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Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folklore, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding.[1][2][3][4] Notable paranormal beliefs include those that pertain to extrasensory perceptions (for example, telepathy), and the pseudosciences of ghost hunting, cryptozoology, and ufology.[5]

Proposals regarding the paranormal are different from scientific hypotheses or speculations extrapolated from scientific evidence because scientific ideas are grounded in empirical observations and experimental data gained through the scientific method. In contrast, those who argue for the existence of the paranormal explicitly do not base their arguments on empirical evidence but rather on anecdote, testimony and suspicion. The standard scientific models give the explanation that what appears to be paranormal phenomena is usually a misinterpretation, misunderstanding or anomalous variation of natural phenomena.[6][7][8]

Etymology

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The term paranormal has existed in the English language since at least 1920.[9][10] The word consists of two parts: para and normal. The definition implies that the scientific explanation of the world around us is normal and anything that is above, beyond, or contrary to that is para.

Paranormal subjects

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On the classification of paranormal subjects, psychologist Terence Hines said in his book Pseudoscience and the Paranormal (2003):

The paranormal can best be thought of as a subset of pseudoscience. What sets the paranormal apart from other pseudosciences is a reliance on explanations for alleged phenomena that are well outside the bounds of established science. Thus, paranormal phenomena include extrasensory perception (ESP), telekinesis, ghosts, poltergeists, life after death, reincarnation, faith healing, human auras, and so forth. The explanations for these allied phenomena are phrased in vague terms of "psychic forces", "human energy fields", and so on. This is in contrast to many pseudoscientific explanations for other nonparanormal phenomena, which, although very bad science, are still couched in acceptable scientific terms.[11]

Ghost hunting

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Main article: Ghost hunting

Ghost hunting is the investigation of locations that are reportedly haunted by ghosts. Typically, a ghost-hunting team will attempt to collect evidence supporting the existence of paranormal activity.

In traditional ghostlore, and fiction featuring ghosts, a ghost is a manifestation of the spirit or soul of a person.[12] Alternative theories expand on that idea and include belief in the ghosts of deceased animals. Sometimes the term "ghost" is used synonymously with any spirit or demon;[13] however, in popular usage the term typically refers to the spirit of a deceased person.

The belief in ghosts as souls of the departed is closely tied to the concept of animism, an ancient belief that attributed souls to everything in nature.[14] As the 19th-century anthropologist George Frazer explained in his classic work, The Golden Bough (1890), souls were seen as the 'creature within' which animated the body.[15] Although the human soul was sometimes symbolically or literally depicted in ancient cultures as a bird or other animal, it was widely held that the soul was an exact reproduction of the body in every feature, even down to the clothing worn by the person. This is depicted in artwork from various ancient cultures, including such works as the ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead (c. 1550 BCE), which shows deceased people in the afterlife appearing much as they did before death, including the style of dress.

Ufology

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Main article: Ufology

The possibility of extraterrestrial life is not, in itself, a paranormal subject. Many scientists are actively engaged in the search for unicellular life within the Solar System, carrying out studies on the surface of Mars and examining meteors that have fallen to Earth.[16] Projects such as SETI are conducting an astronomical search for radio activity that would show evidence of intelligent life outside the Solar System.[17] Scientific theories of how life developed on Earth allow for the possibility that life also developed on other planets. The paranormal aspect of extraterrestrial life centers largely around the belief in unidentified flying objects (UFOs) and the phenomena said to be associated with them.

Early in the history of UFO culture, believers divided themselves into two camps. The first held a rather conservative view of the phenomena, interpreting them as unexplained occurrences that merited serious study. They began calling themselves "ufologists" in the 1950s and felt that logical analysis of sighting reports would validate the notion of extraterrestrial visitation.[14][18]

The second camp held a view that coupled ideas of extraterrestrial visitation with beliefs from existing quasi-religious movements. Typically, these individuals were enthusiasts of occultism and the paranormal. Many had backgrounds as active Theosophists or spiritualists, or were followers of other esoteric doctrines. In contemporary times, many of these beliefs have coalesced into New Age spiritual movements.[14][18]

Both secular and spiritual believers describe UFOs as having abilities beyond what are considered possible according to known aerodynamic constraints and physical laws. The transitory events surrounding many UFO sightings preclude any opportunity for the repeat testing required by the scientific method. Acceptance of UFO theories by the larger scientific community is further hindered by the many possible hoaxes associated with UFO culture.[19]

Cryptozoology

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Main article: Cryptozoology

Cryptozoology is a pseudoscience and subculture that aims to prove the existence of entities from the folklore record, such as Bigfoot, chupacabras, or Mokele-mbembe. Cryptozoologists refer to these entities as cryptids, a term coined by the subculture.

Paranormal research

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Approaching the paranormal from a research perspective is often difficult because of the lack of acceptable physical evidence from most of the purported phenomena. By definition, the paranormal (or supernatural) does not conform to conventional expectations of nature. Therefore, a phenomenon cannot be confirmed as paranormal using the scientific method because, if it could be, it would no longer fit the definition.[20] (However, confirmation would result in the phenomenon being reclassified as part of science.) Despite this problem, studies on the paranormal are periodically conducted by researchers from various disciplines. Some researchers simply study the beliefs in the paranormal regardless of whether the phenomena are considered to objectively exist. This section deals with various approaches to the paranormal: anecdotal, experimental, and participant-observer approaches and the skeptical investigation approach.

Anecdotal approach

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Charles Fort, 1920. Fort is perhaps the most widely known collector of paranormal stories.

An anecdotal approach to the paranormal involves the collection of stories told about the paranormal.

Charles Fort (1874–1932) is perhaps the best-known collector of paranormal anecdotes. Fort is said to have compiled as many as 40,000 notes on unexplained paranormal experiences, though there were no doubt many more. These notes came from what he called "the orthodox conventionality of Science", which were odd events originally reported in magazines and newspapers such as The Times and scientific journals such as Scientific American, Nature and Science. From this research Fort wrote seven books, though only four survive: The Book of the Damned (1919), New Lands (1923), Lo! (1931) and Wild Talents (1932); one book was written between New Lands and Lo!, but it was abandoned and absorbed into Lo!

Reported events that he collected include teleportation (a term Fort is generally credited with coining); poltergeist events; falls of frogs, fishes, and inorganic materials of an amazing range; crop circles; unaccountable noises and explosions; spontaneous fires; levitation; ball lightning (a term explicitly used by Fort); unidentified flying objects; mysterious appearances and disappearances; giant wheels of light in the oceans; and animals found outside their normal ranges (see phantom cat). He offered many reports of OOPArts, the abbreviation for "out of place" artifacts: strange items found in unlikely locations. He is perhaps the first person to explain strange human appearances and disappearances by the hypothesis of alien abduction and was an early proponent of the extraterrestrial hypothesis.

Fort is considered by many as the father of modern paranormalism, which is the study of the paranormal.

The magazine Fortean Times continues Charles Fort's approach, regularly reporting anecdotal accounts of the paranormal.

Such anecdotal collections, lacking the reproducibility of empirical evidence, are not amenable to scientific investigation. The anecdotal approach is not a scientific approach to the paranormal because it leaves verification dependent on the credibility of the party presenting the evidence. Nevertheless, it is a common approach to investigating paranormal phenomena.

Parapsychology

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Main article: Parapsychology
Participant of a Ganzfeld experiment which proponents say may show evidence of telepathy.

Experimental investigation of the paranormal has been conducted by parapsychologists. J. B. Rhine popularized the now famous methodology of using card-guessing and dice-rolling experiments in a laboratory in the hopes of finding evidence of extrasensory perception.[21] However, it was revealed that Rhine's experiments contained methodological flaws and procedural errors.[22][23][24]

In 1957, the Parapsychological Association was formed as the preeminent society for parapsychologists. In 1969, they became affiliated with the American Association for the Advancement of Science.[25] Criticisms of the field were focused in the creation (in 1976) of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (now called the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry) and its periodical, the Skeptical Inquirer.[26] Eventually, more mainstream scientists became critical of parapsychology as an endeavor, and statements by the National Academies of Science and the National Science Foundation cast a pall on the claims of evidence for parapsychology. Today, many cite parapsychology as an example of a pseudoscience.[27][28] Parapsychology has been criticized for continuing investigation despite being unable to provide convincing evidence for the existence of any psychic phenomena after more than a century of research.[29][30]

By the 2000s, the status of paranormal research in the United States had greatly declined from its height in the 1970s, with the majority of work being privately funded and only a small amount of research being carried out in university laboratories. In 2007, Britain had a number of privately funded laboratories in university psychology departments.[31] Publication remained limited to a small number of niche journals,[31] and to date there have been no experimental results that have gained wide acceptance in the scientific community as valid evidence of the paranormal.[31]

Participant-observer approach

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A ghost hunter taking an EMF reading, which proponents claim may be connected to paranormal activity

While parapsychologists look for quantitative evidence of the paranormal in laboratories, a great number of people immerse themselves in qualitative research through participant-observer approaches to the paranormal. Participant-observer methodologies have overlaps with other essentially qualitative approaches, including phenomenological research that seeks largely to describe subjects as they are experienced, rather than to explain them.[32][page needed]

Participant observation suggests that by immersing oneself in the subject that is being studied, a researcher is presumed to gain understanding of the subject. Criticisms of participant observation as a data-gathering technique are similar to criticisms of other approaches to the paranormal, but also include an increased threat to the scientific objectivity of the researcher, unsystematic gathering of data, reliance on subjective measurement, and possible observer effects (i.e. observation may distort the observed behavior).[33][page needed] Specific data-gathering methods, such as recording EMF (electromagnetic field) readings at haunted locations, have their own criticisms beyond those attributed to the participant-observer approach itself.

