Ghosts From Our Past: Both Literally and Figuratively: The Study of the Paranormal

by Erin Gilbert

  Paranormal Investigation: See Metaphysical Examination.

  Parapercipient: One who experiences paranormal activity firsthand.

  Parapsychology: The study of paranormal phenomena. The three main fields of study are spirits of the dead, clairvoyance, and telekinesis. Unlike other branches of scientific inquiry, parapsychology has existed mostly outside the walls of academia. Duke University is one of the few institutes for higher learning to have housed a parapsychology department (the now defunct Parapsychology Laboratory). Since experiments require funding—difficult to obtain without university backing—parapsychologists must often rely on theories rather than experimental studies and trials.

  Paratainment: Derogatory word for ghost tours, TV ghost-hunting shows, and other paranormal-related entertainment. Don’t use it around serious paranormal investigators, unless you want to get jumped in the parking lot later. Just kidding—paranormal investigators aren’t that dangerous. It’s the ghosts you have to worry about.

  Paratechnology: Any technology used with the intent of observing or affecting paranormal activity.

  Para-transferral Embodiment: Possession of a living being or object by an interdimensional entity. Ectoplasm appears to be a necessary component of possession, although it’s entirely possible that spirits may be able to manipulate living and inanimate hosts solely using psychokinetic energy. An unknown number of possessed persons are unfortunately misdiagnosed with mental illnesses such as epilepsy, schizophrenia, or mania. Many everyday objects, from televisions to hair dryers, are also capable of being possessed. When taking control of an object, an entity is said to be animating it; when permanently bonded to an object, an entity is said to be inhabiting it.

  Phone Calls from the Dead (PCFTD): Spectral voices heard over the telephone. Before you ask: TFTD (Texts from the Dead) is not a real thing. Neither is FFTD (Facebook from the Dead) or SFTD (Snapchat from the Dead). Smartphones and computer technology are frustratingly immune to spectral interference.

  Planchette: See Ouija Board.

  Plane: Another word for “universe,” this term is generally used in a nonscientific context. Instead of “planes,” physicists speak of higher dimensions and other universes beyond ours.

  Poltergeist: “Poltergeist” is a German word meaning “angry spirit.” In the past, the word has been used to describe any destructive entity whose behavior includes: noises; fires; tossing-around or levitation of objects; bites, scratches, or pinches; and other antagonistic behavior. In the twentieth century, the term came to be associated with a very particular type of haunting, centered around a living agent (almost always a young girl at the onset of puberty). According to the poltergeist hypothesis, paranormal phenomena in such cases aren’t caused by spectral entities. Rather, they are a manifestation of the agent’s own telekinetic powers. Of course, most poltergeist behaviors—loud noises, thrown objects, crap being set on fire—are also associated with regular teenagers. Is an extra floating lamp or two that much worse?

  Possession: See Para-transferral Embodiment.

  Postcognition: See Retrocognition.

  Precognition: Extrasensory awareness of future events. Opposite of retrocognition. See also Clairvoyance. Or, if you possess precognitive abilities, envision yourself having already read that entry.

  Psychic or Psychical: In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, these terms were synonymous with “paranormal.” Sometimes abbreviated as “psi” or the Greek letter Ψ. Today, the word “psychic” refers to persons with telekinetic abilities.

  Psychokinesis: See Telekinesis.

  Psychokinetic Energy (PKE): Spectral particles with no measurable material substance (i.e., “spirit energy”).

  Radio Voice Phenomena (RVP): Spectral voices heard over the radio.

  Reincarnation: The idea that the human spirit or soul can be “reborn” into a physical body. Reincarnation may either be in the form of a person, animal, or other living creature, depending upon the school of thought. Proof is often offered in the form of past-life regression therapy, during which patients “remember” buried thoughts from past lives. Though belief in reincarnation is central to some religions, such as Hinduism, there is no conclusive evidence that reincarnation is possible. Purported cases may involve spirits of the dead possessing the living via para-transferral embodiment.

  Remnant: The typical remnant is described as “repeating” (i.e., continuously reliving the final moments of its earthly life, like a song on repeat for eternity). Remnants are thought to be human spirits that have not crossed over into the spirit realm. While we once thought it was scientifically impossible for spirits to physically manifest on this side of the barrier without first crossing over, recent evidence has us rethinking remnants and their relationship to Spectral Field Theory.

  Remote Viewing: See Clairvoyance.

