New Books and Media

From the publisher's website: Séances, clairvoyance, and telepathy captivated public imagination in the United States from the 1850s well into the twentieth century. Though skeptics dismissed these experiences as delusions, a new kind of investigator emerged to seek the science behind such phenomena. With new technologies like the telegraph collapsing the boundaries of time and space, an explanation seemed within reach. As Americans took up psychical experiments in their homes, the boundaries of the mind began to waver. Common Phantoms brings these experiments back to life while modeling a new approach to the history of psychology and the mind sciences.

Drawing on previously untapped archives of participant-reported data, Alicia Puglionesi recounts how an eclectic group of investigators tried to capture the most elusive dimensions of human consciousness. A vast though flawed experiment in democratic science, psychical research gave participants valuable tools with which to study their experiences on their own terms. Academic psychology would ultimately disown this effort as both a scientific failure and a remnant of magical thinking, but its challenge to the limits of science, the mind, and the soul still reverberates today.

Further information at the publisher's website: Stanford University Press.

RE-INTERPRETING WHAT IT MEANS TO BE AWAKE: The Hidden Revelation, a previously unpublished manuscript of Ingo’s, was discovered by Nick Cook in 2016 in a nondescript folder tucked inconspicuously among some of Ingo’s notes. Now, together with Beyond the Gods’ Devices, another undiscovered manuscript, it is published for the first time as Resurrecting The Mysterious, a posthumous compilation that delivers what we (that is Nick and Swann-Ryder Productions, LLC) offer here as Ingo’s’ ‘grand unified theory’ of the human experience (and, in part, of consciousness itself). This asserts that paranormality is part of an ‘expanded reality-set’ rooted in the relationship between quantum theory, us the observer and something infinitely more profound, even, that is fully described in Beyond the Gods’ Devices. The Hidden Revelation is more concerned with us, the immanent experience, the inward journey; Beyond the Gods’ Devices with that world, whatever that world truly is, that binds and connects us to ‘the numinous’ -- that, which, at present, science is unable to describe. For many, it may also make the ‘hard problem’ of consciousness just that little bit easier to comprehend. We certainly hope so.

From the publisher's website: There are few factual books written about poltergeist phenomena, John's Fraser's Poltergeist! A New Investigation Into Destructive Haunting fills that void, advancing and updating Colin Wilson's work Poltergeist!, this study's namesake from over 38 years ago. Fraser takes readers on a journey from the Borley Rectory to the Isle of Man, and grounds his readers in an historical overview of 'poltergeist phenomena'. He examines where such events overlap with other paranormal investigations of 'apparitional' ghosts. What do they have in common, what do they differ? To answer this, Fraser looks to new research on paranormal events, never before published in book form. Fraser contends, perhaps controversially, that ghost sightings are and always will be ambiguous and near-impossible to prove, that only poltergeist phenomena can be empirically verified.

Review by Nemo C. Mörck.

Ghostly voices have been appearing on tape recordings for decades . Known as EVP (electronic voice phenomenon), learn all you need to know about EVP like where it came from, how it works and the theories as to why these voices appear on recordings. We start by exploring the research from pioneers such as Friedrich Jurgenson & Konstantin Raudive and how EVP research has evolved throughout the years. How can you do you own recordings? What are the different recording methods and equipment you can use? What techniques and experiments can you try besides just the typical question and answer sessions? How do you review your audio? What natural causes can be mistaken for this phenomenon and what interferes with our recordings? Finally let's talk about what these voices potentially are. Could the voices be from the other side or maybe from out of this world? This is a comprehensive instructional and interactive guide suitable for anyone interested in the paranormal designed to make you think and question everything you think you know. There are even interactive worksheets to help you make this guide your own complete with your own thoughts and research. Whether you are a fan of watching your favourite television personalities walking around with a digital recorder or starting out as a paranormal investigator yourself, this will give you everything you need to know and more! If you have been out in the field for years, there are some new ideas and technical information for those wanting to take their research a little further. There is something for everyone in this guide!Written by blogger Sarah Chumacero from the popular paranormal blog Living Life In Full Spectrum and author of Stuff Paranormal Investigators Need To Know, this is a must have guide for anyone interested in the paranormal and something you will refer to time and time again!

From the publisher's website: The paranormal has long been a hotly contested topic, especially in academia. Most people are entertained by the paranormal or casually read a few books they come across on the topic, perhaps assuming that these topics are nothing more than campfire fodder. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with being entertained by the paranormal, but how many people know that there is a long history of academic, scientific, and credible research into topics such as extrasensory perception, hauntings, poltergeists, cryptozoological sightings, near-death experiences, and more?

Further information at the publisher's website: Rowman & Littlefield.