Harry Price was dubbed as “the Psychic Detective” because he exposed countless hoaxes. By the time of his death in 1948, Price was considered Britain’s foremost paranormal expert, publishing several books on mediums, spirits and England’s most haunted house.

Up until now, no one suspected that he himself might have been a conman.

According to Edinburgh writer, Richard Morris, Price lied about his scientific training and staged high-profile public “experiments” to expose other con-artists. Morris’s alleged discovery of Harry Price came by chance when he was researching the history of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who was greatly annoyed with Price for exposing spirit photographer, William Hope in 1922. Hope just happened to be Doyle’s friend.

“I got started investigating Price as I was looking into Conan Doyle, who was very interested in spiritualism,” said Morris. “That was something I found fascinating, that a man who was so associated with scientific truth and fact actually had a great belief in ghosts and spirits.

“But Price is an equally fascinating character, and it is really quite extraordinary that he managed to convince so many people he was a man of science.”

Over the past year, Morris has read through thousands of papers of Price’s own documents, which cover bizarre cases, such as the 1932 Brocken experiment, which used a ritual to transform a goat into a man. Price wrote about writing a letter to Adolf Hitler, who had invited him to Germany and who was very interested in the paranormal. The contrast between Price’s public life and his private life were so stark that Morris decided to write a book about him. Morris knew his findings would not be welcomed by Price’s fans, but he wasn’t prepared for the threats he received.

“It’s bizarre that in this day and age you can be threatened for trying to uncover the facts about someone who has been dead for more than half a century.”

Synposis

The book begins by describing why the paranormal is worthy of scientific investigation and why belief in the paranormal has increased over the last 10 years. Next it reviews the areas of neuroscience, neurotheology, and quantum physics. These are relatively new areas to mainstream science and therefore can be unfamiliar even to the veteran paranormal investigator. The brief overview of each topic provides one with a general understanding of the topic and explains why they are important to paranormal research and how they may someday make the paranormal very normal.

About the Author

Bobbie Atristain founded CPRI in the Spring of 2000 with Matt Didier of The Toronto Ghosts and Hauntings Research Society. She currently writes for the print edition of Ghost! Magazine, the UK’s Mystery Mag and T.A.P.S. Para Magazine.

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Ed Warren’s lifelong career began as a child, when he felt that his home in Bridgeport was haunted. He was a firm believer in ghosts, demons and other supernatural creatures. Ed and his wife, Lorraine, would receive frantic phonecalls from homeowners across the country, seeking advice about how to deal with the spirits that wreaked havoc on their lives. One such case spawned the Amityville Horror classic.

The Warrens investigated more than 10,000 alleged hauntings worldwide. They didn’t make their money with their ghost hunting, but with the lectures they gave about the supernatural at various colleges. The Amityville haunting was the most requested lecture.

While he regularly confronted dark forces, he considered it a duty to warn the public about the dangers of playing with the occult, Spera said.

“Seven out of eight of their cases would start with people playing with a Ouija board,” Spera said. “The spirit does not have to come right away. It can come after dark to get you.”

Poor health kept Ed housebound for the past five years. On Wednesday, August 23, he succumbed. He is survived by his wife of 61 years, his daughter, two grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.