Investigating the Unexplained

Book excerpt: Melvin Harris, a researcher and broadcaster for the BBC, has written a fascinating expose of long-lived "psychic mysteries." "Investigating the Unexplained" examines many claims made by the proponents of the paranormal. Harris' work led him into the worlds of ghosts and demons, haunted houses, and spirit mediums. He checked up on reports of reincarnation, poltergeists, a mummy's curse, and eyewitness accounts of "little green children." This book gives us the real facts behind the famous Amityville Horror hoax, the hypnotic regressions to past lives recorded on the much-publicized Bloxham tapes, the "psychic detectives" involved in the search for Jack the Ripper, and many other "fully authenticated" but incredible tales. Harris went back to the primary sources of these stories and found he was always able to say, "Sorry, you've been duped " For every legend he debunks, Harris present the facts. He shows us how and why a hoax was perpetrated. Often the public grasps on to someone else's story and, before long, these tales are mythologized and believed to be truths." Investigating the Unexplained" is an exciting look at psychic mysteries and the facts behind them.