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direct experiences and, especially, because he quotes at length from now obscure and forgotten newspaper records, the book is invaluable. It is a book full of opinions, gossip, and anecdotes, and it needs to be read that way — not as a work of objective scholarship. Aside from its wealth of detail, the book is also an important document showing the outlook of a strong skeptic.
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attended. Davis, Kellogg, Rinn and John W. Sargent, a past-president of the
Society of American Magicians were present in the last séance sittings in April. They discovered that Palladino had freed her left foot to perform the phenomena. Rinn gave a full account of fraudulent behavior observed in a
235:
A flawed but nonetheless very important critical work by a man prominent in conjuring circles (Rinn was a successful businessman and part-time magician and exposer/ investigator of spirit mediums) who has given us material in this that today appears nowhere else. Because Rinn deals with his own
167:
as he believed they had failed to expose cases of psychic fraud so in 1905 he formed a skeptical group known as the
Metropolitan Psychical Society. Notable skeptical members who were also magicians included Winfield S. Davis and James L. Kellogg.
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that could sing in different languages and play the piano. According to Rinn an autopsy of the bird revealed an extraordinarily large brain and this was responsible for the bird's great abilities.
130:, up to $ 10,000 to anyone who could demonstrate a psychic event; however, as nobody ever did, the money went unclaimed. He was friends with another debunker of spiritualism the magician
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Skeptic Melvin Harris wrote that the book has "many faults and inaccuracies, but for all that, it offers many hints to investigators and points researchers in many fruitful directions."
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has described the book as the "deepest and most important sources of skeptical literature on paranormal investigation from about 1890–1950."
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has noted that Rinn had provided "good description of one of Reese's billet-reading performances, with an explanation of how he did it."
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Investigating the
Unexplained: Psychic Detectives, the Amityville Horror-mongers, Jack the Ripper, and Other Mysteries of the Paranormal
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noted that the book did contain inaccuracies but is valuable for its reprinting of clippings dealing with Harry
Houdini.
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212:(1954) was described in a review as the "death knell of spiritualism" as it exposed the fraud and tricks involved in
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Is
Spiritualism based on Fraud?: The Evidence Given by Sir A.C. Doyle and Others Drastically Examined
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Rinn's work in debunking psychic phenomena has been praised by psychologists in the field of
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at the
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In
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One claim that Rinn investigated that turned out to be true was the Mynah bird of
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Sixty Years of
Psychical Research: Houdini and I Among the Spiritualists
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Sixty Years of
Psychical Research: Houdini and I Among the Spiritualists
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The Month. (1954). Volume 11. Simpkin, Marshall, and
Company. p. 189
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Final SĂ©ance: The Strange Friendship Between Houdini and Conan Doyle
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throughout his career. His sister, Bridgette, was a Catholic nun.
507:
Skeptical Literature on Parapsychology: An Annotated Bibliography
505:
Hövelmann. Gerd H; Truzzi, Marcello; Hoebens, Piet Hein. (1985).
266:(New York: Truth Seeker Company, 1950). Reprinted in England as
592:
580:. Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 36: 431-438.
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The Science of Deception: Psychology and Commerce in America
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Did Adam and Eve Have Navels?: Debunking Pseudoscience
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American magician and skeptic of paranormal phenomena
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584:Joseph Rinn Exposes the Tricks of Spirit Mediums
458:ESP and Parapsychology: A Critical Re-Evaluation
155:. In 1911, he denounced smallpox vaccination.
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480:. University of Chicago Press. pp. 96-98.
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386:Witchcraft: Its Power in the World Today
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165:American Society for Psychical Research
101:American Society for Psychical Research
99:He was a former one year member of the
515:A Skeptic's Handbook of Parapsychology
365:. W. W. Norton & Company. p. 217.
221:A Skeptic's Handbook of Parapsychology
1155:International Spiritualist Federation
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1472:American anti-vaccination activists
1110:List of Spiritualist organizations
444:. Truth Seeker Company. pp. 171-172
223:(1985), authors Gerd H. Hövelmann,
163:Rinn became disillusioned with the
533:Gresham, William Gresham. (1959).
