The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Paranormal

by Brown, Nathan Robert

• ISBN13: 9781592579884
• ISBN10: 1592579884
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-03-02
• Publisher: DK Publishing, Inc.

Summary

You're no idiot, of course. The strange, the eerie, the unsolved-it all fascinates you. And no matter how many nights you've spent exploring tales of creepy encounters, you can't get enough.

Author Biography

Nathan Robert Brown is a doctoral student of Mythological Studies at University of Texas at Arlington, and the author of The Complete Idiot's Guide(r) to World Mythology.

Table of Contents

Ghosts, Spirits, and Paranormal Investigation	p. 1
The Haunts of Lost Souls	p. 3
What Is That Thing?	p. 4
Spirits	p. 5
Ghosts	p. 5
Theories About Ghosts	p. 6
Spirit/Ghost Activity vs. Demon Activity	p. 9
Poltergeists and Hauntings	p. 13
Haunting, Possession, or Poltergeist?	p. 14
The Truth About Poltergeists	p. 15
Five Stages of a Poltergeist	p. 16
Latent/Dormant/Passive Stage	p. 16
Obvious/Detectable Presence	p. 17
Increased Kinetic Activity	p. 17
Intelligent/Individual Targeting	p. 18
Dangerous/Life-Threatening Kinetic Activity	p. 18
Theoretical Causes of Poltergeists	p. 19
The Enfield Poltergeist	p. 21
The Amityville Horror	p. 22
The Haunted Toy Store	p. 26
Sendagaya Tunnel (Japan)	p. 27
Japan: From Beyond the Grave	p. 29
Japan's "Ghost Season"	p. 30
The Night of 100 Spirits	p. 32
Revenge Spirits of Japan	p. 33
Oiwa-San: Hell Hath No Fury	p. 34
Ubume	p. 36
Funayurei; Last at Sea	p. 37
Samurai Ghosts	p. 38
Ghosts of the Genpei War	p. 38
The Wrath of Taira no Masakado	p. 39
Paranormal Investigation	p. 43
What Is Paranormal Investigation?	p. 44
Famous Paranormal Investigators	p. 45
Ed and Lorraine Warren	p. 45
Dr. Hans Holzer	p. 46
Ryan Buell	p. 46
Paranormal Societies	p. 47
New England Society for Psychic Research47
The Paranormal Research Society (PRS)	p. 48
The Atlantic Paranormal Society (TAPS)	p. 49
Seek the Truth, Not the Illusion	p. 50
Conducting Interviews	p. 51
Initial Research	p. 56
Possible Explanations	p. 57
Engaging the Phenomenon	p. 58
Tools of the Trade	p. 59
Basic Paranormal Investigation Kit	p. 59
EVP and RVP	p. 61
Photographic and Video Evidence	p. 62
Angels, Demons, and Spellcasters	p. 65
Angels	p. 67
The Metatron	p. 68
Seraphim or Cherubim?	p. 68
The Grigori	p. 69
Archangels	p. 71
Michael: The Angel Prince of Israel	p. 71
Gabriel: The Divine Trumpeter of Heaven	p. 73
Raphael: Protector of the Eden Tree	p. 76
Orifiel	p. 76
Zarachiel: Angel of Prayer	p. 77
Uriel: Angelic Light of God	p. 77
fallen Angels	p. 79
The Book of Enoch	p. 80
The Light Bringer	p. 80
The Demon of the Flies	p. 81
The Wicked Lord of Darkness	p. 82
Banished to Dudael	p. 83
Sons of the Fallen (The Nephilim)	p. 84
Demons and Exorcisms	p. 87
Demons vs. Fallen Angels	p. 88
Demon Possession	p. 88
Protection Prayers	p. 91
The Circle of Light	p. 91
The Prayer to the Archangel Michael	p. 92
The Twenty-Third Psalm	p. 94
Jabez's Prayer	p. 94
St. Benedict Medals and Sacred Objects	p. 95
Exorcisms	p. 96
The Legion Exorcism	p. 97
Recent Possession Case Files	p. 98
The Mistaken Exorcism of Anneliese Michel	p. 99
The Last Exorcism of Father Peter	p. 101
Necromancy	p. 105
Bringing Up the Dead	p. 106
Spirit Necromancy	p. 107
Séances and Ouija Boards	p. 108
Physical Necromancy	p. 110
The Necronomicon	p. 111
Saul's Dance with the Dead	p. 113
