The Skeptic's Guide to the Paranormal

271 Pages·2004·1.17 MB·English

by  Lynne Kelly

Skeptic's Guide Text 28/6/04 4:06 PM Page i
The
Skeptic’s Guide
To The
PARANORMAL
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Lynne Kelly has been teaching science and mathematics for
over 30 years. She holds degrees in education and engineer-
ing and delights in debunking claims of the paranormal. She
also delights in all things arachnid and is famous for her
spider jewellery.
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The
Skeptic’s Guide
To The
PARANORMAL
Lynne
Kelly
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First published in 2004
Copyright © Lynne Kelly, 2004
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopying, recording or by any information storage
and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the
publisher. The Australian Copyright Act 1968(the Act) allows a
maximum of one chapter or 10 per cent of this book, whichever is
the greater, to be photocopied by any educational institution for its
educational purposes provided that the educational institution
(or body that administers it) has given a remuneration notice to
Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) under the Act.
Allen & Unwin
83 Alexander Street
Crows Nest NSW 2065
Australia
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.allenandunwin.com
National Library of Australia
Cataloguing-in-Publication entry:
Kelly Lynne.
The skeptic’s guide to the paranormal.
ISBN 1 74114 059 5.
1. Parapsychology. II. Title.
130
Set in 10.5/12 pt Meridien by Midland Typesetters, Maryborough, Victoria
Printed by McPherson’s Printing Group, Maryborough, Victoria
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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CCOONNTTEENNTTSS
Introduction vii
1 Spontaneous human combustion 1
2 Walking on hot coals 8
3 Crop circles 12
4 The Shroud of Turin 20
5 Psychic readings 34
6 Spiritualism 49
7 Ghosts and poltergeists 71
8 DIYghost photos 80
9 Reincarnation and past lives 83
10 Astrology 102
11 Numerology 115
12 ESP—extrasensory perception 125
13 Nostradamus 143
14 The prophecy that is Kabul Khan 150
15 Psychic detectives 154
16 DIY telepathy 161
17 Psychics on stage 164
18 DIY bending spoons 175
19 UFO encounters of the first kind—sightings 178
20 UFO encounters of the second kind—physical
evidence 198
21 UFO encounters of the third kind—alien
contact 207
22 Alien abductions 217
vv
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23 The Bermuda Triangle 226
24 Levitation 233
25 Dowsing and divining 244
26 Yeti, Bigfoot and other ape-men 251
27 The Loch Ness Monster 256
Acknowledgements 261
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IINNTTRROODDUUCCTTIIOONN
Amazing facts are revealed to you. In front of your eyes,
someone is claiming the most incredible things—they can
read your mind, make spoons bend, identify the true shroud
of Christ, predict your future, read your star signs, contact
the dead or transmit messages telepathically.
In the face of no alternative explanation, you have little
choice but to believe them. Surely they wouldn’t be lying to
you? Just because they are making money out of this, they
wouldn’t stand up in public and blatantly lie. Would they?
Maybe not. Perhaps some genuinely believe what they
say despite all the evidence to the contrary. Maybe there is
some truth in one of these claims. The only way to be sure
is to have an alternative against which to measure. By elim-
inating the misconceived and fraudulent we can try and
identify any which really do defy known science.
The Skeptic’s Guide to the Paranormal gives a rational
explanation for some of the most widely known claims
ofthe paranormal. It takes tangible claims and examines the
tangible evidence.
The lore of the skeptic says an extraordinary claim
requires an extraordinary proof. If a claim is made publicly
which defies all the rigours of peer review and debate,
then it is beholden on the claimant to provide the proof.
William of Occam was the fourteenth-century creator of the
famous razor which bears his name. Occam’s razor says that
claims should only be believed if there is not a more simple
vviiii
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explanation. When the arguments become fuzzy, as they do
so often in the world of the paranormal, you must be sure
you haven’t allowed the razor to become blunt.
Over 30 years of genuine interest in the paranormal, I
have applied the tools of scientific method and skepticism:
expecting and evaluating evidence. Not cynicism, but a
healthy skepticism. Not disbelief, but a reluctance to belief
without substance.
Some believers accuse skeptics of having nothing left but
a dull, cold, scientific world. I am left with only art, music,
literature, theatre, the magnificence of nature, mathematics,
the human spirit, sex, the cosmos, friendship, history, science,
imagination, dreams, oceans, mountains, love and the
wonder of birth. That’ll do me.
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SSPPOONNTTAANNEEOOUUSS HHUUMMAANN
CCOOMMBBUUSSTTIIOONN
George Mott was a fireman in upstate New York. In 1986 he
was found by his son Kendall in his country home. All that
was left was a piece of skull and part of a foot. Although the
TV and phone were melted and the curtains burnt, the wall-
paper at the head of the bed on which he had died was
untouched. On the bed Kendall found a pile of ashes which
was, just hours ago, his healthy father. This case is fully
documented. It is not a hoax.
What can be more frightening than the belief that
humans can suddenly burst into flame and be totally
destroyed, bones and all, for no known reason? Having been
investigated by police and other authorities, there is no
doubt that this strange form of human combustion is an
extremely rare, but real, event.
Bodies which have succumbed to spontaneous human
combustion display a horrifying similarity. Most of the
corpse is almost totally reduced to ash, but the feet and arms
may be left untouched and there is little damage to the
surrounding property. Nearby household items may be
melted, but not have ignited.
In a normal house fire, even a very intense one, human
remains look like charred human bodies, with skeletons and
some hint of flesh. The surrounding house and contents are
extensively burnt. Even the intense heat of a crematorium
furnace, designed specifically to reduce human bodies to ash,
doesn’t consume the bones. The remains need to be physically
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