Participant observation, as an approach to the paranormal, has gained increased visibility and popularity through reality television programs like Ghost Hunters, and the formation of independent ghost hunting groups that advocate immersive research at alleged paranormal locations. One popular website for ghost hunting enthusiasts lists over 300 of these organizations throughout the United States and the United Kingdom.[34]

Skeptical scientific investigation

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James Randi was a well-known investigator of paranormal claims.

Scientific skeptics advocate critical investigation of claims of paranormal phenomena: applying the scientific method to reach a rational, scientific explanation of the phenomena to account for the paranormal claims, taking into account that alleged paranormal abilities and occurrences are sometimes hoaxes or misinterpretations of natural phenomena. A way of summarizing this method is by the application of Occam's razor, which suggests that the simpler solution is usually the correct one.[35]

The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI), formerly the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP), is an organization that aims to publicize the scientific, skeptical approach. It carries out investigations aimed at understanding paranormal reports in terms of scientific understanding, and publishes its results in the Skeptical Inquirer magazine.

CSI's Richard Wiseman draws attention to possible alternative explanations for perceived paranormal activity in his article, The Haunted Brain. While he recognizes that approximately 15% of people believe they have experienced an encounter with a ghost, he reports that only 1% report seeing a full-fledged ghost while the rest report strange sensory stimuli, such as seeing fleeting shadows or wisps of smoke, or the sensation of hearing footsteps or feeling a presence. Wiseman makes the claim that, rather than experiencing paranormal activity, it is activity within our own brains that creates these strange sensations.[7]

Michael Persinger proposed that ghostly experiences could be explained by stimulating the brain with weak magnetic fields.[7] Swedish psychologist Pehr Granqvist and his team, attempting to replicate Persinger's research, determined that the paranormal sensations experienced by Persinger's subjects were merely the result of suggestion, and that brain stimulation with magnetic fields did not result in ghostly experiences.[7]

Oxford University Justin Barrett has theorized that "agency"—being able to figure out why people do what they do—is so important in everyday life, that it is natural for our brains to work too hard at it, thereby detecting human or ghost-like behavior in everyday meaningless stimuli.[7]

James Randi, an investigator with a background in illusion, felt that the simplest explanation for those claiming paranormal abilities is often trickery, illustrated by demonstrating that the spoon bending abilities of psychic Uri Geller can easily be duplicated by trained stage magicians.[36][37] He was also the founder of the James Randi Educational Foundation and its million dollar challenge that offered a prize of US$1,000,000 to anyone who could demonstrate evidence of any paranormal, supernatural or occult power or event, under test conditions agreed to by both parties.[38] Despite many declarations of supernatural ability, the prize was never claimed.

Psychology

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Main article: Anomalistic psychology

In "anomalistic psychology", paranormal phenomena have naturalistic explanations resulting from psychological and physical factors which have sometimes given the impression of paranormal activity to some people, in fact, where there have been none.[39] The psychologist David Marks wrote that paranormal phenomena can be explained by magical thinking, mental imagery, subjective validation, coincidence, hidden causes, and fraud.[6] According to studies some people tend to hold paranormal beliefs because they possess psychological traits that make them more likely to misattribute paranormal causation to normal experiences.[40][41] Research has also discovered that cognitive bias is a factor underlying paranormal belief.[42][43]

Chris French, founder of the Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit.

Many studies have found a link between personality and psychopathology variables correlating with paranormal belief.[44][45][46] Some studies have also shown that fantasy proneness correlates positively with paranormal belief.[47]

Bainbridge (1978) and Wuthnow (1976) found that the most susceptible people to paranormal belief are those who are poorly educated, unemployed or have roles that rank low among social values. The alienation of these people due to their status in society is said to encourage them to appeal to paranormal or magical beliefs.[48][49]

Research has associated paranormal belief with low cognitive ability, low IQ and a lack of science education.[50][51] Intelligent and highly educated participants involved in surveys have proven to have less paranormal belief.[52][53][54] Tobacyk (1984) and Messer and Griggs (1989) discovered that college students with better grades have less belief in the paranormal.[55][56]

In a case study (Gow, 2004) involving 167 participants the findings revealed that psychological absorption and dissociation were higher for believers in the paranormal.[57] Another study involving 100 students had revealed a positive correlation between paranormal belief and proneness to dissociation.[58] A study (Williams et al. 2007) discovered that "neuroticism is fundamental to individual differences in paranormal belief, while paranormal belief is independent of extraversion and psychoticism".[59] A correlation has been found between paranormal belief and irrational thinking.[60][61]

In an experiment Wierzbicki (1985) reported a significant correlation between paranormal belief and the number of errors made on a syllogistic reasoning task, suggesting that believers in the paranormal have lower cognitive ability.[62] A relationship between narcissistic personality and paranormal belief was discovered in a study involving the Australian Sheep-Goat Scale.[63]

De Boer and Bierman wrote:

In his article 'Creative or Defective' Radin (2005) asserts that many academics explain the belief in the paranormal by using one of the three following hypotheses: Ignorance, deprivation or deficiency. 'The ignorance hypothesis asserts that people believe in the paranormal because they're uneducated or stupid. The deprivation hypothesis proposes that these beliefs exist to provide a way to cope in the face of psychological uncertainties and physical stressors. The deficiency hypothesis asserts that such beliefs arise because people are mentally defective in some way, ranging from low intelligence or poor critical thinking ability to a full-blown psychosis' (Radin). The deficiency hypothesis gets some support from the fact that the belief in the paranormal is an aspect of a schizotypical personality (Pizzagalli, Lehman and Brugger, 2001).[64]

A psychological study involving 174 members of the Society for Psychical Research completed a delusional ideation questionnaire and a deductive reasoning task. As predicted, the study showed that "individuals who reported a strong belief in the paranormal made more errors and displayed more delusional ideation than skeptical individuals". There was also a reasoning bias which was limited to people who reported a belief in, rather than experience of, paranormal phenomena. The results suggested that reasoning abnormalities may have a causal role in the formation of paranormal belief.[65]

Research has shown that people reporting contact with aliens have higher levels of absorption, dissociativity, fantasy proneness and tendency to hallucinate.[66]

Findings have shown in specific cases that paranormal belief acts as a psychodynamic coping function and serves as a mechanism for coping with stress.[67] Survivors from childhood sexual abuse, violent and unsettled home environments have reported to have higher levels of paranormal belief.[68][69] A study of a random sample of 502 adults revealed paranormal experiences were common in the population which were linked to a history of childhood trauma and dissociative symptoms.[70] Research has also suggested that people who perceive themselves as having little control over their lives may develop paranormal beliefs to help provide an enhanced sense of control.[71] The similarities between paranormal events and descriptions of trauma have also been noted.[72]

Gender differences in surveys on paranormal belief have reported women scoring higher than men overall and men having greater belief in UFOs and extraterrestrials.[73][74] Surveys have also investigated the relationship between ethnicity and paranormal belief. In a sample of American university students (Tobacyk et al. 1988) it was found that people of African descent have a higher level of belief in superstitions and witchcraft while belief in extraterrestrial life forms was stronger among people of European descent.[75] Otis and Kuo (1984) surveyed Singapore university students and found Chinese, Indian and Malay students to differ in their paranormal beliefs, with the Chinese students showing greater skepticism.[76]

According to American surveys analysed by Bader et al. (2011) African Americans have the highest belief in the paranormal and while the findings are not uniform the "general trend is for whites to show lesser belief in most paranormal subjects".[77]

Polls show that about fifty percent of the United States population believe in the paranormal. Robert L. Park says a lot of people believe in it because they "want it to be so".[78]

A 2013 study that utilized a biological motion perception task discovered a "relation between illusory pattern perception and supernatural and paranormal beliefs and suggest that paranormal beliefs are strongly related to agency detection biases".[41]

A 2014 study discovered that schizophrenic patients have more belief in psi than healthy adults.[79]

Neuroscience

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Some scientists have investigated possible neurocognitive processes underlying the formation of paranormal beliefs.[80] In a study (Pizzagalli et al. 2000) data demonstrated that "subjects differing in their declared belief in and experience with paranormal phenomena as well as in their schizotypal ideation, as determined by a standardized instrument, displayed differential brain electric activity during resting periods."[81] Another study (Schulter and Papousek, 2008) wrote that paranormal belief can be explained by patterns of functional hemispheric asymmetry that may be related to perturbations during fetal development.[82]

