A Study of the Paranormal

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A Study of the Paranormal

• By Chris McMinn
• (Photo of Amityville house)

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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.

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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/Demonol
  ogy) 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)

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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

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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.

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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/wi
  ki/Spiritualism)

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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 didnt 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.

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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.

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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
  Sheep-Goat Scale, which addresses belief in and
  personal experience of ESP, telepathy,
  precognition, and life after death.

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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

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Scientific Investigation
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My Hypothesis

• Paranormal entities do exist within the household.

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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

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Do you believe?