Illuminations: UFOs & Parapsychology

Check out the new release from Anomalist Books: Illuminations: The UFO Experience as a Parapsychological Event by Eric Ouellet.

And it looks to be a very good one!

Here's the book description:

What if UFO experiences are the result of large-scale, unconscious, psychic forces?
Parapsychology and UFOlogy are like oil and water. They just don’t mix, despite the decades-long efforts of some highly respected researchers to call attention to the paranormal or parapsychological aspects of UFO events. In Illuminations, sociologist Eric Ouellet offers a novel approach to a phenomenon that has thus far resisted all other efforts to explain it, be it as extraterrestrial craft, time travelers, secret government projects, or natural phenomena.
Combining research in parapsychology, sociology, and UFOlogy, Ouellet provides a thought provoking reassessment of several well-known UFO cases, including the Washington, DC, UFO wave of 1952, the Betty and Barney Hill abduction of 1961, the Rendlesham UFO incident of 1980, and the Belgian UFO wave of 1989-1991. While not claiming to have the final solution to the UFO mystery, he offers much food for thought and a refreshing outlook on a stubbornly elusive phenomenon.

About the Author:

ERIC OUELLET is professor of Defence Studies at the Royal Military College of Canada, and at the Canadian Forces College (Canada’s Joint Staff and War College). He has a Ph.D. in sociology from York University (Toronto, Canada), and he is the liaison officer for Canada with the Parapsychological Association. He has published parapsychological work in the Australian Journal of Psychology, EdgeScience, and the Bulletin Métapsychique. His other research works focus on military sociology and war studies.

Contents Foreword by Jenny Randles
Introduction
Section One: Studying UFOs
Chapter 1. What Is Known About UFOs
Chapter 2. Paranormal Research and UFOs
Chapter 3. The Parapsychological Hypothesis
Section Two: Explaining UFO Anomalies
Chapter 4. The 1952 Washington D.C. UFO Wave
Chapter 5. The Belgian UFO Wave of 1989-1991
Chapter 6. The Rendlesham UFO Incident of 1980
Section Three: Complex UFO Encounters
Chapter 7. The Canadian UFO Wave of 1966-1967
Chapter 8. The Barney and Betty Hill Story Revisited
Chapter 9. The Political Sociology of Alien Encounters
Conclusion
Acknowledgments
Glossary
Reference Notes
Bibliography
Index
About the Author

What they're saying:

“Parapsychological approaches in this field are rare: your contribution is precious, and it is very timely.” —Jacques Vallée, author of The Invisible College

“As a sociologist and a UFO witness, plus, importantly, a parapsychological researcher, Eric Ouellet ticks all the boxes to appreciate the bagatelle of curiosities that I have encountered in the field during 40 years of UFO investigation.” — Jenny Randles, author of Mind Monsters

Cryptozoology vs. Parapsychology

Over at his blog, Matt Bille has a new post that discusses my Monster Diary book, in relation to the high-strangeness cases I present in its pages, and with specific regard to the matter of things such as a spectral sabre-tooth tiger (a case I describe in the book), and whether or not rogue cases like this should have a place in Cryptozoology or Parapsychology.

You can find Matt's post here, and here's my comment to the post:

"Hey Matt,

"Yes, it may well be argued that if a creature exhibits phenomena that is far more paranormal in nature (however we define that term), it may not technically be considered a creature of cryptozoology.

"But, here's the thing: many creatures that are widely accepted as being part of cryptozoology do exhibit such paranormal (or perceived paranormal) traits.

"Whether people agree with the data and witness testimony or not, there are a lot of Bigfoot reports that are steeped in high strangeness.

"Take, for just one example, Stan Gordon's 2010 book, Silent Invasion, that chronicles very weird Bigfoot activity in Pennsylvania in 1973.

"Tales of the Yowie in Australia are also saturated with odd overtones.

"FW Holiday, while investigating the Loch Ness Monster, began to experience a lot of high-strangeness, including a MIB sighting at the loch and strange synchronicities.

"Tim Dinsdale alluded to the possibility of a paranormal explanation for Nessie.

"There's Britain's Owlman, West Virginia's Mothman, the 'pterodcatyls' of the Texas-Mexico border - all steeped in high strangeness.

"Merrily Harpur's book, Mystery Big Cats, places the UK's Alien Big Cats into a non-physical category, a book well worth reading.

"So, if even just one example of high-strangeness in all these cases is valid, using your criteria for what passes as a creature of cryptozooloogy, would we not have to remove all the above 'things' from cryptozoological study and hand the data over to paranormal researchers?

"Or, perhaps, we should modify what cryptozoology is and represents."