SI DIGEST 10-20-98

SkeptInq@aol.com
Tue, 20 Oct 1998 10:54:01 EDT 

 SKEPTICAL INQUIRER ELECTRONIC DIGEST
 OCTOBER 20, 1998

 SI Electronic Digest is the biweekly e-mail news update of the Committee for
the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP.) Visit
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 The Digest is written and edited by Matthew Nisbet and Barry Karr. SI Digest
has over 2500 readers worldwide, and is distributed via e-mail from the Center
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 Send comments, media inquiries and news to:
 SINISBET@aol.com (716-636-1425 x219)

 CSICOP publishes the bimonthly SKEPTICAL INQUIRER, The Magazine for Science
and Reason.  The Sept/Oct 1998 issue features a special section titled "What
are the Chances?" and includes articles on coincidence, numerology and
calculated risks.

 To subscribe at the $17.95 introductory Internet price, go to:
 <A HREF="http://www.csicop.org/si/subscribe/">
http://www.csicop.org/si/subscribe/</A>

 Or call 1800-634-1610 (1-716-646-1425 outside the US).

 This week's SI DIGEST includes:

 --Examining the Ubiquitous "Clinton Body Count" E-Mail
 --ABC NEWS "Power of Belief" Special Keeps CSICOP Phones Ringing
 --The Sagan Society at the University of Georgia
 --Researchers Survey the Scariest Movies Ever Seen
 --Sorcery Killings in Indonesia
 --Violent Witch Hunts in South Africa

 EXAMINING THE UBIQUITOUS "CLINTON BODY COUNT" E-MAIL

 Many users of e-mail have been forwarded a highly-circulated message that
claims that Bill Clinton has been quietly doing away with those who oppose
him. According to a website devoted to tracking the origins of urban and
cyber-myths, a lengthy list of deaths associated with Bill Clinton began
circulating on the internet in August 1998.  The message lists close to fifty
suspicious deaths of colleagues, advisors and citizens who were about to
testify against the Clinton's, with the unstated implication that Bill Clinton
or his henchmen were behind each untimely demise.

 Barbara and David Mikkelson of the Urban Legends Reference Pages examine a
new version of the "Clinton Body Count" message line by line comparing the
claims in each death with factual data.  They trace the message back to a 1994
letter to Congressional leaders from Representative William Dannemeyer that
listed 24 people with some connection to Clinton who had died "under other
than natural circumstances."  At the time, Dannemeyer called for Congressional
hearings on the matter.

 According to the Mikkelsons, the Representative's list of "suspicious deaths"
was largely taken from a list compiled by Linda Thompson, an Indianapolis
lawyer who in 1993 quit her one-year-old general practice to run her American
Justice Federation, a for-profit group that promotes pro-gun causes and
various conspiracy theories through a shortwave radio program, a computer
bulletin board and sales of its newsletter and videos.

 For the Mikkelson's examination, go to:
<A HREF="http://www.snopes.com/spoons/faxlore/clinton.htm">
http://www.snopes.com/spoons/faxlore/clinton.htm</A>

 "POWER OF BELIEF" SPECIAL KEEPS CSICOP PHONES RINGING

 The ABC NEWS John Stossel special that aired on October 6 has sparked major
interest in skepticism.  Hits to the CSICOP webpage jumped dramatically the
next day with subscriptions from the site pouring in.  CSICOP office staff
were also kept busy answering phone inquiries about subscriptions.

 Those interested can view a transcript of the ABC program and find out order
information by going to:
<A HREF="http://www.abcnews.com/onair/abcnewsspecials/transcripts/specials_bel
ief981006pt1_trans.html">http://www.abcnews.com/onair/abcnewsspecials/transcri
pts/specials_belief</A>

 People can submit reviews of the show and read already posted summaries by
going to the newly launched Council for Media Integrity webpage at:
<A HREF="http://www.csicop.org/cmi/reviews/submit.html">http://www.csicop.org/
cmi/reviews</A>

 THE SAGAN SOCIETY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA

 Students and members of university communities interested in campus
skepticism should check out the outstanding website of the Sagan Society at
the University of Georgia and their web publication Doubting Thomas.  Go to:

 <A HREF="http://www.uga.edu/dogsbody/">http://www.uga.edu/dogsbody/</A>

 and

 <A HREF="http://members.aol.com/doubttommy/dt3.html">
http://members.aol.com/doubttommy/dt3.html</A>


 RESEARCHERS SURVEY THE SCARIEST MOVIES OF ALL-TIME

 Glenn Sparks, professor of communications at Purdue University, and leading
researcher into the effects of media presentations of the paranormal on public
belief, recently released the results of a survey on what people regard as the
scariest movies they have ever seen.

