Ghost Detective
Adventures of a Parapsychologist
by
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KNIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD
“Who ya gonna call?” Ghostbusters! said the millions who lined up in the mid-eighties to see the smash hit movie from Columbia Pictures. But who ya gonna call in real life? According to Vanessa Gilchrest, UPI, “If you’re having trouble with a ghostly, unexplainable chill permeating the family TV room, or an unruly poltergeist making sleep next to impossible ... you need someone to chase out that ectoplasmic nightmare. Who to call? ...Dr. Andrew Nichols.” But I’m not Ghostbusters. I don’t always get the ghost and I never get the girl.
So what’s a Ghost Detective? Take away the ghostbusters’ proton pack, jump suit, and fifty-million dollar budget; make him sit around dank old houses waiting for something--anything-- to happen, and what you have left is me. Thankfully, my adversaries have been less spectacular than Gozer of Babylonia.
This is my story and the story of the haunted houses and haunted people I’ve investigated during the past two decades. The Ghost Detective is an honest and factual account of the experiences I shared with my clients--the victims of these sobering disturbances. It was taken verbatim from tape recordings, from hand-written notes, and personal recollections. It is, to the best of my ability to relate, the faithful depiction of my adventures. As founding President and Research Director of the Florida Society for Parapsychological Research, I have served as master of ceremonies, organizer of research projects, and procurer of guest speakers. In 1998, I formed the American Institute of Parapsychology. The AIP is a counseling and educational organization dedicated to the advancement of parapsychology as a profession, and to serve as a resource center for those wishing to explore the meaning and transformative value of psychic experiences.
Recently, in the middle of “Sweeps Week,” a frantic time for program directors as they press to garner more than their share of the media’s bread and butter--the ratings, MSNBC aired a program called True Believers. Me and some of my competitors were among those invited to display our talents. As a professional parapsychologist, I frequently appear on the tube. The host introduces my competition to the TV audience. I’ve never seen them in action, but I’m told they locate the spirit’s “cold spot,” encircle it, then move as one body slowly toward the front door. After which, the door is thrown-open and the invading spirit thrown-out. According to one of their members, “What we do is ... surround the entity using mental thought patterns-and ship it off.” “How do you get rid of ‘em,” she asks their leader? (I guess she means if they refuse to ship-off.) “Well, we say prayers and just hope that they’ll leave,” her reply.
A professor colleague at
In my eagerness to help them, I’m sometimes exposed to crackpots and dingalings. Peculiar to the subject of things metaphysical are the mildly to severely afflicted people out there looking for a platform to voice their maladjusted opinions and paranoid delusions. Concepts like apparitions, telepathy, psychokinesis, and especially doctrines that advocate the black arts are appealing to the
borderline personality. By appearing to bend the laws of cause and effect, these notions give a kind of legitimacy to their own cockeyed view of the world. The tales they tell range between amusing and absurd.
Finishing up a parapsychology lecture at the
“Pardon me?”
“I heard your lecture.” Putting his finger to the tip of my nose, he explained: “I knew you wanted to talk to me, so here I am. What did you want to tell me-about Madonna, I mean?”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t think I have anything to tell you.” I figured the guy was a few bubbles short, but since I had been paid to appear at the university, I ought to at least hear him out. It seemed he was having a relationship with Madonna-if only in his mind:
“She’s crazy about me!”
“Who is?”
“Madonna!”
“The singer?”
“Yeah!”
“How do you know?”
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About the Book
HAUNTED HOUSES HAVE BEEN REPORTED SINCE ANCIENT TIMES. ARE THEY REAL?
Parapsychologist Andrew Nichols earned his world-wide reputation as a phantom sleuth routing banshees, breaking curses, exorcising ghosts, and exposing cranks and frauds. In Ghost Detective, he recounts his most chilling and fascinating cases of poltergeists, psychokinesis, and apparitions. These bizarre accounts -never before published- are presented with possible explanations for their occurrence, bringing into focus the latest discoveries in the scientific search for evidence of paranormal activity, and revealing dynamic links between haunting experiences and the human mind.
Dr. Andrew Nichols is Director of the American Institute of Parapsychology. He is currently professor of psychology and chairperson of the Mental Health Department at
Cover design by Scott Flagg
About the Author
Dr. Andrew Nichols is a parapsychologist and investigator of ghosts, hauntings, and other paranormal phenomena. He is the Director of the American Institute of Parapsychology, a member of the professional Parapsychological Association, and former Vice-President of the Psychical Research Foundation. He is currently Professor of Psychology and Chairman of the Mental Health Department at
During his 25 year career, he has investigated more than 600 cases of ghosts, hauntings and poltergeists, and conducted extensive studies in ESP. His articles and scientific papers on hauntings have appeared in popular magazines and scientific journals, and he lectures on paranormal topics at many colleges and conferences. His paranormal research has been featured on numerous television and radio programs, including Unsolved Mysteries and 48 Hours.