Research Issues in Parapsychology Essay

Have you ever felt that spook in your house or in a building? Do you ever feel like somethings ever followed you or watched you? Have you ever seen doors open even though nobody was there? If you haven’t already guessed it these are some examples of paranormal activity. Good morning Ms. Bozzelli and fellow classmates, today I will be talking to you about paranormal activity, how they could be found, what they are capable of, and haunted locations.

This shows that people thought it was super entertaining to hear some of these stories of people communicating with the dead. In the article "The Haunted House" by Valerie Worth it talks about some people go in and explore a old, earey haunted house, but they are not scared. I the article it says “Its echoes, Its aching stairs, Its doors gone stiff at the hinges, Remind us of its Owners, who Grew old, who Died, but Who are still Here: learning In the closet like That curtain rod, Sleeping on the cellar Shelf like this empty jelly jar.” (Worth 9). This shows that people there going out of there way to in some way get to interact with ghost, because it entantering to people to be scared. In conclusion, people are addicted to being scared, and hearing these stories of people talking to the dead which simply can not be understudied, or even scientifically

Spirituality gives meaning and purposes to their belief (51). In Reconnecting science and spirituality, Walach defines spirituality as “a way to understand the natural makeup of the world by means of rational methods of inquiry”. This quotes allows the world to have faith in their own beliefs (425). The happenings in Hydesville involving the Fox sisters started to increase the rate of mediums around the world (Walliss 129). Spiritualism started to have a greater influence of people’s lives. People started to go to mediums to communicate with lost love ones. Spiritualism was given closures to people in the world (Walliss

The rise of witchcraft affected the culture and minds of the commoners by the way it provided a scapegoat for mysterious things that took place, and the jobs that it created. Witchcraft took the minds and trust of the people of Europe by storm, raising suspicion among family and friends in the townsfolk. One explanation for “belief in witchcraft in pre-industrial societies, including

Anything that can be explained by science is treated as a known truth. There is a bias within the scientific community based on the “assumption that the public is uninformed, and scientist are purveyors of facts” (Bartell 7). Science and folklore have typically had a tumultuous relationship as the scientific community attempts to “re-interpret phenomena previously explained by folklore and /or supernatural mysticism as logical results of scientifically understood processes” (Jordan 8). The goal of interpreting the supernatural through a scientific lens is reflected in popular culture. I believe that film and television mix science with supernatural themes because science is such a prominent aspect of modern society so it invokes feelings

On a gloomy Tuesday night, a group of teenagers from George Mason University circled around an Ouija board to find out what their final grade from a psychology class, Mystery, Madness, and Murder would be. Soon after, the planchette moved, allowing them to communicate with evil spirits from another dimension. Unfortunately, this communication led them into learning not only their final grade, but also into being haunted by an evil spirit until the end of their lives. This, surprisingly, is a very common practice in the United States. Even the International Exorcists’ Association (AIE) states that the usage of Ouija boards increased the exorcism practices within the U.S. (cite). According to a recent poll on LiveScience, 65% of Americans believe

The Supernatural has been alive for many years, even in the 1600’s there were things

Spiritualism did not simply arise out of the blue and the letters to Lincoln reflect this. Although believers pointed to a specific event that inaugurated the dawn of “Modern Spiritualism”—the infamous raps heard by the Fox sisters at Hydesville , New York , in 1848—spiritualism drew upon many precedents, particularly the traditions of clairvoyant somnambulism, mesmerism, and second sight. The earliest letters to Lincoln concerning spiritualism warn him of danger. An anonymous writer, one G. A., “A Wide Awake,” wrote from Cleveland in December, 1860, to warn Lincoln of a plot to murder him by poison upon his arrival in Washington D.C. G. A. wrote, as he explained it, because “as a good Republican, I deem it my duty, to communicate the following facts.” A young local girl, a somnambulist and clairvoyant, “not a Spiritualist” (he hastened to add), had requested his presence and then, while entranced, told of the scheme. The clairvoyant girl had specifically requested G. A. to inform Lincoln . She supplied an antidote as well: should Lincoln feel ill, he must drink “hot milk in Large quantities” to foil the plot. Obviously uncomfortable with the new trend attributing predictions to spirits, G. A. assured Lincoln that “the undersigned is no Spiritualist,” but he vouched for “the absolute verity of many

Ghosts, as with any other misunderstood group or people, have been preyed upon by others without understanding. The lack of knowledge about ghosts and haunting activity has led people astray as to what they really are. What Hollywood and television portrays is very inaccurate and cannot be relied upon as truthful. They show these spirits of the dead as being evil in nature, filled with malice and harmful intent. But that this is not the case. The field of paranormal activity is amazing. It has caught the imagination of people from every walk of life. It has always interested me and has influenced me to pick this as the topic for my research. Through this research I wish to uncover the truth about the existence of ghosts.

They concluded through these experiments that the effects of talking boards and other supposedly paranormal cases were caused by the imagination. B. In 1812, Michel Eugene Chevreul, a natural scientist and chemist began investigations of the pendulum phenomenon, in which a pendulum held by a string would swing, giving yes, no, and maybe answers to

Various forms of communication have been identified in bats (3) and dolphins (4), for example, but have been recognized as nonexistent in humans. This suggests that the scientific community might, in time, be able to accept the existence of the paranormal if any legitimate evidence were provided. However, it must be recognized that the dubitable position maintained by psychic phenomena within academia has not diminished its visibility in today's strikingly modern and generally discriminating society. That the study of psychic phenomena is so prevalent among respected members of our society is a testament to its durability despite continued attacks by skeptics.

Supernatural literature has always been used as a way to voice beliefs about the supernatural world and it’s relation to the human mind. The belief in a supernatural or mythical idea is society’s way of finding a reasonable explanation for natural phenomena before the birth of science. That is why supernatural literature is as appealing as it’s linked to the nature of life, death, and the universe and these are the most controversial topics with the widest range of unanswered questions. The idea of magic, spirits and gods are somewhat real to some people, so where did the thought of witches, vampires and demons come from?

“In February, 1891, the first few advertisements appeared in papers: “ouija, the wonderful talking board,” boomed a Pittsburgh toy and novelty shop, describing a magical device that answered questions about the past, present and future with marvelous accuracy” and promised “never - failing amusement and recreation for all the classes,” a link “between the known and unknown, the material and immaterial’” (McRobbie 1). Known as the father of the ouija board, William Fuld patented the world’s first

There are many things in our world that we cannot explain. We’ve used religion, science, stories, and theories, anything we could come up with to explain life’s mysteries. One subject of interest that we are all still stumped on are things classified as paranormal. Paranormal activity is a very debatable topic, with some saying ghosts and poltergeists are as real as you and me, while others try to explain the weird happenings as something natural. Even if one believes in the paranormal or not, the subject is, to say the least, very interesting. All over the world, there are claims of supernatural things going on; there are ghost sightings every day, especially around historical places, more specifically where mass killings or bloody battles have taken place. One of these places that is famous for its ghostly visitors is the Tower of London, located in The London Borough of Tower Hamlets, England. Not only is the Tower of London a very interesting place because of its ghostly guests, but it also serves as an important place in history.

the paranormal with as much respect and analysis as physics or the chaos theory."13 The