Prof
Wiseman’s research into alleged paranormal phenomena examines
a range of topics, including testing psychics, investigating haunted
locations, and belief in the paranormal.
Testing psychics: This work involves investigating people claiming a range of paranormal abilities, including mediums, astrologers, healers and animal communicators. Much of this research is described in Prof Wiseman’s book Deception and Self-deception: Investigating Psychics. To date, none of the tests have revealed convincing evidence for psychic ability.
Links
BBC Online article describing Prof Wiseman's studies into mediumship
Guardian Unlimited article on mediumship and science
Parapsychology: Although Prof Wiseman doesn't think that
the results of laboratory-based parapsychology studies provide convincing
evidence of psychic ability, he does believe that they do justify
further work in this area. For this reason he has carried out various
projects assessing extrasensory perception, including work examining
the ganzfeld procedure and remote viewing.
Links
Science News article on Prof Wiseman's ESP meta-analysis
BBC Online article on the laugh of the first Mind Machine
Hauntings
and ghosts: Prof Wiseman has examined why people report unusual
experiences in allegedly haunted locations.
He brought together a team of scientists to investigate Hampton Court
Palace. This was the first time that scientists had been allowed inside
a Royal palace to examine allegedly paranormal phenomena. The study
involved over 600 members of the public walking through certain areas
of the Palace and noting down their location whenever they experienced
any unusual phenomena. At night, a wide range of monitoring equipment
were placed in these locations.
People consistently experienced unusual sensations in certain locations
and that some of these experiences were caused by natural phenomena,
such as subtle draughts and changes in air temperature.
Prof Wiseman also conducted an investigation into a set of underground
vaults in Edinburgh as part of the Edinburgh International Science
Festival. Results revealed tha participants consistently reported
unusual sensations in the vaults that had a reputation for being haunted,
and that there were correlations between these experiences and certain
environmental attributes, such as air movement and the visual appearance
of the vaults.
Links
BBC
Online article describing Prof Wiseman's article on hauntings
published in the British Journal of Psychology
Times
article on magnetism and unusual experiences.
Guardian
article on infrasound and unusual experiences.
Tandy V. & Lawrence, T,. (1998). The ghost in the machine. Journal
of the Society for Psychical Research, 62, 851, 360-364. download
Tandy, V. (2000), "Something in the Cellar", Journal of
the Society for Psychical Research, 64, 129-140. download
McCue, P.A. (2002). Theories of Hauntings: A Critical overview. Journal
of the Society for Psychical Research, 66, 1-21. download
Our thanks to the Journal
of the Society for Psychical Research for permission to distribute
articles from their journals.