It was also realized that people with higher dopamine levels have the ability to find patterns and meanings where there are none. This is why scientists have connected high dopamine levels with paranormal belief.[83]

Criticism

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Some scientists have criticized the media for promoting paranormal claims. In a report by Singer and Benassi in 1981, they wrote that the media may account for much of the near universality of paranormal belief, as the public are constantly exposed to films, newspapers, documentaries and books endorsing paranormal claims while critical coverage is largely absent.[84] According to Paul Kurtz, "In regard to the many talk shows that constantly deal with paranormal topics, the skeptical viewpoint is rarely heard; and when it is permitted to be expressed, it is usually sandbagged by the host or other guests." Kurtz described the popularity of public belief in the paranormal as a "quasi-religious phenomenon", a manifestation of a transcendental temptation, a tendency for people to seek a transcendental reality that cannot be known by using the methods of science. Kurtz compared this to a primitive form of magical thinking.[85]

Terence Hines has written that on a personal level, paranormal claims could be considered a form of consumer fraud as people are "being induced through false claims to spend their money—often large sums—on paranormal claims that do not deliver what they promise" and uncritical acceptance of paranormal belief systems can be damaging to society.[86]

Belief polls

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While the existence of paranormal phenomena is controversial and debated passionately by both proponents of the paranormal and by skeptics, surveys are useful in determining the beliefs of people in regards to paranormal phenomena. These opinions, while not constituting scientific evidence for or against, may give an indication of the mindset of a certain portion of the population (at least among those who answered the polls). The number of people worldwide who believe in parapsychological powers has been estimated to be 3 to 4 billion.[87]

A survey conducted in 2006 by researchers from Australia's Monash University[88] sought to determine the types of phenomena that people claim to have experienced and the effects these experiences have had on their lives. The study was conducted as an online survey with over 2,000 respondents from around the world participating. The results revealed that around 70% of the respondents believe to have had an unexplained paranormal event that changed their life, mostly in a positive way. About 70% also claimed to have seen, heard, or been touched by an animal or person that they knew was not there; 80% have reported having a premonition, and almost 50% stated they recalled a previous life.[88]

Polls were conducted by Bryan Farha at Oklahoma City University and Gary Steward of the University of Central Oklahoma in 2006. They found fairly consistent results compared to the results of a Gallup poll in 2001.[89]

Percentage of U.S. citizens polled
Phenomena Farha-Steward (2006) Gallup (2001) Gallup (2005)[90]
Belief Unsure Disbelief Belief Unsure Disbelief Belief Unsure Disbelief
Psychic, Spiritual healing 57 26 18 54 19 26 55[a] 17 26
ESP 29 39 33 50 20 27 41 25 32
Haunted houses 41 25 35 42 16 41 37 16 46
Demonic possession 41 28 32 41 16 41 42[b] 13 44
Ghosts 40 27 34 38 17 44 32 19 48
Telepathy 25 34 42 36 26 35 31 27 42
Extraterrestrials visited Earth in the past 18 34 49 33 27 38 24 24 51
Clairvoyance and Prophecy 24 33 43 32 23 45 26 24 50
Mediumship 16 29 55 28 26 46 21 23 55
Astrology 17 26 57 28 18 52 25 19 55
Witches 27 19 55 26 15 59 21 12 66
Reincarnation 16 28 57 25 20 54 20 20 59

A survey by Jeffrey S. Levin, associate professor at Eastern Virginia Medical School, found that more than two thirds of the United States population reported having at least one mystical experience.[89][91]

A 1996 Gallup poll estimated that 71% of the people in the U.S. believed that the government was covering up information about UFOs. A 2002 Roper poll conducted for the Sci Fi channel reported that 56% thought UFOs were real craft and 48% that aliens had visited the Earth.[89]

A 2001 National Science Foundation survey found that 9% of people polled thought astrology was very scientific, and 31% thought it was somewhat scientific. About 32% of Americans surveyed stated that some numbers were lucky, while 46% of Europeans agreed with that claim. About 60% of all people polled believed in some form of Extra-sensory perception and 30% thought that "some of the unidentified flying objects that have been reported are really space vehicles from other civilizations."[92]

In 2017 the Chapman University Survey of American Fears asked about seven paranormal beliefs and found that "the most common belief is that ancient advanced civilizations such as Atlantis once existed (55%). Next was that places can be haunted by spirits (52%), aliens have visited Earth in our ancient past (35%), aliens have come to Earth in modern times (26%), some people can move objects with their minds (25%), fortune tellers and psychics can survey the future (19%), and Bigfoot is a real creature. Only one-fourth of respondents didn't hold at least one of these beliefs."[93]

Paranormal challenges

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Main article: List of prizes for evidence of the paranormal

In 1922, Scientific American offered two US$2,500 offers: (1) for the first authentic spirit photograph made under test conditions, and (2) for the first psychic to produce a "visible psychic manifestation". Harry Houdini was a member of the investigating committee. The first medium to be tested was George Valiantine, who claimed that in his presence spirits would speak through a trumpet that floated around a darkened room. For the test, Valiantine was placed in a room, the lights were extinguished, but unbeknownst to him his chair had been rigged to light a signal in an adjoining room if he ever left his seat. Because the light signals were tripped during his performance, Valiantine did not collect the award.[94] The last to be examined by Scientific American was Mina Crandon in 1924.

Since then, many individuals and groups have offered similar monetary awards for proof of the paranormal in an observed setting. These prizes have a combined value of over $2.4 million.[95]

The James Randi Educational Foundation offered a prize of a million dollars to a person who could prove that they had supernatural or paranormal abilities under appropriate test conditions. Several other skeptic groups also offer a monied prize for proof of the paranormal, including the largest group of paranormal investigators, the Independent Investigations Group, which has chapters in Hollywood; Atlanta; Denver; Washington, D.C.; Alberta, B.C.; and San Francisco. The IIG offers a $100,000 prize and a $5,000 finders fee if a claimant can prove a paranormal claim under 2 scientifically controlled tests. Founded in 2000 no claimant has passed the first (and lower odds) of the test.[96]

See also

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Paranormal

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By location

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Authors

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Skepticism

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Notes

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References

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Further reading

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Paranormal

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The paranormal refers to a broad category of purported anomalous phenomena and experiences that appear to defy established scientific explanations, encompassing extrasensory perception (ESP), telepathy, psychokinesis, ghostly apparitions, witchcraft, and unidentified flying objects (UFOs).[1][2] These claims typically involve interactions with supernatural entities, extraordinary human abilities, or events that challenge fundamental principles of physics, biology, and causality.[3] Systematic study of the paranormal originated in the late 19th century amid rising interest in spiritualism, with the Society for Psychical Research (SPR) founded in London in 1882 to rigorously investigate mediumship, hauntings, and other psychic claims using empirical methods.[4] This marked the birth of psychical research, which evolved into parapsychology in the 20th century, including pioneering laboratory experiments on ESP and precognition at Duke University's Parapsychology Laboratory starting in 1930 under J.B. Rhine.[5] Key subfields emerged, such as the examination of near-death experiences and reincarnation cases by researchers like Ian Stevenson at the University of Virginia's Division of Perceptual Studies since 1967.[6] From a scientific standpoint, paranormal phenomena lack reproducible evidence under controlled conditions and are often attributed to psychological mechanisms, including sleep paralysis, confirmation bias, intuitive thinking, and perceptual illusions.[7][1] Organizations like the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry emphasize that such claims frequently stem from methodological flaws in investigations or misinterpretations of natural events.[4] Despite this skepticism, paranormal beliefs are prevalent globally; for instance, a 2025 U.S. survey found that 39% of respondents believed in ghosts.[8] These convictions influence cultural narratives, from folklore to modern media, reflecting enduring human fascination with the unknown.[9]

Definition and Etymology

Definition

The paranormal refers to phenomena that, if genuine, would violate the basic limiting principles of established science, such as extrasensory perception (ESP), telekinesis, or unexplained sightings that cannot be accounted for by current natural laws.[10] These experiences are characterized by their apparent defiance of empirical understanding without necessarily invoking otherworldly or divine intervention.[11] Unlike the supernatural, which typically involves entities or forces rooted in religious or metaphysical frameworks—such as gods, miracles, or spiritual realms beyond natural explanation—the paranormal emphasizes anomalies that may ultimately be explicable through undiscovered scientific mechanisms, including perceptual errors or psychological factors.[12] While this distinction exists in academic contexts, the terms are often used interchangeably in popular culture. This distinction allows for investigation within a naturalistic paradigm, focusing on potential misperceptions rather than inherently transcendent causes.[12] Paranormal claims are often amenable to empirical testing through scientific methods, yet they consistently lack reproducible evidence under controlled conditions, positioning them at the fringes of scientific inquiry.[13]

