The concept of an afterlife is likely prehistoric, with lingering spirits not far behind. Here, you'll learn about the different types of ghosts,  take a close look at the rapping murdered peddler who gave rise to Spiritualism, a bit about circular sourcing, the rich history of ghost photos , EVP, and how spirits fits into the paranormal narrative.

Believed by some to be caused by the living, poltergeists represent a transitional figure that brings the unknown into the self, blurring the line between attacker and victim. Here you'll learn the history of the term as well as the surprising parallels among famous cases such as The Bell Witch, The Entity Haunting, the Enfield Poltergeist and the 2012 Ammons Haunting.

Here, you'll learn how possession, as an assault upon the soul, plants the unknown directly into the self, with a detailed look at the "true" story behind the demon elephant in the room, The Exorcist, how the book and film influenced the tragic case of Annelise Michel, and how the Possession Narrative puts the emphasis back on Belief.

With UFOs the paranormal takes a turn - making the unknown even more like us in their assumed use of technology, yet literally alien. Here you'll learn the history of our relationship to lights in the sky, from ancient to medieval times, on up to Roswell and  the recent Pentagon videos, as well as how the presence of the government gives us a new character for the narrative - the deceptive authority.

Here you'll learn how, while the Ancient Astronaut Theory relies on reinterpreting ancient structures, the concept itself is much more recent, with a baked-in cultural arrogance and, at times, downright racism baked in. A close look at the Dropa Stones (believed to tell of aliens stranded among primitive humans) show how wary we have to be of sources.

On the flipside, you'll see how the followers of Alien Contactees seem to require little or no evidence to support their beliefs, and how a specific UFO cult gave rise to the concept of cognitive dissonance.

After a detailed look at the history of alien abductions, including the famous Betty & Barney Hill case and the ensuing abductee movement, you'll learn just how burred the line between the self and the unknown, with an examination of sleep disorders, memory and false memories.

Here you'll learn what the heck Conspiracy Theories are doing in a course on the paranormal, the different types of conspiracy theories, and the many parallels in terms of evidence and reasoning.

Staring at a UFO or listening to an EVP,  we’re basically asking the same question: Is someone there? Here, you'll learn the difficulties inherent in the question as well as how the same applies to animal intelligence, artificial intelligence, and our final cryptid; the Ultraterrestrial.

Here you'll learn how I try to tie it all together with a look at how much our senses shape our maps of reality, how some assume that the map is superior to the terrain, how that's baked into metaphysical dualism, whether a tree falling in a forest with no one there to hear it makes a sound, and (yes!) how that all relates to the paranormal.