Ghost Hunters: William James And The Search For Scientific Proof Of Life After Death (2006) - Plot & Excerpts
The title "Ghost Hunters" doesn't do this book justice, as it brings to mind the modern crop of sloppy so-called investigators who scare themselves for television audiences. This book is hardier stuff, chronicling scientists of the late 1800s and early 1900s, many with stellar credentials and accomplishments in mainstream fields, who sought to apply rigorous investigation to the practice of mediumship. The subtitle provides a better synopsis: "William James and the Search for Scientific Proof of Life After Death". Even so, this is not a book solely focused on the famous philosopher and psychologist, and he is only one player in a large cast of characters.The narrative covers an important span in history for those, like myself, who are interested in paranormal phenomena and the question of whether or not those phenomena are real. I'd recommend Blum's account as essential reading for my fellow members of The Independent Investigations Group (which investigates claims of the paranormal and offers a $100,000 prize to those who can pass a test based on mutually agreed-upon protocols). As I've had some experience in the field, it is fascinating to read this account of the earliest critical investigations into spiritualists and mediums.Blum sets the stage well, describing the rise of spiritualism (there is plenty here about the Fox sisters, the Davenport brothers, Madame Blavatsky, et al.) in a world that has recently been confronted with Darwin's theory of Evolution by Natural Selection. The stage is set for a clash between empiricism and occultism. Even the co-discoverer of Natural Selection, Alfred Russel Wallace, plays a role as a champion of the supernatural. As the book's timeline progresses, Blum reminds us frequently of the new inventions that come with each year, further cementing scientific primacy in the intellectual community.A constant theme of the book is the struggle for the early founders of the Society for Psychical Research (SPR) and its American counterpart (ASPR) to be taken seriously. The rest of the scientific community was eager to distance itself from them, and was uncomfortable when reputable figures like Wallace and James (not to mention other central figures like Charles Richet, Frederic Myers, William Crookes, and Oliver Lodge) gave time and credence to these embarrassing pursuits.Their work was not made easier by psychics, the vast majority of whom were readily exposed as frauds. Indeed, the SPR and ASPR spent much time debunking paid and performance mediums in hopes of gaining credibility for the rare individuals worthy of closer attention. These "white crows" (if you seek to prove that not all crows are black, you only need discover one white crow) were hard to come by. Even promising figures such as the Italian Eusapia Palladino, featured prominently in the book, would be caught regularly in outright fraud, but at other times produce effects of levitation, ectoplasm, light and sensation that stymied investigators were powerless to explain.The real star medium of the book is Leonora Piper, a demure figure who claimed not to understand the source of her powers. She would slip into a trance and give readings, often in the assumed voice of a dead French man (Dr. Phinuit), or perhaps a deceased scientist. Sometimes her readings were too vague or factually incorrect, and Phinuit had no record of ever having lived (nor can he speak very good French). The researchers were quick to write these shortcomings off, for when Piper had a successful reading, it was alarmingly successful, with details there was no way she could have known. Indeed, the researchers paid private detectives to follow her around, and observed strict protocols in bringing subjects unannounced and unintroduced. They would try to throw off Piper with fake names, but she'd still produce amazing details. For decades, Richard Hodgson and other investigators poked and prodded her during her trances, took her to Europe and back, and continually asked her to provide readings for little or no money. Perhaps, they hypothesized, she was simply reading minds, but whatever she was doing the researchers were convinced they had the real deal.There are stories in this book that are really hard to discount, and one can hardly blame the researchers for taking them seriously. In fact, I think their investigations were entirely reasonable given the circumstances. All I can say is that I wish I had been there to witness some of these readings and seances in person, and to see this evidence that sounds so incredibly compelling. It definitely makes one think, and if these results were not trickery - indeed they would say something very significant about the existence of psychic phenomena. I just wonder where these skills are today, and if there are any white crows left to investigate.It's not a perfect book. Deborah Blum is a great writer ("The Poisoner's Handbook" is a favorite of mine), and she's clearly done a huge amount of research on this topic, but this is a page turner by no means. I'd usually get through about five pages and feel I needed a break to digest all the information. There are times where she could have left out asides that do little other than slow the pace. There's also a vast stable of characters, with new figures being introduced constantly, even into the final pages of the book. They pop in and out of the narrative, and one is sent scrambling each time to remember where we heard his name before.Highly recommended for those interested in the topic - others will not be convinced to persist unto the end.
