NIPS meet Hidden Dublin

The NIPS team met with the guys from Hidden Dublin Walking Tours today following an invite from Aidan of Hidden Dublin. The team joined the 'Haunted Dublin' Tour around some of the city's alledgedly most haunted locations. We were then able to provide feedback on the tour, based on our experience of paranormal investigation & research.

This is the start of an ongoing relationship with Hidden Dublin and it is our intention to invite the guys on an investigation in the North in the near future.

A change of direction for NIPS....

After much discussion, we have taken the recent decision to step back from private home investigations as we feel we can be of limited assistance in resolving these cases. Occasionally with pyschological issues contributing, we feel a moral and professional responsibility to ensure these cases are dealt with by the correct people. We will be spending much more time on research, experimentation and investigating claims of paranormal ability.

If you feel you have any kind of ability we would be delighted to speak to you. A few examples of areas we are particularly interested in are Psychokinesis, Psychometry, Telepathy, Bilocation, Clairvoyance, Extra Sensory Perception, Precognition, Pyrokinesis, Astral Projection, Out of body experience (OBE), Healing, Levitation, Dowsing etc. etc.
Please feel free to contact us

Equally however, if you are experiencing unsettling events at home and have exhausted all other possibilities, we would invite you to contact the team for advice.

Proving The Existence of Parallel Universes?

Take a look at the following article on the BBC H2G2 site, which discusses some fascinating new research in the area of energy, sub-atomic particles and the idea of parallel universes.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A2966880

Great example of Pareidolia

This photo taken from paranormal.about.com is probably the single best example of Pareidolia in existence today. The image taken in the early 1900s immediately draws the viewers eye to the image of a bearded mans face, resembling that of Jesus. It is only upon studying the photo in more detail, we realise that in fact we have merely been fooled into seeing the oversized face, as a result of the brains ability to pick out faces from other images, such as clouds, foliage, etc.

This is a process known as Pareidolia. The fact that we initially see a giant face in the photo, even though it doesn’t fit the rest of the image, is probably not a coincidence. We have more neurons dedicated to promptly identifying faces than the ones that recognise Victorian kids sitting on their dad’s lap. That’s why pareidolia happens so often with faces. You don’t usually see Victorian kids in the clouds.

Mediumship - The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008

Britain's 1951 Fraudulent Mediums Act was repealed and replaced by the EU Unfair Commercial Practices Directive, which came into force on May 26, last year.

Under the old legislation, the prosecution had to prove that a medium or spiritual healer had intended to be fraudulent in order to secure a conviction. However, under the new European consumer protection directive, it is the psychic's responsibility to prove they did not mislead or coerce credulous consumers.

The legislation affects all businesses which conduct any form of sales and marketing. For example, unfair practices which involve fraudulent activity, aggressive or threatening behaviour or danger to the physical safety of consumers, should be capable of being tackled using criminal powers.

"The problem is that it's turning spiritualism, the religion, into a consumer product, which it is not," said Carole McEntee-Taylor, the founder of the Spiritual Workers' Association.

She went on: "The Fraudulent Mediums Act protected the medium because it meant the person receiving the information was taking personal responsibility."

However, the unbelievers at the British Humanist Association are welcoming the change.

"We hope that the new regulations will make real changes to the current situation, where psychic practitioners are permitted to make completely unsubstantiated claims and to take payment for their services, without fear of legal action," said its chief executive, Hanne Stinson.

Susie Collings, of the College of Psychic Studies, hoped the new rules will discourage "less than ethical" mediums and make it easier for the public to understand what to expect from a reading.

However, she predicted: "There is always the possibility that mediums will be targeted by people intent on making money by suing what they see as easy targets and that is a big concern for the individual."

Fortune tellers, mediums, tarot readers and astrologers are among those who now face new rules on the way they do business. The new Consumer Protection Regulations which came into effect at the end of May 2008 have shaken up an area of the law untouched for 40 years and will mean a fairer deal for customers as loopholes are closed and 31 types of sales practices are banned.

Those offering to read palms and tea leaves plus faith healers, mediums and anyone offering other 'mystic' services will have to advise customers that their services are for 'entertainment purposes only' and are 'not scientifically proven'.

For the past half-century, 'genuine' mediums have been protected by the 1951 Fraudulent Mediums Act (which, spookily, replaced the 1735 Witchcraft Act.). In relevant cases, the onus will now be on mediums to prove they did not mislead, coerce or take advantage of any 'vulnerable' consumers.

Details of The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 can be found here or here

Excerpts taken from Telegraph.co.uk and Consumer Champion articles)

NIPS welcome new member Cormac Donnelly

NIPS are delighted to announce that we have a new investigator in training, with skills and experience the team have been seeking for some time. He has the necessary skills and accumen in the field of psychology, which the group requires in order to offer a completely balanced and professional approach to investigation and research. Cormac will also be helping us to devise some new experiments and tests, particularily in the area of mediumship and the study of ESP.

NI's Greatest Haunts Series

Well, the final episode of 'Northern Ireland's Greatest Haunts' first series went out on Weds 25th February. The show has been a fantastic success and NIPS would like to thank all those who watched the show and for the kind comments which have been flooding in by email and on the blog. Watch this section for more Greatest Haunts news in the near future...