A Study of the Paranormal
By Chris McMinn
(Photo of Amityville house)
What is the history behind the
belief in ghosts?
• Where did the belief in ghosts begin? It is thought
that the existence of ghosts is from a belief that
there is something else after death, namely some
sort of afterlife. “In history and prehistory, ghosts
were an integral part of religious belief. Religion
carried the promise of immortality, which meant that
spirits of the dead had to be taken into
consideration.” (Man, Myth and Magic 1001)
Ancestor worship was a form of “religious
awareness”, so a belief in some kind of afterlife and
a worship of the dead was important.
Demonology
• Demonology is the systematic study of demons or beliefs
about demons… It is the branch of theology relating to
superhuman beings who are not gods.” (http://
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demonology) They include benevolent
(good) and malevolent (bad) beings. When demons are viewed
as spirits, they may belong to either class of spirits known by
primitive animal like creatures. These beings can be that of a
human or non-human beings and separable souls or out of
body spirits that never had a body. Demonology, though often
referred to with negative association, was not always seen as
evil or devilish as the term would have one believe. According
to some societies, all the aspects of life are supposed to be
under the control of spirits, each controlling a certain
“element” or even an object, and themselves ruled by a greater
spirit. (http:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demonology)
Witchcraft
• I am most familiar with the witch trials in Salem,
Massachusetts, which occurred between February of
1692 and May of 1693. The belief in witches and
witchcraft goes further back. “In England, the term
‘witch’ was not used exclusively to describe
malevolent magicians, but could also indicate
cunning folk. ‘There were a number of
interchangeable terms for these practitioners, white,
good or unbinding witches, blessers, wizards,
sorcerers, however cunning man and wise man were
most frequent.” (http://
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witchcraft) Witches were not
always thought of in evil terms
Mesmeric Movement
• In the 18th century, Friedrich (Franz) Anton Mesmer was
born May 23, 1734. He was a physician and astrologist
that studied magnetism and invented what he called
animal magnetism and other spiritual forces that came to
be known as mesmerism. He lived in Germany and
studied medicine at the University of Vienna in 1759. In
1766 he published a doctoral dissertation that discussed
the effects of the moon and the planets on the human
body and on disease. Mesmer focused more on certain
tides in the human body that might be accounted for by
the movements of the sun and moon.
Mesmeric Movement
• He believed that the sun and moon had influences
on the human body and diseases in humans. He
thought that the human body had tides, and he had
created an “artificial tide” in a female patient by
having her swallow something containing iron; he
then attached magnets to her body. This, along with
his belief in animal magnetism cured her of her
illness. (http:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Mesmer)
Mesmer believed that a form of hypnotism could be
used to “induce trances and cause subjects to report
contact with supernatural beings.” (http://
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiritualism)
The Spiritualist Movement,
Skepticism, and the Skeptical
Movement
•
“Spiritualism is a monotheistic belief system or religion, postulating a
belief in God, but with a distinguishing feature of belief that spirits of
the dead residing in the spirit world can be contacted by ‘mediums’
who can then provide information about the afterlife.” (http://
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiritualism) Belief in spiritualism in the US
ranged from the 1840s to the 1920s, although many people today
believe in the ability to get information from someone who had
“passed”. During this time in the 19th century a household in 1848 in
Hydesville New York was home of to girls names Katie and Maggie Fox
who claimed that they could here “rapping” noises in their old house.
They blamed it on ghosts but there parents didn’t believe them but
over time as the noises continued and with no evidence of how the
noises were being made by the girls, they began to believe. Locals of
Hydesville went to see the girls and their ghosts, which the girls began
to perform shows of communicating with the dead. They would have
someone with them and ask questions that responded in a number of
taps or yes or no questions.
Personality traits of a Believer of
the Paranormal
• Back then people believed that believers of the
paranormal were psychologically dysfunctional in
being psychotic, neurotic, and depressive.
• In 1995 three people named Thalbourne, Dunbar, and
Delin had used a sample of 169 first-year psychology
students, and they had found a positive association
between dogmatism and Traditional Religious Belief,
Witchcraft, and overall Paranormal Belief Score.
Personality traits of a Believer of
the Paranormal
• In 1998-1999, two people named Heard and Vyse had found a
positive relationship between authoritarianism and belief in the
paranormal when using the Authoritarianism-Rebellion Scale.
However, no relationship between rebelliousness and
paranormal belief was found.
• On a Personality Form test, high believers scored significantly
higher in Aggression and Defendence.
• Neuroticism has been found to be significantly correlated with
an overall paranormal Belief Scale Score, Traditional Religious
Belief, Psi, Witchcraft, as well as with the Australian SheepGoat Scale, which addresses belief in and personal experience
of ESP, telepathy, precognition, and life after death.
Non-Believer of After Death
Contact Experiences
(Using Myers-Briggs Inventory)
• They use common sense “mentally live in the now”
• They like clear and concrete information
• Memory recall is detailed
• “Easily able to provide an objective and Critical analysis”
• “Accept conflict as a natural, normal part of relationships with
people”
• They search for facts and logic while making decisions
Scientific Investigation
My Hypothesis
Paranormal entities do exist
within the household.
Testing My Hypothesis
To test my hypothesis, I planed to use the following equipment:
• EMF
• Still Photo Camera
• Video Camera
• Microphone
• Temperature Probe
•
My body and my feelings/ the Five Senses
Do you
believe?