Peeranormal’s inaugural Halloween episode focuses on academic research into vampires and ghosts with special guest Dr. Judd Burton from burtonbeyond.com. Our hosts take a look at vampirism as centuries-old myth and modern phenomenon. Where did the vampire legend come from? What were the historical circumstances since the late 18th century that contributed to belief in the fateful undead, hungry for blood? What about ghosts? Is there any empirical evidence that would suggest people can experience a supernatural presence in places said to be haunted? How would scientists try to make that case?
Readings:
Michael Bell, “Vampires and Death in New England, 1784 to 1892,” Anthropology and Humanism 31:2 (2006): 124–140
Jaffe and Cataldo, “Clinical Vampirism: Blending Myth and Reality,” Bulletin of the American Academy of Psychiatric and the Law 22:4 (1994): 533-544
Moreno Tiziani, “Vampires and Vampirism: Pathological Roots of a Myth,” Antrocom 5:2 (2009): 133-137
Michaeleen Maher, “Quantitative Investigation of the General Wayne Inn,” Journal of Parapsychology 64 (2000): 365-390
Wiseman, Watt, Stevens, Greening, O’Keefe, “An Investigation into Alleged Hauntings,” British Journal of Psychology 94 (May 2003): 195-211
Crop circles are well known — patterns that appear in fields of crops when certain areas of the field are compressed. Investigators have long noted how the stalks are bent uniformly, without visible damage. This episode of Peeranormal takes a look at some of the sparse academic peer-reviewed research on crop circles to discuss if they are man-made, created by an unknown natural force, or something paranormal.
EVP (“Electronic Voice Phenomena”) are “a class of allegedly mysterious vocal recordings, and while several explanations have been offered to explain their origin, the overwhelming majority of EVP researchers believe that their recordings constitute physical evidence of contact with the afterlife. In other words, most EVP researchers believe that it is possible, using various radio and electrical engineering techniques, to record the voices of ghosts” (Banks, 77). This episode of Peeranormal discusses several journal articles about the phenomena and efforts to test the viability of a paranormal explanation.
