by Joe Nickell
Camp Chesterfield, 217–18
Capone, Al, 139, 143
Carl, Christina, 96
“Cask of Amontillado, The” (Poe), 49
Castillo de San Marcos, 49, 135–37, 136
Cayce, Edgar, 247
Center for Inquiry (CFI), 9, 118
channeling
defined, 345–46
See also spirit communication
Chapman, Sgt. W., 329
Chinese ghosts, 178–79
Christmas Carol, A (Dickens), 167
Christopher, Milbourne, 114, 329–30, 333, 336, 340, 349
Churchill, Winston, 211–12
Cipriani, John, 136–37
clairsentience, 139
clairvoyance, 25, 139, 196
defined, 346
See also clairsentience; psychic phenomena
Clement Hall, 61–63, 62
Cockell, Jenny, 45–47
Coffey, Chip, 310–11
Coffin Hollow and Other Ghost Tales (Musick), 313–14,
cold reading (technique of psychics), 232, 242–43, 270. See also psychics
“cold spots,” 93, 273–74, 315
Columbus Poltergeist, 3, 310
confabulation
defined, 346
confirmation bias, 12
Connecticut “demons.” See Southington, CT, demon/haunting case
conspiracy theorists, 223, 226
“contactees.” See alien abductions
contagion, 320
defined, 346
Cook, Florence, 298
Corner, Tony, 267
Cottingley fairy photos, 298
Crescent Hotel, 309
Crews, Lionel, 61
Cromarty, Barbara, 293
Cromwell, Thomas, 38
Crowe, Catherine, 20
Crowther, Wells, 227, 228
crystal gazing, 147. See also scrying
“CSI” (explained), 287
Cushing, Peter, 264
Dai, Serena, 310
Darwin, Charles, 195
Davenport Brothers, 20–21, 210
Dawson City Museum, 169
daydreaming, 159
Day of the Dead (Mexico), 178
Dee, John, 153
DeFeo, Ronald, 293
déjà vu
defined, 346
Demonologist, The (Brittle), 329. See also Warren, Ed; Warren, Lorraine
demons, 11, 18, 23, 181, 283
at Amityville Horror House, 293
Newbury Demon, 326–28
in Southington, CT, 281–86
See also possession
de Phillipstahl, 159
De Vaux, Samuel, 37
devil's foottracks, 293
Dickens, Charles, 167
dissociation/dissociative state, 21, 39
dissociative state defined, 347
Dixon, Jeanne, 247
Dobban, Alex, 41
dollhouse, haunted, 91, 92
double exposure, 306. See also photo analysis
dowsing, 21, 89, 145, 270, 335
Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan, 97, 298
Duncan, Helen, 209–15
Dundridge Manor, 39
dungeons, haunted, 133–39
Dunnigan, Brian, 37
Eastern State Penitentiary, 138–39
Eastman, George, 301
ectoplasm, 21, 210–11, 272, 301, 306
defined, 210
Edison, Thomas A., 260–61, 273
Edmunds, Charles, 41
Edward, John, 217, 219, 241–44
caught cheating, 232–33, 243
electromagnetic field meter (EMF), 267, 272, 310, 310, 320. See also ghost hunting
electromagnetic fields
as alleged source of mystical experiences, 307–08
in ghost hunting, 267, 272, 310
electronic voice phenomena (EVP), 146, 165, 261, 273
Ellis Hotel. See Winecoff Hotel
elves, 11
Emma mine, 155
Encyclopedia of Ghosts and Spirits, The (Guiley), 266
Endor, Witch of, 17, 268
energy, “life” or “spirit,” 25, 27, 103, 145, 149, 246, 272
Enfield disturbances, 329–30
Entities (Nickell), 328
epilepsy, 45, 351
ESP. See psychic phenomena
ethics, 313–17
Evans, Hilary, 29
Evergreen Cemetery, 55–57, 56
evidence
anecdotal, 20, 197
best, 12
evolution, 195
EVP. See electronic voice phenomena
exorcism, 251, 335, 341. See also demons; possession
expectancy, 150
defined, 347
expectation. See expectancy
extrasensory perception (ESP), 347
