ABSTRACT

Marks and Kammann express a modern psychological viewpoint of the paranormal: ‘We seem to have a profound yearning for a magic formula that will free us from our ponderous and fragile bodies’ (1980: 156). The paranormal continues to intrigue people, and surveys concerning people’s beliefs in various aspects of the subject frequently provide evidence for the acceptance of mind-to-mind communication (telepathy) and other psychic or extrasensory powers (Marks and Kammann 1980, West 1995). Each new experience is interpreted as to where it can fit with past experiences, and this process of assimilation within existing schemata builds up a ‘life picture’ of the unexplained. Phenomena that are viewed as anomalous to current bounds of time, space and matter can be defined as paranormal, but these conditions are relative. Historically, different individuals, groups and cultures have produced their own definitions and explanations of paranormal events, based upon prevailing belief systems, assumptions and experiences (Clarke 1995).