Etymology

The term "paranormal" derives from the Greek prefix para-, meaning "beside," "beyond," or "contrary to," combined with normal, from the Latin normalis, denoting something conforming to a type, standard, or norm.[14] This etymological construction reflects its intended use to describe experiences or events situated outside the boundaries of ordinary or scientifically established norms. The word first entered the English language in 1905, appearing in L. I. Finch's translation of J. Maxwell's Metapsychical Phenomena: Methods and Observations (original French edition, 1903). In this context, "paranormal" characterized psychical effects such as parakinesis—a movement produced with physical contact but defying normal explanation—and telekinesis—a movement without contact—distinguishing them from standard physical laws observed in scientific inquiry.[11] The term emerged within the burgeoning field of psychical research, which sought systematic study of phenomena previously associated with spiritualism, providing a neutral descriptor for anomalous occurrences beyond empirical verification.[15] Early adoption and popularization occurred among occultists and psychical researchers, including Hereward Carrington, whose 1919 work Modern Psychical Phenomena: Recent Researches and Speculations exemplified its application to contrast unexplained events with "normal" scientific paradigms. By the mid-20th century, "paranormal" had supplanted competing terms like "supernormal," achieving dominance around 1937–1938, and broadened from strictly psychical contexts rooted in late-19th-century spiritualism to encompass a wider array of anomalous experiences, partly through depiction in popular media such as pulp fiction magazines.[15]

Historical Context

Ancient and Pre-Modern Beliefs

In ancient Mesopotamia, clay tablets from around 2000 BCE record beliefs in ghosts as restless spirits that could afflict the living with illnesses, prompting rituals and incantations to exorcise or placate them through magico-medical practices.[16] Similarly, ancient Egyptian cosmology envisioned the afterlife as a realm teeming with spirits, demons, and guardian entities, where the deceased navigated perils using spells from the Book of the Dead to protect against unseen forces and ensure eternal existence.[17] In ancient Greece, oracles like Delphi functioned as sacred sites for divination, where priestesses channeled divine prophecies to interpret supernatural will, reflecting a worldview where gods communicated through enigmatic signs and trances.[18] Medieval European folklore traditions depicted fairies as ethereal beings inhabiting hidden realms, often interacting with humans through trickery, abductions, or boons, as chronicled in tales from the British Isles that blended pagan remnants with Christian motifs.[19] Among Native American cultures, Navajo legends portrayed skinwalkers as malevolent witches capable of shape-shifting into animals by harnessing taboo powers, embodying fears of spiritual corruption and serving as cautionary figures in oral traditions.[20] In Asian contexts, Japanese folklore featured yokai as a diverse array of supernatural spirits and phenomena, from mischievous entities to vengeful ghosts, rooted in Shinto and Buddhist influences and documented in Edo-period encyclopedias.[21] Pre-modern frameworks like animism attributed agency to spirits inhabiting natural elements, animals, and objects, fostering beliefs in an interconnected world of unseen forces that explained phenomena without empirical distinction.[22] Shamanism complemented this by positioning practitioners as intermediaries who entered trances to negotiate with discarnate entities for healing or prophecy, viewing the cosmos as populated by volitional spirits accessible through ritual.[22] These traditions framed natural events as manifestations of supernatural influences, predating modern scientific scrutiny. The Enlightenment's emphasis on reason, as advanced by deists like Thomas Paine, began reclassifying such supernatural attributions as irrational superstitions, prioritizing empirical evidence and natural laws over divine intervention or spirit agency.[23]

Emergence of the Modern Concept

The modern concept of the paranormal emerged in the 19th century amid rapid scientific and industrial advancements, which both challenged traditional religious explanations and fostered curiosity about unexplained phenomena. A pivotal moment occurred in 1848 in Hydesville, New York, when sisters Margaret and Kate Fox reported communicating with the spirit of a murdered peddler through mysterious rappings on walls and furniture.[24] This event, initially a local curiosity, quickly escalated into a nationwide sensation as the sisters demonstrated their abilities in public, attracting crowds and inspiring a wave of similar claims.[25] The Fox sisters' activities catalyzed the Spiritualist movement, which organized around séances, table-tipping, and mediumship practices, drawing millions of adherents by the 1850s and establishing paranormal experiences as accessible, non-clerical pursuits outside orthodox religion.[26] By the early 20th century, efforts to formalize the study of such phenomena gained traction among intellectuals seeking scientific rigor. In 1882, the Society for Psychical Research (SPR) was founded in London as the world's first organized body dedicated to investigating mesmeric, psychical, and spiritualist claims through empirical methods, including witness interviews and controlled observations.[27] The SPR's establishment reflected a broader push to integrate paranormal inquiries with emerging disciplines like psychology and anthropology, distancing them from mere superstition.[28] Influential figures, such as American philosopher and psychologist William James, further legitimized the field; James co-founded the American Society for Psychical Research in 1885 and actively defended psychical investigations as essential to understanding human consciousness, collaborating with European researchers on topics like telepathy and mediumship.[29] His advocacy, rooted in pragmatism, emphasized testing paranormal claims without prejudice, influencing academic discourse until his death in 1910.[30] Following World War II, the paranormal entered mainstream popular culture, amplified by media and geopolitical tensions. The 1950s witnessed a "flying saucer craze," fueled by widespread newspaper reports of unidentified flying objects (UFOs), which captured public imagination and linked extraterrestrial visitations to Cold War anxieties about surveillance and invasion.[31] This era's media frenzy, including films like Earth vs. the Flying Saucers (1956), normalized UFOs as a paranormal archetype.[32] Concurrently, U.S. intelligence interest in extrasensory perception (ESP) intensified, exemplified by the Stargate Project, a secretive program with roots in CIA explorations of remote viewing starting in 1972 and later managed by the Defense Intelligence Agency from 1978 until its declassification in 1995 after a CIA review deemed it ineffective.[33][34] The 1970s marked a surge in paranormal integration into pop culture, transforming it from fringe interest to mass entertainment. Charles Berlitz's 1974 bestseller The Bermuda Triangle popularized the notion of a mysterious Atlantic region where ships and planes vanished due to supernatural forces, selling millions and inspiring widespread speculation about portals or ancient curses. Films like The Exorcist (1973), which depicted demonic possession, and Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), exploring alien contact, further embedded paranormal themes in Hollywood, reflecting societal fascination with the occult amid cultural upheavals.[35] These works, alongside a boom in pseudoscientific literature, solidified the paranormal as a distinct, commercially viable category distinct from traditional folklore.

Types of Paranormal Phenomena

Apparitions and Hauntings

Apparitions and hauntings represent a primary category of paranormal phenomena involving the perceived presence of deceased individuals or spiritual entities in specific locations. In parapsychological research, apparitions are defined as anomalous sensory experiences where a figure, often resembling a person or animal, is seen or felt without a physical source, typically brief and non-interactive unless specified otherwise.[36] Hauntings, by contrast, involve recurrent occurrences at fixed sites, such as buildings or areas, where multiple witnesses report similar anomalies over time.[36] Parapsychologists classify apparitions and hauntings into distinct types based on their behavior and characteristics. Residual hauntings are described as non-interactive replays of past events, akin to psychic recordings imprinted on a location, where figures perform repetitive actions without acknowledging the living; examples include apparitions marching in formation or engaging in routine activities tied to historical occurrences.[36] Intelligent hauntings feature interactive spirits that respond to investigators or residents, such as answering questions or directing attention to objects, suggesting awareness and intent.[36] Poltergeists, often overlapping with hauntings, manifest as disruptive physical effects caused by an unseen agent, including object movement, loud noises, or spontaneous combustion, typically centered around a living person rather than a place.[36] Common reports in hauntings encompass a range of sensory experiences beyond visual sightings. Witnesses frequently describe cold spots—localized areas of sudden temperature drops—as indicators of entity presence, often measured during investigations.[37] Electronic voice phenomena (EVPs) involve unexplained voices or whispers captured on audio recordings, interpreted as communications from spirits when no human source is present.[38] Shadow figures, dark humanoid silhouettes without distinct features, are another prevalent manifestation, appearing briefly in peripheral vision or doorways.[39] A notable historical case is Borley Rectory in Essex, England, investigated in the 1930s and dubbed "the most haunted house in England." From 1931 to 1932, residents Marianne and Harry Foyster reported over 2,000 incidents, including apparitions of a nun, poltergeist activity such as thrown objects and wall writings, and unexplained sounds like footsteps and bells.[40] Parapsychologist Harry Price led formal investigations starting in 1929, documenting these phenomena until the rectory's destruction by fire in 1939.[40] Associated beliefs link apparitions to moments of death or unresolved trauma, positing that intense emotions at the time of passing anchor spirits to earthly sites. Crisis apparitions, for instance, are veridical sightings of the dying or recently deceased, conveying information later verified as accurate, as documented in early surveys where such cases exceeded chance expectations by a factor of 440.[36] These manifestations are thought to stem from traumatic events, preventing the spirit's full transition to the afterlife.[41] Globally, similar concepts appear in Japanese folklore with onryō, vengeful ghosts of those who died harboring extreme resentment, jealousy, or hatred, returning to curse locations or individuals indiscriminately.[42] Investigators employ tools like electromagnetic field (EMF) meters to detect fluctuations potentially linked to apparitions, monitoring spikes in low-frequency fields (0.1-30 Hz) during reported activity at haunted sites.[37]