faces, ghostly, 64, 65
fairies, 11
“fakelore,” 93. See also folklore
fantasy proneness, 121, 147, 159, 164, 207, 247
criteria showing, 239, 347
defined, 347–48
Faraday, Michael, 197
Farnsworth House, 84
fingerprints, 295
Finley, Rush, 148, 149
Finley, Ruth, 148
Finucane, R. C., 17, 178, 343
Fischer, John F., 288, 289, 296
Fish, Leah, 187–88
Fisher, Frederick, 175–77, 176
Flint, Captain, 123
fluorescent powder, 338
folie à deux, 165
defined, 348
folklore, 36–37, 51, 54–55, 62, 69–71, 103–104, 125–26, 317
traditional, 313–14, 317
See also “fakelore”; “folk”-lure; “jokelore”
folkloristic studies, 13
“folk”-lure, 313–14
footsteps, ghostly, 110–11, 292–93
Ford, Arthur, 201
Ford, Stetson, 61
forensic linguistics. See linguistic analyses
forensic science
and ghosts, 287–96
forensic serology, 290–91
fortune telling. See cold reading; psychics
Fox, John, 185
Fox, Katie (Katherine Fox Jencken). See Fox sisters
Fox, Maggie (Margaret Fox Kane). See Fox sisters
Fox cottage, 185–93, 186, 192
Fox sisters, 20, 72, 185–93, 209
Franklin, Marguerite, 104
Friedman, Michael Jan, 275
Ganz, Kathleen, 93
Gardner, Martin, 230
Garner, Sue, 118
Garton, Ray, 286
Gef (talking mongoose ghost), 97
Geiger counters, 145, 266, 310
Gettysburg-battlefield “ghosts,” 81–86
Ghost (movie), 23
Ghost and Mrs. Muir, The (TV show), 23
Ghostbusters (movie), 23, 271
Ghost Busters, The (TV show), 23
Ghost in the Mirror (Rule), 147
ghost hunters. See ghost hunting
Ghost Hunters (TV show), 138–39, 274, 275–80, 309
Ghost Hunters (Warren and Warren), 264
ghost hunting, 27, 149, 259–68, 314–15, 319
equipment of, 261–62, 267
pseudoscience of, defined, 271
ghost light (theatrical), 166
Ghostlights (DVD), 166
Ghostlight Theater, 166–67
“Ghostmobile,” 264
ghost money, 178–79
ghosts
defined, 11, 19
clothed, 25–30
forensics and, 287–96
gesturing, 175–77
headless, 31–39, 126, 238
imaginary, 165
See also apparitions; ghost hunting; haunted places
ghost ship, 172–73
Ghost Trackers Club, 271
“ghost train” death, 311
“Ghost Whisperer.” See Winkowski, Mary Ann
Ghost Whisperer (TV show), 245. Se
e also Winkowski, Mary Ann
Ghost Writer, The (TV show), 23
ghoul, 11
“gilded cage.” See Bird Cage Theatre
Ginsberg, Paul, 14
Glanvill, Joseph, 19
Glickman, Bob, 139
“Gold Bug, The” (Poe), 124
Golden Lamb Inn, 323
Goodlin, Gerald, and family, 328–29
Goodlin, Lisa, 241
Graham, Rev. Billy, 68, 69
Great Ghost Tales, 23
Gregory, Anita, 329
Grey, Lady Jane, 38
Gross, Hans, 287
Guiley, Rosemary Ellen, 149
Gurney, Edmund, 197
Habsburg, Rudolf von, 34
hallucination, 345, 348
defined, 348
See also near-death experience; out-of-body experience; waking dream
Hamilton, Trey, 61
Hamlet (Shakespeare)
ghost in, 19, 159, 178, 259
Hand Hotel, 321, 321
handwriting comparison, 294–95, 296
Hansel, C. E. M., 237–38
Haraldson, E., 345
Harding, David, 241
Harris, Diana, 107, 108, 110, 152, 163
Harris, Melvin, 329
Haskins, Mrs. James A., 44–45
Hatfield, Sid, 149
Hatfield-McCoy feud, 149
Hauck, Dennis William, 33–34, 94, 116, 123, 128–29, 269
Haunted Inns of America, 137
“Haunted Light, The” (Miller), 117–18
haunted places
bar, 119–22, 120
battlefields, 81–86, 84
bridge, 175–77
castles, 53–55, 127–30, 171–72
cemeteries, 55–57, 56, 90, 90, 130–32, 131, 173–75, 180
