Loyd Auerbach

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Loyd Auerbach
Born
Loyd Auerbach
Occupation(s) parapsychologist, paranormal investigator, author, educator, mentalist, chocolatier, research consultant
Known for parapsychology, ghost hunting, mentalism

Loyd Auerbach is a parapsychologist, paranormal investigator, and mentalist. He has appeared on television shows that profile ghost hunting and other paranormal topics and is the author of several books on ghost hunting, parapsychology, and other paranormal subjects as well as co-author of the Raney/Day Investigation novels. He was a columnist for Fate magazine. As a mentalist, he performs under the name "Professor Paranormal". He is also a chocolatier offering chocolate tasting classes and products through his website Haunted By Chocolate.

Contents

Early life and education

Loyd Auerbach is the son of Barbara Auerbach and Richard “Dick” Auerbach, the latter a longtime producer and executive at NBC Sports and independent producer of the Rose Bowl Game and Tournament of Roses Parade. [1]

Auerbach has had an interest in the paranormal and psychic phenomena from an early age. Growing up, he watched The Twilight Zone and One Step Beyond television shows and held séances. Auerbach helped start a parapsychology club at his high school [2] [3] and did an informal internship with a parapsychologist who lived close to him in Westchester County, NY before moving to California. [4] Auerbach believes in the parapsychological world because he has experienced what he says are two out-of-body experiences in which he dreamed he was in another place and his image was seen in that place by friends. [5]

Auerbach graduated from Northwestern University in 1978 with a degree in Cultural Anthropology and earned a Master’s Degree in Parapsychology from the former John F. Kennedy University (now National University (California)). [6]

Career

Parapsychology

Loyd Auerbach was on the Core Faculty of the Graduate Parapsychology Program at John F. Kennedy University where he received a Master's Degree in parapsychology. While on the faculty, he served as the Public Information and Media Consultant to the American Society for Psychical Research (1982-83) [6] working as a consultant on psychic matters and conducting investigations into paranormal occurrences. [7] Auerbach says he gained attention in 1984 due to the popularity of the 1984 film Ghostbusters . [8]

Auerbach has been the owner and director of the Office of Paranormal Investigations since 1989, investigating ghost sightings, demon possessions, hauntings and other unexplained phenomena. [3] According to Auerbach, ghosts fall under three categories: poltergeists, which he has explained as the energy of a living person causing things to move, apparitions, which are believed to be the spirits of the deceased, and hauntings, which he has described as psychic imprints on the environment. [2] The office focuses more on research than profit, charging fees to cover funding for the research and lend legitimacy. [9]

Auerbach has described himself akin to a psychiatrist who deals with psychic phenomena, stating that most ghosts and poltergeists are not real entities, but rather psychic phenomena. Auerbach has expressed irritation that more money has been spent for psychics than serious parapsychological research, such as extrasensory perception, telekinesis, and the mind surviving physical death. [5] Auerbach believes that if spirits are stuck between worlds, they should be helped. [10]

Some better-known paranormal cases Auerbach has investigated include a ghost of a little girl haunting The Brookdale Lodge in Felton, California, the legend of a ghostly Blue Lady at the Moss Beach Distillery in California, The USS Hornet with apparitions of dead sailors, and the Toys R Us in Sunnyvale, California where Auerbach found that toys that moved and fell on their own were due to trucks driven on the street. [4] [9] Regarding Auerbach's investigation of the USS Hornet, Patrick O'Reilly, a psychologist and member of the Bay Area Skeptics, believes the ghost stories about the Hornet are imaginary, fueled by power of suggestion giving the ship an interesting history to lure more visitors and increase business. [9] Auerbach himself has said ghosts are good for business. [10] According to Auerbach, technology used for ghost hunting can provide some clues, but he has been skeptical about the reliance on such technology and believes that someone with psychic abilities is better suited to ghost hunting. However, skeptic Joe Nickell, a senior fellow at the Center for Inquiry, has found natural phenomena to explain all the evidence ghost hunters have provided him on various devises used in their investigations. [11]

