A review of The Monster Book: Creatures, Beasts and Fiends of Nature by Nick Redfern. Cryptozoology literature has a problem.
Year: 2018
Supernatural Creep: When explanations slide off to the fringes
Originally published as Supernatural Creep: The Slippery Slope to Unfalsifiability for my column Sounds Sciencey on csicop.org May 29, 2013. I’m taking a step beyond sciencey with the following topic. What happens when science doesn’t cooperate with your subject area? […]
Paranormal education classes showing up at major universities
Paranormal subjects typically lie outside the circle of academic respectability. One can argue that they have been deliberately marginalized to keep them diminished in credibility. But, with the majority of […]
Doubt and About: Revisiting Fort and more short book opinions
It’s been a long while since I did a “doubt and about” post detailing what’s going on. I’m in a weird space right now. I don’t really feel like talking […]
Science and cryptozoology: The taboo subject of Bigfoot doesn’t add up
Episode 7 of Laura Krantz’ Wild Thing podcast on Bigfoot, science and society explores the contentious relationship between the orthodox scientific community and those scientists who choose to seriously explore […]
Perhaps you can never organize paranormal research
I am enjoying my latest read. It’s George Hansen’s The Trickster and the Paranormal (2001). George and I met years ago at a parapsychology conference in Gettysburg. Even though he […]
Believers are the majority: Paranormal acceptance in America is rising
The results of the 2018 Chapman University survey of American Fears have been released and they suggest that America (that is, even well-educated America) is even more accepting of the […]
Legitimizing ghost research: Scientism, sensitives, and cultural authority
As I wrote yesterday, sociologists and ethnographers are paying greater attention to paranormal communities. I commented on Bader’s analysis of Bigfoot seeking groups and their mix of naturalistic and paranormalist […]
Supernatural in Society conference: Bader on Bigfooters
There is a lot of new research happening in academia about paranormal culture and belief. I kid you not. Scholars in sociology, psychology, religious studies, and media studies are noticing […]
The Doubtful Witness: You don’t really know what you saw
How often have you heard someone say “I know what I saw”. Observations and remembrances of events are deeply flawed but we still rely on our memory to give us […]
The Doubtful Witness: Masefield’s Montrose ghost story
The primary evidence put forward in support of paranormal reality are accounts of witnesses. Those who believe in the reality of UFOs, Bigfoot, or ghosts are heavily influenced by seemingly […]
Can you make a good paranormal-themed TV show?
A recent discussion with a person who pitches ideas for TV shows got me thinking about what a solid, informative, program about the paranormal would look like. The bottom line… […]
Devil’s Punchbowl
All around the world are remnants of a party of epic proportions – Devil’s punchbowls. Or maybe the punch was more literal. Let’s explore the interesting geology of these legendary cauldrons.
Devil’s Gate
Several sinister and infamous places around the world have been named the Devil’s Gate and come with legends of murder, magic, and monsters. Let’s take a brief tour.
Devil’s Kitchen
Something evil may be cooking up in places given the name of the “Devil’s Kitchen”. In this piece, I examine some of the most famous locations that have earned this […]
Devil’s Den
Devil’s Den is an infamous collection of large diabase boulders within the Gettysburg National Battlefield. The location has accrued spooky legends. But the truth about this diabolical place, and others with the same name, is connected to geology.
Devil Places
There are countless places in the world named after the Devil. Devil-named places sometimes owe their moniker to the geology. The features of these places may create a spooky and foreboding feeling that reinforces the local legends of the places being cursed, evil or enchanted. Let’s explore Satan’s Kingdom on earth.
Please don’t call me a Skeptic
Several people have asked me to explain why I now reject “Skeptic” to describe myself. In short, the label is limiting and is overwrought with mistaken assumptions of being elitist, […]
Trapped in flooded caves
From June into July of 2018, media coverage about 12 boys and an adult man trapped in a cave in Thailand transfixed people around the world. How did they get trapped and not be able to get out? Let’s talk groundwater and karst.
UFO reports declining: Several social factors involved
An article in Gizmodo today focused on the question of why UFO sightings (reported to NUFORC and MUFON – the major U.S. organizations who record these claims) are in decline […]