Kenny Biddle | |
|---|---|
 Kenny Biddle presenting at CSICon in 2022. | |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Investigator of paranormal claims |
| Website | Facebook blog |
Kenny Biddle is an investigator of paranormal claims. He is chief investigator at the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry and a fellow of the same organization.
Initially interested in ghost hunting, UFOs and other fringe pursuits, Biddle gradually adopted a scientifically minded approach to the study of a wide range of paranormal phenomena.
Biddle grew up in a Catholic household where spirituality was a given. He developed a keen interest in paranormal mysteries watching television programs such as In Search of.... He made his first on-site investigation in 1997 and joined forces with other ghost-hunters inspired by television. [1] [2] [3] He founded a group called Paranormal Investigative Research Association in Pennsylvania. [4] An experienced photographer, he collaborated with the Mutual UFO Network. [5] [6]
Biddle started to question his approach to investigations into paranormal phenomena when he attended a 1999 ghost hunting convention in Pennsylvania, where a group was claiming to have encountered a hostile entity the night before at the Gettysburg Civil War battlefield. From the description of the event, it became clear that Biddle himself was the ghost they were talking about. He had come out of the woods in the dark to chase a group that was disrupting a filming he was involved in; it became apparent they couldn't see him clearly and concluded he was a paranormal entity. That his fellow ghost hunters were not receptive to his version of the tale made him reevaluate his own attitudes. [7] [8]
Biddle started to follow in the steps of science-based investigators, such as chief investigator for the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry Joe Nickell. His expertise in photography and how optical phenomena generate peculiar images on film attracted the attention of Benjamin Radford, who asked him to write for the Center of Inquiry's newsletter. He continued to be involved with the organization and eventually took over Nickell's position when he retired in 2022. [7] [2] [9] [3]
Biddle has been quoted as an expert on the scientific study of paranormal phenomena in publications such as Newsweek, [10] Live Science, [11] the New York Times Magazine, [4] Popular Mechanics, [12] People Magazine [13] and The Atlantic. [14] His investigations and observations have been mentioned in a number of books on supernatural phenomena. [15] [16] [17]
He hosts the weekly podcast Skeptical Help Bar and writes a regular column for Skeptical Inquirer . [9] With Sharon Hill, Biddle established the Anomalies Research Society, a network of professionals investigating claims of paranormal and anomalous events. [18] [19] [3]
Biddle conducts on-site investigations, trying to determine the cause of phenomena reported as having paranormal causes. He developed an expertise in the more technical aspects of the work, such as photography and video editing, as well as the various hardware used to detect entities. He tends to be critical of the misuse of devices such as EMF meters by ghost hunters who don't understand the way they work, leading to false positives. He stated in 2015 that beyond the use of new gadgetry, ghost hunters still essentially use the same methods than they used a century ago. He continues to attend events of the ghost-hunting community, speaking about his experiences and discussing the proper use of technology in the field. [9] [8] [2] [20] [14]
In 2017, he helped a group led by Susan Gerbic expose the cold reading techniques of psychic Matt Fraser. [4] [21]
Biddle believes he never faced a situation where an actual ghost is the most probable explanation. "My goal is to gather enough information that will lead to a solid and honest conclusion that sufficiently explains a mystery," Biddle told Newsweek in 2021. [1]
With David Schumacher and Tim Vickers, he compiled a series of observations on what kind of electromagnetic measurements one can expect to get in a house (one that is presumably not haunted), to serve as control in paranormal investigations. The report was published in 2023 in the Journal of Scientific Exploration. [22]
In German folklore and ghostlore, a poltergeist is a type of ghost or spirit that is responsible for physical disturbances, such as loud noises and objects being moved or destroyed. Most claims or fictional descriptions of poltergeists show them as being capable of pinching, biting, hitting, and tripping people. They are also depicted as capable of the movement or levitation of objects such as furniture and cutlery, or noises such as knocking on doors. Foul smells are also associated with poltergeist occurrences, as well as spontaneous fires and different electrical issues such as flickering lights.
The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI), formerly known as the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP), is a program within the U.S. non-profit organization Center for Inquiry (CFI), which seeks to "promote scientific inquiry, critical investigation, and the use of reason in examining controversial and extraordinary claims." Paul Kurtz proposed the establishment of CSICOP in 1976 as an independent non-profit organization, to counter what he regarded as an uncritical acceptance of, and support for, paranormal claims by both the media and society in general. Its philosophical position is one of scientific skepticism. CSI's fellows have included notable scientists, Nobel laureates, philosophers, psychologists, educators, and authors. It is headquartered in Amherst, New York.
A haunted house, spook house or ghost house in ghostlore is a house or other building often perceived as being inhabited by disembodied spirits of the deceased who may have been former residents or were otherwise connected with the property. Parapsychologists often attribute haunting to the spirits of the dead who have suffered from violent or tragic events in the building's past such as murder, accidental death, or suicide.
A psychic detective is a person who investigates crimes by using purported paranormal psychic abilities. Examples have included postcognition, psychometry, telepathy, dowsing, clairvoyance, and remote viewing. In murder cases, psychic detectives may purport to be in communication with the spirits of the murder victims.
