Adventures in Paranormal Investigation [Hardcover]

Joe Nickell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 9, 2007

Tales of alien abductions, miraculous relics, and haunted castles have attracted believers and skeptics across the globe for centuries. Paranormal investigator Joe Nickell tackles the world's most seemingly inexplicable myths in Adventures in Paranormal Investigation. With four decades of experience in the field, Nickell employs skepticism and scientific analysis to pull truth from the mires of false evidence and trickery that surround both old and new legends and mysteries. Unlike authors who engage in hype and sensationalism in order to foster or debunk myths, Nickell approaches each case with a rational and scientific approach intended to find the truth. Occam's Razor -- all things being equal, the simplest solution is the best one -- is a principal instrument in his investigative toolbox, as well as the belief that it is the claimant's responsibility to provide the extraordinary proof required in such extraordinary cases. Adventures in Paranormal Investigation features Nickell's on-site explorations in unusual phenomena. Among the forty unique cases, Nickell examines mysteries ranging from snake charmers who purport to hold influence over the reptiles, to the Holocaust victims who reportedly haunt a gas chamber in Dachau, to Lake Simcoe's resident lake monster Igopogo in Canada. In addition to the case studies, Nickell analyzes how the propensity to fantasize can affect human perceptions of and belief in paranormal activity and how his personal experience with the paranormal was altered when intuition led to the discovery of a daughter he didn't know existed. More than just another myth-busting text, Adventures in Paranormal Investigation brings together reason and scientific analyses to explain both the phenomena and the role of human perception therein, establishing Nickell as the foremost paranormal investigator of our time.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Nickell, a senior research fellow at the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (Real-Life X-Files), relates short anecdotes about 40 years spent searching for the truth behind stories of psychic abilities, alien encounters, faith healing and other paranormal phenomena. As a former stage magician, private investigator and folklorist, Nickell has the right skills to separate truth from confabulation. Blurry photographs of ghosts said to haunt a historic Louisiana plantation or the gas chamber at Dachau are explained as photographic errors, if not outright fakery. Sightings of ghosts or religious figures in burnt tortillas most likely result from pareidolia, the ability to find shapes in random patterns like clouds. But Nickell's no-nonsense style fails to brings his stories to life. Confusion results from widely separated discussions of seemingly similar phenomena and from the inclusion of nonparanormal topics such as Jack the Ripper, the possible historical sources for Frankenstein and the fake cancer drug Laetrile. Finally, details are lacking on Nickell's Ghostly Encounters Questionnaire, which he claims shows that those who experience paranormal events have fantasy-prone personalities. Nickell's work is fascinating, but one wishes he were better at describing it. 68 photos. (Nov.)
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Review

"Joe Nickell has done his usual brilliant work here in the fields of scientific and skeptical investigation that, really, no one else does better." -- Michael Shermer, publisher of Skeptic magazine, contributing editor to Scient

""[Nickell] has an adventurous spirit tempered with an analytical mind. The result is a book that casts a rational light on phenomena that have frightened and bewildered people for generations."" -- Kentucky Monthly

""Nickell's writing style is direct and clear, and the illustrations are relevant and useful."" -- Choice

""The broad range of topics and up-to-date sources make this a definite read for believers and skeptics alike."" -- Dan Harms, Library Journal.com

""In this book - his latest of many - he offers a delightful but definite debunking of some of the paranormal's most-beloved creatures, enigmas, misunderstood occurrences, and mysteries.... 'Adventures in Paranormal Investigation' is a great book, mostly because Nickell isn't a bit stuffy in his chase for truth."" -- TAPS Paramagazine

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: The University Press of Kentucky (November 9, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813124670
• ISBN-13: 978-0813124674
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,585,349 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Joe Nickell has been called "the modern Sherlock Holmes." Since 1995 he has been the world's only full-time, professional, science-based paranormal investigator. His careful, often innovative investigations have won him international respect in a field charged with controversy.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Amiable Skeptic, August 3, 2008

By 

William Holmes "semloh2287" (Portland, OR USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Adventures in Paranormal Investigation (Hardcover)

"Adventures in Paranormal Investigation" is the latest collection of Joe Nickell's investigative essays from "The Skeptical Inquirer" magazine. Previous volumes include "Real Life X-Files: Investigating the Paranormal," and "The Mystery Chronicles: More Real Life X-Files."

Many skeptics approach the paranormal with a condescending and even insulting tone, implying that those who believe in paranormal phenomena are stupid or venal or both. Not surprisingly, it's awfully hard to get someone to agree with you if you begin or end your argument by insulting them. Nickell avoids this mistake, and he makes a serious effort to evaluate and test claims about hauntings, UFOs, alien abductions, ghost towns, Roswell, the Nasca lines, ghost ships, bleeding statues, crops circles, crystal skulls and a whole host of other pseudoscientifc "mysteries." Generally speaking, Nickell is not too hard on the people he disagrees with, with the exception of fraudulent psychics and healers who use "cold reading" and other unscrupulous methods to separate grieving or injured people from their money.

True believers probably aren't going to be convinced by this book, but for the most part they won't be put off by it either. Skeptics, on the other hand, will learn to think about unexpected phenomena in new and different ways. This book will give the card-carrying skeptic some new insights that will make those cocktail party conversations with "true believers" even more entertaining.

If you enjoy this sort of "gentle but insightful" skepticism, you may want to pick up some of Nickell's other books--among my favorites are "Unsolved History" (an updated version of "Ambrose Bierce is Missing"), "Secrets of the Supernatural," and "Entities: Angels, Spirits, Demons, and Other Alien Beings." In the same spirit (so to speak) are Brian Dunning's "Skeptoid: Critical Analysis of Pop Phenomena" and his ongoing "Skeptoid" podcasts.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Adventures in Paranormal Investigation, June 28, 2009

By 

Bloomsbury (melbourne australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Adventures in Paranormal Investigation (Hardcover)

Another fascinating collection from Joe Nickell. His background as a magician, private investigator & folklorist gives him the necessary skills to investigate paranormal events.

Nickell is refreshing in that he looks at all the facts before making a decision on the case, rather than attempting to squeeze the facts into a pre-existing hypothesis as so many authors do. This is a problem with authors on both sides of the paranormal fence.

My only quibble is that I would have liked all the cases to be longer. Many of the chapters would have benefited from more detail, & fuller descriptions of Nickell's investigative experiments.

A good addition to anyone's collection of books on the paranormal.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well-written, objective, entertaining., September 19, 2008

By 

D. Gaubert "Zouave Outlaw" (Thibodaux, LA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Adventures in Paranormal Investigation (Hardcover)

Mr. Nickell once again takes on the forces of ignorance, superstition, and gullibility in his usual deliberate and easily-understandable fashion. Highly recommended!