Psychic Detectives

Jenny Randles and Peter Hough have been professional authors for many years. They have written 15 books as co-authors and more than 50 books between them individually, ranging across many aspects of strange phenomena. Their work has been serialised in many British national newspapers and other leading newspapers across the world. Jenny has also made a number of documentaries for the BBC - including a six part radio series (Fact or Fiction?) and a record-setting BBC2 documentary probing government archives on the paranormal.

• Introduction1: The First Psychic Detectives A look at how Roman and Greek oracles used altered states of consciousness and 'communed with spirits' in order to influence affairs of politics, war and crime. Medieval psychics who had visions of other people and future events were branded as witches and warlocks as a consequence. Investigates real cases from Victorian times of strange crimes with a supernatural bent that brought out the first psychic assistance and inspired fictional detectives such as Sherlock Holmes.2: Tools of the Trade The techniques used by psychic detectives: Dreams can provide evidence that can assist the police in their enquiries, as well as the problems of analysis and interpretation. Psychometry is the practice of seeing visions by holding an object - such as an item of clothing belonging to a missing or murdered person - and using these visions to direct a search. Psychics may call on map dowsing, using tools such as pendulums and a map in order to define the location to hunt for clues. Clairvoyance, in which the spirits of the dead contact psychics to aid in their quest to solve a case - including victims assisting in bringing their own killers to justice.3: Supernatural Crime-Busting How psychics aid police in the tracking of killers. Case studies include the use of psychics to try to locate the still missing bodies left by the Moors Murderers, and the psychics who attempted to prevent the assassination of Senator Robert Kennedy.4: Profile of a Psychic Sleuth This chapter tells the story of Renie Wiley, a psychic detective, from how she discovered her abilities, through the way she works and onto some of her major cases.5: The Police View The various motives that police have for using psychics during their investigations and the techniques selected to best utilise the evidence provided. A case history sets out how one police detective in Oregon has honed his own ESP after working with psychics but presents his evidence as 'hunches'.6: In the Courtroom A series of case histories will punctuate this section, reporting on the problems of getting a conviction in a case where psychic methods lead to an arrest.7: The Danger of Being Right The risks to psychics when they assist the police in their investigations are addressed through a series of case histories and box features including interviews with police and psychics.Bibliography Index