Reviewed by Nemo C. Mörck
I used to think of John Fraser as a ghost hunter, although more restrained than the ones that run around in darkness and seem to spend as much time chasing publicity as chasing ghosts. Fraser is a paranormal researcher, willing to consider more than just the parapsychology literature and recognizes the relevance of folklore and ufology. He writes about paranormal research rather than about parapsychology or psychical research. I gather that it encompasses both and more.
Fraser is a SPR Council member, but he is also active in the Ghost Club and in the Association for the Scientific Study of Anomalous Phenomena (ASSAP). The latter was founded ”...to investigate, research and educate on a wide range of anomalous phenomena, from hauntings to UFOs, mediumship to monsters ...” Fraser has previously written Poltergeist! A New Investigation into Destructive Haunting and Ghost Hunting: A Survivor’s Guide. Reviews of both books are available on the SPR website (Mörck, 2020; Ruffles, 2010). His new book One Big Box of ’Paranormal Tricks’? From Ghosts to Poltergeists to the Theory of just one Paranormal Power is part of a series, Paranormal Perspectives. According to G. L. Davies, ”This series is intended for sceptics, believers, and those who have unfathomable experiences and are often frightened by them.”
One Big Box of ’Paranormal Tricks’? is similar to Fraser’s earlier books – it is rather informal and chatty, but enjoyable. However, this time Fraser writes with a goal in mind – he needs to end up with a theory of just one paranormal power to explain it all! I remain unconvinced, but I appreciated being allowed to follow Fraser on his journey. However, his humour is wasted on me.
Fraser is old enough to remember the 1970s with Uri Geller, psychic surgery and a general increased interest in the paranormal. A young Fraser watched The Ghost Hunters, starring the ghost hunter Peter Underwood, and the rest is history. He read what he could get from the local library and noted haunted locations on maps. Fraser’s first investigation failed before it had begun, but with a classmate made a documentary about two haunted locations.
At univ. Fraser studied economics and learnt philosophy from Prof. Richard Swinburne. He left univ. in 1985 and ended up as an internal auditor. I gather that the work was about as exciting as one imagines. Eventually, Fraser resigned and planned a road trip with stops at haunted locations. He has written about this before, in Ghost Hunting. Fraser notes that paranormal investigators ”... have the responsibility to get to the truth of the matter ” (p. 19) in contrast to folklorists: ”We must not accept witness testimony without a polite bit of ethical probing of the facts” (p. 19).
In the second chapter Fraser writes about people that have influenced him. His list includes, among others, Harry Price, Underwood, Colin Wilson, Maurice Grosse, Guy Lyon Playfair, and Mary Rose Barrington. Most readers are probably more or less familiar with them.
The third chapter concerns hypnotic regression. Hugh Pincott, the SPR’s former secretary and treasurer, met Fraser through ASSAP and invited him to participate in the weekly hypnotic regressions sessions he conducted. The sessions with ”Don Brown” in particular are interesting. Apparently he was a good hypnotic subject and one of the lives he described was explored further. During hypnosis Brown described life from the perspective of a Cerdic, living in the 12th century. Brown was ”... most forthcoming with the smallest of details” (p. 47). Furthermore: ”Nearly all the facts that could be checked were basically right. Of equal interest was the observation that over many hypnotic sessions the facts of Cerdic’s life stayed totally consistent” (p. 47). Interestingly Brown also seemed to become a skilled artist during hypnosis.
In the fourth chapter Fraser returns to ghost hunting, though the chapter is as much about hunting after the truth, separating fact from fiction. In addition to investigations Fraser also relates that he planned to arrange a visit to investigate Sandford Orcas Manor House. During their stay at the manor, 1967-1979, Colonel Francis Claridge and his family apparently reported a number of experiences. However, when Fraser called the owner Mervyn Medlycott, in 1999, he dimissed them as being made up by the Claridge family. Guttridge (2009) also leaves the reader with that impression. Fraser relates that he came to regard himself as a paranormal researcher rather than a ghost hunter, finding that ”... it can be just as interesting trying to unravel the experiences of others rather than hoping for that one rare experience of your own” (p. 63).
Throughout the book Fraser shows that he is not oblivious of possible normal explanations for ghostly experiences. In addition, he notes: ”Whilst I run into few decent ghost hunters that genuinely believe any equipment can detect a ghost, there is perhaps still a significant majority that believe certain changes in measurements might be at least an indicator of a possible ghostly presence” (p. 70). However, his commentary about electromagnetism and infrasound is necessarily a bit sketchy, and a few reading recommendations (e.g., Parsons, 2021; Parsons & Cooper, 2015) for interested readers would have been appropriate. In addition, the SPR has published guidance notes both for investigators of spontaneous cases and for using equipment. Investigation Quick Guides are also freely available on the SPR website.
