picked up by person B (percipient/receiver). The message can be interpreted as a hallucination (auditory, visual, tactile, etc..) or as an emotional impression or “feeling”. Crisis apparitions and death bed visions are often times linked more with the Psi hypothesis than with ghosts or survival after death.So, what does this have to do with Hauntings?Let’s begin with a case example of a ghostly encounter, which could be classified as a crisis apparitions or death bed vision."In 1863, Deborah had a 19-year-old son who was fighting in the battle of Gettysburg. According to Deborah, “I woke up one morning around 2 a.m. feeling like I had been punched in the head. I was covered in sweat, had a terrible headache, and felt blood gushing down my face. I couldn’t breathe and was gasping for air as if choking. I felt as if my lungs were filling with water or sludge, so I went to the bathroom to try and cough up the substance. I was overwhelmed with feelings of fear, sadness, and anger. Feeling weak, I sat down on the bathroom floor while crying. At that moment, I saw an image of my son, in full uniform and covered in blood. I then heard my son’s voice saying ‘tell my mom I love her . . . please tell her I love her.’ The imagine and my physical symptoms vanished within seconds. Picking myself off the floor, I looked in the mirror and saw no blood or bump that would indicate I hurt my head.” A week later, Deborah learned of her son’s death which occurred at the same time as her strange symptoms that evening. According to reports, he died from a gunshot to the chest and severe head trauma."This is a spontaneous case where the son was a civil war soldier who died in the battle of Gettysburg in 1863. Battlefields are often reported to be haunted and Gettysburg is amongst the most haunted. In this case, the soldier was in a life-threatening crisis (gunshot/head trauma) and was able to communicate feelings of distress and tactile phenomena (a feeling of being choked and blood dripping down the head) to his mother who was living in hundreds of miles away. The life-threatening event (gunshot) and ultimate death, as well as the telepathic communication, occurred once between two individuals who were emotionally linked (mother and son) in 1863.Let’s skip ahead 150 years to the present time where an individual is touring the battlefield in Gettysburg where the son/soldier had died. While walking on the battlefield, the tourist began to have trouble breathing, as if being choked, felt blood dripping down his head, and saw an apparition of a soldier being shot, which are similar experiences that the mother (Deborah) had reported in 1863. These types of haunt-type experiences are commonly reported in haunted locations and ghost stories. Let’s further speculate that other people also had these experiences while visiting that battlefield location for a number of years, which resulted in this battlefield being considered haunted. Is this the ghost of the soldier harassing the tourists to this battlefield? Let’s take another view. Perhaps the haunt-type phenomena reported is instead the soldier’s lingering telepathic communication to his mother from 1863, which certain individuals are tapping into in current time. It is not the event of the tragic death that burned itself into the electromagnetic trace, but the telepathic communication sent by soldier at his time of death, which lingers in this location’s magnetic make-up. This means that the ghostly experiences could be a trace of the spontaneous apparitional experience that occurred between mother and her son/soldier in 1863—and not the result of the soldier’s ghost or the tragic event that was burned into the environment.According the Spontaneous Apparitional Trace Theory in every haunted location there was an individual who sent a distress call to someone with whom they were emotionally linked that has been stuck at that location. Perhaps this is what sensitives and ghost hunters are encountering in these locations. I think that this hypothesis can account for a great deal of recurrent apparitions and hauntings. You may be thinking that this theory is very similar to stone tape theory, place theory, or imprint theory however, my theory differs from imprint or place theory in that a haunting doesn’t have to coincide with the location or origin of the tragic event or telepathic distress message, but can occur at the destination or endpoint of the telepathic message. This accounts for why apparitions of deceased people who never resided in or visited a haunted location appear there.Let’s use the same example above with the civil war ghost. Let’s say that a paranormal team was called to the house where the soldier’s mother Deborah lived due to reports by the current residents of ghostly phenomena. For the purpose of this story let’s say Deborah lived in Montana. You are part of the paranormal team and while investigating Deborah’s house you witness an apparition of a civil war soldier, you start getting a headache and feel like blood is gushing down your head, you get overwhelming feelings of sadness and fear, and you capture an EVP of a young man’s voice saying “tell my mom I love her”. You are in essence capturing data of the same experiences that Deborah had 150 years ago. In doing your research on the house you find that no deaths or violent acts occurred inside the house. Also, it highly unlikely that any civil war soldier died in battle in Montana as no wars were fought in Montana. The only explanation for this would be that your paranormal team is picking up on the telepathic distress signal that originated in Gettysburg and ended in Montana. Therefore, a haunting doesn’t have to coincide with the location or origin of the tragic event or telepathic distress message (Gettysburg), but can occur at the destination or endpoint of the telepathic message (Deborah’s house in Montana). This accounts for why apparitions of deceased people who never resided in or visited a haunted location appear there.In my book The Ghost Studies: New Perspectives on the Origins of Paranormal ExperiencesI discuss the latest research in psychology, bioenergetics, entanglement, and parapsychology which may help explain how these distress signals are created and communicated. The book also reviews the latest research in ghostly encounters and discussed the role that electricity and energy play.

