Post by auntym on Jan 29, 2011 23:14:01 GMT -6
ghoststoriesandhauntedplaces.blogspot.com/
Posted by Jessica Penot
Saturday, January 29, 2011
The Rhine Research Center
Whenever I think of parapsychology, images from Ghostbusters leap to mind. I see Ray and Igon telling the dean about their research right before they lose tenure and are asked to leave the University. The truth about parapsychology as a field can be found at the Rhine Research Center. The Rhine Research Center was founded as part of Duke University by Dr. Joseph Banks Rhine and Dr. Louisa Rhine. The Rhine Research Center is located in Durham North Carolina and stands at the forefront of gathering scientific evidence to prove that such things as telepathy, clairvoyance, precognition, psychokinesis, and survival of consciousness (hauntings, ghosts, and mediumship) are real. The Rhine Institutes says their goal is to, "aims to improve the human condition by creating a scientific understanding of those abilities and sensitivities that appear to transcend the ordinary limits of space and time."
Rhine was founded in the 1930's and began with all the type of studies a fan of Ghostbusters might imagine such as ESP card tests. According to The Rhine Research Center's website, however, they have moved beyond such studies. Their website says:
"ESP cards and dice games have long since been replaced by modern techniques that allow more subtle measurements of psi, such as by looking at the physiological changes or bioenergy characteristics of psychics and healers, or by measuring the telepathic awareness of emotional targets in a simulated dream-like situation. Efforts are made to detect clues that come directly from the psi experiencers themselves, whether they are healers, intuitives, or simply ordinary people who have these extraordinary experiences."
The Rhine Institute is interesting to me because they study the paranormal using the scientific method and publish their findings in peer reviewed journals. One of my fellow bloggers, Courtney Mroch of Haunt Jaunts, had an interesting post a while back questioning whether any ghost hunter could really call themselves a professional or say they had any credentials. Her argument was that the world of the paranormal seems to be run by people without professional degrees or credentials and that there is no way to verify who is truly a professional or not without such things. I agreed with her, but I think places like the Rhine Institute offer a challenge to that notion. If the paranormal can be studied and proved in a scientific manner by people with doctorates in parapsychology, perhaps there are professional and credentialed ghost hunters. They just aren't necessarily the ones on TV.
The Haunting of Halcyon House
Halcyon House is one of the most prominent and historical houses in the Georgetown area. It sits beside the Potomac with a quiet, historic beauty that invites ghost stories and its history doesn't disappoint. Halcyon House was built by Benjamin Stoddert, the first secretary of the US Navy. The house was well known by society and was said to serve as a social hub for the politicians of the time. Stoddert died in 1818 and the house changed hands many times. It eventually became a stop on the underground railroad. Its basement was connected via underground tunnels to other stops along the railway and an untold number of slaves seeking freedom passed through the subterranean portions of the historic, Georgetown house. Many slaves also died seeking their freedom in this house. The trip through the underground railroad was perilous and many say that the slaves that died in Halcyon House still remain there. Their ghosts still cry out for freedom from their subterranean lair. The tunnels beneath the house have been walled up, but the ghosts remain.
In the 1930's, a man named Alber Adsit Clemens bought Halcyon house. Clemons was a cousin of Mark Twain and changed Halcyon House drastically. Clemons was more than a little bit mad and he came to believe that as long as he kept building on the Halcyon House, he would never die. He added rooms, doors to nowhere, pointless staircases, and useless halls. He added new apartments, a crypt, and a coach house. After Clemons died, the haunting activity increased. Residents of Halcyon house since this time have described many ghostly encounters. They have described being levitated above their beds at night, seeing phantom women, hearing strange noises, objects moving on their own, and seeing the ghost of Benjamin Stoddert and Alber Clemens.
Halcyon House is currently owned by a sculpture who has put a great deal of time and effort into restoring Halcyon House and making it beautiful. He has had the house on the market for several years now and the beginning asking price for this beautiful building was 30 million. The price has dropped. Halcyon House was for sale for 19.5 million in April of 2010. Although the house is for sale, it is far from empty. The current owners still rent it out as a venue for special events and parties and is a common location for weddings so ghost stories still drift out of the house like a steady fog. The ghost stories are so many they can't all be listed. Phantom cries are a common noise in the old house as are the sounds of objects moving. John Alexander wrote a book on the haunts of Washington D.C. and in it he said that Halcyon House was the most haunted house in Washington D.C.