  Retrocognition: Extrasensory awareness of past events (also known as “postcognition”). Opposite of precognition. Frankly, quite a bit less impressive than seeing into the future. We suppose it would be a cool ability for a detective? See also Clairvoyance.

  Scientific Method: A standardized system of inquiry utilized by modern-day scientists around the world. The basic steps of the scientific method are: Ask a question; formulate a hypothesis; gather data from observations or experiments; evaluate the data; and verify or reject the hypothesis.

  Séance: Gathering of persons for the express intent of contacting spirits of the dead. Led by a medium, and typically attended by a circle of four to twelve sitters (or witnesses) who link hands around a table.

  Sheep: Term used in academic circles for believers in the paranormal. See also Goat.

  Sitters: See Séance.

  Spectral Ether: A dimension beyond space-time, populated by spectral particles (i.e., psychokinetic energy). Also called the “other side.” See also Spectral Field Theory.

  Spectral Field Theory: Gauge field theory proposed by Drs. Erin Gilbert and Abby L. Yates, which unites the metaphysical world with the physical world using theoretical physics to explain spectral particles and their behavior. See also Spectral Ether, Psychokinetic Energy, Ectoplasm.

  Spectral Foam: See Ectoplasm.

  Spirit Cabinet: No, a “spirit cabinet” isn’t a cupboard where you keep your booze. A spirit cabinet is a hollow wooden cabinet sometimes used during a séance to “give spirits privacy.” In practice, a medium is locked in the cabinet or curtained off inside it, giving them free rein to conjure ectoplasmic manifestations unimpeded by observers. Spirit cabinets also give fraudulent mediums room to produce melons from nowhere.

  Spirit Photograph: Photos purporting to show manifestations of spirits, occasionally when such ghosts are not visible to the naked eye. One of the most famous spirit photographs, taken by Boston jeweler William Mumler, supposedly captured the spirit of Abraham Lincoln, hands poised upon his unsuspecting widow Mary Todd’s shoulders. Mumler’s handiwork is laughably fraudulent to the modern eye, although it created quite a stir in the nineteenth century. Today, we know that even the most corporeal of entities is difficult to photograph. Full-torso humanoids may show up as glowing orbs; other spectral entities may not show up at all.

  Spiritualism: A nineteenth-century movement based on the belief that the spirit survives bodily death. Jump-started by the Fox sisters and sustained by hundreds of mediums throughout the U.S. and Europe well into the 1900s. Although a small number of spiritualists remain as part of an organized religion, the public’s fascination with spiritualism ended shortly after World War I amidst accusations of fraud.

  Spirit World: See Spectral Ether.

  Supernatural: See Paranormal.

  Survival Hypothesis: The idea that human consciousness survives bodily death in some form.

  Table Tipping: A specialized type of séance held around a wooden table. Instead of linking hands, sitters rest their hands on the table and wait for a spirit to move (or “tip”) the table.


  Talisman: See Amulet.

  Telekinesis: A psychic ability allegedly permitting manipulation of physical objects with the mind. Telekinetic psychics are famous for bending spoons, lifting tables and chairs, and other (mostly underwhelming) psychic phenomena. Bending a spoon isn’t that impressive—Abby can do that one-handed. ABBY, STOP BENDING ALL OF OUR SPOONS. Telekinesis is considered one of the three primary branches of parapsychology, although it falls outside the scope of this book except in regard to alleged poltergeist behavior. Telekinesis is also known as “psychokinesis,” although we prefer to use the former term to distinguish it from psychokinetic energy.

  Teleportation: Instantaneous paranormal transportation of objects or persons from one location to another. Popular with mediums in the late nineteenth century (see Apport). Quantum teleportation of information between previously entangled particles is possible. However, even the most open-minded theoretical physicists consider teleportation of larger physical objects to be an impossibility. In fact, some party pooper in the field of quantum physics even coined a “no-teleportation theory” (seriously, that’s what they called it). Looks like we won’t be getting Star Trek transporters anytime soon.

  Theory: Scientific theories are well-tested or heavily backed explanations for phenomena. If a better theory emerges, it replaces the older theory over time. The Earth was once thought to be flat; when better information became available, scientists changed their collective mind. No theory is so well established that it can’t be replaced as necessary. You hear that, Einstein? Your special theory of relativity ain’t that special.

  Time Travel: Some astral projection proponents believe the astral body can travel forward and backward in time—that is, without regard to the fourth dimension. Good luck with that!

