Hey everyone!

This week on my weekly column on paranormal history, I look at a current cultural phenomenon: does the end of the Mayan long count calendar spell out massive change on our planet?

Last year, I worked with television producer Sarah Kapoor (who made the three-part CBC Television series Past Life Investigation in 2004) on a radio pilot called Welcome to the Unknown.  Along with an article, I've included an audio documentary and interview we did about 2012.

Click here to read the article and listen to the audio documentary!

Enjoy!
Chris

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Hey everyone!

I'm just catching up with things around here at IAH.  Glad to see everyone is happy and apparently not completely unhinged.  It is summer, after all!

I wanted to draw you attention to a column I wrote about a film documentary aired last Hallowe'en that you can actually watch online via Google Video.

It's called Ghosts on the Underground, and I've reviewed the documentary and talk about a ghostly photograph taken on the London subway in the 1980s.  The doc is all about the ghosts that haunt the British capital's massive subway network.

Click here to read my article. 

Enjoy!

Chris

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Happy Wednesday, everyone!

Have you ever wondered how to find the best published paranormal research?  There are many books and articles that have been published, especially in the past 125 years.  I cover some of the ways to find good books on paranormal topics and where to find them in my weekly column on paranormal history.

Click here to read the full article.

So... what are your favourite books on the paranormal?

Have a weird Wednesday!
Chris

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On the first Weird Wednesday of each month, I review exceptional films, television series, visual arts and music that have imaginative paranormal themes. In this instalment, I look at a classy old-fashioned ghost story brought to the silver screen in 2001, Alejandro Amenábar’s The Others starring Nicole Kidman.

Click here to read the full article.

Anyone else here like or dislike this movie?

Have a weird Wednesday!
Chris

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I recently read a post by an iamhaunted member asking about good times to go out investigating and taking pictures in cemeteries.  Deb of CAIPRS wisely recommended (a) please do not trespass, and (b) paranormal investigation can occur at any time of day.  I further CAIPRS's remarks by asking, "Why do people think that cemeteries are good places to find ghosts?"  In fact, there are very, very few accounts of people actually having ghostly encounters in graveyards, and much of the stories circulating out there are those of urban legend.  I challenge anyone to demonstrate otherwise.

A colleague recently pointed out that there needs to be greater respect from ghost enthusiasts for the very topic they are interested in.  "The vast majority attribute ghosts to the souls of deceased human beings," she wrote to me.  "The topic because of it's very definition deserves dignity. If it is not afforded that dignity one must then wonder the motivation if not the very couth of the people presenting it.  Liken it to the difference between archaeologists to grave looters. You have been to Peru ... you know what I am trying to say."

I encourage you all to act like archaeologists in your exploration of this topic.

And for some very sound historical background on where the misconceptions of cemeteries being haunted comes from, click here to read an excellent article by Matthew Didier.

Have a wonderful weekend, and please don't trespass or disrespect our fellow spirits!  If seeking to investigate any place, always seek permission from the appropriate parties.  Be safe!

Further reading: An article I wrote about Bachelor's Grove Cemetary in Illinois.  Click here to read.

Chris

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This week in my column on paranormal history, I look at Paranormal Studies & Investigations Canada (PSICAN).  One of the foremost organizations in psychical research and investigation in Canada, PSICAN sets high standards and provides a forum open to those interested in topics ranging from ghosts, hauntings, psychic ability, UFOs and cryptozoology.

Click here to read the full article.

Have a weird Wednesday!
Chris

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In my weekly exploration of paranormal history, I look back to the first time I stepped into haunted locations as a journalism student in Edmonton, Alberta in 1992.

It's funny reflecting back on this first encounter with haunted locations and how I felt about it at the time.  I had high expectations, and I think many people who go "ghost hunting" have high expectations - so when those high expectations are not met, some people invent the ghosts they actually see, or interpret shapes in photos that otherwise would not be interpreted as ghosts.  Others retreat to extreme scepticism, where they can no longer enjoy the possibility that ghostly things do happen.

I didn't invent anything spectacular or retreat to cynicism.  I remained very fascinated by the ghostly accounts I read about.  And I feel very fortunate that my life has led me to pursuing a study of these phenomena!  Everything that I have experienced since has only fortified my view that weird things happen in this wondrous world of ours.

Click here to read the full article.

cheers,
Chris

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Happy Wednesday, everyone!

This week in my column on paranormal history, I look at the circumstances surrounding the famous photo of a ghostly young woman standing at the open door of the Wem Town Hall in England as it dramatically burned on November 19, 1995.

Was the image of what appears to be a ghostly girl merely a spontaneous capture of something, such as smoke or light, creating what appears to us to be a human standing at the doorway? Although not witnessed by any of the many residents watching the fire, was a flesh and blood young woman standing there? Or could this be yet another example of an apparition caught on film, even though it was not spotted by the naked eye, which has been the case in so many inexplicable ghost photographs?

Click here to read the full article.

Have a weird Wednesday!
Chris

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