Ghostology

Ghostology is simply defined here as the study of ghosts, distinguishing it from ghost hunting and parapsychology. It is a study that implicitly goes back to the earliest times. I myself never use the term ghost, preferring apparition instead. The author has a scientific and technical background, as is apparent from the contents and approach of the book, including a chapter on critical thinking. He goes into the investigation process, for instance how to question a witness, before dealing with aspects of monitoring and measuring and moving on to more technical and specialist matters. Sometimes a change of temperature can be significant, and some apparitions can be assessed electromagnetically. The environment as a whole needs to be monitored and measured with the best equipment, on which the author gives plenty of advice. He has a chapter on electronic voice phenomena and a corresponding one on sound recording. He also advises on photography and video and discusses more generally the nature of light. Towards the end, he provides strong evidence that so-called orbs in digital photography are in fact dust particles, an argument reinforced by a recent discussion with a visiting neighbour. In short, this book is the most comprehensive and authoritative guide to the field.