chapel, 33–34
dollhouse, 91, 92
fort, 35–37, 35, 36
hotels, 63–65, 65, 78, 78–79, 101–105, 102, 147–52, 250–52, 320–23, 321, 323–24, 324
houseboat, 295–96
houses, 41–43, 50–53, 59–61, 87–94, 87, 185–93, 281–86, 282, 291–92, 325–41
Kremlin, 177–78
lighthouses, 107–14, 115–18, 278–80, 279
mines, 155–57
pasture, 95–96
plantation, 276–77, 276
prisons, 38–39, 133–39, 141–46
restaurant, 79
ship, 172–73
theaters, 159–70
train trestle, 311–12
Haunting in Connecticut, The (movie), 281
events behind, 281–86
Hawes, Jason, 138–39, 274, 275, 275–80, 309
Hawthorne, Nathaniel, 263
headless ghosts, 31–39
healing powers, 254
Heck, Judson, 93
Heijboer, Pierre, 156
Hermann, James M., and family, 333–41
Hickok, Wild Bill, 160
Historic Haunted America (Norman and Scott), 118
hoaxing. See pranks, ghostly
Hockenberry, John, 243
Hohenfels, Dietrich von, 34
Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, 150–52
Holmes, Sherlock, 163, 286, 343
on ghosts, 343
Holyrood House Palace, 29
holy water, 335. See also exorcism
Holzer, Hans, 76–77, 263–64, 268, 269–70
Hooft, Gerard ’t, 155
Hornbeck, Shawn, 253
Hornby, Sir Edmund, 197
horse, phantom, 95–96. See also animals, spirit
hot reading, 243. See also cold reading
Hotspur, 159
Houdini, Harry, 201, 214, 241, 271
Hound of the Baskervilles, The (Doyle), 97
Hound of the Baskervilles (play), 163
hounds, spectral, 97. See also animals, spirit
“House of Blood” mystery, 291–92, 291
Howard, Julia, 126
Hugo, Victor, 34
Hurst, Ann, 138
Huse, Bertha, 195–96, 198–99
Huygens, Christiaan, 155
Hyde Park Barracks, 133–34
Hyman, Ray, 352
hypnagogic hallucination. See waking dream
hypnopompic hallucination. See waking dream
hypnosis, 247
defined, 348
See also past-life recall
hypnotic regression. See hypnosis; past-life recall
ideomotor effect
defined 348–49
See also dowsing; Ouija board; table tipping
illusory experience, 349
imaginary friends, 229, 239, 247. See also fantasy proneness
infrared imaging, 25, 262, 266. See also thermal-image “ghost”
Ingersoll, Robert Green, 202–208
International Association of Forensic Linguists, 296
intuition, 139, 238
defined, 349
investigative approaches
for ghosts, 109–13, 287–96
for photos, 297–306
for poltergeists, 337–40
invisible companions, 229 239, 247. See also fantasy proneness
Irving, Washington, 31, 166, 263
Islamic theology, 179–81
Ivan the Terrible, 178
Jailer's Inn. See Nelson County, KY, jail
jails and prisons, haunted, 38–39, 133–39, 141–46
James, Jesse, 80
James, King, 19
James, William, 195, 198
jinn (Islamic spirits), 181
jnun. See jinn
“jokelore,” 33. See also folklore
Jordan, Phil, 218–19
Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research, 192, 213, 329
Jung, Carl, 236
Kahn, David, 339
Kaiser, Christopher, 311
Kanichchka (“Human Ostrich”), 212
Kaspar (Heijboer), 156–57
Kasprzyk, Elaine, 37
“Katie King” (spirit), 298
Kaye, Marvin, 263
Keeler, P. L. O. A, 193, 201–202
Keene, M. Lamar, 21, 214, 217
Kennesaw Mountain “ghosts,” 83–85, 84
Kentucky Book Fair, 317
Kidd, Captain William, 124–25
King, Francis X., 154
King, Larry, 255
Kirlian photography, 25, 298
Klondike Kate. See Rockwell, Kathleen
Konstatin, Raudive, 261
Koren, Stanley, 308
