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HowToSeeAGhostAtHome!|"Andsometimeshe'ssonameless"

"Andsometimeshe'ssonameless"
CJ'sweblog:theidlethoughtsofanidle
fellow

HowToSeeAGhostAtHome!
PostedonJuly12,2010

AfterthedemiseofRichardDawkinsoldforumIjoinedtheexilesathttp://www.rationalskepticism.org,whereI
finallygotbackintothedebatinghabit.TheformaldebatetherebetweenmyselfandCampermonrumbleson,but
Ithoughtthispostofminewasperhapsworthyofmyblog
OK,Iminaplayfulmood.LastweekIendedwithapromisethatwewouldcreateaghostinthelab,orour
ownhomes,andexperimentwithit.Andthat,dearreader,isexactlywhatwearegoingtodotodayifyouwant
to!
Iwillskipthephilosophicalstuff,andthediscussionofthecasesIreferencedlasttimefornowCampermon
wantsscience,andwhileIthinkwehavebeendoingsciencefromthestartletsplaywithsomethingempirical.
Letsseeaghost!
Nowtheobviouscaveatcallingupghostsistechnicallynecromancy.Thetermisnotfashionablethesedays
sinceDerekAcorahstyledhimselfapsychicmediumthatseemstobethepreferredparlance,thoughI
sometimescalledhimDerektheNecromancer,whichatleastconjuresupamusingvisionsofhiminatracksuit
leadingashufflingarmyofbewilderedzombies.Anyway,necromancyispossiblyillegal(pleasecheckbefore
proceedingforyourcountry),generallyconsideredimmoralanddefinitelyfrowneduponbymostsensible
religions.ItakenoresponsibilityastotheresultsNolievocarequodreprimerenonpotesasCharlesDexter
Wardsagelyremindedus,andifYogSothotheatsyoursoulyouhavenoonetoblamebutyourself.Ahbutyouare
atheists,soyoudonthavesoulsfinecarryonthen!
Iwouldalsonotethispracticemaybeemotionallyharmful,andIguessspirituallydangerous.Somepeoplehave
claimedthesameaboutreadingtheworksofRichardDawkinsthough,soprovidingyouaresensibleadultsand
tellafriendwhatyouareuptoIguessitwillbeOK.Iamcompletelyseriousinmywarningsthough,andifyou
aredisturbedbytheexperimentdofeelfreetocontactmeandchat.Imprettylevelheadedandhavealotof
experienceofdealingwithfreakedoutpsychonauts.Ifyouareconcernedaboutyouremotionalstabilityor
mentalhealthIwouldadviseyoutosticktotheory,andseehowothersgeton???Iacceptnoresponsibilityfor
whathappenstoyou,thoughIdoubtitwillupsetyoulot!
IsupposeIcouldsetthisoutformally,asaproperexperiment,orIcouldwriteitasarecipe.Iwontdoeither
thisisPunkScienceIlljustmakesomenotesonthebasicidea,andletyouplaywiththevariables,refinethe
controlsandthinkofwaystodosomethingusefulwithyourghost.
YOUWILLNEED
Asmalldarkroom,withaslittlelightpollutionaspossible.
Amirrorafulllengthoneworksbest.
Atableandcandlepleasedontburnyourhousedown
Achair
Ablacksheetorbinbagstapedtowall,forblackoutandthatgothambience.
Thatsitforthebasics.
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HowToSeeAGhostAtHome!|"Andsometimeshe'ssonameless"

THESETUP
Iwouldrecommendasmallspace,suchasashortcorridor.Yourbasicsetupisasfollowsyoublackoutonewall
withyoursheetorbinbags,andplacethemirrorinfrontofit,facingdowntheroom.Youplaceyourchairnear
theotherend,infrontofthetable.Youputthecandleonthetable,sowhenitislititsbehindyourbody,andonly
dimlycastsflickeringlightdowntothemirror.
Themirrorshouldbepositionednotmorethanafewfeetinfrontofyou,atalevelsoyoucanseeyourfacefully
reflectedinitsoifasmallmirroryouwillwanttohangitateyelevel.Yousitonthechair,lightthecandle,and
turnoutallthelights.(Ifyouhaveaccesstolotsofblackclothdrapeallthewalls,andbuildasmalldarkchamber
fortheexperiment.)
Whatyouhaveproducedisaverybasicpsychomanteum,orasitwasknownintheclassicalworld,a
necromanteum.DrRaymondMoody,thechapwhostartedmostofthemoderninterestinNearDeath
Experiencesnameditthepsychomanteum,anddescribeshispioneeringworkwiththetechniqueinhisbook
Reunions:VisionaryEncounterswithDepartedLovedOnes,Little,BrownandCo.,1993,ISBN9780679425700.
Sincethemid1990sparapsychologists,psychologistsandneurologistshavebeenexperimentingwiththe
technique,whichIassume(thoughIdonothavetheresearchinfrontofmeasIwrite)worksbygeneratingsome
kindoffeedbackloop.Whatitdefinitelydoesdoarepeatedtrialshaveshown,isallowonetoexperience
somethingatleastverysimilartotheghostexperience.

