Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} The Ghost Studies New Perspectives on the Origins of Paranormal Experiences by Brandon Massullo The Ghost Studies with Brandon Massullo – The Big Seance Podcast: My Paranormal World #113. What is a ghost? And what causes a haunting? Parapsychologist Brandon Massullo shares theories and perspectives from his new book, The Ghost Studies . Plus a discussion of Resonance, EMF, and Environmental Sensitivity! In this episode: Episode Teaser :00. Intro :59. Please welcome Brandon Massullo to the parlor! 1:32. Pouring the tea (or scotch on the rocks) and an introduction of Brandon’s new book, The Ghost Studies: New Perspectives on the Origins of Paranormal Experiences . 2:28. The interesting childhood experience that got Brandon involved in the field of parapsychology 4:17. Brandon’s ideas on Bioenergetics and Human Electrical Fields 10:12. Resonance or synchronizing with matching frequencies 12:34. The theory that emotions and crisis events cause paranormal experiences 14:49. The accidental missile scare in Hawaii, Psi Hypothesis, and Random Number Generators. 15:53. The “God Helmet” and thoughts on the EMF (electromagnetic field/frequency) Meter. Is there a correlation between EMF and ghostly encounters? 22:20. Environmental Sensitivity. Why do some people have paranormal experiences more frequently? 31:48. “I would venture to say that most apparitions, olfactory, auditory, and other haunt-type phenomena, occur while the agent is still alive.” 40:40. The “Stone Tape Theory” and having the right ingredients for haunt-type phenomena. 46:37. Outside of the paranormal or parapsychology, what kind of nerd is Brandon Massullo? 52:09. Final thoughts and where to find Brandon! 53:30. A bonus discussion on paranormal TV shows and the cookie cutter formula 54:30. On my reading list The Ghost Studies by Brandon Massullo. Why do certain people report numerous ghostly encounters and others none? For centuries these questions have intrigued, puzzled, and bedeviled science, skeptics, and even believers. Based on cutting-edge research and new theories, The Ghost Studies provides insight into some of life’s greatest mysteries. This fascinating book is far more than a compilation of ghost stories. The Ghost Studies provides scientific explanations for paranormal occurrences, including: Review: The Ghost Studies: New Perspectives on the Origins of Paranormal Experiences. Excellent! Less than two hundred pages, you will go through this book fairly quickly. “The Ghost Studies” has an excellent Index, and Notes section making it both easy to navigate and a great jumping off point for your own research. Each chapter ( for example “Not Everything is Paranormal” ) concludes with a brief summary. All in all, I really enjoyed it but I wanted more. Maybe that’s what Massullo had in mind? Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from New Page Books. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” A Bucket of Questions for Author and Parapsychologist Brandon Massullo. Brandon Massullo is a clinical therapist and parapsychologist residing in northeast Ohio. He has his graduate degrees in clinical counseling from the University of Toledo and psychological research methods from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, UK. His research at the University of Edinburgh centered on neurobiological correlates of ghostly encounters and he studied within the Koestler Parapsychology Unit at the University of Edinburgh under the supervision of author and international lecturer, Dr. Caroline Watt ( An Introduction to Parapsychology ). Brandon has been fascinated by paranormal phenomena for 20 years and has been a participant and featured speaker in numerous paranormal forums and events, including the Parapsychological Association’s 60th Anniversary Celebration. His research has been cited in parapsychological journals, newspaper articles, and mainstream books. Brandon’s first book The Ghost Studies: New Perspectives of the Origins of Paranormal Experiences combines the thrill of reading real-life ghostly encounters and the satisfaction of new perspectives and insights into the cause of these exciting encounters. Check out Brandon’s blog Haunted Theories for more research into ghosts, apparitions, and all things paranormal. Riley Mitchell : Your forthcoming book, The Ghost Studies: New Perspectives on the Origins of Paranormal Experiences , provides insights into current research on the study of ghosts and hauntings. What drew you to write the book and what are a couple of things you have uncovered in your research that were unexpected? Brandon Massullo : The original premise for the book was a skeptical look at ghostly phenomena through the eyes of a mental health clinician. I had compiled research articles from mainstream psychology and parapsychology and began to write about the numerous natural and psychological causes to ghostly phenomena. While I’d always been fascinated with ghosts I never actually had a paranormal experience so I was highly skeptical of those who did. Prior to starting the book I studied at the University of Edinburgh where I conducted research into the correlations between environmental sensitivity and paranormal experiences. Environmental sensitivity has nothing to do with “psychic” abilities and is just a subset of the population who are more attuned to or sensitive to the environment around them. This group of people also report significantly more paranormal and apparitional experiences. Long story short I looked at my research through a skeptic’s lens and concluded that these environmentally sensitive individuals were just misinterpreting ambiguous stimuli, which resulted in more paranormal experiences. Looking back at my research today it hurts me that I reduced the over 600 paranormal experiences that were reported during my research to a simple explanation such as “misinterpreting ambiguous stimuli.” Anyway, about a year into researching the book I decided to look more closely at thoughts and theories outside mainstream science. I began to read books by Carl Jung, Rupert Sheldrake, Nandor Fodor, Michael Shallis, Leonard Ravitz, Harold Saxton Burr, and Robert Becker, which opened my eyes to alternative ideas on consciousness and psi abilities. I had a bit of an epiphany one night as I was struggling with fitting these new concepts about consciousness, psi, and paranormal experiences into my conservative view of the world. During this epiphany, I realized that I had spent so much time reading journal articles, books, and skeptical blogs that I had forgotten the most important aspect of understanding paranormal experiences . people. I spent the next 3-4 years gathering as many first-hand accounts of ghostly encounters as I could. I also read book after book of ghostly encounters. I listened to whoever wanted to talk to me about ghosts. I went to paranormal conventions and spoke with paranormal investigators. I let people talk about their encounters without interrupting them, judging them, or trying to debunk their claims. What was amazing is that after a while I started noticing similarities amongst a majority of these encounters, which led to some exciting new theories on ghostly encounters and of course changed the whole premise of my book. RM : In the book you propose a “ghostly ingredients theory” that articulates the optimal conditions for paranormal encounters to occur. Would you summarize the “psychological, environmental, and bioenergetic fluctuations” that serve as the foundation for this perspective? BM : Paranormal experiences are a series of complex processes. It’s not as simple as waking up and witnessing a deathbed apparition of your aunt. There is a series of complex processes which are occurring consciously as well as unconsciously which set the stage for this crisis apparition or “deathbed vision.” Emotions have always been linked with paranormal phenomena as shown by the work of psychical researchers Carl Jung, Eleanor Sidgwick, and Louisa Rhine who all believed that heightened emotions are necessary for paranormal phenomena to occur. Crisis, trauma, acute stress, and life- threatening events cause an explosion of emotional distress and turmoil that can reverberate throughout the entire body, affecting one mentally and physically. Intense or acute emotional shifts related to crises are the starting points or the catalysts for ghostly phenomena. Because humans are, in essence, an extensive collection of electrical signals (heart, nerve impulses, neurons, etc.) and electrical beings, the question is what happens to our internal electrical makeup (bioenergetics) when we experience an emotional overload? It is apparent that all living things are capable of generating an electromagnetic field. What is also apparent from the research presented in the book is that there is a bioelectrical charge created by emotions, which in turn, adds information to our existing human electrical field. This emotional electrical field, much like all other electrical fields, is not contained in our bodies and therefore can extend outward indefinitely into the atmosphere. I believe that these two processes (psychological aspects and changes in internal energy or bioenergetics) can lead to or trigger an innate human ability to acquire or communicate information using the Earth’s atmosphere. The research