My new blog on the ethics of spirit mediumship... Usually when people think of ghostly communication it's in a positive or benign light. Ghost hunters, for example, often speak of helping lost souls "cross over" after getting information from the spirits, and mediums...
Ghosts
Case Study in Flawed TV Ghost Investigation: ‘Kindred Spirits’
My new CFI blog examines a case study in TV ghost hunting illogic and pseudoscience. "This show aired in 2016 when the two stars have, they claimed, a combined thirty years of ghost hunting experience. In any other career, a third of a century experience would result...
Can EMFs Create Ghosts? A Closer Look…
My Skeptical Inquirer column about the purported links between EMF fields and ghosts is now online! Many ghost hunters, including the T.A.P.S. team on the television show Ghost Hunters, use EMF detectors to search for electromagnetic fields because they believe that...
Playing Witch Doctor: Hidden Ethics in Skeptical Ghost Investigation
A classic article from the archives, in which I talk about ghost hunting ethics: The drive from my apartment to the haunted house was about twenty minutes, but I found myself wishing it would take longer. I wanted more time to get a handle on what I was going to say,...
My ‘Bell Witch’ Case Cited on Wikipedia
My research on the famous Bell Witch ghost is referenced on the Wikipedia page about the case! Brian Dunning too!
Ghost Hunting Book Excerpt: The Psychology of Significance
An excerpt from my upcoming book on ghost hunting: It’s important to realize that apparently odd, peculiar, or strange things happen in our everyday lives—and usually pass unnoticed. The cat or dog acts strangely for no apparent reason; we discover we had more (or...
I’m Quoted in ‘Popular Mechanics’ on Ghost Hunting Gadgets
Sharon Hill, Kenny Biddle, and I were quoted in a recent "Popular Mechanics" article on ghost hunting gadgets and pseudoscience... You can read it HERE. You can find more on me and my work with a search for "Benjamin Radford" (not "Ben Radford") on Vimeo.
5 Halloween Scares and Legends: Facts vs. Fiction
Halloween is just around the corner, and amid the make-believe witches, ghouls, and goblins, there are supposedly real-life villains who hope to harm on children October 31. News reports and scary stories on social media leave many parents concerned about protecting...
Talk Tonight: “Contacting the Dead: Séances From the Victorian Era To Modern Times”
Tonight I will be giving a presentation to the Albuquerque Science Fiction Society titled “Contacting the Dead: Séances From the Victorian Era To Modern Times.” It is the same talk I gave to wide acclaim at this year’s packed Bubonicon conference: "Though TV shows...
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...