Are You More Prone to Ghostly Encounters? (Part 2)

Welcome to part 2! Thanks for coming back.This blog is going to briefly review the research that I carried out on environmental sensitivity and paranormal experiences. My research was carried out at Mary King’s Close(MKC) which is located on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile and has been featured on several television shows including Ghost Hunters International, Most Haunted, and Cities of the Underworld. MKC consists of underground apartments and businesses that were used during the 1600’s. MKC is shrouded in myths and urban legends and is reported to be the setting of many murders. Individuals suffering from the plague were, according to reports, walled up and left for dead in MKC. As with most stories it is unclear how much is true. What is true is that this location has had countless reports of haunt-type phenomena and ghostly experiences. MKC is currently a tourist attraction and numerous historical tours are conducted throughout the day.A total of 251 participants attended one of my 25 experimental sessions at MKC. During the sessions participants entered MKC with their tour guide, and group, and began the tour. While on the tour participants were asked to report any unusual experiences. Prior to the tour participants completed a questionnaire which categorized them as environmentally sensitive or not. If you recall from my previous blog some individuals are more prone to ghostly experiences, however their increased probability of having ghostly encounters has nothing to do with the mysterious and often controversial “psychic” abilities, but rather something that is as simple and concrete as the ability to taste, touch, and smell. I’m talking about Environmental Sensitivity. I want to make it clear that environmental sensitivity is not related to psychic sensitivity. Those who claim to be psychic sensitives believe they can sense or communicate with the deceased (e.g., John Edwards, Sylvia Brown, or Chip Coffey). Those who are classified as environmentally sensitive are simply affected by the surrounding environment to a higher degree than the normal population. The questionnaire also looked at participants past paranormal experiences.Among the 251 participants there were 601 ghostly experiences reported while visiting Mary King’s Close. The 601 ghostly experiences are indicated in this chart.The first aim of the study was determining if those categorized as environmentally sensitive did indeed report more prior paranormal experiences. It is important to stress this refers to their past paranormal experiences. In other words, ascertaining if the participant had a previous paranormal experience prior to coming to MKC. As it turns out, environmentally sensitive individuals did report more previous paranormal experiences.The next part of the study looked at the difference of reported haunt-type experiences people had when they visited MKC. Therefore, the second aim of the study was to determine if environmentally sensitive people had more experiences than non-sensitives while visiting an allegedly haunted location (MKC). As you can tell by the graph below those categorized as environmentally sensitive reported almost twice as many haunt-type experiences than non-sensitives.Another interesting finding of my research was that environmentally sensitive individuals reported significantly more haunt-type experiences in rooms at MKC that registered higher MF readings; whereas, there was no difference in reports of haunt-type experiences between rooms for non-sensitives. These results considered environmental cues (perceived eeriness and EMF) and prior knowledge, which provides more evidence that environmentally sensitive participants could be responding to actual differences in MF levels.When I completed my research, I assumed that the findings provided further evidence that individuals were misinterpreting environmental stimuli (MFs) as being paranormal. But after considering my results, and integrating research on entanglement, non-locality, and theories on collective consciousness, I have changed my mind to some degree.Renowned parapsychologist Harvey J. Irwin also looked into environmental sensitivity and was able to find a relationship between sensitivity and both anomalous experiences and paranormal attributes. Irwin uses the term “sensory-processing sensitivity” and, while his categorization methods were different, he was looking at extreme sensitivity to external stimulation. He advocates for further psychometric evaluation of the categorization methods for environmental sensitivity, which I agree, stating “Further research is needed to ascertain whether the relationship with sensory processing are founded on some unusual sensitivity to psi signals or the more mundane hyperaesthesia, a high sensitivity to environmental cues.”While I still believe that a significant amount of reported haunt-type phenomena is the result of misinterpreting ambiguous stimuli such as MFs, there are some experiences that are truly paranormal in nature. It can also be said that these environmentally sensitive individuals experience a different world than non-sensitives. These sensitives are better at sensing external magnetic fields than the general population, therefore, have a better antennae and biological radio in the electromagnetic spectrum than others. All radios have the basic equipment to pick up or tune into radio waves, however, some are more refined, sophisticated, and able to pick up stations more clearly. These environmentally sensitive individuals, using their superior biological radios, are better at detecting and gathering information from the environment, specifically magnetic fields. This sensitivity makes them more prone to paranormal, psi, and haunt-type experiences. While the general population has the ability to truly experience paranormal phenomena, it is more likely, to be detected or register among those in this special group. The research presented suggests that those who are environmentally sensitive are more prone to experience apparitions at haunted locations because they are more tuned into the environment than the general population. ReferencesJawer, M. (2005) Environmental sensitivity: neurobiological phenomena. Seminars in Integrative Medicine, 3, 104-109.Jawer, M. (2006) Environmental sensitivity and apparitional experiences. Journal ofthe Society for Psychical, 70, 25-47Irwin, H.J., Schofield, M.B., & Baker, I.S. (2014) Dissociative tendencies, sensory-processing sensitivity, and abberant salience as predictors of anomalous experiences and paranormal attributions. Journal of the Society for Psychical Research, 78, 193-206