Category: Skeptical Inquiree
Being Skeptical of Initial Skepticism
Q: Have you ever been skeptical about a finding or assertion, then did your own investigation only to have your conclusions further corroborate the initial assertion? If so, can you provide any examples? —Mike D. A: There are—or should be—many times in a person’s life when their initial skepticism about some claim or other was …
Tracking the Chupacabra: Twenty-Five Years Later
Q: What’s new with the chupacabra? I know you wrote the book on it, but what’s happened since then? Are there any new developments or sightings? —R. Vanover A: Monsters and cryptozoological curiosities are strange enough, but even among that elusive lot (Bigfoot, Nessie, Champ, etc.), the chupacabra is an odd duck (-sucking thing). Not …
Investigating Mothman’s Red Eyeshine
Q: In researching reports of Mothman, I’ve found many references to the beast having glowing red eyes. Is that real? —O. Elfenkamper A: Mothman is the name bestowed upon one or more mysterious flying creatures first reported in the small West Virginia town of Point Pleasant starting with several prominent sightings in November 1966 and …
Have I Ever Seen a Ghost?
Q: Have you ever investigated a haunting you could not explain or you thought was real? Have you ever seen a ghost? —D. Sheehan A: As a longtime investigator into ghostly phenomena (that is, phenomena attributed to ghosts not necessarily caused by ghosts), I’ve been asked some version of this question countless times. It’s a …
Is America a Sheeple Factory?
Q: It’s said that the best way to keep people down is to limit their access to education and knowledge, making it easier to control them. That seems to be what the government does. What do you think? —C. Griffin A: I was asked this question in mid-2019, accompanied by the news headline “Trump Administration …
The GIGO Problem: Crop Circle Research Edition
Q: I’m a professor at Santa Clara University in California. Recently, I began researching whether all crop circles were humanmade and discovered a few that were clearly beyond the capacity of human authorship. I made an academic presentation (video) on this subject and would like to hear your reactions. —Jerry K. A: I’ve investigated multiple …
Subliminal Advertising, Trumpian and Otherwise
Q: Until this morning, I’d thought subliminal messages were prohibited by international and federal law. I’m sending this to all my friends in the United States and abroad. This is not a political issue; it’s a human rights issue. We’re all in danger. Please contact your representatives and tell them to enact legislation that prohibits subliminal messages. The Facebook …
Anomaly Hunting with Satellite Images
Q: I’m curious as to what you think these two images could be of. They are screenshots I took from Google Earth and are off the coast of Borneo. —V. Corbett A: We can begin with what they’re least likely to be: something mysterious, such as a sea serpent or top-secret experimental snakelike submarine. It’s …
Fatima Miracle Claims All Wet
Q: I read your investigation of the Miracle of Fatima and the last appearance of the Virgin. I noticed you dismissed the event based on the perception of the people as some mass delusion. Are you aware that it had been raining all night and into the day? Everyone present was soaked—as was the soil—but …
Bailing in the Mummies
Q: Today I heard a speaker repeat the story that mummies were used as fuel in British trains. I recall this was a classic legend first related by Mark Twain in The Innocents Abroad, but the speaker insisted that she thoroughly researched the subject, and it was true. Got anything on this? —B. Dail A: This …
‘Class A’ Bigfoot Report Reveals Little about the Beast, and Much about the Seekers
Q: I heard about a Bigfoot sighting not far from here. It happened a few years ago. There was a team of firefighters working on the Tres Lagunas fire in northern New Mexico. They saw a Bigfoot not far away, out in the open during the daytime, and it couldn’t have been a deer or …
Channeling Ancient African Wisdom or Not
Q: I’m producing a documentary about channeler Neferatiti Ife; I would like your opinion about her work and on channeling from a historical perspective. What’s your take on what she does? —M. Shabazz A: I received this query from a filmmaker seeking an analysis in early 2018. I explained that time constraints didn’t allow for …
Caught Between the Possible and the Paranormal
Q: Have you ever come across any research, findings, or reports that have shaken your stance about the validity of skeptical explanations for mysterious claims? In other words, have any cases stumped you? —J. Meuse A: I’ve often been asked if, in the course of my research into myriad mysteries and seemingly paranormal events, whether …
The Phantom Menace of UFO Revelation
Q: I heard you on an episode of the StarTalk Radio Show, and host Seth Shostak asked why governments around the world would hide evidence of extraterrestrial life. You mentioned that the reason conspiracy theorists often give—to avoid mass panic—was absurd because polls show that many people (about a third) already think aliens exist. But …
The Case of the Curious Christmas Light
Even a smart, skeptical person can be fooled by something strange in a photograph
Just Asking Questions
Q: “I enjoyed your recent investigation into the 2016 Mall of America’s black Santa outrage, and I have a question regarding ‘asking questions.’ How do you tell the difference between someone with a genuine inquiry about something and an ideologue attempting to steer the debate in a specific direction?” —Al C. A: I received this …
Is Elvis Presley in Home Alone?
I’ve been trying to debunk this for years, but my eyes have convinced me Elvis is in the airport scene in Home Alone. It should be easy to prove but I can’t find the name of the extra in question or any entry online that puts this particular myth to rest. Nothing short of the …
Legitimizing Woo
I was sent a link to your article about the Sandy Hook conspiracies (https://tinyurl.com/y747c2gf), and my question is: Why even give these people the time of day? I unfortunately watched the [pro-conspiracy] YouTube video before realizing what I had done: contributed to helping the creator make money off of YouTube. Why help drive traffic to …
Orbs as Plasma Life
I contacted you about my video evidence over two years ago and have continued to video my orb/plasma life forms. My file contains over fourteen hours of video and pictures. I started a YouTube channel to show some of my video; please look at them and let me know what you think. I got the …
Los campos electromagnéticos ¿pueden crear fantasmas?
Si usted está seguro de que los fantasmas son reales (y no el producto de alucinaciones inducidas por CMEs), no hay lógica ni razón alguna para usar un dispositivo para detectar dichos CMEs.
Can Electromagnetic Fields Create Ghosts?
If you are sure that ghosts are real (and not the product of EMF-induced hallucinations), there is no logic or point in using a device to detect those EMFs.
Playing with Past Lives: The Virginia Boy and the Dead Marine
Have you heard about this recent case of a young boy who says he lived a past life as a Marine? What do you make of it?
Crop Circles: A Not-So-Convincing Case
Unlike other mysterious phenomena such as psychic powers, ghosts, or Bigfoot, there is no doubt that crop circles are real. The real question is what creates them.