Nick Redfern interview

Nick Redfern explains his perspective on UFO crashes and cryptozoology in a brief but revealing interview here. Nick's uniquely skeptical approach to all things Fortean has resulted in a healthily iconoclastic disdain for typical, belief-driven approaches to the paranormal. For example, Redfern embraces the Roswell controversy while insisting -- and not without evidence -- that the infamous event had nothing whatsoever to do with crashed alien hardware.

Like Nick, I'm convinced that ufological discourse will remain mired in its present state of uncritical acceptance until we dispense with the unspoken need for cosmic company. (Which isn't, of course, to preclude the possibility that some UFO events indeed represent the machinations of extraterrestrials.)

The burden of agnosticism

Daniel Pinchbeck doesn't know.

Paul Kimball: a haunted man

In Ghost Investigating, Vol. I, film-maker and comrade Paul Kimball writes:

As the hour went along, Holly and I were joking about Hutchings (well, mostly I was joking), and I was "challenging" him to appear if he really was there as a ghost. For several minutes, I had even hung a real noose around my neck as I sat there. Then, all of sudden, in one of those moments when Holly and I were being quiet, I had this feeling that the air around my throat had gotten noticeably colder - much colder than the room even. It was as if, to borrow an old song lyric of mine, the night wrapped around my throat. There was no choking sensation, but it was definitely an abnormal feeling.

I must admit: I had Paul all wrong. Once a seemingly rational and articulate proponent of serious UFO research, Kimball has obviously descended into a mire of sheerest lunacy.

But seriously -- I'm intrigued that Paul's intrigued. I could wax theoretical for many paragraphs -- and perhaps I will later -- but "ghost" hunting suddenly becomes much more interesting when someone trustworthy reports anomalous experiences (regardless whether or not they emanate from the realm of the departed).

Even better, perhaps there's a valuable ufological lesson to be learned as well.