Universities to look into ghosts and UFOs

 A small band of real-life "ghostbusters" are at work in British universities, including
 Northampton, trying to understand paranormal activity from UFOs to telepathy.

 Two decades after the Hollywood blockbuster introduced the concept of parapsychology to an
 audience of millions, a number of research centres in the UK are now dedicated to the field.

 And despite scepticism from some, the academics conducting the research are convinced the
 paranormal is a rich topic for study.

 Dr Richard Broughton, from Northampton University's Centre for the Study of Anomalous
 Psychological Processes, is convinced there is a need to look into the matter.

 "I am firmly convinced that there are phenomena here that need to be investigated and may
 provide a radically new view of the capabilities of human consciousness," he told the 
 Times Higher Education Supplement.

 Professor Chris French, head of the Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit at Goldsmiths,
 University of London, said most people "believe in this stuff".

 "If psychologists have nothing to say on this topic, they are missing out on a broad part
 of the human experience," Prof French said.

 Specialists at Edinburgh University's Koestler Parapsychology Unit studied the possibility
 of people sending positive thoughts to each other, the paper reported.

 Such research includes investigating "paranormal healing" and whether people in different
 rooms can share the same physical sensations.

 Parapsychology is also proving useful for undergraduate teaching, as a good basis for
 exploring critical thinking.

Last Updated: 09 August 2007 9:09 PM
http://www.northamptonchron.co.uk/news?articleid=3101221

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