The Great Paranormal Clash - Hardcover

Ciaran O'Keeffe; Billy Roberts

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1906358141 ISBN 13: 9781906358143

Publisher: Apex Publishing Ltd, Essex, 2008

Synopsis

A tense dialogue between two different sides of the paranormal debate. Billy Roberts, one of the UK's leading stage psychics, throws down the gauntlet to Dr. O'Keeffe, sceptical voice to paranormal shows such as Living TV's Most Haunted and Jane Goldman Investigates. The Clairvoyant is saying - "Poltergeists, ghosts, telepathic powers - how can you not believe?!" And in sections devoted to different paranormal topics, The Clairvoyant and The Parapsychologist provide their opinions, formed from years of experience, and then interrogate each other. Just listen to what each has to say, and then make up your own mind. The Truth is Out There, finding it is the difficult part.

About this title

Review:

This truly is a first of its kind! And about time too! The parapsychologist and the clairvoyant come head to head on paper,and the outcome is fantastic! For all you believers and sceptics this is a must and a truly fascinating read. I loved it! --Yvette Fielding, Paranormal Investigator and Television Presenter

Things that go bump in the night...the X Files...wherever you go the public's fascination with the world of spooky phenomena is always apparent. Every year, over 200 people in the UK alone report that their homes have been infested by a poltergeist, and over four times that number claim to have seen a ghost. So, is there really something out there watching over us? YES, says world-renowned medium and psychic Billy Roberts, who has personally visited over 100 haunted locations. MAYBE, says Ciarán O'Keeffe, PhD, who can be seen voicing his thoughts on Living TV s Most Haunted programme, although he's currently extremely sceptical. To sort matters out, Roberts and O'Keeffe have penned a book together titled The Great Paranormal Clash, where believer and sceptic go head-to-head over whether paranormal phenomena really do take place or not. I spoke to Dr. O'Keeffe and Billy Roberts and asked each one to spell out just why they believe or disbelieve in ghosts, ghouls and the host of other spooky goings-on that have us all so fascinated... Ciarán O'Keeffe: As a scientist I'd have to say its not about belief - its about assessing the evidence. You have to remain objective and try not to be biased in any way. By having a 'belief' on either side of the fence this would completely ruin any attempt at objectivity. The number of natural explanations for haunting experiences is huge. These include suggestion, hallucination and sensory deprivation. I've very rarely seen a case where every single one of these natural explanations has been discounted, so the doubt is always there. Mentalists, cold readers, and con artists are able to pretend to be psychic and some of them are quite convincing. So be aware that there are 'pseudo-psychic' techniques and that psychology plays a big part in a psychic reading being successful . There is some extremely convincing positive evidence for telepathy amongst the laboratory research of parapsychologists over the past 50 or so years. But even this evidence is extremely weak. So why should I pay anything up to £100 to have someone read my mind when a) I know what's in there, and b) the evidence for telepathy exists, but it doesn't come from psychics? Billy Roberts: In my 25 plus years working as a medium, in 100 of the so-called haunted locations I have attended, perhaps one or maybe two have been interesting and presented what I could honestly call some sort of paranormal activity. The way in which the paranormal is portrayed on television today I think is responsible for the silly way it is perceived by the general public. I believe that our prehistoric forebears communicated their thoughts telepathically, and that genuine mediumistic skills are based on the process of telepathy. I always believe that telepathic skills can be developed, but mediumistic skills cannot. Wishful thinking does not make a medium - honesty does! I think it is good that parapsychology is today taking an active part in the paranormal; at least this makes it a little more difficult for 'Joe or Mary Bloggs' to become a working medium. The one thing I have learned over the years is that mediumship is extremely unreliable - it doesn't always work, regardless of whether or not the medium is genuine. Mediumship is an experiment, and no matter how famous the medium, no one has the power to call back the so-called dead . My own feeling is that both O'Keeffe and Roberts have a good point to make. However, it would be wrong to blindly ignore many of the rational explanations that sceptics put forward as many of them provide sensible answers to seemingly insoluble myste --Mike Hallowell, The Shields Gazette

