"Do You Believe In Ghosts?"

Do you believe in ghosts? There has always been a fascination pertaining to unexplained phenomenon. Individuals investigating these occurrences generally come from two schools of thought, the passionate defenders or the sceptics.

Tony Cornell is a psychical researcher who has devoted 55 years to the study and investigation of the paranormal and as he states in his book he remains sceptical, however, in certain instances he does admit that there has been the existence of phenomena that defied explanation.

With his book INVESTIGATING THE PARANORMAL, Cornell tries to make sense of some of the accounts of apparitions, poltergeists and mediums. Apparently, most of the findings mentioned in this exposition have never been published before.

Did you know that the Queen Mary, now a tourist attraction in Long Beach, California, is allegedly the most haunted ship in the world? However, according to Cornell and after his exhaustive investigation that he reveals in his book, much of the legend is a bunch of "bunk" propagated by the media. As noted "there might have been some instances of people seeing real ghosts in the past, most of the reports we investigated appeared to be due to nerves, imagination, exaggeration, and publicity." In fact, even after his investigation the media misrepresented his findings in order to keep the story alive and maintain interest in the paranormal. No doubt, as in many other news stories, the media loves sensationalism.

Cornell shows himself to be a meticulous investigator who is not content to stay home and philosophize or ponder what is the explanation of some of these occurrences. He takes the "show on the road" and travels anywhere where he believes that certain claims deserve diligent exploration.

Some of the tools used in his examinations included the use of sophisticated instrumentation, personal interviews with individuals, attendance at mediumistic séances, detailed historical research, and generally being open minded. The method of presentation of each of the cases described in the book is as follows: analysing the circumstances of the alleged paranormal event, discussing the technicalities and finally trying to make sense of it all with a wrap up conclusion.

Cornell reiterates in the conclusion to his book that he cannot emphasize too strongly the need to maintain an open mind. "We do not, as yet fully understand the real chain of cause and effect of the many instances of spontaneous phenomena, despite the various hypotheses that purport to explain them."

This is a great book for anyone who wants to have a better understanding of the unexplained. Although, I doubt very much if it will convert anyone who initially was a believer or a sceptic.

Reviewed by Norman Goldman
Posted November 22, 2002

Summary

Investigating the Paranormal is a fascinating compilation of Tony Cornell's most provocative, chilling, and often amusing case studies -- among them "The Silver Street Ghost", "The Hillhaven Medium" and "The Antique Shop Spuk". Initially highly skeptical, the author has been convinced by his many hundreds of investigations that there is a wealth of phenomena that cannot be explained by normal means. However, he believes a cautious approach -- coupled with scientific methodology -- are essential to the proper investigation of the paranormal. Not only a great read for the ghost enthusiastist but with deeper discussions of instrumentation and other issues that speak to the practical concerns of ghost hunters and other field investigators.