Joe Nickell
Joe Nickell, Ph.D., is Senior Research Fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI) and "Investigative Files" Columnist for Skeptical Inquirer. A former stage magician, private investigator, and teacher, he is author of numerous books, including Inquest on the Shroud of Turin (1998), Pen, Ink and Evidence (2003), Unsolved History (2005) and Adventures in Paranormal Investigation (2007). He has appeared in many television documentaries and has been profiled in The New Yorker and on NBC's Today Show. His personal website is at joenickell.com.
Helix to Heaven
Skeptical Inquirer Volume 22.6, November / December 1998
Investigative Files
The Staircase Stands but the Myth Falls
Investigating Spirit Communications
Skeptical Briefs Volume 8.3, September 1998
Investigative Files
Thanks to modern mass media, old-fashioned spiritualism is undergoing something of a revival.
Talking to Heaven — Who’s Answering?
Skeptical Inquirer Volume 22.4, July / August 1998
Book Review
Review of James Van Praagh's Talking to Heaven
Italy’s Graveyard “Ghost” Photo
Skeptical Briefs Volume 8.2, June 1998
Investigative Files
On January 24, 1998, CSICOP received an e-mail letter and scanned photograph from Dave Esch...
Fiery Tales That Spontaneously Destruct
Skeptical Inquirer Volume 22.2, March / April 1998
Investigative Files
Spontaneous human combustion cases continue to spark controversy, largely due to the efforts of nonscientist journalists.
A Case of ‘SHC’ Demystified
Skeptical Inquirer Volume 22.2, March / April 1998
Investigative Files
Sidebar to this month's article on spontaneous human combustion
A Case of Reincarnation — Reexamined
Skeptical Briefs Volume 8.1, March 1998
Investigative Files
Perhaps not since an American housewife supposedly discovered she was the reincarnation of an Irishwoman...
The Roswell Legacy
Skeptical Briefs Volume 7.2, June 1997
Investigative Files
Fifty years ago this summer, the modern UFO craze began...
Spontaneous Human Nonsense
Skeptical Briefs Volume 6.4, December 1996
Investigative Files
Follow up to the earlier article in Skeptical Inquirer
Not-So-Spontaneous Human Combustion
Skeptical Inquirer Volume 20.6, November / December 1996
Investigative Files
Like Count Dracula, the mythical specter of "spontaneous human combustion" (SHC) refuses to die.
Nessie Hoax Redux II
Skeptical Briefs Volume 6.3, September 1996
Investigative Files
A reader's response
Ghostly Photos
Skeptical Inquirer Volume 20.4, July / August 1996
Investigative Files
A rash of new “ghost” photographs is plaguing the Western world.
Levengood’s Crop-Circle Plant Research
Skeptical Briefs Volume 6.2, June 1996
Investigative Files
The question of bias is important since Levengood's attitudes and assumptions reveal him as a partisan crop-circle "believer."
A Study of Fantasy Proneness in the Thirteen Cases of Alleged Encounters in John Mack’s Abduction
Skeptical Inquirer Volume 20.3, May / June 1996
Investigative Files
Since Robert A. Baker's article appeared in the Skeptical Inquirer, a controversy has raged over his suggestion...
Nessie Hoax Redux
Skeptical Briefs Volume 6.1, March 1996
Investigative Files
In 1934, a photo of "Nessie," the fabled Loch Ness Monster, was allegedly snapped by a London gynecologist named Robert Wilson.
Miracle Photographs
Skeptical Inquirer Volume 20.2, March / April 1996
Investigative Files
October 27, 1995, the television program "Unsolved Mysteries" aired a segment that included investigative work by CSICOP.
The Skeptic-raping Demon of Zanzibar
Skeptical Briefs Volume 5.4, December 1995
Investigative Files
The scene is modern-day Zanzibar where a terrible monster is swooping into bedrooms at night and raping men.
CSICOP Assists in Philadelphia TV Station’s Psychic “Sting”
Skeptical Inquirer Volume 19.6, November / December 1995
News & Comment
A cleverly conceived and strikingly effective psychic expose was conducted in May 1995 by Philadelphia WCAU-TV's Herb Denenberg.
“Alien Autopsy” Hoax
Skeptical Inquirer Volume 19.6, November / December 1995
Investigative Files
It keeps going and going and...
The Haunted Tape Recorder
Skeptical Briefs Volume 5.3, September 1995
Investigative Files
As most people who own them know, tape recorders sometimes malfunction...
The Nazca Drawings Revisited: Creation of a Full-Sized Duplicate
Skeptical Inquirer Volume 7.3, Spring 1983
Feature
Re-creation of a 440-foot Nazca figure on a Kentucky field shows how the Peruvian drawings were most likely made.