Get down to the Dana Centre to unlock the secrets of the psychic world. Courtesy the Science and Society Picture Library.
When it comes to summoning and communicating with the dead, many of us would agree that it's purely the territory of horror fiction.
Indeed, there’s hardly a slasher movie made that doesn’t contain a scene in which American teenagers dabble with the dark side aided by joined hands, chanting and an inevitable thunderstorm.
However, on the evening of September 23, visitors to the Science Museum’s Dana Centre will be invited to have a go at calling up the dead for real in a Victorian-style séance.
The event will be led by one of the UK’s leading psychologists, Professor Richard Wiseman, who will be trying to find out if science can unlock the secrets of the psychic world.
"Mediums claim to be able to communicate with the deceased," said Professor Wiseman. "Such claims attract a considerable amount of public interest and, if valid, have important implications for many areas of psychology and parapsychology."
Professor Wiseman has an international reputation for scientific research into the scientific examination of unusual areas within psychology, including parapsychology ghosts and hauntings.
The Dana Centre is the Science Museum's adults-only venue where contemporary and controversial scientific issues are explored. Courtesy The Science Museum, London.
In a paper released on September 23 he publishes the findings of research that reveals how, under controlled conditions, professional mediums were not able to demonstrate any paranormal or mediumistic ability.
His work represents some of the most elaborate and carefully controlled tests to date.
"For over a hundred years, researchers have tested alleged mediums," said Professor Wiseman. "This work has obtained mixed results and provoked a considerable amount of methodological debate, with some researchers arguing that some mediums possess genuine psi-abilities and others arguing that such alleged abilities are the result of psychological, rather than parapsychological, processes."
"The new research reviews the key issues in this debate and previous research, where methodologically may be flawed."
At the Dana Centre Professor Wiseman will be helping members of the public decide whether their experiences are the result of fear, suggestion, trickery or genuine spirit contact.
The séance is part of a unique one-off event, The Fear Factor: Exploring the Paranormal, being held at the Dana Centre, the Science Museum’s adults-only venue where contemporary and controversial scientific issues are explored.
What is it that makes people have supernatural experiences? Are they hallucinating? Or is it for real? Courtesy the Science and Society Picture Library.
As well as joining in the séance, visitors will be able to meet one of the UK’s leading paranormal investigation groups, as well as Professor John Gruzelier from the Department of Cognitive Neuroscience and Behaviour at Imperial College.
Professor Gruzelier will lead a discussion on consciousness, psychic experiences and the paranormal and like the séance, sessions will be repeated between 18.30 and 22.00.
As the Dana Centre’s Lisa Jamieson explained, the event is about looking at such questions as: are paranormal experiences supernatural or symptoms of psychology and fear? What can science tell us about the supernatural? How does the body respond to fear? Why do we hallucinate and what do hallucinations mean?
"This event is designed to engage an adult audience in science and psychology in a unique and quirky way," said Lisa.
"By allowing people to take part in a Victorian darkroom séance, and other participatory events, we can delve into the psychology of fear."
The Fear Factor is a joint event organized by the British Association for the Advancement of Science, the European Dana Alliance for the Brain and the Science Museum.
This is a free event, but places are limited and anyone wishing to attend will need to book.
