PI:Past & Present: Edmund Gurney

Edmund Gurney

Born at Hersham England in March 1847, Gurney was a Musician, an English Psychologist and Psychical Researcher.

Gurney was an avid learner, studying music for most of his youth, but being dissatisfied by his own execution, he went on to study medicine, not to practice it, but just for his own interest. He studied Physics, Chemistry and Physiology. He then went on to study Law in 1881.

Gurney's interests expanded with his knowledge of life and death, and the world in general, soon he became interested in the world of seances and medium-ship and found himself Co-founder of the Society of Psychical Research, one of the longest running and most respected paranormal related organisations in the world.

Amongst Gurney's study and experimentation were the subjects of “thought-transference” and hypnotism, of which he co-wrote many volumes on.

With other members of The Society of Psychical Research, Gurney's experiments would try and establish patterns and evidence for telepathy and hallucinations, many of the experiments were chronicled in the book “Proceedings for the Society of Psychical Research” and Gurney's own essay “Hallucinations”

Gurney's work would later become very controversial amongst his contemporaries as it claimed his assistant, George Smith, a well known theatrical performer, was using stage illusion and theatrical trickery to falsify results.

Douglas Blackburn, Smith's partner in performance, publicly admitted fraudulent activities in 1908 and 1911, of which Smith later denied.

Edmund Gurney died in 1888 from an overdose of Chloroform, it was widely thought at the time, that he had indeed committed suicide.

© 2013 Allen Tiller

www.eidolonparanormal.com.au

PI:Past & Present: Loyd Auerbach - Haunted by Chocolate

Loyd Auerbach

Loyd Auerbach, a noted author and public speaker about many paranormal subjects has been involved in the paranormal community since sometime in the early 1980s. In 1978 he received a Bachelors degree in Cultural Anthropology, and by 1986 released his first book “ ESP, Hauntings and Poltergeists: A Parapsychologists Handbook”.

Mr Auerbach founded the “Office of Paranormal Investigations” in 1989, the OPI website is an interesting and detailed place for information based on Mr Auerbach's findings and methods. His team consists of paranormal investigators and consultants who are interested in “psi” related phenomena such as psychic and extrasensory perceptions but also delve into the world of ghost hunting and spiritualism.

Mr Auerbach was also a Consulting Editor and a columnist for FATE magazine from 1991 to 2004, possibly the longest running and most respected “para” magazine, with its first print run in spring of 1948.
Loyd Auerbach is also a professional mentalist and “psychic entertainer”, He performs under the pseudonym “Professor Paranormal” for private and corporate functions. He is also the on the Board of Directors for the “Psychic Entertainers Association” of which he also served as President from 2001 to 2005



More recently Mr Auerbach has created a program through the HCH Institute called “Parapsychological Studies Certification Program”, which offers on-campus and distance learning, and is registered with the State of California.
On top ODF this program Mr Auerbach is also on the faculty of Atlantic University where he teaches an online graduate course titled “Principles of Parapsychology”
Amongst his other credits is being the “Public Information and Media Consultant” to the American Society for Psychical Research”
Currently, Loyd Auerbach is on the Advisory board for the Rhine Research Center.



An unrelated fact about Mr Auerbach is that he is also a professional chocolatier, and produces chocolate under his brand name “Haunted by Chocolate”

Here is a list of Loyd Auerbach books

• The Ghost Detectives' Guide to Haunted San Francisco (2011, ISBN 978-1-61035-007-5).
•  A Paranormal Casebook: Ghost Hunting in the New Millennium (2005, ISBN 978-1-933177-04-5).
•  Hauntings & Poltergeists: A Ghost Hunter's Guide (2004, ISBN 978-1-57951-072-5),
•  Ghost Hunting: How to Investigate the Paranormal (2004, ISBN 978-1-57951-067-1),
•  Mind Over Matter (1996, ISBN 978-1-57566-047-9)
• Reincarnation, Channelling and Possession: A Parapsychologist's Handbook (1993, ISBN 978-0-446-36333-4)
•  Psychic Dreaming: A Parapsychologist's Handbook (1991, ISBN 978-0-446-36056-2)

Loyd Auerbach's has also been involved in many television shows, as well as appearing on air in various programs. He has made appearances on paranormal-related programs for the Discovery Channel, the Travel Channel, The Learning Channel, A&E, the History Channel, theSci Fi Channel and TechTV.

Read More about Loyd Auerbach here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loyd_Auerbach

http://www.fatemag.com/

http://mindreader.com/

© 2013 Allen Tiller

www.eidolonparanormal.com.au