Within ghost hunting and parapsychology, electronic voice phenomena (EVP) are sounds found on electronic recordings that are interpreted as spirit voices. Parapsychologist Konstantīns Raudive, who popularized the idea in the 1970s, described EVP as typically brief, usually the length of a word or short phrase.
Ghost Hunters is an American paranormal and reality television series. The original series aired from October 6, 2004 until October 26, 2016 on Syfy. The original program spanned eleven seasons with 230 episodes, not including 10 specials. The series was revived in early 2019 and aired its twelfth and thirteenth seasons from August 21, 2019, to May 27, 2020, on A&E, after which it was cancelled and then revived for its fourteenth season only months later on Discovery+, which started airing on October 31, 2021. Season 15 began October 1, 2022 on Travel Channel. Season 16 of Ghost Hunters is set to release on Travel Channel on April 6, 2023.
Edward Warren Miney and Lorraine Rita Warren were American paranormal investigators and authors associated with prominent cases of alleged hauntings. Edward was a self-taught and self-professed demonologist, author, and lecturer. Lorraine professed to be clairvoyant and a light trance medium who worked closely with her husband.
Joe Nickell is an American skeptic and investigator of the paranormal.
Spirit photography is a type of photography whose primary goal is to capture images of ghosts and other spiritual entities, especially in ghost hunting. It dates back to the late 19th century. The end of the American Civil War and the mid-19th Century Spiritualism movement contributed greatly to the popularity of spirit photography. Photographers such as William Mumler and William Hope ran thriving businesses taking photos of people with their supposed dead relatives. Both were shown to be frauds, but "true believers", such as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, refused to accept the evidence as proof of a hoax.
Hans Holzer was an Austrian-American author and parapsychologist. He wrote more than 120 books on supernatural and occult subjects for the popular market as well as several plays, musicals, films, and documentaries, and hosted a television show, Ghost Hunter.
Loyd Auerback is a parapsychologist, paranormal investigator, and mentalist. He has appeared on numerous television shows that profile ghost hunting and other paranormal topics. He develops and teaches online courses on parapsychology.
Ghost hunting is the process of investigating locations that are purportedly haunted by ghosts. Typically, a ghost-hunting team will attempt to collect evidence supporting the existence of paranormal activity.
The New England Skeptical Society (NESS) is an American organization dedicated to promoting science and reason. It was founded in January 1996 as the Connecticut Skeptical Society, by Steven Novella, Perry DeAngelis and Bob Novella. The group later joined with the Skeptical Inquirers of New England (SINE) and the New Hampshire Skeptical Resource to form the New England Skeptical Society.
Benjamin Radford is an American writer, investigator, and skeptic. He has authored, coauthored or contributed to over twenty books and written over a thousand articles and columns on a wide variety of topics including urban legends, unexplained mysteries, the paranormal, critical thinking, mass hysteria, and media literacy. His book, Mysterious New Mexico: Miracles, Magic, and Monsters in the Land of Enchantment, was published in the summer of 2014 and is a scientific investigation of famous legends and folklore in the state of New Mexico. In 2016 Radford published Bad Clowns, a 2017 IPPY bronze award winner, and he is regarded as an expert on the bad clowns phenomenon.
Guy Lyon Playfair was a British writer, best known for his books about parapsychology and his investigation of the Enfield poltergeist.
Robert Allen Baker Jr. was an American psychologist, professor of psychology emeritus of the University of Kentucky, skeptic, author, and investigator of ghosts, UFO abductions, lake monsters and other paranormal phenomena. He is the editor of Psychology in the Wry, a collection of satire, and was formerly the co-editor of Approaches, a quarterly journal of contemporary poetry. His satirical and humorous verses have appeared in Vogue, Saturday Review, The Journal of Irreproducible Results, Worm-Runners' Digest, and other journals. He wrote 15 books and is a past fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry.
Zachary Alexander Bagans is an American paranormal investigator, actor, television personality, museum operator, and author. He is the principal host of the Travel Channel series Ghost Adventures.
Chip Coffey is an American self-proclaimed psychic from Elmira, New York, currently living in Atlanta, Georgia. He appeared as a medium on various paranormal television programs, primarily Paranormal State and Psychic Kids. On Psychic Kids he acts as a mentor towards children who claim to have psychic abilities, primarily seeing ghosts. Coffey's claims of being able to communicate with the dead have been subject to criticism by skeptics. In 2019 it was announced that Coffey will be joining Travel Channel's Kindred Spirits as the third official cast member alongside Adam Berry and Amy Bruni for the fourth season in 2020.
James "Jim" Underdown has been the executive director of The Center for Inquiry (CFI) West in Los Angeles since 1999. The Center for Inquiry is a non-profit educational organization with headquarters in Amherst, New York, whose primary mission is to foster a secular society based on science, reason, freedom of inquiry, and humanist values. CFI West is the largest facility in the organization outside Amherst.
The Ammons haunting case, also known as the 200 Demons House or Demon House, is an alleged haunting and demonic possession which occurred in Gary, Indiana, in the United States in 2011. Latoya Ammons, her mother, Rosa Campbell, and her three children claimed paranormal activity occurred in the residence. The story was publicized in January 2014 and received national attention.