Unidentified Aerial Phenomena

Unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), formerly known as unidentified flying objects (UFOs), refer to observations of aerial events that cannot be immediately identified as known aircraft, natural phenomena, or other conventional objects. The term gained prominence in the mid-20th century following a surge in sightings, marking the beginning of widespread public and governmental interest in such anomalies. These reports often describe objects exhibiting unusual flight characteristics, such as high speeds, sudden maneuvers, or lack of visible propulsion, challenging conventional explanations.[43] One of the earliest and most influential modern UAP sightings occurred on June 24, 1947, when private pilot Kenneth Arnold observed nine shiny, circular objects, each approximately 100 feet across, flying in an echelon formation near Mount Rainier, Washington. Arnold estimated their speed at around 1,200 miles per hour, describing their motion as similar to "saucers skipping on water," a phrase that media outlets popularized as "flying saucers," thereby coining the term for disc-shaped UAP. This event sparked over 800 similar reports across the United States in the following months, fueling a national fascination with aerial mysteries. Later that summer, the Roswell incident further amplified interest; on July 7, 1947, rancher William Brazel discovered unusual debris near Roswell, New Mexico, which the U.S. Army Air Forces initially announced as a "flying disc" before retracting the statement the next day. Official investigations later identified the debris as stemming from Project Mogul, a classified high-altitude balloon program designed to detect Soviet nuclear tests, though the event has persisted as a cornerstone of UAP lore.[44][45] Several theories have emerged to explain UAP sightings. The extraterrestrial hypothesis posits that some UAP represent vehicles or probes from intelligent life beyond Earth, a concept explored in early ufology but lacking empirical confirmation in official analyses. In contrast, many sightings are attributed to misidentifications of mundane objects, such as weather balloons; for instance, a 1965 photograph from Swan Lake, New York, initially reported as a UAP, was determined by the U.S. Air Force to depict a weather balloon based on its trajectory and environmental conditions. Another perspective, the interdimensional hypothesis, suggests UAP may originate from parallel dimensions or realities rather than distant planets, as proposed by researcher Jacques Vallée in his analysis of global anomalous phenomena, emphasizing patterns akin to folklore rather than interstellar travel.[43][46] UAP reports have also included claims of close encounters involving abductions. A seminal case occurred on September 19-20, 1961, when Betty and Barney Hill, an interracial couple driving through New Hampshire's White Mountains, reported being pursued by a bright light that hovered above their vehicle. Under hypnosis sessions later that year, they recalled being taken aboard a craft by grey-skinned beings who conducted medical examinations, including tissue sampling and a star map display shown to Betty, before releasing them with amnesia. This account, one of the first detailed abduction narratives, influenced subsequent reports and media depictions of UAP interactions.[47] Recent governmental efforts have shifted toward systematic data collection and destigmatization. The 2021 preliminary assessment by the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) analyzed 144 UAP reports from 2004 to 2021, primarily from U.S. military personnel, with 80 involving multiple sensors like radar and infrared; while most remained unexplained, one was confidently identified as airborne clutter such as a deflating balloon, and others potentially linked to natural atmospheric phenomena or U.S. developmental programs. Building on this, a 2023 NASA independent study team report recommended enhanced scientific approaches to UAP, emphasizing the reduction of reporting stigma through NASA's credible involvement to encourage broader data submission from pilots and civilians, thereby improving analysis via tools like satellite observations and AI-driven processing. In November 2024, the U.S. Department of Defense's All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) released its annual report on UAP, documenting hundreds of new reports from May 2023 to June 2024, including several cases with anomalous characteristics, while continuing to attribute most to ordinary objects or phenomena; this followed a congressional hearing on November 13, 2024, aimed at exposing truths about UAP investigations. These developments reflect growing official acknowledgment of UAP as a topic warranting rigorous, multidisciplinary investigation.[43][48][49]

Cryptids and Unknown Creatures

Cryptids refer to creatures whose existence is suggested by anecdotal reports and purported evidence but remains unverified by scientific standards. These include large, elusive animals reported worldwide, often described as resembling known species or prehistoric relics, with claims typically involving footprints, photographs, or eyewitness accounts. Investigations into cryptids blend folklore, field expeditions, and modern forensic methods, yet no conclusive proof of novel species has emerged.[50] One prominent North American cryptid is Bigfoot, also known as Sasquatch, depicted as a massive, ape-like hominoid inhabiting remote forests. Reports date back centuries among Indigenous peoples, but modern interest surged with large footprints discovered in 1958 near Bluff Creek, California, measuring up to 17 inches long with dermal ridges suggestive of authenticity to some analysts. The 1967 Patterson-Gimlin film, capturing a few seconds of a walking, hairy figure estimated at 6-7 feet tall, remains a cornerstone of evidence, with biomechanical studies indicating non-human gait patterns inconsistent with known hoaxes.[51][52] In Scotland, the Loch Ness Monster, or Nessie, is a long-necked aquatic creature said to inhabit Loch Ness. The most famous purported image, the 1934 "Surgeon's Photograph" showing a serpentine head and neck emerging from the water, fueled global fascination but was confessed as a hoax in 1994 by its creator, Christian Spurling, who revealed it as a toy submarine rigged with a sculpted head. Despite the debunking, sporadic sonar detections and surface sightings persist, attributed by proponents to a surviving plesiosaur-like reptile.[53] The Chupacabra, meaning "goat-sucker" in Spanish, emerged in Puerto Rico during the mid-1990s amid reports of livestock mutilations involving exsanguinated goats and puncture wounds. Eyewitnesses described a bipedal, reptilian entity with red eyes and spines along its back, with over 200 incidents documented in 1995 alone across the island. Subsequent analyses of carcasses revealed no unknown pathogens or predators, linking attacks to known animals like dogs or coyotes with mange.[54][55] Search efforts for cryptids have employed advanced tools, including trail cameras deployed in high-report areas like the Pacific Northwest for Bigfoot and sonar arrays in Loch Ness. A landmark 2014 genetic study by Oxford University and the Lausanne Museum of Zoology analyzed 30 hair samples attributed to Yeti, Bigfoot, and other cryptids using mitochondrial DNA sequencing; all matched known species such as bears, wolves, or cows, with rigorous decontamination ruling out contamination as the cause. No evidence of novel primates or extinct lineages was found.[50] Theories explaining cryptid reports include the possibility of relic populations from prehistoric species surviving in isolated habitats, such as a gigantopithecine ape for Bigfoot or ancient ungulates for the Yeti, though genetic and fossil evidence contradicts long-term persistence without detection. Many cases are attributed to hoaxes, like fabricated footprints or staged photos, often motivated by publicity or financial gain. Others stem from folklore misinterpretations, where cultural stories of spirits or animals are conflated with modern sightings of bears, owls, or optical illusions.[56] Globally, the Yeti of the Himalayas is portrayed as a large, white-furred biped leaving oversized tracks in snow, with samples from alleged encounters analyzed in 2017 revealing DNA matches to Himalayan brown bears, including a rare polar bear lineage in one femur. In the United States, the Mothman—a winged, humanoid figure with glowing red eyes—was reported in Point Pleasant, West Virginia, starting November 1966, with over 100 witnesses describing 7-foot-tall entities near an abandoned TNT factory; sightings peaked before the Silver Bridge collapse on December 15, 1966, leading some to view it as an omen.[57][58]

Psychic and Extrasensory Abilities

Psychic and extrasensory abilities refer to purported mental faculties that enable individuals to acquire information or influence events beyond the recognized physical senses or known natural laws, often studied within parapsychology as forms of psi phenomena.[59] These abilities are claimed to operate through non-physical means, distinguishing them from sensory perception, and encompass a range of categories including extrasensory perception (ESP) and psychokinesis. ESP involves the acquisition of information without sensory input, while psychokinesis entails mental influence over physical objects or systems.[59] Key types of these abilities include telepathy, defined as the direct transfer of thoughts or information from one mind to another without sensory communication; clairvoyance, the paranormal perception of objects, events, or information distant in space or hidden from view; precognition, the anomalous anticipation of future events; and psychokinesis, also known as telekinesis, the ability to affect physical systems mentally without physical interaction.[59] These concepts have been central to parapsychological inquiry since the early 20th century, with researchers attempting to differentiate them through controlled testing, though results remain debated.[60] A prominent example is Uri Geller, who gained fame in the 1970s for demonstrations of spoon-bending and other feats attributed to psychokinesis and telepathy, including tests conducted at the Stanford Research Institute (SRI) where he reportedly replicated drawings and influenced physical objects under observation.[61] These sessions, funded in part by government interest in remote viewing, produced statistically significant outcomes in some trials, yet sparked significant controversies, with critics alleging sleight-of-hand techniques and insufficient controls, while supporters pointed to the controlled environment as evidence of paranormal potential.[62] Geller's case exemplifies the tension between claimed psychic demonstrations and scientific scrutiny. Efforts to measure these abilities include the use of Zener cards, developed in the 1930s by psychologist Karl Zener and parapsychologist J.B. Rhine at Duke University for testing ESP, particularly clairvoyance and telepathy, through card-guessing tasks where subjects attempted to identify symbols without visual cues.[63] Participants would guess suits like star, circle, or cross from a deck of 25 cards over multiple trials, aiming to exceed chance levels of 20% accuracy; Rhine's experiments reported hits above chance in aggregate, though methodological flaws such as sensory leakage were later noted.[64] Such tools laid groundwork for parapsychological experiments, explored further in dedicated studies. Culturally, psychic abilities trace roots to ancient practices, such as the oracles of Greece, where the Pythia at Delphi was believed to channel precognitive insights through trance states, possibly induced by psychoactive vapors, advising rulers and seekers on future events from the 8th century BCE onward.[65] In modern contexts, New Age movements since the mid-20th century have integrated these ideas into practices like meditation and energy work, promoting the development of intuitive and psychic skills through yoga, channeling, and visualization to access latent human potential.[66] These traditions frame psychic abilities as universal capacities, often linked to spiritual evolution rather than isolated anomalies.

