Big-If True

This collection of Skeptical Inquirer magazine columns by investigator and folklorist Benjamin Radford guides readers on a science-based (yet open-minded) examination of 70 fascinating and mysterious topics. Drawing on two decades of first-hand research, Big-If True separates fact from fiction using forensics, science, psychology, folklore, and more. Big-If True examines these and dozens more mysteries including Bigfoot, reincarnation, chupacabras, Icelandic elves, conspiracy theories, UFOs, miracles, the terrifying Goat-Man, crop circles, subliminal advertising, sea serpents, wandering trees, medical mysteries, and hypnotist thieves-plus a 1990 Elvis sighting. For mystery lovers and armchair investigators alike, this book offers a look behind the scenes at investigating oddities and curiosities, both ancient and modern. Chapter One LEGENDS 5A Skeptic's Guide to Ethical and Effective Curse Removal * Egging theEquator * Detour: Elves Ahead * Mysteries of the Coral Castle * Is ElvisPresley in Home Alone? * Searching to Noah Vale * The Bell Witch Mystery* The Myth of the Walking Tree * Bailing in the Mummies * Might FrightCause White? * (and more)Chapter Two MONSTERS 51Cryptozoology and Global Warming * The Mystery of the TexasChupacabra * Texas Goat-Men and the Chupacabra * A Wakey Water'Monster' * Globsters Ahoy! * Investigating Mothman's Red EyeshineChapter Three GHOSTS 83Do Einstein's Laws Endorse Ghosts? * 'M' is for Mysterious Marks *Have I Ever Seen a Ghost? * Soul Scales * The Cockington Church GhostPhoto * Can Electromagnetic Fields Create Ghosts? * Infrared Camerasand Ghost Hunting * A Closer Look at Orbs * The Sweet Spirit Soundsof Rosemary Brown * (and more)Chapter Four MYSTERIOUS POWERS AND PLACES 121A Time to Die? * Crop Circle Origins * The GIGO Problem: Crop CircleResearch Edition * Channeling Ancient African Wisdom-Or Not * Mysteryof the Paulding Light * Dowsing: Dubious and Discredited * FatimaMiracle Claims All Wet * Uri Geller Revisited * Did Psychic VisionsLocate Missing California Boy? * Beware Mesmer Thieves! * Secrets ofSpectacularly Skewered SkinChapter Five UFOs 165The Phantom Menace of UFO Revelation * The Mysterious PhoenixLights * The Mysterious, Invisible 'Rods'Chapter Six HEALTH AND MEDICINE 175Bodytalk: Boon or Bogus? * Exercising the Brain Gym * Kinoki Foot Pads* Diving HeadOn Into Pseudoscience * Subliminal Advertising, Trumpianand Otherwise * Freaky Feldenkrais * Measuring Near-Death Experience* A 100C Grain of Truth to Homeopathy? * Battle Over the BMI * TheMysterious Morgellons Malady * Childbirth-Natural or 'Unnatural'? *Vegetable Oil or Snake Oil?: The Pseudoscience of &quote;Oil Pulling&quote; * ThePseudoscience of Personalysis * Left Brain or Right Brain? * (and more)Chapter Seven CONSPIRACIES 229Sandy Hook School Shooting: The Adam Lanza Death Certificate Conspiracy* Curious Contrails: Death From the Sky? * The Truth About the 9/11Truthers * Is America a Sheeple Factory?Chapter Eight SKEPTICISM 243Legitimizing Woo * Just Asking Questions * Caught Between the Possibleand the Paranormal * Dealing With Believers in Skeptical Investigation *Anomaly Hunting * Mystery Solved-According to Whom? * ParanormalQualifications