Investigating the Paranormal

Journal of Parapsychology, The, Spring, 2003 by William G. Roll

INVESTIGATING THE PARANORMAL by Tony Cornell. New York: Helix Press, 2002. Pp. 424. $30.00 (paperback). ISBN 0-912328-98-3.

A hotel on the island of Guernsey in the English Channel owned by Tony Cornell's great-grandfather was said to be haunted. One night the howling of their Great Danes and noises from downstairs got him up. Halfway down the stairs, he heard something follow him. It stopped when he did and resumed when he continued. At the bottom of the stairs, he swung around to face the ghost. He saw nothing but heard the metal buckles of his suspenders strike the wall and realized that the footsteps were the flip-flop of the suspenders trailing behind. The noises were due to a cat knocking over plates with fish leftovers.

How an ordinary incident can be made into something otherworldly is a major theme of Cornell's book investigating the Paranormal. There are chapters about the apparition of "a white lady" in an inn who, it turned out, never appeared except in newspaper stories and Ouija board "messages"; a poltergeist racket contrived by a man to rid his house of an obnoxious relative; disturbances in a shoe shop due to an escaped convict; and attacks by an invisible dog that left gashes on a man, until he dropped a razor in Cornell's presence. The undoing of false poltergeists and haunts was often the result of lengthy investigative work by Cornell. The sections on poltergeist and haunting are followed by a section on mediums that demonstrates the same detective skills.

Cornell was born near Cambridge University where he received his M.A. The university has a long history of psychic explorations. In 1851, the Cambridge Ghost Club was formed and in 1882, the Society for Psychical Research (SPR), which was to play a central role in the development of psychic exploration on both sides of the Atlantic. Cornell's interest stems in part from a need to solve the conflict between physics and religion and in part from the apparent psychic abilities of his mother and maternal grandmother. He draws attention to other cases (Sidgwick, Myers, Podmore, & Sidgwick, 1994, pp. 154-155) that indicate a hereditary or genetic predisposition. After serving in the Royal Navy in India, he went into business in Cambridge, with psychical research as his main sideline.

The book is not easy to read. Cornell presents his investigations in great detail, not all of which is to the point. But his findings are of great interest, and only one has been published in a professional journal.

The term the paranormal in the title suggests a realm beyond the natural order. This is not Cornell's opinion. He believes the phenomena will eventually be understood in terms of physical or psychological processes. His approach is scientific and thorough.

HAUNTINGS

After a review of Cambridge's historical ghosts, Cornell tells of his first investigation. A Colonel Lovelace phoned him in 1951 and said that he had seen a "Cavalier" in his home, a small manor house dating to the late 15th century. Cavaliers were on the side of King Charles I in the Civil War (1642-1651). Lovelace could clearly see the face and uniform, but the bottom part of the figure was missing. The apparition came at 10:30 a.m. both times and disappeared while Lovelace stared at it. The apparition smiled at him the first time it came. He had also seen a woman in blue walking across a passage. His wife had not seen anything unusual but had heard footsteps that she could not explain, and so had their daughter and son. Frequent unlatching and opening of a door downstairs also puzzled the couple. They sometimes heard it click, and on investigating would find it open although they had latched it carefully and although the door would remain shut even if unlatched. The previous occupant, a book dealer, had al so seen a Cavalier, had heard the door open repeatedly, and seen a woman in a blue crinoline dress. Before the book dealer, the house had belonged to an insurance agent who said there were no strange events during his long occupancy.

Cornell's main study was in 1954 and focused on the experiences of the fourth occupants, Dr. D., his wife, and her stepmother, Mrs. H. They told Cornell that they did not know about the earlier episodes, but the two women soon heard footsteps and then saw a "Redhead," a soldier on the side of the Parliament in the Civil War. During 4 successive days they and Dr. D. heard clashes of steel upstairs, as if from a sword fight, and then a heavy thud. Mrs. H. also heard the whimpering of a child and footsteps running up and down the upstairs corridor. The next day, Mrs. D. saw a little girl of about 10, and the day after that she heard lute music accompanied by a young voice. Then all three heard lute playing and singing. For 3 days Mrs. D. heard pictures fall down and battering sounds, but nothing was out of place. Unexplained smells were reported twice.

Mrs. H. died at this time and became an apparition herself. She was seen in the garden by Mrs. D. at the same time that Dr. D., who was outside, also saw her. The events continued intermittently for 5 years and then stopped. Altogether there were 21 apparitional sightings, 4 involving two viewers ("collective apparitions"). There were 46 auditory effects, of which 26 were collective. Mrs. D. may have been a catalyst for the experiences of the others, but the collective sights and sounds show she did not invent everything.