I was recently interviewed by a Spanish journalist about the clown scares sweeping the country; here’s an excerpt: Q: What is your opinion on the recent sightings of terrifying clowns in the United States and other countries? A: The scary clown panic has spread...
Folklore
Why Are People Afraid of Clowns?
I'm quoted in a new LiveScience.com piece on clown scares! "But the humor of these characters wasn't always harmless. Secure in their status as jokers, royal jesters could direct amusingly insulting potshots at even the king himself, said Ben Radford, author of "Bad...
Phantom Clown Reports: Real or Rumor?
Creepy clowns have recently been reported in Greenville, S.C., allegedly luring children into the woods behind a block of apartments. It's scary and alarming -- but whether they're real is another matter. Most of the handful of reports are from children, though a few...
Nice Review of “Bad Clowns” in the Times Literary Supplement
My book "Bad Clowns" got a nice review in the "Times Literary Supplement"! You can find more on me and my work with a search for "Benjamin Radford" (not "Ben Radford") on Vimeo.
Dowsing Questions and Answers
Recently a journalist contacted me with three or four questions about dowsing. I've written about dowsing several times, and last year I wrote a CFI blog about a conversation I had with a dowser. Here's a transcript of the interview: 1) Why do you believe dowsing is...
Excerpt From My Upcoming Book on Ghost Investigation
An excerpt from my upcoming book on ghost investigation: "The quantity and variety of alleged spirit images has exploded over the years, but the quality of the evidence remains as disappointingly ambiguous as ever. Some are shadowy, human-like figures; others are...
My Chupacabra Research Quoted on Gizmodo!
A new article on Gizmodo about monsters references my chupacabra research: "Other descriptions peg it as looking like a wild dog with a pronounced spinal ridge. Skeptical investigator Benjamin Radford went in-depth into the legend of the chupacabra, and concluded that...
Solving the Original Pokemon Mystery
As you may know, in 2001 I helped solve the mystery of the bizarre 1997 Pokémon seizure incident. I wrote an article that became a cover story in Fortean Times and co-authored a medical journal article about it. I revisit the puzzling case in my new Seeker article:...
The Original Fearless Female Ghostbuster
For those who didn't see it, I recently wrote a piece about a fascinating 1880s-era scientist/educator/feminist/ghostbuster named Eleanor Sidgwick... The long-awaited "Ghostbusters" remake is out... While vampire slaying has often been portrayed as a female-dominated...
Victim’s Ghost Seen in Photo? Unlikely…
My new article on a viral ghost photo claimed to show an accident victim's soul leaving his body is now out: A photo taken at the scene of a fatal motorcycle crash in Kentucky has gone viral, with many claiming they can see the accident victim's spirit leaving his...