Adventures in Paranormal Investigation - Hardcover

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

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.