If you’re reading this, the world didn’t end at the beginning of this infamous year. 2012 is a date shrouded in mystery, controversy and—some say—doooom. Here's a primer on the whole 2012 issue and its connection to the Mayan calendar, from the Weekly Alibi. You can...
Mass Hysteria
Discovery News: Unexplained Mysteries of 2011 and 2012
As we head inexorably toward 2012, I wrote a piece for Discovery News looking back at some of the strangest mysteries of this past year, and some of the mysteries that remain with us as we enter the new year. What's behind, and what's ahead? You can read the story...
Twilight Film Causes Seizures in Epileptics- Pokemon Revisited
A scene in the latest installment of the Twilight franchise has reportedly been causing viewers across the country to have seizures. I investigated the "original" and best known case of photosensitive epilepsy in 2001. You can read the story HERE.
Salon.com References My Work on Sex Offender Panic
In a Halloween article on Salon.com, writer Tracy Clark-Florey wrote a very good piece on the panic over sex offenders at Halloween (coincidentally, the subject of Chapter 29 in my new book The Martians Have Landed!). In it she referenced some of my work on the topic;...
My New Book ‘The Martians Have Landed!’ Now Released
I'm pleased to announce that my sixth book, The Martians Have Landed! A History of Media-Driven Panics and Hoaxes, is now available. The book is co-authored with sociologist Robert Bartholomew (who also co-authored my first book back in 2003, Hoaxes Myths, and Manias:...
World To End Tomorrow (Again)
Harold Camping, the leader of the ministry Family Radio Worldwide, who concluded after careful study of the Bible that the world would end (or begin to end) on May 21, 2011, says the world will end in the next few days... While End Times believers scour the Bible for...
Time Magazine References My Pokemon Investigation
In an article on mass hysteria, a Time magazine article referenced my investigation of the 1997 Pokemon Panic (which appears as a chapter in my book Scientific Paranormal Investigation). My co-author Bob Bartholomew, with whom I wrote up the case for the Southern...
Mass Hysteria Hits Asian Factories
Researchers from the United Nations recently met in Cambodia to solve the mystery of why large numbers of female workers in that nation have succumbed to an unknown (and temporary) illness. But rather than a physical illness as the source, the scientists may want to...