Rhine Online Magazine

In addition to numerous other interesting features, there is a great article by Hannah Gilbert on "A Sociological Perspective on Becoming a Spirit Medium in Britain" in the latest issue of the Rhine Online Magazine, an web-based newsletter published by the Rhine Research Centre.

Michael Jackson's Ghost (pt. 2)...

In a PREVIOUS POST I discussed the way in which Michael Jackson, following his death, became associated with the paranormal (in much the same way that many other celebrities have become entwined with the supernatural). I have suggested that this "cult of celebrity" is deeply connected to the realm of mediumship and spirit communication.

This current manifestation of the supernatural-celebrity mediumshp cult has taken another interesting turn: Derek Acorah is set to make contact with Michael Jackson during a live seance to be broadcast on Sky1 (read full article HERE).

Tantalising food for thought regarding the relationship between celebrity and mediumship.

Research - Contemporary Belief in Ghosts...

Folklorist Paul Cowdell is currently conducting research into contemporary beliefs about ghosts. He is partiularly interested in "questions like: what people mean when they say 'ghost'; how their beliefs or non-beliefs relate to their experiences or lack of them; and how their beliefs fit in with other beliefs they may hold."

To this end Mr. Cowdell has put together a QUESTIONNAIRE with the aim to "get as wide a set of responses as possible". If you would be interested in participating in this research, simply fill in the questionnaire and return to Paul Cowdell.

Read more.

Alien Abduction and Contactees...

I am doing a bit of research into the alien abduction and contactee phenomenon with the aim of writing a short article about my findings.

I am interested in the phenomenology of the experience: what it looks, sounds, smells and feels like to the experiencer, and how the experience has affected the world-view and life-style of the contactees.

I am also interested in the sociology of the movement itself: who has these experiences, how old are they, where do the experiences happen, what are their beliefs, what is the sex composition of the experiencer movement, are experiencers in contact with others who have had similar encounters, and so on...

So far I have received several accounts, each one of them a fascinating story.

The research is based around a short questionnaire, which can be downloaded HERE.

If you have had an abduction experience, or have had contact with extraterrestrials in any other way, and would like to assist me in this research, then simply download this QUESTIONNAIRE, fill it in and return it to discarnates@googlemail.com

I am particularly interested in experiencers from the UK.

Your help would be greatly appreciated.

Some Initial Findings From Ghost Hunter Questionnaires...

Although the project is not fully complete, in that I am expecting to receive at least a few more completed questionnaires, it is possible to note a few patterns in the data already collected.

So far 14 questionnaires have been returned (which represents a very small sample size), by various individuals currently involved in Ghost Hunting teams and Paranormal Investigation groups.

The following is a preliminary breakdown of some of the findings so far.

Age & Sex composition

Of this sample 50% is male and 50% female, with an average age of 40 years (with a range og 28-52 years).

Years of Investigation

The average number of years spent actively investigating the paranormal for the respondents is 6 (with a range of 0.5-15 years).

Scientific

57% of respondents consider the work they undertake to be scientific (i.e. utilise specialist equipment in the search for quantifiable data), while 48% do not consider their work to be scientific.

In this sample, so far, 57% of respondents are regularly assisted by mediums on their investigations, while the remaining 48% are not.

Formal Training

71% of respondents have not undertaken any formal parapsychological training, with only 29% having done so.

Belief in Ghosts and Direct Experience

Of the respondents so far 65% claimed belief in ghosts or spirits (although there were considerable differences in interpretation and definition of what such entities actually are), 21% reported that they were uncertain as to whether they believed in the existence of ghosts, and 14% did not believe in the existence of ghosts at all.

79% of respondents claimed to have had direct experience of ghosts/apparitions, 14% claimed no direct experience, while 7% were uncertain as to whether they had had direct experience or not.

Religiosity and Spirituality

Only 29% of respondents reported that they were religious/spiritual, while the remaining 71% reported that they were not religious.

Life after Death

64% of respondents reported that they believe in life after death (although interpretations and definitions differed between individuals), the remaining 36% do not.

Psychic Abilities

36% of respondents consider themselves to have some form of psychic ability, the remaining 64% did not.

Other Paranormal Experiences

57% reported that they have had other paranormal experiences (e.g. OBE, NDE, UFO sighting, Pre-Cognition, Sleep Paralysis, etc.), while 43% had no other paranormal experiences.

