Benjamin Radford – författare

Fun facts, folklore, and scientific studies about what really lurks in the cold, murky depths: “A most enjoyable read.” —John Kirk, author of In the Domain of the Lake Monsters   For centuries, eyewitnesses around the world—from America to Africa, Argentina to Scotland—have reported sightings of dark, mysterious creatures that surface briefly from local lakes, only to quickly disappear. While the most famous lake monsters, those living in Loch Ness and Lake Champlain, have gained international notoriety, hundreds of lakes around the world are said to shelter these shadowy creatures.  Lake Monster Mysteries is the first book to collectively approach these widespread mysteries from a scientific perspective. By using exhaustive research and results from firsthand investigations to help separate truth from myth, the authors foster our understanding of what really lurks in the cold, murky depths. Benjamin Radford and Joe Nickell, among the top lake monster authorities in the world, now share unique insights into many of the world’s best-known lake monsters. They interview dozens of people and discuss the different types of sightings, delve into possible explanations, and examine hoaxes, evidence claims, and legends surrounding the monsters. The authors have conducted groundbreaking fieldwork and experiments at lakes, examined photographic evidence, and analyzed the most current sonar readings. Incorporating newly revealed information and up-to-date developments, the cases in Lake Monster Mysteries are in-depth, firsthand investigations that will inform and entertain both avid lake monster researchers and lovers of unexplained mysteries.  Includes photos and illustrations

For centuries, eyewitnesses around the world -- from America to Africa, Argentina to Scotland -- have reported sightings of dark, mysterious creatures in area lakes that surface briefly, only to quickly disappear. While the most famous lake monsters of Loch Ness and Lake Champlain have gained international notoriety, hundreds of lakes around the world are said to shelter these shadowy creatures. Lake Monster Mysteries is the first book to examine these widespread mysteries from a scientific perspective. By using exhaustive research and results from firsthand investigations to help separate truth from myth, the authors foster our understanding of what really lurks in the cold, murky depths. Benjamin Radford and Joe Nickell are considered to be among the top lake monster authorities in the world. Here they share unique insights into many of the world''s best-known lake monsters. They interview witnesses and local experts and discuss the different types of lake monster sightings, delve into possible explanations for those sightings, and examine hoaxes, evidence claims, and legends surrounding the monsters. The authors have also conducted groundbreaking fieldwork and experiments at the lakes and have examined recent photographic and sonar evidence. Incorporating newly-revealed information and up-to-date developments in the cases they present, professional monster hunters Radford and Nickell plunge into both the cultural histories of these creatures and the scientific inquiries that may hold the key to these mysteries.

Bad clowns—those malicious misfits of the midway who terrorize, haunt, and threaten us—have long been a cultural icon. This book describes the history of bad clowns, why clowns go bad, and why many people fear them. Going beyond familiar clowns such as the Joker, Krusty, John Wayne Gacy, and Stephen King’s Pennywise, it also features bizarre, lesser-known stories of weird clown antics including Bozo obscenity, Ronald McDonald haters, killer clowns, phantom-clown abductors, evil-clown panics, sex clowns, carnival clowns, troll clowns, and much more. Bad Clowns blends humor, investigation, and scholarship to reveal what is behind the clown’s dark smile.

This collection of Skeptical Inquirer magazine columns by investigator and folklorist Benjamin Radford guides readers on a science-based (yet open-minded) examination of 70 fascinating and mysterious topics. Drawing on two decades of first-hand research, Big-If True separates fact from fiction using forensics, science, psychology, folklore, and more. Big-If True examines these and dozens more mysteries including Bigfoot, reincarnation, chupacabras, Icelandic elves, conspiracy theories, UFOs, miracles, the terrifying Goat-Man, crop circles, subliminal advertising, sea serpents, wandering trees, medical mysteries, and hypnotist thieves-plus a 1990 Elvis sighting. For mystery lovers and armchair investigators alike, this book offers a look behind the scenes at investigating oddities and curiosities, both ancient and modern. 

Chapter One LEGENDS 5

A Skeptic''s Guide to Ethical and Effective Curse Removal • Egging the

Equator • Detour: Elves Ahead • Mysteries of the Coral Castle • Is Elvis

Presley in Home Alone? • Searching to Noah Vale • The Bell Witch Mystery

• The Myth of the Walking Tree • Bailing in the Mummies • Might Fright

Cause White? • (and more)

Chapter Two MONSTERS 51

Cryptozoology and Global Warming • The Mystery of the Texas

Chupacabra • Texas Goat-Men and the Chupacabra • A Wakey Water

''Monster'' • Globsters Ahoy! • Investigating Mothman''s Red Eyeshine

Chapter Three GHOSTS 83

Do Einstein''s Laws Endorse Ghosts? • ''M'' is for Mysterious Marks •

Have I Ever Seen a Ghost? • Soul Scales • The Cockington Church Ghost

Photo • Can Electromagnetic Fields Create Ghosts? • Infrared Cameras

and Ghost Hunting • A Closer Look at Orbs • The Sweet Spirit Sounds

of Rosemary Brown • (and more)

Chapter Four MYSTERIOUS POWERS AND PLACES 121

A Time to Die? • Crop Circle Origins • The GIGO Problem: Crop Circle

Research Edition • Channeling Ancient African Wisdom-Or Not • Mystery

of the Paulding Light • Dowsing: Dubious and Discredited • Fatima

Miracle Claims All Wet • Uri Geller Revisited • Did Psychic Visions

Locate Missing California Boy? • Beware Mesmer Thieves! • Secrets of

Spectacularly Skewered Skin

Chapter Five UFOs 165

The Phantom Menace of UFO Revelation • The Mysterious Phoenix

Lights • The Mysterious, Invisible ''Rods''

Chapter Six HEALTH AND MEDICINE 175

Bodytalk: Boon or Bogus? • Exercising the Brain Gym • Kinoki Foot Pads

• Diving HeadOn Into Pseudoscience • Subliminal Advertising, Trumpian

and Otherwise • Freaky Feldenkrais • Measuring Near-Death Experience

• A 100C Grain of Truth to Homeopathy? • Battle Over the BMI • The

Mysterious Morgellons Malady • Childbirth-Natural or ''Unnatural''? •

Vegetable Oil or Snake Oil?: The Pseudoscience of "Oil Pulling" • The

Pseudoscience of Personalysis • Left Brain or Right Brain? • (and more)

Chapter Seven CONSPIRACIES 229

Sandy Hook School Shooting: The Adam Lanza Death Certificate Conspiracy

• Curious Contrails: Death From the Sky? • The Truth About the 9/11

Truthers • Is America a Sheeple Factory?

Chapter Eight SKEPTICISM 243

Legitimizing Woo • Just Asking Questions • Caught Between the Possible

and the Paranormal • Dealing With Believers in Skeptical Investigation •

Anomaly Hunting • Mystery Solved-According to Whom? • Paranormal

Qualifications