Joe Nickell, Ph.D., is perhaps the world’s only full-time professional paranormal investigator – with a background to match. He has spent his life collecting “personas”: carnival pitchman, stage magician (he was Resident Magician at a Houdini museum), private investigator (for a world-famous detective agency), folklorist and historian, forensic-science author, historical document consultant, and many, many others.

In a field where people too often divide into “believers” and “debunkers” – those whose minds are made up in advance of inquiry – Nickell has gained international acclaim and respect as a successful, fair-minded investigator, choosing neither to foster mysteries nor reject them.

Taking a hands-on approach, he has traveled around the world to investigate the strangest mysteries – often innovative strategies such as conducting an original experiment, applying a forensic science in a unique way, doing painstaking historical research, or even going undercover and in disguise. Nickell sees science as a progression of solved mysteries.

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