Methods of Investigation

Anecdotal and Field Approaches

Anecdotal approaches to investigating the paranormal emphasize the compilation of personal testimonies and eyewitness reports to document unusual events that defy conventional explanation. Charles Fort pioneered this method in his 1919 book The Book of the Damned, where he amassed thousands of accounts from newspapers, scientific journals, and historical records describing phenomena such as mysterious aerial objects, anomalous falls of organic matter, and unexplained lights, presenting them as "damned" data excluded from mainstream science.[67] Fort's work highlighted the value of aggregating such narratives to reveal patterns in the otherwise dismissed occurrences, influencing subsequent collectors of paranormal lore.[68] Field investigations extend anecdotal collection through direct, on-site engagement with alleged paranormal sites, often involving informal observation and basic tools employed by enthusiasts. Night vigils, which entail prolonged stays—sometimes overnight—at locations like abandoned buildings or historic sites, allow investigators to monitor for auditory, visual, or sensory anomalies in real time.[69] Dowsing rods, L-shaped metal or wooden instruments held loosely in each hand, are used to detect spirit energy; practitioners interpret crossing or diverging rods as affirmative responses to yes/no questions about ethereal presences.[70] Spirit boxes, devices that swiftly scan AM and FM radio frequencies to produce a stream of fragmented audio, are deployed to elicit purported electronic voice phenomena (EVPs) from spirits interrupting the white noise.[71] A prominent example of blending field work with anecdotal reporting is John A. Keel's investigation into the 1966–1967 Mothman sightings in Point Pleasant, West Virginia, chronicled in his 1975 book The Mothman Prophecies. Keel conducted extensive interviews with over 100 witnesses, patrolled the area during night vigils, and integrated local folklore with reports of winged entities and associated UFO activity to construct a narrative of interconnected anomalies.[72] His approach underscored the role of immersive fieldwork in contextualizing personal stories within broader cultural and environmental settings. These methods, while accessible and narrative-rich, are inherently limited by their reliance on subjective interpretations and lack of standardized controls, which hinder reproducibility and objective validation. Eyewitness accounts can be influenced by expectation, memory distortion, or environmental factors, reducing their reliability as evidence.[73] In the digital era, post-2010 viral social media claims have amplified these issues; for example, a 2015 photograph shared widely on platforms like Facebook depicted a shadowy figure in a window behind a group of friends, sparking widespread speculation of a maternal ghost based solely on the poster's anecdote.[74] Such instances illustrate how unverified field observations and stories proliferate rapidly online, often without corroboration.

Parapsychological Experiments

Parapsychological experiments represent structured attempts to test paranormal phenomena under controlled laboratory conditions, aiming to apply scientific methods to claims of extrasensory perception (ESP) and psychokinesis (PK). These efforts began in earnest in the early 20th century, with J.B. Rhine establishing the Parapsychology Laboratory at Duke University in 1930, where he and his wife Louisa conducted pioneering quantitative studies on psychic abilities.[5] Rhine's work focused on developing rigorous protocols to measure purported psi effects, marking a shift from anecdotal reports to empirical testing.[75] A foundational protocol in these experiments involved card-guessing tasks using Zener cards, a deck of 25 cards featuring five symbols (circle, cross, waves, square, and star), each repeated five times, to assess ESP such as telepathy or clairvoyance. Participants attempted to identify hidden cards, with chance expectation at 20% accuracy; Rhine's early trials reported hit rates slightly above this level, though later analyses questioned the results due to methodological issues like sensory leakage.[64] For PK, experiments employed random number generators (RNGs) to detect mind-matter interactions, where participants tried to influence binary outcomes (e.g., high or low voltage) beyond chance. A 2006 meta-analysis of 380 such studies found a small but statistically significant effect size of 0.004 (p < 0.001), though the authors noted evidence of publication bias that could inflate the apparent impact.[76] The Ganzfeld procedure, developed in the 1970s, emerged as a prominent method for testing telepathy by isolating the receiver in a sensory-deprived state (using halved ping-pong balls over the eyes and white noise) while a sender attempted to transmit a visual target. A 2024 meta-analysis of 28 Ganzfeld studies from 1974 to 2020 reported an overall hit rate of 38% against a 25% chance expectation, yielding a significant effect (p < 0.001), though the effect size remained modest at 0.134.[77] Statistical analyses in parapsychology often rely on meta-analytic techniques to aggregate results across studies, with several reviews indicating small positive effects (e.g., odds against chance exceeding 10^12 in some ESP compilations), though these are typically on the order of Cohen's d ≈ 0.2 and debated for their replicability.[78] Institutional support for these experiments grew with the founding of the Parapsychological Association in 1957 as an international professional organization dedicated to advancing psi research through scientific inquiry.[79] The group gained affiliation with the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1969, enhancing its legitimacy until ongoing controversies led to scrutiny.[80] Notable labs included Princeton University's Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research (PEAR) laboratory, which ran RNG-based PK studies from 1979 until its closure in 2007 due to funding challenges and shifting academic priorities.[81] Ongoing work persists at institutions like the University of Virginia's Division of Perceptual Studies, established in 1967, which continues empirical investigations into anomalous cognition through controlled protocols.[6] Criticisms of parapsychological experiments center on persistent replication failures and potential artifacts such as selective reporting or experimenter effects. For instance, attempts to replicate key ESP findings, including those from Bem's precognition studies, have often yielded null results (e.g., p > 0.05 in direct replications), suggesting that initial positive outcomes may stem from methodological flaws rather than genuine effects.[82] Meta-analyses acknowledging file-drawer problems (unreported negative studies) sometimes reduce effect sizes to nonsignificance, though proponents argue that the cumulative evidence supports small psi phenomena without full debunking.[83] Despite these challenges, the field maintains adherence to statistical standards like p < 0.05 for individual studies, emphasizing the need for preregistered protocols to address skepticism.

Participant-Observer Techniques

Participant-observer techniques in paranormal investigations involve researchers immersing themselves directly in environments reported to host supernatural activity, blending personal engagement with qualitative data collection to document experiences and interactions. Originating from anthropological methods that emphasize ethnographic fieldwork and lived experiences, these approaches were adapted to paranormal studies in the late 19th century through early psychical research societies, such as the American Society for Psychical Research founded in 1885 by William James, which prioritized subjective accounts alongside empirical observation.[84] This influence is evident in modern ethnographies of ghost hunting groups, where participant observation allows researchers to explore team dynamics, belief formation, and on-site encounters with alleged phenomena like apparitions. The techniques gained widespread application in paranormal contexts through television, notably the Syfy series Ghost Hunters (2004–present), which popularized immersive investigations by featuring teams conducting overnight stays and real-time documentation, thereby mainstreaming the method and inspiring amateur practitioners.[85] Core techniques include extended stays at purportedly haunted locations, such as spending nights in abandoned buildings or historic sites to record sensory impressions like chills or unexplained sounds, alongside on-site interviews with witnesses to contextualize events. Investigators often maintain detailed journals of personal reactions while cross-referencing them with environmental observations, aiming to build narrative accounts of phenomena rather than isolated data points. For instance, teams may provoke interactions during electronic voice phenomenon (EVP) sessions or thermal scans, interpreting results through intersubjective validation among participants.[84] These methods prioritize the investigator's role as both actor and recorder, fostering a holistic understanding of the site's atmosphere and historical narratives tied to reported hauntings. Prominent examples include the investigations by Ed and Lorraine Warren, who from the 1950s through the 2000s employed participant-observer approaches in over 10,000 cases, immersing themselves in affected households to assess demonic or ghostly presences through direct confrontation and psychic impressions. In the Amityville Horror case (1975–1976), the Warrens entered the Ocean Avenue home shortly after the Lutz family fled, conducting an on-site séance where Ed reported physical assault and Lorraine visualized prior murders, linking the activity to the property's history of violence and ritual.[86] Their technique involved team-based observation with reporters and parapsychologists, capturing a purported spirit photograph and retrieving artifacts to substantiate claims of demonic influence.[86] In contemporary practice, participant-observer techniques have evolved with accessible technology, such as mounting GoPro cameras for first-person footage during investigations, enabling investigators to document movements and reactions in low-light conditions without disrupting immersion. This shift enhances subjective evidence capture, as seen in teams using body-mounted devices to record unscripted encounters at haunted sites.[87] Community events like ghost tours further exemplify the approach, where guides lead participants through historic locales, encouraging active engagement—such as EVP recordings or sensory walkthroughs—to simulate investigations and explore paranormal beliefs in a social setting. These tours blend education with experiential participation, allowing attendees to observe and contribute to collective narratives of hauntings.

