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Allison Jornlin Speaks at ParaMOOC

By Allison Jornlin




 

Allison Jornlin Speaks at ParaMOOC 2023    

The international parapsychology course called ParaMOOC returned this month. Presenters include well-known parapsychologists including an academic who got his PhD in poltergeists as well as researchers from Brazil, the U.K., Australia, and Japan . . . and me!

Between my duties as tour developer for American Ghost Walks and running my YouTube channel Paranormal Women , I do a lot of historical research. One of my favorite subjects is the Victorian writer Catherine Crowe. She introduced the term poltergeist to the English language in 1848 in her ground-breaking book on the supernatural The Night-Side of Nature. I am honored to speak about her life and work, the perfect addition to ParaMOOC 2023’s lineup of talks on apparitions, poltergeists, and hauntings.

The Hidden Ghost Hunter: Remembering Catherine Crowe

Catherine Crowe (1790-1872) could be called the mother of the paranormal. Although there were others before her who were interested in unexplained phenomena and even those who put together collections of true ghost stories, Crowe went beyond merely collecting haunting tales. Nothing compares to her trailblazing work.

The Night-Side of Nature features not only ghost stories, but a variety of strange happenings in its 450-some pages including what we now call OBEs, NDEs, time slips, and ESP. Crowe compiled and compared cross-cultural data about paranormal events, amassing anecdotal evidence from the 18th and 19th Centuries and back into antiquity.

Laying the Groundwork for Paranormal Research

Writer Colin Wilson called  The Night-Side of Nature, “the first sustained attempt to treat paranormal phenomena in the scientific spirit that would later characterize the Society of Psychical Research.” Catherine Crowe applied critical thought and experimental methods to ghost investigations long before such an approach was institutionalized by the Society for Psychical Research in 1882. Although she made significant contributions to paranormal study, you may not know about Catherine Crowe today because of the baseless rumors of insanity that still overshadow her legacy.

My presentation will put the scandal to rest and explore the aspects of Crowe’s work that are most relevant for ghost hunters today. With a focus on poltergeist cases and her historic 1854 ghost hunt that set the foundation for modern day research into hauntings, my talk with share Crowe’s contributions to paranormal investigation and psychical research.

How to Participate

Participants can watch my presentation via Zoom on Sunday, March 19th at 2 p.m. Central. Enroll ahead of time for free by sending an email to  parapsychologyonline@gmail.com  with "Register" in the subject line to see it live and take part in the discussion afterward.

2023 ParaMOOC Speakers

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You can find all the sessions for 2023 as well as years past at https://www.youtube.com/@ParapsychologyOnline. ParaMOOC is organized by parapsychologist Nancy Zingrone and the research director the Psychical Research Foundation Bryan Williams with support from the Parapsychology Foundation.

 

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