  Xenoglossy: When someone speaks or writes in a language unknown to them, they are said to be practicing “xenoglossy.” In a paranormal context, this involves either para-transferral embodiment or automatic writing. While xenoglossy is undoubtedly a real phenomenon, it’s difficult to verify that any particular parapercipient has zero familiarity with a foreign language. Fraudulent mediums may not be forthcoming about the four years of Spanish they took in high school; other xenoglossy practitioners may have picked up another language when they were children and forgotten it. While the latter sounds far-fetched, many skeptics would say para-transferral embodiment is far-fetched. We wouldn’t say that, of course.

  Click here to download a PDF of Notes.

  Bibliography

  Agrippa, Heinrich Cornelius. Trans. by James Freake. Edited and annotated by Donald Tyson. Three Books of Occult Philosophy. Woodbury, MN: Llewellyn Publications, 1993.

  Anderson, Jean. The Haunting of America. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1973.

  Auerbach, Loyd. ESP, Hauntings, and Poltergeists. Boston, MA: Warner Books, 1986.

  Bandette, Josephine. The Occult Encyclopaedia: In Thirteen Volumes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1919.

  Barbanell, Maurice. Across the Gulf. London: Psychic Press, 1945.

  Barnard, Guy Christian. The Supernormal: A Critical Introduction to Psychic Science. London: Rider & Co., 1933.

  Big Book of Blasphemy, The. N.p.: n.p., n.d.

  Broome, Doris. Fairy Tales from the Isle of Man. London: Penguin Books, 1951.

  Celtic Magazine, The. “Tales of the Water-Kelpie.” XIL (1887).

  Chance, P. “Parapsychology Is an Idea Whose Time Has Come.” Psychology Today 7, October 1973.

  Collins, William Ambrose. The Great Book of Other Realms. New York: Ballantine, 1991.

  Dutton, Archibald. Systema Unnaturae. London: J. W. Bouton, 1787.

  Elis, Marcus. “Ley Lines and Elis Vortex Theory.” Scientific American 232:6 (1980).

  Finucane, R. C. Ghosts: Appearances of the Dead & Cultural Transformation. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 1996.

  Fisk, Eleanor. Fiends with Benefits: True Stories of Paranormal Love. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1981.

  Fodor, Nandor. Encyclopaedia of Psychic Science. Secaucus, NJ: Citadel Press, 1966.

  Glanvill, Joseph. Saducismus Triumphatus: or, Full and Plain Evidence Concerning Witches and Apparitions. London: James Collins, 1681.

  Goodstein, David. States of Matter. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 1985.

  Gottfried, Kurt, and Victor Weisskopf. Concepts of Particle Physics Vol. I. London: Oxford University Press, 1984.

  Green, Andrew. Ghost Hunting: A Practical Guide. London: Garnstone Press, 1973.

  Guiley, Rosemary Ellen. The Encyclopedia of Ghosts and Spirits. New York: Facts on File, 1992.

  ——————. Harper’s Encyclopedia of Mystical & Paranormal Experience. San Francisco: Harper San Francisco, 1991.

  Haining, Peter. A Dictionary of Ghosts. New York: Dorset Press, 1993.

  Handbook for the Recently Deceased. The Neitherworld: Handbook for the Recently Deceased Press, n.d.

  Heiss, Vernon. The Heiss Guide to Frightful Entities. New York: Macmillan Publishers, 1928.

  ——————. The Heiss Guide to Frightful Funguses. New York: Macmillan Publishers, 1931.

  Hogg, James. The Three Perils of Man; or, War, Women, and Witchcraft. London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, Paternoster-Row, 1822.

  Hole, Christina. Haunted England: A Survey of English Ghost-lore. New York: C. Scribner’s Sons, 1941.

  Holzer, Hans. Murder in Amityville. New York: Belmont Tower Books, 1979.

  Inman, Alexandre. It’s Your Afterlife: A Handbook for Lost Souls. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 1989.

  Irwin, Harvey J. An Introduction to Parapsychology. 2nd ed. Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Company, 1994.

  Kemp, Maureen. Kemp’s Spectral Field Guide. New York: Doubleday, 1984.

  ——————. Never Lonely: A Life Amongst the Spirits. New York: Doubleday, 1993.

  Kurtz, Paul. A Skeptic’s Handbook of Parapsychology. Buffalo, NY: Prometheus Books, 1985.

