Joyce - The Weiser field guide to the paranormal: abductions, apparitions, ESP, synchronicity, and more unexplained phenomena from other realms

First published in 2010 by

Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC

With offices at:

500 Third Street, Suite 230

San Francisco, CA 94107

www.redwheelweiser.com

Copyright 2011 by Judith Joyce

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC. Reviewers may quote brief passages. Credits for illustrations may be found on page 210.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Joyce, Judith, 1960

The Weiser field guide to the paranormal : abductions, apparitions, ESP, synchronicity, and more unexplained phenomena from other realms / by Judith Joyce.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN 978-1-57863-488-0 (alk. paper)

1. Parapsychology. I. Title. II.

Title: Field guide to the paranormal.

BF1031.J74 2010

130.3--dc22 2010036790

Cover and text design by Sara Gillingham

Cover photo Todd Warnock/Getty Images

Printed in Canada

TCP

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Information SciencesPermanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials Z39.48-1992 (R1997).

My thanks to Jan Johnson, Amber Guetebier, Michael Kerber, Sara Gillingham, Susie Pitzen, Dennis Fitzgerald, and Laurie Trufant of Weiser Books, as well as Clare Asch, Greg Brandenburgh, Sherri Devereau, Johannes Grdbck, Judika Illes, and Robert Murch.

Can everything be explained? That is the question that ultimately lies at the heart of paranormal mysteries.

The paranormal is defined as events, experiences, beings, or things for which there is no scientific evidence or explanationat least, not yet. Among the topics classified as paranormal are ghosts, psychic abilities, extraterrestrials, and unidentified creatures. The paranormal encompasses the most profound mysteries of the universe:

• What happens after death?
• Is there an immortal soul?
• Can the living communicate with the dead and vice versa?
• Do some individuals possess special powers and abilities that others do not?
• Is there life beyond Earth?
• Do beings from other planets or dimensions walk among us?
• Are provable facts the only reality?

The word paranormal first emerged in the English language during the 1920s. The dictionary defines paranormal as "supernatural," something beyond normal occurrences and situations. The prefix para- derives from a Greek word and has various meanings, including "beside," "beyond," "closely related," "abnormal," and "faulty."

Once upon a time, events like ghost sightings were considered "normal." Ghosts and strange psychic abilities may not have been looked upon with favor, but they were accepted as natural. Not every ghost sighting was accepted as true, but few doubted that hauntings could and did occur. You might have been burned as a witch for demonstrating telekinesis or clairvoyance, but no one doubted that these powers existed. Although what happens after death was subject to fierce theological dispute, most people believed that an eternal undying soul existed. Few scoffed at the ideaor at least not until a massive change in societal perceptions began during the 18th century with the flowering of the Age of Reason.

During the Age of Reason, the way people thought was transformed, as were the topics they thought about. Concepts and phenomena previously accepted without question were now closely considered and analyzed. It was the beginning of a new age that revered rational thought as opposed to the faith prized by earlier generations. Myth busters emerged who questioned deeply held beliefs and demanded evidence and proof. A best-selling pamphlet, The Age of Reason by American author and revolutionary Thomas Paine (17371809), radically challenged organized religion and the Bible's validity, giving the era its name. Of course, the Church fought back, accusing people of worshipping reason and rationality as if they were gods.

The scientific method now taught in every Western schoola method crucial to modern research and thinkingwas formalized during this era, although its roots stretch back into antiquity. The scientific method is a system involving a series of clearly defined and mandatory steps. First, a hypothesisan assumption or statement to be proved or disprovedis made. Then the hypothesis is tested through experiments designed to obtain clear, scientific results that either support or negate it. For the hypothesis to be considered true, these results must be reproducible by other researchers. Since this method acknowledges only events, beings, experiences, and phenomena that are standardized and predictable, you can already see the problem it presents when it comes to the para normal.

An example of an easy-to-prove hypothesis is: "If I touch a lit match to a piece of paper, the paper will burn." The statement "Ghosts do exist," on the other hand, is a challenging and difficult hypothesis to prove. Paranormal beings and experiences are rarely predictable, or standardized, or easily controlled through experiments.

The paranormal encompasses many unique onetime events, as well as experiences like UFO sightings or alien abductions that are reported more frequently, but with a wide degree of variation. Are any of these reports true? Or is everyone who describes these experiences invariably wrong, misguidedor worse, a hoaxer? Can the existence of ghosts be proven scientifically? So far, ghosts and their paranormal compatriots, extraterrestrials, have consistently defied the scientific method, but does this lack of proof conclusively establish that they don't exist?

In fact, many do believe that anything that cannot be proven and established scientifically is, by definition, false, and that those who claim otherwise are lying, mistaken, or mentally ill. And yet...

Centuries after the dawning of the Age of Reason, people continue to report strange experiences and weird phenomena. According to a 2009 Pew Forum survey, 29 percent of all Americans claim to have felt in touch with someone who was already dead; 18 percent say they have seen or been in the presence of ghosts; 24 percent believe in reincarnation. In 2002, the Sci Fi Channel, an American cable television network, reported that a whopping 72 percent of Americans believe that the government is not revealing everything it knows about UFOs. According to a 1997 survey, almost three million Canadians claim to have witnessed UFOs. Are all these individuals lying or wrong?

Complicating the issue is the fact that not everything that can't be proven conclusively is classified as paranormal. Dark matter, for example, is a respectable "scientific theory," while ball lightning is considered "paranormal." These distinctions are more than just semantics; they influence what is studied and what is not. Scientists are subjected to ridicule or worse if they appear to take anything classified as paranormal seriouslyfor example, if they study ghosts or UFOs, they are likely to lose research funding or fail to receive tenure.