Scientific Explanations and Skepticism

Psychological Interpretations

Psychological interpretations of paranormal beliefs and experiences emphasize cognitive and emotional processes that shape how individuals perceive and interpret ambiguous stimuli. One key factor is pareidolia, the tendency to perceive familiar patterns, such as faces or figures, in random or ambiguous data, which can lead to sightings of apparitions or ghosts in shadows, clouds, or static noise.[88] This perceptual bias is heightened among those with stronger paranormal beliefs, as they exhibit lower sensitivity in distinguishing signal from noise and a greater proneness to illusory pattern recognition.[89] Similarly, confirmation bias plays a central role, where individuals selectively interpret ambiguous events—such as unexplained sounds or movements—as evidence supporting preexisting paranormal convictions, while dismissing contradictory explanations.[90] Studies indicate that this bias mediates the link between analytical thinking styles and reduced paranormal endorsement, as intuitive thinkers are more susceptible to such interpretive errors.[91] Personality traits also correlate with paranormal inclinations, particularly through the schizotypy scale, which measures proneness to unusual perceptual experiences and magical thinking. Research from the 1990s, including studies by Thalbourne and Irwin, consistently showed that higher schizotypy scores predict greater belief in paranormal phenomena, with correlations around 0.3 to 0.4 across diverse samples.[92] These traits foster a cognitive style that blurs boundaries between reality and imagination, making individuals more likely to attribute ordinary anomalies to supernatural causes. Emotional factors further contribute, as childhood trauma has been linked to increased paranormal beliefs; a 1994 study found that individuals who grew up with alcoholic parents reported stronger convictions in areas such as witchcraft, superstitions, and precognition.[93] Additionally, sleep paralysis often produces vivid hallucinations interpreted as paranormal encounters, like the "old hag" syndrome, where a suffocating presence is felt; scientifically, these arise from REM sleep intrusions into wakefulness, generating terror without external stimuli.[94] Recent surveys in the 2020s highlight how heightened anxiety and stress exacerbate these patterns. During the COVID-19 pandemic, reports of paranormal experiences surged, with studies showing that pandemic-related stress positively correlated with paranormal beliefs, mediating effects on loneliness and mental health distress.[95] A 2024 study of 163 participants in South America found that paranormal beliefs were associated with elevated anxiety, stress, and depression during the pandemic.[96] A July 2025 Gallup poll indicated growing skepticism toward paranormal phenomena in the U.S., with belief in ghosts at 32%, reflecting ongoing psychological influences on such convictions.[8]

Neuroscientific Perspectives

Neuroscientific research has increasingly explored how brain activity, particularly in the temporal lobes, may underlie perceptions of paranormal phenomena such as ghostly presences or apparitions. Stimulation of the temporal lobes using complex magnetic fields has been shown to induce sensations of a "sensed presence," often interpreted as ghostly or otherworldly entities. In experiments conducted from the 1980s through the 2000s, neuroscientist Michael Persinger developed the "God Helmet," a device that applies weak magnetic fields to the temporal lobes, resulting in reports of paranormal-like experiences in a significant portion of participants, with up to 80% describing feelings of an invisible entity nearby under specific stimulation patterns.[97] These findings suggest that anomalous temporal lobe activity can generate vivid, seemingly external sensations without actual environmental stimuli, linking neural microseizures to common reports of hauntings.[98] Neurotransmitter imbalances further contribute to these experiences, with dopamine playing a central role in enhancing the salience of ambiguous stimuli, potentially leading to mystical or paranormal interpretations. Elevated dopamine levels, as seen in conditions like schizophrenia or induced pharmacologically, heighten the detection of meaningful patterns in random data, a process correlated with stronger paranormal beliefs.[99] Similarly, temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) is strongly associated with visionary experiences, including apparitions and religious ecstasies, due to paroxysmal discharges in the limbic system. Patients with TLE report such experiences more frequently than the general population, with electrical stimulation during surgery eliciting out-of-body sensations or divine encounters in controlled settings.[100][98]

Criticisms and Debunking

Skeptical organizations have played a central role in systematically challenging paranormal claims through rigorous scientific scrutiny. The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI), originally founded in 1976 as the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP) by philosopher Paul Kurtz along with prominent figures such as Carl Sagan, Isaac Asimov, and James Randi, was established to promote critical thinking and investigate pseudoscientific assertions, including those related to the paranormal.[101] Similarly, the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF), formed in 1996, supported educational initiatives aimed at debunking supernatural phenomena by emphasizing evidence-based reasoning.[102] Key methods employed by these groups involve controlled replications and challenges to test claims under strict protocols. A notable example is the One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge, initiated by James Randi in 1964 and administered by the JREF from 1996 until its discontinuation in 2015, which offered a prize to anyone who could demonstrate paranormal abilities in a mutually agreed-upon scientific setting; no claimant ever succeeded.[102] Another landmark effort was Project Alpha, launched by Randi in 1979, where two young magicians posed as psychics and infiltrated the McDonnell Laboratory for Psychical Research at Washington University, exploiting lax controls to produce fabricated phenomena that researchers initially accepted as genuine, thereby exposing flaws in experimental rigor and confirmation bias in parapsychology labs.[103] Common frauds uncovered through such investigations include cold reading techniques used by purported psychics, where practitioners observe subjects' reactions, make vague high-probability statements, and elicit confirming details to simulate supernatural insight, as detailed in analyses by skeptic Ray Hyman.[104] Photo manipulations have also been prevalent, dating back to 19th-century spirit photography involving double exposures and props to depict ghosts, a practice that persists today with digital editing and foreshadows challenges from AI-generated deepfakes that further erode evidentiary trust.[105] Media sensationalism has amplified these issues, particularly through 2000s reality television programs like Ghost Hunters (premiering 2004 on Syfy) and Ghost Adventures, which dramatized unverified investigations using pseudoscientific tools such as EMF meters and EVP recordings, often prioritizing entertainment over empirical validation and contributing to widespread acceptance of unsubstantiated claims.[85] The impacts of unchecked paranormal pseudoscience extend to tangible harms, including health scams where alternative therapies tied to supernatural beliefs—such as chelation for autism or Gerson therapy for cancer—delay proven treatments and cause deaths, prompting warnings from organizations like CSI about the dangers of forgoing evidence-based medicine.[106] Recent developments, including the rise of AI tools capable of generating convincing fake evidence like deepfake videos of apparitions, have intensified debunking efforts, as skeptics note the technology's potential to mimic paranormal events and undermine investigations since the early 2020s.[105]

Societal and Cultural Aspects

Prevalence of Beliefs

Belief in paranormal phenomena remains widespread, with surveys indicating significant portions of populations endorsing at least one such concept. In the United States, a 2005 Gallup poll found that 73% of adults believed in at least one form of the paranormal, including extrasensory perception, haunted houses, ghosts, demonic possession, and telepathy.[107] More recent data from the 2021 Chapman University Survey of American Fears revealed that approximately 53% of respondents agreed that places can be haunted by spirits, underscoring persistent acceptance of ghostly phenomena among over half the sample.[108] A July 2025 Gallup poll indicated continued skepticism overall, with 39% believing in ghosts and 48% in psychic healing, showing relatively stable but declining trends in some areas compared to prior decades.[8] An October 2025 YouGov survey found that 60% of Americans reported having experienced at least one paranormal event.[109] Globally, estimates vary, but a 2024 Ipsos survey across 10 countries showed that 35% of respondents believed in ghosts, with similar rates for other supernatural entities like clairvoyance (28%).[110] Demographic patterns highlight variations in these beliefs. Women are more likely than men to endorse paranormal ideas, often due to greater reliance on intuitive thinking styles.[111] Younger individuals, particularly those under 30, report higher rates for specific beliefs like witchcraft and luck compared to older groups.[112] Surveys, including analyses of the Chapman University Survey of American Fears (2020-2021) and a 2021 nationally representative U.S. survey of 2,000 adults, indicate that belief in paranormal and supernatural phenomena negatively correlates with higher education (bachelor's degree or higher), higher income, and socioeconomic status, with higher levels of these factors associated with lower endorsement of such beliefs, while lower socioeconomic status is linked to higher levels of paranormal belief. Similar patterns appear in UK data. The inverse association between higher education levels and paranormal endorsement is well-documented, though this correlation is not absolute and may diminish for certain phenomena among well-educated individuals.[113][114][115][116] Trends suggest a post-2020 uptick in paranormal interest, linked to increased social media engagement during the COVID-19 pandemic, with platforms like TikTok amplifying content on hauntings and spirituality and correlating with stronger beliefs among heavy users of video-centric sites.[117][118] Regional differences show elevated rates in some areas; for instance, a 2022 Brazilian study indicated that 70% of the general population had experienced precognitive dreams at least once.[119] Surveys on paranormal beliefs rely heavily on self-reporting, which introduces potential biases such as social desirability and memory distortion, where respondents may over- or under-report based on cultural norms or personal reflection.[120] These methodological challenges emphasize the need for cautious interpretation of prevalence data.