  Landau, L. D., and E. M. Liftschitz. The Classical Theory of Fields. 2nd ed. Oxford: Pergamon Press, 1971.

  LeBlanc, Kati. The Oxford Companion to the Necronomicon. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 1991.

  Leroux, R. L. Corporeal Apparitions of the Northeastern United States. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1973.

  Lowrey, Wendy. “Mass Turbulence Events in the Tri-State Region, 1940–1950.” Journal of Unexplained Things, Explained, 20:3 (1987).

  Marshall, Edward. “ ‘No Immortality of the Soul’ says Thomas A. Edison.” New York Times. October 2, 1910.

  McGrayne, Sharon Bertsch. Nobel Prize Women in Science: Their Lives, Struggles, and Momentous Discoveries. Secaucus, NJ: Carol Pub. Group, 1993.

  Meritt, Christopher. “ESP and Trepanation: A Curious Case Study.” American Parapsychologist 74:1(1992).

  New York Times. “Soul Has Weight, Physician Thinks.” March 11, 1907.

  Nickell, Joe, and Robert A. Baker. Missing Pieces: How to Investigate Ghosts, UFOs, Psychics and Other Mysteries. Buffalo, NY: Prometheus Books, 1992.

  Patrick, Jeremy. “Kemp’s Spectral Field Guide: Ten Years Later.” Newsweek, July 7, 1995.

  Peebles, Jim. Principles of Physical Cosmology. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1993.

  Pliny the Younger. Letters. Trans. by William Melmoth. Rev. by W. M. L. Hutchinson. London: William Heinemann, 1931.

  Price, Harry. The Alleged Haunting of B— Rectory: Instructions for Observers. London: University of London Council for Psychic Investigation, 1937.

  ——————. Confessions of a Ghost-Hunter. London: Putnam & Co., 1936.

  ——————. The End of Borley Rectory. London: Harrap & Co. Ltd., 1946.

  ——————. The Most Haunted House in England: Ten Years’ Investigation of Borley Rectory. London: Longmans, Green & Co. Ltd., 1940.

  Price, Harry, and R. S. Lambert. The Haunting o
f Cashen’s Gap. London: Methuen & Co. Ltd., 1936.

  Queens, Hollis. Parapsychology; or, The Science of Psychical Phenomena. New York: Harper and Row, 1989.

  Reznor, Curtis. I Came Back Haunted: Near-Death Experiences. Cleveland, OH: Halo Books, 1961.

  Ryder, Lewis H. Quantum Field Theory. 2nd ed. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1996.

  Shankar, R. Principles of Quantum Mechanics. 2nd ed. New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, 1994.

  Sidgwick, A., and E. M. Sidgwick. Henry Sidgwick: A Memoir. London: Macmillan, 1906.

  Stenger, Victor J. Physics and Psychics: The Search for a World Beyond the Senses. Buffalo, NY: Prometheus Books, 1990.

  St. Pierre, Alexander. An Introduction to Ritual Summoning. London: Mifflin & Sons, 1906.

  U.S. News & World Report. “A Stepchild of Science Starts to Win Friends.” July 31, 1978.

  Walker, Thomas. “The Beheading (and Reheading) of Herculanus of Preguai.” Journal of Medieval Martyrdom 3:12 (1982).

  Wangsness, Roald K. Electromagnetic Fields. 2nd ed. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1986.

  Wilson, Ian. In Search of Ghosts. London: Headline Book Publishing Ltd., 1995.

  Acknowledgments

  In the first edition, we thanked the University of Michigan’s library staff, Chen at Tomorrow’s Teriyaki, and Professor Alderman. We realize, now, that we left a lot of people out, including our families—an inadvertent and regrettable error, of course.

  Our editor, Andrew, would like to thank Paul Feig, Katie Dippold, and Cira Sims; Virginia King and the entire crew at Sony Pictures; Ivan Reitman, Eric Reich, and the rest of the Ghostheads at Ghost Corps; Amy Pascal and Pascal Pictures; Matt Inman and all his minions at Crown Publishing and Random House Audio; James Maxwell; Brandi Bowles at Foundry Literary + Media; and Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones, Bill Murray, and Chris Hemsworth for their inspiring performances. Special thanks to Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis for laying such a brilliant foundation. Andrew should also probably thank Erin and Abby for graciously making room on the cover for him even though they did, like, 97 percent of the work.