Faculty and advisory boards

Auerbach serves on advisory boards for various institutions related to parapsychology and mediumship: the Rhine Research Center, whose mission is to advance the science of parapsychology, provide education and resources, and foster a community for individuals interested in PSI, [12] the Windbridge Research Center, whose mission is to ease fear about death and what comes next by performing research and sharing the results with the public, clinicians, scientists and practitioners such as mediums, [13] and the Scientific Advisory Board of the Forever Family Foundation whose mission is to establish the continuity of the family after a member has died, and to financially support the research into Afterlife Science. [14] Auerbach is also the Coordinator for the annual Meeting of the Minds convention for the Psychic Entertainment Association, an international organization with a serious interest in the ethical performance of psychic entertainment, in which he was past President and former member of the Board of Directors. [6]

Auerbach is on the Core Faculty of the Graduate Parapsychology Program at the former John F. Kennedy University and teaches online courses relating to parapsychology at Atlantic University. [6] Kenny Biddle, the Chief Investigator at the Center for Inquiry, has pointed out that certificates or diplomas in the paranormal field are dubious since most such programs are not accredited. Auerbach has responded that the only accredited university in the United States to give a degree in parapsychology was John F. Kennedy University from 1977-1987 and currently there are no accredited universities offering degrees in parapsychology in the U.S. [15]

Notable appearances and works

Auerbach has appeared in numerous radio, podcast and print interviews pertaining to parapsychology and ghost hunting. His many national television appearances spanning decades include the Netflix series Surviving Death , The UnXplained , Ghost Adventures , Sightings , In Search of... , Unsolved Mysteries as well as The Oprah Winfrey Show , Larry King Live , The View , The Today Show , Late Night with David Letterman , and ESPN's SportsCenter . [6]

Auerbach was a columnist and consulting editor for Fate Magazine (1991-2004). Auerbach has written several books on paranormal subjects including parapsychology, psychic abilities, ghost hunting and out-of-body experiences and is also the co-author of the Rayne Day Investigation novels. [6]

Other professions

Auerbach is a professional mentalist and magician doing sleight-of-hand tricks performing as Professor Paranormal, touring on the club circuit under his act Professor Paranormal's Psychic Mind Theater. [4] [3]

Auerbach's other occupations include chocolatier, offering guided chocolate tasting sessions through his website Haunted by Chocolate and is a research consultant for LexisNexis. [4]

Publications

Non fiction

Fiction

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parapsychology</span> Study of paranormal and psychic phenomena

Parapsychology is the study of alleged psychic phenomena and other paranormal claims, for example, those related to near-death experiences, synchronicity, apparitional experiences, etc. Criticized as being a pseudoscience, the majority of mainstream scientists reject it. Parapsychology has also been criticised by mainstream critics for claims by many of its practitioners that their studies are plausible despite a lack of convincing evidence after more than a century of research for the existence of any psychic phenomena.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poltergeist</span> Ghost that causes physical disturbance

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.

Parapsychology is a field of research that studies a number of ostensible paranormal phenomena, including telepathy, precognition, clairvoyance, psychokinesis, near-death experiences, reincarnation, and apparitional experiences.

Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Notable paranormal beliefs include those that pertain to extrasensory perception, spiritualism and the pseudosciences of ghost hunting, cryptozoology, and ufology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electronic voice phenomenon</span> Paranormal terminology and recordings

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William G. Roll</span> American psychologist (1926–2012)

William G. Roll was an American psychologist and parapsychologist on the faculty of the Psychology Department of the University of West Georgia in Carrollton, Georgia. Roll is most notable for his belief in poltergeist activity. He coined the term "recurrent spontaneous psychokinesis" (RSPK) to explain poltergeist cases. However, RSPK was never accepted by mainstream science and skeptics have described Roll as a credulous investigator.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ghost hunting</span> Investigating reportedly haunted locations for ghosts

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.

