From Shaman to Scientist

James Houran Houran serves as a peer-reviewer for many psychological and parapsychological journals, and is an associate editor for the Australian Journal of Parapsychology and a consulting editor for the European Journal of Parapsychology. He is a former Instructor of Clinical Psychiatry at the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine. His research has produced more than 80 professional publications in psychology and parapsychology journals, and his work has been frequently profiled in print and electronic media worldwide, such as A&E, History Channel, BBC, ABC News, and several commercial documentaries.

In Chapter 1, Annekatrin Puhle and Adrian Parker explore 'edges' between the scientific and shamanic worldviews. A brief history of parapsychology emphasizes that the 'experimenter effect,' far from being mere artifact, is 'part of the beast we are investigating.' They point out that the most successful Ganzfeld experiments are those that give prominence to ritualistic and spiritual context. This supports their conclusion that 'our experimental techniques may be the modern day equivalent of rituals for bringing forth the phenomena.' In Chapter 2, a detailed exploration of psi-shamanic associations, James McClenon suggests that many of the core phenomena manifest cross-culturally. Michael Winkelman in the next chapter surmises that 'Spirits are part of thestructure of human consciousness [and]...can be understood as representing psychological complexes, organized personality dynamics that are dissociated from awareness, normal personality and identity.' Christa Tuczay in Chapter 4 explores ghosts in medieval sources, and this is followed by Peter Mulacz in what, for me, was the most fascinating chapter in the book, reviewing the history of poltergeist research and leading theories of the phenomenon. Sylvia Grider's chapter on American children's ghost sto

• 1 Foreword by Richard Wiseman2 Introduction by James Houran3 Science in Search of Spirit by Annekatrin Puhle and Adrian Parker4 How Shamanism Began: Human Evolution, Dissociation, and Anomalous Experience by James McClenon5 Spirits as Human Nature and the Fundamental Structures of Consciousness by Michael Winkelman6 Interactions with Apparitions, Ghosts, and Revenants from Ancient and Medieval Sources by Christa A. Tuczay7 Historical Profiles in Poltergeist Research by Peter Mulacz8 American Children's Ghost Stories: Manipulation and Mastery of a Belief System by Sylvia Grider9 Ghost Hunting in the Twenty First Century by John Potts10 Afterword by Loyd Auerbach11 Further Reading12 Index