The Paranormal and Popular Culture

‘Few who have studied popular culture would question that it is haunted by a fascination with the paranormal. Furthermore, that this haunting has an impact on the everyday lives of many of our contemporaries is beyond question. This is why this book matters. Understanding the occultural context in which we live our lives is enormously important for those seeking an accurate grasp of late-modernity. The thoughtful and engaging studies in this timely volume, not only make it difficult to put down, but also increase our knowledge of the nature of occulture and open up new areas of inquiry. It deserves to be widely read.’ – Christopher Partridge, Lancaster University, UK

‘I am often asked by people, usually those with slightly raised eyebrows, why I am so interested in things paranormal. I answer: "Why, of course, because these things mess every other thing up." I am hardly just joking. This collection of essays on the postmodern paranormal demonstrates in playful detail, historical nuance, and just plain weirdness how these things do this messing up and why it is so historically important, so spiritually contemporary, and so intellectually liberating. For some, at least. For others, it is all a closed book, or a non-existent book. That uncertainty, that freeing nonsense, that hesitation, it turns out, is at the very heart of the postmodern paranormal and this book, which really does exist.’ – Jeffrey J. Kripal, Rice University, TX, USA

‘In our postmodern age, traditional religions appear to be losing status globally, while its ideals and beliefs are increasingly appropriated by occulture, the folk and popular culture devoted to the paranormal. Caterine and Morehead have enlisted a team of both skeptics and sympathetic observers to explore the complexity of this modern scene. It takes readers on fascinating journey through the wide realm of high weirdness, ranging from Brazilian UFO lore to the quests of amateur ghost hunters, discussing supernatural tales by classic authors and by the directors of exploitation films, finding deep religious meaning in the lore of zombies and of Bigfoot. This volume is an alluring incentive to further study of this rich and constantly growing phenomenon.’ – Bill Ellis, Professor Emeritus, Penn State University, USA