25:
577:Sixty Years of Psychical Research
517:. Prometheus Books. pp. 449-490.
270:(London: Rider and Company, 1954)
268:Searchlight on Psychical Research
210:Searchlight on Psychical Research
197:Sixty Years of Psychical Research
126:Rinn would offer huge amounts of
352:. London: Watts & Co. p. 128
107:matters. He was a member of the
1502:Entertainers from New York City
460:. Prometheus Books. pp. 58-64.
422:The Psychology of Transcendence
574:William Henry Salter. (1952).
404:. C. Scribner's Sons. p. 126.
159:Metropolitan Psychical Society
18:Metropolitan Psychical Society
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109:Society of American Magicians
103:and a lifelong inquirer into
1125:London Spiritualist Alliance
329:. Prometheus Books. p. 111.
64:(1868–1952) was an American
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195:Joseph Rinn from his book
1492:Critics of parapsychology
1145:Spiritual church movement
476:Pettit, Michael. (2013).
424:. Prentice-Hall. p. 211.
388:. Harcourt, Brace. p. 373
361:Gardner, Martin. (2001).
300:"The Remarkable Mr. Rinn"
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546:Harris, Melvin. (2003).
1497:Critics of Spiritualism
1411:C. E. Bechhofer Roberts
1276:Carlos MarĂa de Heredia
420:Neher, Andrew. (1980).
402:Beware Familiar Spirits
242:William Lindsay Gresham
231:described the book as:
55:, spiritualist debunker
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1150:Arthur Findlay College
989:William Stainton Moses
954:Gladys Osborne Leonard
440:Rinn, Joseph. (1950).
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139:anomalistic psychology
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979:William Usborne Moore
648:Cross-Correspondences
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188:séance of Palladino.
185:Edmund Beecher Wilson
179:. Scientists such as
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1216:Edmund Smith Conklin
298:(January 30, 2013).
250:Commenting in 2013,
146:Emma Cecilia Thursby
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631:History and beliefs
173:Columbia University
153:anti-vaccinationist
62:Joseph Francis Rinn
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1266:William A. Hammond
1069:Stanisława Tomczyk
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1201:William Carpenter
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643:Automatic writing
382:Seabrook, William
323:Polidoro, Massimo
229:Piet Hein Hoebens
177:Eusapia Palladino
119:. Science writer
88:as a teenager in
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814:Frank Decker
809:Pearl Curran
794:Mina Crandon
779:Eva Carrière
754:Ada Besinnet
729:Derek Acorah
703:Spirit world
620:Spiritualism
576:
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307:. Retrieved
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258:Publications
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234:
220:
219:In the book
218:
216:activities.
214:spiritualist
209:
208:Rinn's book
207:
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170:
162:
151:Rinn was an
150:
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1467:1962 deaths
1462:1868 births
1396:James Randi
1386:Harry Price
1361:Joe Nickell
1346:Albert Moll
1311:David Marks
1241:Henry Evans
1089:Etta Wriedt
1084:Jack Webber
1049:Henry Slade
1034:William Roy
899:Alec Harris
894:Robert Hare
864:Arthur Ford
854:Fox sisters
849:Colin Evans
839:John Edward
739:Dan Aykroyd
240:Biographer
72:phenomena.
34:Joseph Rinn
1456:Categories
1426:Amy Tanner
1281:Carl Hertz
1019:Bert Reese
934:Cecil Husk
884:Rita Goold
668:Mediumship
554:. p. 221.
511:Paul Kurtz
456:. (1980).
400:. (1938).
384:. (1940).
348:. (1920).
325:. (2001).
309:2016-01-16
275:References
117:Bert Reese
70:paranormal
1074:Ena Twigg
889:Jan Guzyk
869:Colin Fry
653:Ectoplasm
624:spiritism
204:Reception
1164:Skeptics
66:magician
53:Magician
105:psychic
94:mediums
90:running
713:Theism
673:SĂ©ance
638:Apport
558:
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76:Career
509:. In
128:money
622:and
556:ISBN
519:ISBN
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367:ISBN
331:ISBN
227:and
183:and
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612:e
605:t
598:v
312:.
199:.
20:)
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