57% of the respondents actively investigate other paranormal phenomena (e.g. UFOs, cryptozoology, etc), while 43% are only engaged in the investigation of ghost type phenomena.

***

Although this is only preliminary data, insights into the sociology of ghost hunting groups are already being revealed.

A more detailed analysis of the data will be available shortly, hopefully with a larger sample size, that will discuss emergent patterns in the data: for example the relationship between seance attendance and belief in ghosts, religious beliefs and direct experience of the paranormal and so on. Specific case studies of respondents will also be discussed.

I will consider the relationship between conclusions drawn from this data set and those derived from other studies in order to explore the wider context, for example with regard to sex composition, personality types, boundaries and so on.

If you consider yourself a Ghost Hunter, or Paranormal Investigator, and would like to assist me in this research, then simply download this QUESTIONNAIRE, fill it in and return it to discarnates@googlemail.com

Your help would be greatly appreciated.

The Portrayal of Spiritualism in the popular media...

Spiritualism, and indeed most paranormal beliefs, have long borne the brunt of ridicule and humiliation; a trend that appears to be continuing. This is likely a concomitant aspect of the general movement towards rationalisation and secularisation that has been taking place over the last 200 years or so, particularly in Europe and North America.

A recent documentary on Channel 4, "Revelations: Talking With the Dead", although providing a fascinating insight into the lives of an East London Spiritualist Church congregation, continued to report based upon the assumption that the beliefs they held were false.

There has been a similar problem in the attempts of anthropologists and sociologists studying Spiritualist groups. Vieda Skultans' (1974) classic study of Spiritualism in a Welsh town focused primarily on the social function of the Spiritualist meetings: on the fact that such gatherings allow for an escape from the mundaneity of day-to-day living and the therapeutic effects this necessarily entails. While this is undoubtedly a significant factor, it inherently ignores the claims of those participating in the groups to communication with spirit entities and other psi phenomena.

The assumption that paranormal beliefs are unfounded and inherently false inevitably leads to a distorted representation of the individuals world-view: it makes them appear ridiculous. A substantial amount of "backstory" is ignored. This is most clearly visible in the documentary sequence between Keith Hudson and the Publican. The Publican is unaware of the philosophical underpinnings of what Keith is saying, so that when Keith speaks of the notion that a spirit chooses his/her parents before incarnating on the Earth-plane, or of the intensity of colours in the spirit world, to the Publican he is doing no more than ranting like a madman. This is very difficult to avoid. It brought to mind classic scenarios of visionary mystics being ridiculed as madmen.

The documentary did provide a fascinating social insight into the lives of the spiritualist congregation, but to some extent I feel that it missed the point; as do many commentators on spiritualism and paranormal belief. Without the necessary appreciation of underlying philosophical and experiential understanding, paranormal beliefs can appear fully irrational and entirely at odds with the "real world". This is unfair.

The anthropologist E.E. Evans Pritchard was one of the first anthropologists to question the assumption that so-called "primitive" beliefs were irrational. Through living amongst the Azande of North Africa, Evans Pritchard came to appreciate the inherent logic in their supernatural belief system. Living within a belief system provides the anthropologist with a necessary "insider" perspective, through which a more substantial understanding can be gleaned.

I have mentioned Edith Turner's 1992 article "The Reality of Spirits" a number of times, and feel I must do so again here. Turner calls for a new approach to the sudy of religious beliefs, one that does not ignore the understanding of those under study. Such an approach might also benefit documentary makers. I am certain that the filmmakers did not intend to make their interviewees appear irrational or foolish, but through presenting their story without providing a deeper context to the Spiritualist movement and its related phenomena the documentary, to my mind, alienated the interviewees. As isolated examples, devoid of wider context the interviewees were made to appear particularly insular, and hence abnormal. The truth of the matter is, however, that there is a much wider context than the documentary even hinted at (i.e. historical background of spiritualism and mediumship, survival research, altered states of consciousness, countless narrative accounts of the phenomenology of mediumship, etc.).

All in all, though, this documentary was very interesting. It was good to see the topics discussed made available to a wider audience in a relatively un-biased fashion.

As an interesting side-note: several commentators on the Channel 4 page for the documentary have noted the presence of Orbs around one of the interviewees.