Radin&Rebmans1996psychomanteumsetup,(c)Houran&
Lange2001fromMultidisciplinaryPerspectivesonHauntings&
Poltergeists

RememberthatfromthebeginningofthedebateIconcededthatmanyghostexperiencesaresimply
hallucinations?Well,thisexperimentallowsyoutohallucinate.AsTimLearyusedtosaysetandsettingdefine
muchyoursetupandyourexpectationsbutevenhardcorescepticsofmyacquaintancehavebeenstartledby
thepowerofthisverysimplesetuptoinvokepowerfulhallucinatoryexperiences.Youmaywishtoexperiment
withplayingclassicalmusicordoasIdidformytrials,anduseapinknoiseorwhitenoisegeneratorandput
headphonesonyoursubject.
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HowToSeeAGhostAtHome!|"Andsometimeshe'ssonameless"

DrMoodysapproachwastousethepsychomanteumorapparitionalchamberingrieftherapy,toallowthe
bereavedtohaveavisionaryencounterwithadeceasedlovedone.Icanseevastpotentialforpsychological
damageifthiswastriedwithoutpropertherapeuticsupportwewillbemoremodest,andsimplyaimtoseea
ghostofsomeone,anyone.Expectationundoubtedlyplaysahugepartintheprocess,asdemonstratedin
Terhune,D.B.,&Smith,M.D.(2006)Theinductionofanomalousexperiencesinamirrorgazingfacility:
Suggestion,cognitiveperceptualpersonalitytraitsandphenomenologicalstateeffects,JournalofNervousand
MentalDisease,194,415421,soifyoudotrythiswithmultiplesubjects(whichIhopeyouwill)thenmakesure
theyKNOWexactlywhatitissupposedtodo.
OK,sotryit.Ithinktheminimumlengthforsittinggazingatthemirrorshouldrealisticallybethirtyminutes,
thoughfiftyminutestoanhourwouldbebetter.Ithinkthissetupisbasicenoughthatyoucanexploreyour
capacityforvisualhallucination,andseeyourownghost,sometimethisweek,andofcoursediscussyourresults
inthecommentarythread.Hopefullyyoucanfindafewinterestedfriendstoparticipate.
NowwhatIhavedescribedisanincrediblybasicsetupifyouwanttoseethefulllabresearchversionofthe
apparatusIreferyoutoLange,R.,&Houran,J.(1997).Contextinducedparanormalexperiences:Supportfor
HouranandLangesmodelofhauntingphenomena.PerceptualandMotorSkills,84,14551458andRadin,D.
I.,&Rebman,J.M.(1996).Arephantasmsfactorfantasy?Apreliminaryinvestigationofapparitionsevokedin
thelaboratoryJournaloftheSocietyforPsychicalResearch,61,6587,thoughthebestdescriptionofthe
methodologyandadecentsetupisprobablyDeanI.Radin(2001).SeekingSpiritsintheLaboratoryinJames
HouranandRenseLange.HauntingsandPoltergeists:MultidisciplinaryPerspectives.McFarland&Company.
pp.165174.ISBN0786409843.ThereisagreatshortessayonthewebintheformofVentola,Wilson&Williams
(2009)http://publicparapsychology.blogspot.coer_23.htmlwhichwillgiveyouadetailedoverviewofthe
researchtodate.(ThereisalsosomesuperbresearchthatwasrecentlyconductedunderDrIanHumeatCoventry
University,butthatisnotpresentedorpublishedyet,thoughIbelieveitwillbethissummeratthePA
conference?)
SowhyhaveIproposedthisexperiment?Wellitsempirical:itshowsyousomethingaboutthebrainandthe
capacitytohallucinateitsratherinterestingandtheoreticallyifwegetenoughdatawecanusequalitative
analysistocomparetheapparitionsseeninthissetupwithspontaneouscasesapparitionsreportedinreal
life,andseehowtheseartificiallyinducedghostiescomparewiththeclassicapparitionsreportedbyTyrell,
Sidgwicketal.
However,IcanimagineCampermonreclininginhisdeckchair,discardingastackofmarkingandapileofbeer
matscoveredinequations,anddancingalittlejigofdelight.SurelyIhaveshotmyselfinthefoothere?Afterall,I
amdefendingtheclaimSomeGhostcasesmayrepresentdiscarnateconsciousnessortheremoteoperationofa
livinghumanconsciousness.Itissurelyimmenselystupidofmetoconcedethatonecanmimicthenatureof
ghostsightingsbyhallucination?YetIhaveasweallknowconcedethispointfromtheverybeginning.Soa
strongerargumentmightbemyexperimentisanirrelevanceitshowsuswhatwealreadyknowtobetrue???
Yetno,Icanactuallycitetheseexperimentsinsupportofmyhypothesis.Yes,reallybecausestudyofthe
environmentalvariablesduringthesessionshasproducedamostunusualandintriguingresult.Unfortunatelymy
copyofHauntingsandPoltergeists:MultidisciplinaryPerspectiveshasbeenborrowedbyafriend,soratherthan
trytosummariseinaccurately,Ishallwaitforhertoreturnit,orformygirlfriendtopickuphercopywhenshe
returnshometomorrow.InmynextpostIlldescribetheinterestingaspectswhichimplysomeformof
relationshipbetweenconsciousnessandtheenvironment,orperhapsevensuggesttheseapparitionspossesssome
kindofindependentexistence.FornowitisbestthatIdonotdiscusstheseanywayaswehavealreadyseen
expectationplaysahugepartintheexperiencesoletusdosomesimplebeermatparapsychologyexperiments
withthisveryuncontrolledsetup,andthenlaterifanyoneisinterestedwecanrefineit.Istronglysuspectthat
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HowToSeeAGhostAtHome!|"Andsometimeshe'ssonameless"

