Cart
Sign up for our monthly email alertsFrom Shaman to Scientist
Essays on Humanity's Search for Spirits
|
 |
||||||||||||||||||
SUBJECTS
Health & Science
Philosophy
REVIEWS
"...provocative and well constructed....Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty."
— CHOICE
DESCRIPTION
Parapsychologists and self-styled ghost-hunting organizations are just two examples of people who seek out the existence of ghosts. This resource, examines ghost hunting as a cultural and scientific phenomenon, sidestepping the many issues surrounding the reality of ghosts, and discussing the many and varied methods used by ghost hunters.
Taking the approach that there is no such thing as the supernatural, only things we don't yet understand, the ghost experience is examined through case studies; the forms and functions that ghost hunters have taken down through history are analyzed; key historical figures and their influence on the research of ghostly phenomena are reviewed; ghost hunting in the 21st century, including the exploding phenomenon of Internet ghost-hunting organizations, is discussed; and the advances in the theory and technology of the parapsychology field are covered. For those who are skeptical about the reality of ghosts but who want to understand how so many individuals claim to have anomalous experiences, this book reviews the data, offers insight into logical explanations, and discusses why this is and has been for centuries such an important issue to humans.
ABOUT THE EDITOR
James Houran Houran serves as a peer-reviewer for many psychological and parapsychological journals, and is an associate editor for the Australian Journal of Parapsychology and a consulting editor for the European Journal of Parapsychology. He is a former Instructor of Clinical Psychiatry at the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine. His research has produced more than 80 professional publications in psychology and parapsychology journals, and his work has been frequently profiled in print and electronic media worldwide, such as A&E, History Channel, BBC, ABC News, and several commercial documentaries.
