Mysterious Realms: Probing Paranormal, Historical, and Forensic Enigmas

Investigative writer Joe Nickell and forensic analyst John F. Fischer probe ten tantalizing mysteries that, for decades, have defied rational analysis and convinced many people that supernatural events really do happen.

Using their skills and experience in historic document examination and forensic research, Nickell and Fischer carefully scrutinize the evidence for a variety of strange historical, paranormal, and forensic phenomena.


- Is a historic Kentucky home really haunted by the "gray lady's ghost"?

- Did Lee Harvey Oswald assassinate J.F.K., or was the killer a Soviet look-alike?

- Has the U.S. government concealed evidence of UFO visitations to Earth?

- Is a miracle taking place in a Naples cathedral where the congealed blood of a
martyred saint periodically liquefies?

Taking neither a credulous nor close-minded approach, the authors search for answers to these questions and other mysterious conundrums. Their deductions and proposed solutions (which make use of blood chemistry, forensic analysis, document examination, and a knowledge of stage magic) are truly worthy of Sherlock Holmes and will keep readers turning the pages to find out the rest of the story.

In this casebook, the coauthors of Secrets of the Supernatural investigate 10 familiar paranormal, historical and forensic mysteries. Arguing that "mysteries should neither be fostered nor suppressed but rather should be solved," Nickell and Fischer often rely on the theory that the simplest explanation has the greatest merit. Cases debunked here include visitations during the past 100 years of the "Gray Lady" ghost in a house in Frankfort, Ky., and the contention that John F. Kennedy was shot by a Soviet assassin who looked like Lee Harvey Oswald. The authors identify the 1912 discovery of the Piltdown Man in Sussex, England, as a hoax perpetrated by fossil collector Charles Dawson, and offer rational explanations for the periodic liquifaction of a vial in a Naples church said to contain the blood of St. Januarius and for the phenomenon of "psychic vision." The arguments presented are convincing, if not conclusive. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

This book is Nickell's third collection of real-life mysteries of the type often exploited by the press and, especially, TV. His other excellent books are Secrets of the Supernatural (Prometheus, 1988), also written with Fischer, and Ambrose Bierce Is Missing (Univ. Pr. of Kentucky, 1991). Here, readers will find stories about a hoard of silver and gold lost somewhere in Virginia; the Piltdown Man hoax perpetrator; the crop-circle phenomenon; the MJ-12 Flying Saucer Club; and a half-dozen others. Taking the view that mysteries are not to be fostered but rather solved, the authors bring to bear years of investigatory experience on seeking reasonable explanations for phenomena that are sometimes said to defy analysis. What makes their stories unusual is that Nickell and Fischer have a gimmick: they resort to evidence. Readers who are fascinated by puzzles only so long as they are unsolved will be disappointed. Those who favor common sense and rationality, backed by solid evidence, will find this book essential reading. For most public libraries.
- Dave Sum mers, Holly Twp. Lib., Mich.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.