Reading the Living	p. 115
Faith Magic	p. 119
The Integrated Origins of Faith Magic	p. 120
The "Protection Deception" of Faith Magic	p. 120
Voodoo	p. 121
Santeria	p. 122
Espiritismo	p. 123
Monsters, Shapeshifters, and the Undead	p. 125
Cryptozoology	p. 127
What Are Cryptids?	p. 128
Humanoids, Apes, or "Other"?	p. 129
Aquatic Cryptids	p. 130
Loch Ness Monster	p. 130
Champ	p. 131
Lake Van Monster	p. 132
Japanese Frilled Shark	p. 132
Chupacabra	p. 133
Two Sides to the Chupacabra	p. 133
The Chupacabra's Defenses	p. 134
Extinct Confirmed Cryptids	p. 134
The Tasmanian Tiger	p. 135
A Horse Is a à Zebra? (Quagga)	p. 135
Japan's Monstrous Plethora	p. 137
The Bakemono	p. 138
Ningyo: The Monkey-Faced Mermaid	p. 139
Ha-Inu: Toyotomi's Winged Dog	p. 140
Kama-Itachi: The Blade Wielding Weasel	p. 141
The Ravenous Oni	p. 142
Japan's Legendary Oni Slayer	p. 142
The Creepiness of Bakemono Women	p. 144
Yuki-Onna: The Snow Women	p. 144
Futa-Kuchi-Onna	p. 145
Rokuri-Kubi	p. 146
Kuchisake-Onna	p. 146
Vampires	p. 149
The Supernatural Vampire	p. 150
The Viral Vampire	p. 152
Psychic Vampires	p. 153
Revenants	p. 154
Vlad the Impaler	p. 155
Strangers in a Strange Land	p. 156
Betrayal by the Boyars	p. 157
The Rise of the Impaler	p. 157
A Legacy of Impalement	p. 159
Was Vlad Tepes a Vampire?	p. 159
The Plogojowitz Incident	p. 161
The Highgate Vampire Incident	p. 163
Poor Man's Guide to Killing a Vampire	p. 167
Zombies	p. 169
The Voodoo Zombie Hoax	p. 170
The Chiang-Shih	p. 172
Rise of the Viral Zombie	p. 174
The Modern Zombie Virus Concept	p. 175
How to "Re-Dead" the Reanimated	p. 176
Werewolves	p. 179
Lycoan's Curse	p. 180
Can Anyone Become a Werewolf?	p. 182
Supernatural Werewolf vs. Viral Werewolf	p. 183
Bill Ramsey: Werewolf of Southend	p. 183
More Than One Way to Kill a Werewolf?	p. 185
Silver Weaponry	p. 186
Wooden Stakes?	p. 188
Wolfs Bane: Werewolf Repellent	p. 189
Chop Him Up!	p. 189
Shapeshifters	p. 191
Therianthropy	p. 192
Bakeneko	p. 192
Africa's Were-Hyenas	p. 194
The Bultingin of Borno	p. 195
The Sudanese Were-Hyena	p. 196
The Ethiopian Bouda	p. 196
Tanuki	p. 197
Were-Lions of Africa	p. 200
Kitsune	p. 202
Liver Hunter (Kumiho of Korea)	p. 205
A Rooster for a Soul (Lithuania)	p. 206
Unexplained Phenomena	p. 211
Psychic Phenomena	p. 213
Mind-Body Connection	p. 214
That Really Burns- Her Up!	p. 214
The Planarian Experiment	p. 215
The Human Trinity	p. 216
Extrasensory Perception	p. 216
1882: The First Formal ESP Study	p. 217
The 1930 Rhine Experiments	p. 218
Precognition and Clairvoyance	p. 219
Retrocognition	p. 219
Déjà Vu	p. 220
Telepathy	p. 221
Telekinesis	p. 221
Spirited Away	p. 225
Unexplained Disappearances	p. 226
The Bennington Triangle	p. 227
Bermuda Triangle	p. 228
The Loss of Flight 19	p. 228
A Desperate Transmission	p. 229
After They Vanished	p. 230
The Dragon's Triangle	p. 230
The Lost Colony of Roanoke (1587)	p. 231
Well, He Didn't Just Walk Away!	p. 232
Into Thin Air	p. 233
Inter-Dimensional Hippies?	p. 234
Unexplainable (Maybe?) Mysteries	p. 237
The Hum of Taos, New Mexico	p. 238
Spontaneous Combustion	p. 238
The Reeser Case	p. 239
The Martin Case	p. 240
The Bentley Case	p. 241
Human Involuntary Invisibility	p. 241
Sarita: The Glass Girl	p. 242
Crystal Skulls	p. 243
The Mitchell-Hedges Skull	p. 244
Other Crystal Skulls	p. 247
Appendixes
Glossary	p. 249
Paranormal Societies	p. 259
Index	p. 271
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