It is not often that a leading parapsychologist and a top psychic would join forces to write a book together. Ciaran O'Keeffe has a reputation of being a hard-to-please, yet fair investigator of all things paranormal, a serious parapsychologist to be respected. Billy Roberts has been a top psychic medium for many years. You don't last the distance year in, year out, unless you are genuine and accurate. In this book, Billy the clairvoyant, and Ciaran the parapsychologist, give their opinions on many facets of the paranormal world, respectful of each other, yet challenging and ready to interrogate. What a wonderful opportunity for anyone interested in the psychic field to compare the excellent opinions, conclusions and occasional middle-ground agreement from both. An excellent book for anyone interested in the paranormal generally. --Philip Solomon, Wolverhampton Express & Star

About the Author:

Dr. Ciarán O'Keeffe: He is a parapsychologist operating on science's fringe having been involved in many unusual projects: from the physiological effects of infrasound, ghost investigation of Hampton Court, an exorcism 'training day' and providing accounts of his activities in order to inform the lead in a popular paranormal drama about the afterlife. Dr. O'Keeffe also provides a sceptical voice to 'paranormal' shows such as Living TV's Most Haunted and Jane Goldman Investigates. His background in academia includes an honors thesis on paranormal experiences in conjunction with a representative from the Institute of Parapsychology (now Rhine Research Center); a Master's dissertation at Liverpool University examining the utility of psychic detectives and the style of their narratives; and a PhD at the University of Hertfordshire, assessing the content of advice given by practitioners claiming paranormal ability. Since 1999 he has been employed at various institutions as a psychology lecturer and researcher specialising in both Parapsychology and Criminal Psychology. Billy Roberts: As well as being one of the UK s leading stage psychics, Billy Roberts is also an authority on the paranormal and metaphysical subjects. He lectures and conducts his workshops and seminars all over the world, and his unconventional and, at times, extremely radical techniques attract the interest of esoteric students from many countries. He has been psychic since he was a child and is both clairvoyant and clairaudient. However, when he left school in 1962 at the age of 16, he was already living the dream of every other teenager, playing lead guitar in a rock band and touring with some of the biggest names of the sixties, such as Chuck Berry, The Moody Blues, The Yardbirds, The Small Faces, The Kinks, to name but a few. In 1970, after a long illness, Billy s career as a musician came to an end. After returning to the UK, a series of what he calls Mystical Experiences , made him turn his attention to his own personal spiritual development. After serving spiritualist churches all over the UK for many years, in 1983 he founded The Thought Workshop, the northwest s first Centre for Psychic and Spiritual Studies and Alternative therapies. The centre, established in Rodney Street, (the Harley Street of Liverpool,) was officially opened by Billy s friend, the great Doris Stokes, and was also visited by some of the greatest veteran exponents of mediumship, such as author and spiritual teacher, Ursula Roberts and world-renowned psychic artist, Ivor James. The centre was an innovation but was opposed by many of the leading Spiritualist bodies, which prevented many of their mediums from working there. When the centre closed in the late eighties, Billy opened the Billy Roberts Paranormal Study Centre in Penny Lane, (of Beatles fame) and although this too has now closed, he still continues to travel with his work all over the world. In 2003 Billy was commissioned by Sony Games Empire to feature in a documentary to promote their new playstation 2 game Ghost Hunter, filmed on location in New Orleans. Billy s best selling autobiography, Beneath the Wings of Angels, was published by Harper Collins in 1995, his children s book, The Magic Locker will be published in 2008 by The Trinity Mirror Group. This is also to be launched as a musical theatre production, script and music written by Billy Roberts, and directed by Jen Heyes of Cut To The Chase Productions.

About this edition

• Publisher: Apex Publishing Ltd, Essex
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 1906358141
• ISBN 13: 9781906358143
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 150