Douglas Scott Rogo was a writer, journalist and researcher on subjects related to parapsychology. Rogo was murdered in 1990 at the age of 40. His case remains unsolved.

Guy Lyon Playfair was a British writer, best known for his books about parapsychology and his investigation of the Enfield poltergeist.

Paranormal fiction is a genre of fiction whose story lines revolve around the paranormal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nandor Fodor</span> British and American parapsychologist, psychoanalyst, author and journalist

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tony Cornell</span> British parapsychologist

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In psychology, anomalistic psychology is the study of human behaviour and experience connected with what is often called the paranormal, with few assumptions made about the validity of the reported phenomena.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Telekinesis</span> Influencing of objects without physical interaction

Telekinesis, also known as Psychokinesis, is a hypothetical psychic ability allowing an individual to influence a physical system without physical interaction. Experiments to prove the existence of telekinesis have historically been criticized for lack of proper controls and repeatability. There is no reliable evidence that telekinesis is a real phenomenon, and the topic is generally regarded as pseudoscience.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew Green (ghost hunter)</span>

Andrew Green was a British author and ghost hunter known by the media as "the Spectre Inspector". Although Green never claimed to have definitively seen a ghost, he hunted them for 60 years and helped to popularise the use of scientific methods in ghost hunting. He once famously hunted for ghosts in the Royal Albert Hall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eric Dingwall</span>

Eric John Dingwall (1890–1986) was a British anthropologist, psychical researcher and librarian.

Anita Gregory was a German-born British psychologist and parapsychologist. Gregory was a lecturer at the Polytechnic of North London. She was a member of the Society for Psychical Research and conducted experiments with the British psychic Matthew Manning.

The Doris Bither case, also known as the Entity haunting, was a 1974 investigation into alleged paranormal phenomena in Culver City, California, experienced by a woman named Doris Bither. The case inspired Frank De Felitta's 1978 book The Entity which was made into a 1982 film of the same name starring Barbara Hershey.

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References

  1. ↑ "Richard Auerbach Obituary". Legacy.com. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  2. 1 2 Massingill, Teena. "Ghostbuster: Paranormal expert Loyd Auerbach to speak in Annville". Newspapers.com. Lancaster New Era. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 Platoni, Kara (2003-02-05). "Talking head for the undead". East Bay Express . Oakland, CA.
  4. 1 2 3 4 McManis, Sam. "The X-Files of Contra Costa/ Paranormal investigator Loyd Auerbach shares tales from the dark side". SFGATE. Hearst Newspapers. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  5. 1 2 Shook, Dennis. "Sound mind, rational thinking ghostbuster's best weapons". Newspapers.com. Kenosha News. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Faculty". Atlantic University. Atlantic University. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  7. ↑ "Who ya gonna call? Loyd Auerbach". Newspapers.com. Longview News-Journal. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  8. ↑ "Parapsychologist becomes popular because of hit movie". Associated Press. September 5, 1984. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
  9. 1 2 3 Massingill, Teena. "Ghostbuster". Newspapers.com. Lancaster New Era. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  10. 1 2 Harris, Ron. "The appeal of things that go bump in the night". Newspapers.com. The Fresno Bee. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  11. ↑ Ahmed, Beenish. "Paranormal Technology: Gadgets For Ghost-Tracking". NPR. NPR. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  12. ↑ "Rhine Research Center Mission". Rhineedu.org. Rhine Research Center. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  13. ↑ "Windbridge Research Center: About Us". Windbridge.org. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  14. ↑ "Forever Family Foundation: About Us". ForeverFamilyFoundation.org. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  15. ↑ Biddle, Kenny. "Paranormal 'Diplomas'". Skepticalinquirer.org. Center for Inquiry. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
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