Volume 15 Number 4, Winter 2002

Features

The Psychological Reality of Haunts and Poltergeists Part II: An Advanced Model
Rense Lange and James Houran propose a more advanced model of the psychological processes underlying hauntings and poltergeists

Reconsecration: Towards a Secular Church
Matthew Coniam acknowledges the value of churches, but suggests that we dedicate them to science.

Myths to Die for
Hilary Evans describes new evidence that the atrocities committed by the German army during its invasion of Belgium in 1914 were even worse than we imagined…

Humour

Sprite, by Donald Rooum, the ongoing saga of an ethereal being who has the misfortune to fall for a confirmed skeptic.
Cartoons by Tim Pearce and The Parking Lot is Full
Pictures from Hilary Evans’ Paranormal Picture Gallery

Book reviews

How to Dunk a Doughnut: The Science of Everyday Life by Len Fisher
Out of the Shadows: UFOs, the Establishment and the Official Cover-up by David Clarke and Andy Roberts
Conned Again, Watson: Cautionary Tales of Logic, Maths and Probability by Colin Bruce
I Have Landed: Splashes and Reflections in Natural History by Stephen Jay Gould

News and comment

Editorial
Julia Nunn and Chris French

Skeptical Stats
A column based on the observation that sometimes statistics don’t lie - they’re just plain crazy...

Hits and Misses
How to talk to your cat
Method in the UFO madness
Future confused
Moisture-proof
Sporting wonders
Of rats and runners

Skeptic at large: Alternative, schmalternative
Wendy M Grossman

Philosopher’s Corner
Julian Baggini

Rhyme and Reason: Keep taking the tablets . . .
Steven Donnelly

From Michael Heap
Chairman of the Association for Skeptical Enquiry

Letters from our readers
Believing in spirit photos
Your magazine’s general lack of scepticism on mental illness topic
Your magazine’s general lack of scepticism on mental illness topics: a reply
Psychic Balls or Crystal Clairvoyants