Chapter six is devoted to poltergeists, although Fraser includes other material too. He suggests that ”… any apparitional sightings might simply be residual energy from poltergeist phenomena ...” (p. 80) and notes apparitions turn up in some poltergeist cases (Gauld & Cornell, 1979; see also Dullin, 2024). Nevertheless, the evidence for his claim seems a bit lacking. If apparitions are some kind of byproduct of poltergeist phenomena then one would expect so-called poltergeist agents, people that seem to be followed by the phenomena, to also report seeing apparitions. In general, I believe that Fraser is trying to build a theory on a shaky foundation and ends up with new questions.
The value of putting eight cases that he has covered in his previous book, Poltergeist! in a table is not evident to me. The cases are the Enfield poltergeist, Black Monk of Pontefract, Kern City poltergeist, Amityville, Gef the talking mongoose, Langenhoe church, Rosenheim, and the Bell Witch. These cases are, politely put, rather disparate. Fraser also covers an investigation of The Cage in St Osyth again.
Getting to follow Fraser is a bit like going on a ghost ride in a theme park. Although you have a general idea about what to expect there will be some surprises. In Fraser’s book one of the surprises is Guy Lambert’s old geophysical theory of poltergeists. Since Fraser cites Gauld and Cornell (1979) I presume that he has read their commentary, yet Lambert’s findings are presented as if they were uncontested.
Another surprise was coming across Aleister Crowley:
Crowley’s main work, The Book of the Law, was apparently written in just three hours through the guiding inspiration of his guardian angel that he called Aiwass. Take away the occultist imagery and this experience is a mirror image of the musical accomplishments of Rosemary Brown dictated to by spirits of those famous dead composers (p. 104).
Fraser also covers the Encounter in Rendlesham Forest (Pope, 2014). He is not afraid of getting his hands dirty and look into cases that receive more attention from ufologists and cryptozooligsts than from parapsycholists. Fraser mentions that Hilary Evans was also like this. D. Scott Rogo and John A. Keel are others that come to mind. The trouble if you do not specialize is that the litarature can feel overwhelming.
The seventh chapter concerns, among other things, the experiences reported by Mary and David (pseudonyms). Mary’s experiences concern poltergeist phenomena: ”The bare bones of the phenomena were reported in the press at the time giving a good independent source ” (p. 114). However, the documentation of what happened is lacking it is an interesting poltergeist case that went on for an unusually long time if the witness is to be believed. David has researched places, and found (among other things) that a particular stretch of road ”... seemed to have far more than its share ...” (p. 116) of anomalous reports. However, he has also had his own experiences: ”He felt that whatever was facing him was in some way malevolent and was then faced by two much smaller squat nearly square-shaped humanoid creatures” (p. 120). When Fraser inquired, he learned that David is one of those people that have had a variety of unusual experiences. Fraser asks: ”Is it possible or even plausible that people like David are a magnet for alien beings, boggarts, and long dead ‘seers’ who whisper future events into his ear?” (p. 121).
Finally, in the eight chapter we are meant to arrive at Fraser’s theory, though he acknowledges that others have thought along similar lines before. Unfortunately, I think that Fraser needs to work a bit on his presentation. I am not entirely sure what exactly he is arguing besides that one paranormal power underlies all phenomena. I am unconvinced. He asks the reader:
- Are different types of phenomena based around the same people who can tune in to its source or act as a catalyst?
- Are different types of phenomena based around similar places or environments?
- If the phenomena do not fit the above criteria — is the evidence for it strong and precluding a natural explanation? (This question should, of course, be asked for all types of apparently paranormal phenomena.) (p. 132).
These are certainly questions worth considering. It should be noted that this is a short book, 134 pages plus references, yet Fraser manages to cover much ground. If you are interested in the paranormal let Fraser take you on a ride.
References
Dullin, E. (2024). A detailed phenomenology of poltergeist events. Journal of Scientific Exploration, 38(3), 427-460.
Gauld, A., & Cornell, A. D. (1979). Poltergeists. Routledge & Kegan Paul.
Guttridge, R. (2009). Paranormal Dorset. Amberley Publishing.
Parsons, S. T. (2021). Ghostology: The art of the ghost hunter (rev. Ed.). White Crow Books.
Parsons, S. T., & Cooper, C. E. (Eds.). Paracoustics: Sound and the paranormal. White Crow Books.
Pope, N., with Burroughs, J., & Penniston, J. (2014). Encounter in Rendlesham forest. Thomas Dunne Books