Cultural Variations and Media Influence

Paranormal beliefs exhibit significant cultural variations, shaped by historical, religious, and social contexts unique to different societies. In Western cultures, particularly in Europe and North America, apparitions and ghosts are often depicted as restless spirits tied to unresolved earthly matters, such as untimely deaths or injustices, reflecting a dualistic view of the afterlife influenced by Christian traditions.[121] This contrasts with African traditions, where ancestral spirits are revered as active guardians of morality and community well-being, intervening in the lives of descendants to enforce ethical conduct or provide protection, as seen in Akan societies of Ghana where ancestors are invoked through rituals to maintain social harmony.[122][123] In South Asian cultures, particularly among Hindus in India, reincarnation—known as samsara—forms a core paranormal concept, positing that the soul (atman) cycles through births and deaths based on karma, with the ultimate goal of liberation (moksha) from this cycle, deeply embedding notions of continuity and moral causation in daily life and philosophy.[124] Indigenous Australian Aboriginal beliefs, centered on the Dreamtime, portray a timeless spiritual framework where ancestral beings created the landscape and laws during an eternal "everywhen," blending the supernatural with the natural world to explain ongoing connections between people, land, and lore.[125] These variations highlight how paranormal phenomena are not universal but interpreted through localized cosmologies, with cross-cultural studies showing that supernatural explanations often address social events more than natural ones in diverse societies.[126] Media has profoundly influenced the dissemination and evolution of paranormal beliefs, amplifying certain narratives while blending fact with fiction. Hollywood films like the Conjuring franchise (2013–present), based on purported real investigations by Ed and Lorraine Warren, have popularized demonology and hauntings, contributing to increased public interest in ghost hunting by portraying paranormal encounters as accessible and thrilling adventures rooted in American folklore.[127] In the 2020s, true crime podcasts have further blurred boundaries between criminal investigations and supernatural elements, often exploring hauntings tied to unsolved mysteries, which sustains audience fascination with the paranormal by framing eerie events as extensions of real-world tragedies.[118] Globalization via the internet has accelerated the spread of paranormal lore, creating hybrid urban legends that transcend cultural borders. The Slender Man, originating as a 2009 creepypasta on the Something Awful forum, exemplifies this, evolving from a fictional horror meme into a global phenomenon through user-generated content on platforms like YouTube and Reddit, influencing real-world behaviors and inspiring media adaptations.[128][129] Social media echo chambers exacerbate this by reinforcing paranormal convictions, as algorithms promote content that aligns with users' existing beliefs, such as ghost videos or conspiracy theories, leading to heightened conviction without critical scrutiny.[130] These dynamics have societal ripple effects, including the perpetuation of historical events like the Salem witch trials (1692) as enduring symbols of paranormal intrigue, drawing visitors to sites that commemorate the hysteria and its spectral legacy.[131]

Contemporary Developments

Technological Advances

Since the 2010s, digital tools have revolutionized paranormal investigations by making advanced detection methods accessible to amateurs and professionals alike. Smartphone apps utilizing built-in sensors such as microphones, accelerometers, and magnetometers have emerged as popular aids for capturing electronic voice phenomena (EVP), where users record audio and analyze it for unexplained voices. For instance, the Ghost Hunting Tools: EVP Radar app, released in the early 2010s and updated regularly, employs signal processing to detect potential spirit communications and has garnered over 46,000 user reviews on the Google Play Store, reflecting widespread adoption in field investigations.[132] Similarly, apps like Ghost Detector Tool on the Apple App Store allow scanning for EVP across frequency ranges, enabling real-time audio playback to identify anomalies during explorations.[133] In the realm of unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP), civilian-developed apps have facilitated tracking and reporting, often incorporating drone sightings to differentiate between conventional aircraft and unexplained objects. The Enigma Labs app, launched in 2023, enables users to report and map UAP encounters in near real-time, including those potentially involving drones, and has documented over 42,000 sightings as of November 2025 while providing alerts for nearby activity.[134] Drones themselves have been employed by civilian investigators since around 2022 to pursue and film potential UAP, as hobbyists use consumer models equipped with cameras to follow anomalous lights or objects reported in community networks.[135] This integration of drone technology with apps like Enigma has democratized UAP monitoring, allowing non-experts to contribute data for pattern analysis. Advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning have further enhanced the analysis of paranormal evidence, particularly in processing vast amounts of footage for subtle anomalies. Open-source frameworks for video anomaly detection, such as those compiled in the Awesome Video Anomaly Detection repository on GitHub, include 2024 models like BatchNorm-Based Weakly Supervised Video Anomaly Detection, which can be adapted to flag irregular movements or apparitions in ghost hunting recordings without prior labeling of "paranormal" events.[136] These tools apply convolutional neural networks to identify deviations from normal patterns, improving efficiency over manual review; for example, they have been explored in paranormal contexts to detect electromagnetic fluctuations or unexplained shadows in infrared footage.[137] Virtual reality (VR) simulations have introduced novel methods for studying paranormal experiences in controlled environments since the early 2020s. In 2023 experiments, VR platforms have recreated haunting scenarios to examine psychological responses, such as fear and agency detection, by immersing participants in simulated ghostly encounters.[138] Apps like S:G VR Paranormal Experiments use immersive VR to replicate classic investigations, stimulating altered states and testing psychic awareness through interactive hauntings, allowing researchers to study belief reinforcement without physical sites.[139] Despite these innovations, technological advances have also amplified challenges, notably the proliferation of digital hoaxes enabled by deepfakes since their widespread emergence in 2017. Deepfake technology, which synthesizes realistic audio and video manipulations using AI, has facilitated fabricated paranormal evidence, such as ghostly apparitions or EVP, complicating verification in investigations.[140] This has led to increased skepticism, with investigators now routinely employing forensic tools to authenticate footage amid a surge in synthetic media.[141]

Recent Reports and Challenges

In recent years, the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), established by the U.S. Department of Defense in July 2022, has conducted systematic analyses of unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP), previously known as UFOs. As detailed in the 2024 annual report (the latest available as of November 2025), AARO reviewed over 1,600 cases since its inception through June 2024, including 757 new reports from May 2023 to June 2024, with 485 incidents occurring within that period. While most cases were resolved as mundane objects like balloons or drones, a portion remains unexplained, prompting ongoing investigation; however, the reports emphasize no evidence of extraterrestrial technology or national security threats, focusing instead on potential safety risks to aviation and military operations. Parapsychology has seen a tentative revival through interdisciplinary research exploring quantum mechanics and psi phenomena, though such efforts remain preliminary and highly controversial. A 2025 study published in Computational and Structural Biotechnology Journal examined quantum entanglement's influence on consciousness using 106 pairs of monozygotic twins in an implicit learning task with entangled qubit circuits.[142] The findings indicated that entanglement accounted for 13.5% of variance in learning accuracy and enhanced cognitive performance by up to 26.2%, suggesting nonlocal effects akin to anomalous cognition or psi abilities like precognition.[142] Critics argue these results challenge classical physics without sufficient replication, highlighting the need for further validation amid debates over quantum decoherence in biological systems.[142] Formal challenges to demonstrate paranormal abilities continue through skeptic organizations, serving as successors to the James Randi Educational Foundation's discontinued million-dollar prize. In February 2023, the Center for Inquiry Investigations Group (CFIIG) doubled its paranormal challenge prize to $500,000, requiring claimants to pass preliminary and formal scientific tests under controlled conditions.[143] By the end of 2023, CFIIG received 132 applications and conducted in-person tests on eight claimants, none of whom met the rigorous protocols to claim the award, which remains unclaimed as of 2025.[144] Broader trends in paranormal reporting surged during the COVID-19 pandemic from 2020 to 2022, attributed to prolonged isolation and increased time spent in homes. Paranormal investigators, such as those from the Atlantic Paranormal Society, noted a marked rise in haunting reports starting in March 2020, coinciding with widespread lockdowns, as individuals interpreted amplified ambient noises—like settling wood—as supernatural activity.[145] This spike reflects heightened psychological sensitivity during periods of uncertainty, with surveys indicating sustained belief in ghosts among 45% of U.S. adults, though direct causation remains correlational rather than proven.[145]

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