bothCampermonandTwistor(atleast)haveaccesstotheequipmentwewillneedtoallowtotestallthisfurther.
Andmostimportantly,youcannowgoandseeaghost!
Justincaseanyoneisconfusedthereisnothingpsychic,mysticalorspiritualistaboutthisexperiment.
ThereisaconsiderableliteratureIhavenotcitedforexampleSimonSherwoodsexcellentpaperonhypnagogic
imageryandthepsychomanteum,andseveralothersbutIdontthinkanydiscussionoftheacademicliterature
cantaketheplaceofactualpracticalexperimentation.Ihopeatleastafewofyouwillrunsometrialsandsee
whatyouexperience,andpreferableuseaDictaphoneorwriteitupimmediatelyafterwardssothatwecan
discusstheexperiencesinthecommentarythread.
OK,Ihavesomewordsleftforonce!HowevertodayImimmenselypushedfortimemygirlfriendgoesback
tomorrow,soIwanttospendalittletimewithher,andImsuremetwitteringonwillonlybore.SoinsteadI
encourageyoutogotrytheexperiment,wellafternightfallifyoufinddarknesshardtoachieveinyourhomeon
thisgloriousJuneday.
SoIwrote.Whynottryitathome,andletmeknowwhatyouexperience?
IfanyoneisinterestedinfollowingthedebatebetweenmyselfandCAmpermon,itishere
http://www.rationalskepticism.org/formaldebates/formaldebateexistenceofghostsapparitionst6927.html
commentscannotbepostedinthethread,butcanbepostedinthepeanutgalleryhere
http://www.rationalskepticism.org/paranormal/peanutgalleryexistenceofghostsapparitionst6933340.html
Hopeamuses!
cjx
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HowToSeeAGhostAtHome!|"Andsometimeshe'ssonameless"
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AboutChrisJensenRomer
Iamaprofoundlydull,tediousandirritableindividual.Ihavenofriendsapartfromtwoequallyillmanneredcats,andalunatic
kitten.Iamaghosthunterbyprofession,andprofessionalcatherder.IwritestuffanddoTVthingsandplaygames.It'sbetter
thanbeingrealIfind.
ViewallpostsbyChrisJensenRomer

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OneResponsetoHowToSeeAGhostAtHome!
Justinsays:
June28,2011at10:43pm

Ifyouwouldratherghosthuntwithagroupthissitewill
http://m.ferrymenghosthunts.com/my
tellyouhow
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