Kremlin, 177–78
“Lady in Blue,” 110
“Lady in Lavender,” (ghost). See Lancaster Opera House
“Lady in Red,” (ghost), 167
Lafitte, Jean, 119–22, 123
blacksmith shop, 119–22, 120
Lamb, Arthur J., 160–61
Lancaster, Burt, 142
Lancaster Opera House, 162–64, 163
Larry King Live, 255
laser examination, 287
Lawrence, Cathy, 138
Leek, Sybil, 263, 270
Leeuwenhoek, Antoni van, 155
“Legend of Sleepy Hollow, The” (Irving), 31, 166
legends
defined, 63
Dutch mine, 157
Elvis, 73–80
migratory, 161
“legend trip,” 18
Lenin's ghost, 177, 178
Leonard, Suzanne, 150–52
Levy, Chandra, 253
Liberty Hall, 320
light, phantom, 113–14
lighthouses, haunted, 107–14, 115–18
lights, flickering, 320
Lily Dale spiritualist village, 152–54, 153, 189–90, 190, 219–20
Lincoln, Abraham, 147, 201–202, 229–30, 299
Lincoln, Mary Todd, 299
Lindley Street Infestation, 328–29. See also poltergeists
linguistic analyses, 13, 296
Loftus, Elizabeth, 345
Louisville Ghost Hunters, 314
Lovejoy, Gertie, 169
Lovelace, Richard, 133
Lowe Hotel, 147–49
Lutz, George, 23
Macbeth (Shakespeare), 159, 178
Machen, Arthur, 83
Mackenzie, Andrew, 345
Mackenzie, William Lyon, 28, 41, 292
Mackenzie House, 28, 41–43, 42
acoustics and, 292–93, 319
macroscopy, 293
Madigan, Brian, 241
magic tricks (in poltergeist cases). See poltergeists
magnetic fields. See electromagnetic fields
Mahner, Martin, 45, 95, 129–30
Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia, 119, 173
“materializations,” 210–11, 213–15, 218. See also spirit communication
Mather, Increase, 326–28
Matter, Mary E., 207
Maynard, Lt. Robert, 125
McClannahan Hill ghost, 31–33
McCoy-Hatfield feud, 149
McElroy, Rob, 80
McEneaney, Bonnie, 223–33
McEneaney, Eamon, 223
Meder, Theo, 156, 157
mediums, 20–21, 22, 121, 152, 188, 198, 201, 209–15, 231–33, 245, 260. See also specific “mediums” by name
Meertens Institute, Amsterdam, 156
Melbourne Gaol, 134–35, 135. See also dungeons, haunted
mementi mori, 134
memory
fallibility of, 319–20
See also memory distortions
memory distortions
defined, 350
Meyers, Ethel, 270
migraine, 45, 351
Miller, Juaquin, 117
Miller, Lischen M., 117
Minervini, Peter, 64
mirrors, 147–54
misperception, 316, 320
Mitchell, Dr. S. Weir, 68–72
moans, ghostly, 111–12
mongoose, ghostly, 97. See also animals, spirit
Monroe, Marilyn, 150–52, 151
Mons, Battle of, 82–83
Monster Quest (TV show), 147
monsters, 11, 105
Moody, Dr. Raymond, 44, 153
Moroccan spirits, 179–81
“Moroni” (angel), 185
Morris, Frank Lee, 142
Morse, William
family of, 326–28
Mothman, 147
motifs, folkloric, 63, 104, 156, 161, 177, 314
motor automism, 205. See also Ouija board
Mueller, Stephanie, 62
Mullholland, John, 188
Mumler, William H., 298–300
Musick, Ruth Ann, 67, 313–14
Myers, Frederick, 197
Myrtles Plantation, 147, 276–77
mythology, 73, 74–75
Napoleon, 128
Nasca geoglyphs, 150
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), 225
near-death experience (NDE), 43–45, 153, 254
defined, 350
See also Moody, Dr. Raymond
Nelson County, KY, jail, 137–38
Nesbitt, Mark, 81
neurology, 238
New Age, 239, 246
Newbury Demon, 326–28
Niagara, Old Fort, 35–37, 35, 36
Nickell, Joe
background, 17, 79, 102, 108, 275
Nickell, J. Wendell, 31
Nienhuys, Jan Willem, 50, 51, 52, 155–57