Vox Media offers an easy-to-digest capsule of rational reasons why many people believe in (and sometimes believe that they’ve seen) ghosts, including a short interview with skeptical investigator Joe Nickell. Like Mr. Nickell, Harry Houdini, Rose Mackenberg and numerous others over the past century-and-a-bit, I’ve found no persuasive evidence of ghosts; and, as much as … Read more“Why People Think They See Ghosts”
I will be hosting this live Zoom presentation via the Atlas Obscura’s Wonder from Home program on the evening of July 10th (US time), concerning the antique “ghost show” I inherited from my father: The Iowa-based Ghost Factory company manufactured and sold all manner of “spookology” effects during the early/mid-20th century. Some of their customers … Read moreUnboxing an Antique Ghost Show (July 10, 2020)
In this clip from Pixar’s modern classic Coco (2017), young Miguel – having been magically and accidentally transported from a crypt in his home-town’s cemetery during el Dia de Muertos – crosses a cempasúchitl bridge between the worlds and first encounters the Land of the Dead. The filmmakers’ visualization of a towering, glowing necropolis in … Read moreThe Land of the Dead in Coco (2017)