 Sparks will be presenting at the Nov. 14 CSICOP conference in Los Angeles
titled "That's Entertainment: Hollywood, the Supernatural and the Media."
Contact Matt Nisbet at 1800-634-1610 to register.

 The following is from a Purdue University press release:

 October 16, 1998
 Seven Deadly Films: Purdue Survey Reveals Scariest Flicks

 West Lafayette, Indiana -- If you want to scare yourself silly this
Halloween, a Purdue University researcher has seven sure-suggestions on how to
do it.

 Glenn Sparks, professor of communications, teamed up with national celebrity
and cultural analyst Dr. Will Miller to find out what people regard as the
scariest movies they've ever seen.  The topic was part of a larger research
project to understand how media messages affect people.

 In a random sample telephone survey of 200 respondents in a small Midwestern
city, the duo found 44 movies that people deemed particularly scary.  The
survey, taken last December, found that seven movies accounted for 58% of all
nominations.  In order of most frequent mentions, Sparks says "The Seven
Deadly Films" are:

 --Scream
 --Friday the 13th
 --The Shining
 --Halloween
 --Nightmare on Elm Street
 --The Exorcist
 --Poltergeist

 Of particular interest to the researchers is the fact most of these films
feature strong depictions of paranormal or supernatural content.  Sparks' most
recent research focuses on beliefs in the paranormal based on media exposure.
Miller, a psychotherapist, formerly hosted a TV talk show on NBC called "The
Other Side," which explored people's perceptions of the paranormal.

 Sparks suggests that fear of the unknown makes these films the eeriest.  "The
world of the paranormal represents a hazy category between pure fantasy and
reality," he says.  "The uncertainty viewers might have about the possibility
of such dark and powerful forces may be one of the main reasons that these
films evoke such terror."

 Sparks, who has spent many years studying the effects of frightening films on
children, suggests that parents not make watching these movies a family event.

 Research shows that children ages 9 to 11 are the most susceptible to having
a regretful frightening experience with some mass media offering.  "At this
age range, kids recognize that some things depicted could happen in the real
world.  But they don't have a good grasp of how likely certain things are to
actually happen to them," Sparks says.

 "At the same time, they don't have much practice coping with the harsh images
that the media serve up.  It is not uncommon for kids to develop specific
fears about their own environment based on nothing more than movie image."

 For parents who want to learn more on this topic, Sparks and Miller recommend
the recently released book "Mommy, I'm Scared," (Harcourt Brace & Co.) by
Joanne Cantor.  Sparks says the book is written for parents who are trying to
manage mass-media effects on children and avoid negative consequences.

 SORCERY KILLINGS IN INDONESIA

 The Associated Press reported on Oct. 16 that 153 people accused of sorcery
have been mysteriously murdered in Indonesia.  In scenes reminiscent of the
Salem witch hunts, mobs have attacked and killed people they accuse of black
magic.  Some victims have been Muslim clerics while others were farmers or
ordinary villagers.  Police speculate the slayings might be revenge for the
slaughter of tens of thousands of communists in the mid-1960s when President
Suharto took power.  Some historians accuse the Muslim clerics of assisting in
the carnage.  Others believe the killings may be part of a bloody play before
general elections next year.  While a third possibility is that Muslim groups
that want to stamp out mysticism are behind the slayings.

 With a population of 202 million, Indonesia is the world's largest Islamic
country.

 VIOLENT WITCH HUNTS IN SOUTH AFRICA

 Since 1990, more than 2,000 cases of witchcraft-related violence, including
577 killings, have been recorded in Tshilamba, South Africa, located in the
remote, northern corner of the country.

 The Baltimore Sun reports that a five-day conference of government and social
agencies held last week in Thohoyandou, capital of Northern Province, called
for a national educational campaign to counter popular superstition.  The
conference rejected outlawing witchcraft, which has millions of followers in
South Africa.  It favored tolerating the superstition, but not allowing it to
impinge on the basic rights of others.

 Instead, the conference urged registration of traditional healers, who are
often involved in starting witch hunts by identifying alleged witches. The
proposal would subject them to a code of conduct.

 The ancient superstition and mystery that surround witchcraft are deeply
entrenched in South Africa's Northern Province.  There, among the poorly
educated rural residents, traditional healers and clairvoyants claiming
supernatural powers hold broad sway.  And hunger, poverty and unemployment can
create jealousies that can quickly turn to anger and vengeance.

 "People believe that a person can, through some sort of remote control,
influence a driver of a vehicle to fall asleep and be involved in an accident,
a pregnant mother in hospital to have a miscarriage, or a person anywhere to
be unfortunate in some way or other," said a 1996 report by the Crime
Information Management Center on witchcraft in Northern Province.

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