Full Description
Few people can claim the distinction of experiencing first-hand such occurrences as hauntings and the presence of poltergeists, but countless numbers of people are fascinated by these unexplainable events. Written by the world's most knowledgeable authorities in this field, the essays in this work promote a better understanding of the manifestations of and various reasons for hauntings and poltergeist phenomena. The experts come from such backgrounds as anthropology, history, philosophy, psychiatry, and sociology, and provide sober yet highly readable in-depth discussions of numerous ideas and rationalizations for hauntings and poltergeists, from a critical and scientific perspective. Divided into three major sections--sociocultural, physical and physiological, and psychological perspectives--this work provides an overview of each perspective and also addresses the general psychology of belief in the paranormal and how that belief relates to experiences with ghosts and poltergeists.
Contents
Table of Contents
About the Contributors
Foreword by John Beloff
Preface
I: Sociocultural Perspectives
1. Historical Introduction: The Example of Early Modern and Nineteenth-Century England
2. An Experience-Centered Approach to Hauntings
3. The Ghost Experience in a Wider Context
4. The Sociological Investigation of Haunting Cases
5. A House That Tries to Be Haunted: Ghostly Narratives in Popular Film and Television
II: Physical and Physiological Perspectives
6. Investigations of Poltergeists and Haunts: A Review and Interpretation
7. Seeking Spirits in the Laboratory
8. Predicting the Characteristics of Haunt Phenomena from Geomagnetic Factors and Brain Sensitivity: Evidence from Field and Experimental Studies
9. From Haunted Brain to Haunted Science: A Cognitive Neuroscience View of Paranormal and Pseudoscientific Thought
10. Phantoms, Frauds, or Fantasies?
III: Psychological Perspectives
11. A New Look at Haunting and Poltergeist Phenomena: Analyzing Experiences from a Semiotic Perspective
12. Apparitions and Kindred Phenomena: Their Relevance to the Psychology of Paranormal Belief and Experience
13. Relation of Hypnosis-Specific Attitudes and Behaviors to Paranormal Beliefs and Experiences: A Technical Review
14. Ambiguous Stimuli Brought to Life: The Psychological Dynamics of Hauntings and Poltergeists
Afterword by Gertrude R. Schmeidler
Bibliography
Index
