By Dr. Joel Ramsey, The Paranormal Professor Not every paranormal investigation ends with answers. Some end with a decision: stay and collect more data, or protect your crew and get out. This is the story of an investigation where I chose the latter and why, years later, I still don't have a complete explanation for what we captured that night. The Case: A Warehouse with a Dark History I was contacted by someone I met at a paranormal convention. They had been investigating an

By Dr. Joel Ramsey, Ph.D. Introduction: The Stroke of Midnight Tomorrow night, millions of people will gather to watch the clock strike midnight on New Year's Eve. We'll count down together: ten, nine, eight, holding our breath as one year dies and another is born. And in that single second between 11:59:59 PM on December 31, 2025, and 12:00:00 AM on January 1, 2026, we will stand on a threshold. Not a physical doorway. Not a literal crossing. But something anthropologists ca

By Dr. Joel Ramsey, Ph.D. My children were seven and eight years old when they told me A Christmas Carol  felt more like a Halloween movie than a Christmas movie. We had watched multiple versions together over the years—the black-and-white classic, George C. Scott, the Muppets, Patrick Stewart, and Jim Carrey. As a father, I wanted to share this tradition with them. Christmas in my family meant more than presents and decorations; it meant the movies, the music, the scents of

By Dr. Joel Ramsey, PhD Introduction This case illustrates how evidence-based investigation must sometimes yield to ethical responsibility when no harm is present. After I finished a keynote address on evidence-based paranormal investigation, an elderly woman approached me with tears in her eyes. "Dr. Ramsey," she said quietly, "I think my husband is still with me." He had passed away only a month or two earlier. After 40-50 years of marriage, she was alone for the first time

After delivering a keynote address on evidence-based paranormal investigation, an audience member approached me with excitement. "Dr. Ramsey," he said, pulling out his phone, "I think I captured a ghost."   As a paranormal investigator who applies communication theory and scientific methodology to unexplained phenomena, I encounter moments like this regularly. Someone believes they've documented something supernatural, and they're looking for validation. How I respond in thes

For too long, paranormal investigation has suffered from a lack of rigorous, replicable methodology. While many investigators bring passion and dedication to their work, the field desperately needs theoretical grounding that goes beyond EMF meters and spirit boxes. That's why I've developed the Ramsey Communication-Based Investigation Protocol (RCIP) —a comprehensive framework that applies communication theory to paranormal investigation, helping us distinguish between genuin

Understanding Pseudocognition in Paranormal Investigation By Dr. Joel Ramsey, The Paranormal Professor Have you ever walked into a supposedly haunted location and felt a sudden chill? Heard a creak in the floorboards and immediately thought "ghost"? Seen a shadow move and been convinced it was something supernatural? If so, you've experienced something that communication scholar Walter Lippmann called the "pseudoenvironment"—and it's one of the most powerful forces shaping ho

The most fascinating ghost stories often have a root in human behavior, specifically a psychological phenomenon known as Psychic Contagion (or Mass Hysteria). From a communication and psychological perspective: If a historic location has decades of strong, shared stories about a specific event or entity, the human brain—already on high alert—is pre-wired to confirm those expectations. The anxiety of being in a haunted place acts as an amplifier, causing physical symptoms (chi

Today, I want to delve into one of the most compelling and often misunderstood aspects of paranormal research: Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP). For those new to the field, EVP refers to the unexplained sounds and voices captured on electronic recording devices, often interpreted as communication from spirits. While the emotional impact of hearing a voice from a perceived unknown source is powerful, it is our responsibility as researchers to apply a rigorous scientific lens t

When we think of paranormal investigation, our minds often jump to dim rooms, dramatic sounds, and stories of unexplained phenomena. But behind the spooky facade, a growing number of researchers are approaching the field with the rigor of a scientific inquiry, using cutting-edge tools to measure what we can't always see. This blend of curiosity and empiricism is where the real intrigue lies. In my work as The Paranormal Professor, I focus less on what the tools “detect” and m

When you stand in front of the Wisconsin State Capitol, it’s easy to be awed by its grand architecture, soaring dome, and intricate details. As an official national landmark, the building is a testament to the skill of the architects and laborers who created it. But for generations, a more mysterious and poignant story has been told about the man who is said to haunt its halls. The Historical Context The Capitol building, completed in 1917, was a massive and ambitious project

When people hear the word "haunting," they often picture a classic ghost story: chains rattling, doors slamming, and shadowy figures lurking in the corners. But in the world of the paranormal, a haunting isn't just one thing. It's a spectrum of phenomena, each with its own unique characteristics and explanations. As the Paranormal Professor, I'm here to demystify it all and share some knowledge about the four most common types of hauntings. In paranormal research, these categ

The Borley Rectory, famously known as "the most haunted house in England," stands as a pivotal and controversial chapter in paranormal history. For decades, this Victorian Gothic mansion was a hotbed of strange phenomena, from disembodied footsteps and bells ringing on their own to ghostly sightings of a nun and a phantom carriage. The case gained international fame with the arrival of renowned psychic researcher Harry Price in the 1930s. He documented a wide range of events,

In the history of paranormal investigation, photography has often been treated as definitive proof. Yet many of the most famous “ghost images” from the 19th and early 20th centuries reveal more about human perception and technology than the afterlife. Since the dawn of photography, people have been trying to capture proof of the afterlife. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, "spirit photographers" like William Mumler and William Hope made a living by claiming to capture ima

For centuries, people have described feelings of unease, a chilling sensation, or the presence of a specter when in certain locations. While these experiences are often attributed to paranormal activity, scientific inquiry offers a fascinating alternative explanation: infrasound. In my work as The Paranormal Professor, I regularly test for infrasound during investigations and public programs, because understanding how the environment affects perception is often the key to sep

As "The Paranormal Professor," my mission is to explore the intriguing world of unexplained phenomena through a lens of scientific inquiry. While many associate ghost hunting with eerie legends and dramatic scares, a significant part of authentic paranormal investigation relies on understanding and utilizing scientific principles and tools. One of the most fundamental, and often misunderstood, tools in our arsenal is the Electro-Magnetic Field (EMF) detector. So, what exactly