Posted by Jessica Penot
Saturday, January 29, 2011
The Rhine Research Center
Whenever I think of parapsychology, images from Ghostbusters leap to mind. I see Ray and Igon telling the dean about their research right before they lose tenure and are asked to leave the University. The truth about parapsychology as a field can be found at the Rhine Research Center. The Rhine Research Center was founded as part of Duke University by Dr. Joseph Banks Rhine and Dr. Louisa Rhine. The Rhine Research Center is located in Durham North Carolina and stands at the forefront of gathering scientific evidence to prove that such things as telepathy, clairvoyance, precognition, psychokinesis, and survival of consciousness (hauntings, ghosts, and mediumship) are real. The Rhine Institutes says their goal is to, "aims to improve the human condition by creating a scientific understanding of those abilities and sensitivities that appear to transcend the ordinary limits of space and time."
Rhine was founded in the 1930's and began with all the type of studies a fan of Ghostbusters might imagine such as ESP card tests. According to The Rhine Research Center's website, however, they have moved beyond such studies. Their website says:
"ESP cards and dice games have long since been replaced by modern techniques that allow more subtle measurements of psi, such as by looking at the physiological changes or bioenergy characteristics of psychics and healers, or by measuring the telepathic awareness of emotional targets in a simulated dream-like situation. Efforts are made to detect clues that come directly from the psi experiencers themselves, whether they are healers, intuitives, or simply ordinary people who have these extraordinary experiences."
The Rhine Institute is interesting to me because they study the paranormal using the scientific method and publish their findings in peer reviewed journals. One of my fellow bloggers, Courtney Mroch of Haunt Jaunts, had an interesting post a while back questioning whether any ghost hunter could really call themselves a professional or say they had any credentials. Her argument was that the world of the paranormal seems to be run by people without professional degrees or credentials and that there is no way to verify who is truly a professional or not without such things. I agreed with her, but I think places like the Rhine Institute offer a challenge to that notion. If the paranormal can be studied and proved in a scientific manner by people with doctorates in parapsychology, perhaps there are professional and credentialed ghost hunters. They just aren't necessarily the ones on TV.
The Haunting of Halcyon House
Halcyon House is one of the most prominent and historical houses in the Georgetown area. It sits beside the Potomac with a quiet, historic beauty that invites ghost stories and its history doesn't disappoint. Halcyon House was built by Benjamin Stoddert, the first secretary of the US Navy. The house was well known by society and was said to serve as a social hub for the politicians of the time. Stoddert died in 1818 and the house changed hands many times. It eventually became a stop on the underground railroad. Its basement was connected via underground tunnels to other stops along the railway and an untold number of slaves seeking freedom passed through the subterranean portions of the historic, Georgetown house. Many slaves also died seeking their freedom in this house. The trip through the underground railroad was perilous and many say that the slaves that died in Halcyon House still remain there. Their ghosts still cry out for freedom from their subterranean lair. The tunnels beneath the house have been walled up, but the ghosts remain.
In the 1930's, a man named Alber Adsit Clemens bought Halcyon house. Clemons was a cousin of Mark Twain and changed Halcyon House drastically. Clemons was more than a little bit mad and he came to believe that as long as he kept building on the Halcyon House, he would never die. He added rooms, doors to nowhere, pointless staircases, and useless halls. He added new apartments, a crypt, and a coach house. After Clemons died, the haunting activity increased. Residents of Halcyon house since this time have described many ghostly encounters. They have described being levitated above their beds at night, seeing phantom women, hearing strange noises, objects moving on their own, and seeing the ghost of Benjamin Stoddert and Alber Clemens.
Halcyon House is currently owned by a sculpture who has put a great deal of time and effort into restoring Halcyon House and making it beautiful. He has had the house on the market for several years now and the beginning asking price for this beautiful building was 30 million. The price has dropped. Halcyon House was for sale for 19.5 million in April of 2010. Although the house is for sale, it is far from empty. The current owners still rent it out as a venue for special events and parties and is a common location for weddings so ghost stories still drift out of the house like a steady fog. The ghost stories are so many they can't all be listed. Phantom cries are a common noise in the old house as are the sounds of objects moving. John Alexander wrote a book on the haunts of Washington D.C. and in it he said that Halcyon House was the most haunted house in Washington D.C.