This well-researched book was a wonderful addition to my past readings on the topic of spiritualism and metaphysics, particularly since it tells the story of a group of well-educated people seeking the scientific angle.William James, widely recognized as a founding father of academic psychology, is probably the best known name on this team of investigators, but the initial members of the Society for Psychical Research (SPR) included many accomplished scientists, including: Richard Hodgson, James Hyslop, A. Sidgwick and his wife, Nora Sidgwick (a noted mathematician and dean of Newnham College), Fred Myers, Edmund Gurney, Charles Richet (well known for his work in wireless telegraphy), and Dr. Crookes, whose many inventions included the precursors to x-rays. Those who participated in the research were, for the most part, trained scientists in the fields of physics, astronomy, chemistry, psychology, and biology. What the SPR researchers sought to do was apply scientific methods of research to psychical phenomena; they questioned whether there could be communication with the dead, either through physical manifestations (ghosts, rapping) or verbal ones (automatic writing, trance mediumship). In the late 19th century, Spiritualism was a growing movement, and seances were popular, particularly among those who had lost loved ones in the not long past American Civil War. While most scientists scoffed at the idea of "talking to the dead," this small group of researchers chose to look at the problem scientifically.In the process, the researchers spent a fair amount of time debunking fraudulent mediums, from the slate writers at Lily Dale (a popular Spriritualist retreat in upstate New York, still active today) to the world-famous founder of Theosophy, Helena Petrovna Blavatsky. And yet, despite finding many con-artists, they also found a few genuine examples of paranormal activity beyond explanation. One was the medium Leonora Piper, who lived in Boston, MA. She was a subject of study for nearly two decades, and never once was found to cheat. In a survey of "crisis apparitions," taken in Britain and America, it was discovered that the number of people who had had seen spirits of dying friends or family, when limited to only the stories that could be verified in their particulars, was far above the normal statistical expectations for the surveyed populations. Perhaps the most striking experiments were the cross-correspondance ones, where four individuals, two in England, one in America, and one in India, all received the same messages from one of the researchers who had recently died. The messages corresponded to a specific poem of great meaning to the group, and the communication was further tested by asking questions of the "spirit" in Latin, a language unknown by the mediums who were receiving the messages.In all, it was frustrating to see this group of learned men and women consistently run up against vicious criticisms from the rest of the scientific community, who refused to participate or even entertain the notion that the work that they were doing had merit. I sincerely wish that some group of researchers had continued this work, which sadly lost steam after most of the main investigators, particularly Hodgson and James passed on. My personal feelings on the subject accord with those of James; I don't necessarily believe in life after death or spirit communication, but I have not ruled out such things, because there are some situations that current science cannot explain fully. I highly recommend this book.
What do You think about Ghost Hunters: William James And The Search For Scientific Proof Of Life After Death (2006)?
This was a wildcard book for me. I find the supernatural entertaining but don't take it particularly seriously. Like other people I've known I have had those moments where contents of a dream played out in the physical world including an unexpected death. But such intangible, rare occurrences have not been something I have drawn any conclusions from. This book did not change that nor did it try to. What it did do was reveal the way that some scientists tried to understand such phenomenon as well as the obstacles they faced. That narrative alone was fascinating. As with all of Blum's books there's an additional thread which connects it to some of the big questions of life--this one being that gaping scar dividing science and religion. As always she leaves the question open in a way that is very much in the spirit of science. The fact that she pulled that off in a book that had an air of the X-Files was impressive.
—C.R.
Ghost Hunters provides a captivating history of scientific investigations of the occult (e.g., telepathy, spirit communication, etc.) from 1850 until 1920. Psychical/spiritistic research was carefully investigated by a surprising number of famous "great men" of science, philosophy, and literature. These scientists and other intelligent skeptics who carefully investigated the paranormal (with an open mind) almost always walked away convinced by what appeared to be overwhelming evidence of the reality of supernatural phenomena that defied traditional scientific explanations. These same researchers also spent a lot of time debunking fraudulent mediums and tricksters. It's an interesting story filled with colorful characters, amazing facts, and human drama. Those who know very little about modern spiritualism would do well to start with this enlightening book. Those who have studied this topic previously should also find this a rewarding read. It's a book about science as much as the occult, so it should appeal to a diverse audience. My opinion, after reading this book, is that the scientific study of the occult is a waste of time because although the evidence in favor of paranormal explanations is quite strong, paranormal phenomena remain uncontrollable and beyond comprehension. These "miracles" may profoundly impact those who witness them directly, but they otherwise serve very little purpose and tend not to benefit those who merely read about them.
—Owen Spencer
Blum's book is a history of the beginning of the scientific study of the paranormal - ghosts, life after death, mediums, etc, etc. In many ways, I feel that this book is more of what Mary Roach's book Spook should have been like. It lacks the vaguely mocking, skeptical tone of Roach's book, instead sticking to the facts without making any judgments about what the facts mean."Psychical research," as it was called in the day, was started in the late 1800s by both scientists and psychologists, many of them very prominent in their day. Although William James is mentioned in the title, I felt throughout the book that he actually had relatively little to do with it. I wonder if he was listed in the title because today he remains the most well-known of the gentlemen (and ladies!) discussed in the book. The point of psychical research was to actually use the scientific method to either prove or disprove the existence of such things as ghosts and an afterlife.You would think that such research would be met with enthusiasm, at least by the scientific community, but it was not. Despised by the religious leaders of the day and mocked by "real" scientists, the work was met with little support, and so never really got off the ground in the way that it should have. It's interesting to note that many of the scientists involved in the work continued to work on "real" projects. Many were prize winners of their day. One invented the cathode ray tube. Another was instrumental in work on the transatlantic telegraph. And yet their research on the paranormal was met with guffaws and disdain by other scientists, which was not only a real shame, but grew increasingly frustrating over the course of the book.In fact, I would have to say that that was the biggest flaw of the book. I realize that it's what these men faced, but it grew increasingly tedious to read about that over and over again. Okay, I get it, the other scientists thought they were crackpots, let's move on!In the end, I'd say probably a good 97% of what these scientists investigated turned out to be complete bunk, which they would freely admit themselves. But there is that small percentage left, that 3 percent, that they were never able to disprove. And some of it is truly fascinating, defying easy explanation (I'm personally unconvinced that it proves an afterlife, but it at least proves that the human mind is far more capable than we think it is). It's interesting to think about. I wish that this field would be met with more acceptance.
—Jan
