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Holzer, Hans. “The Supernatural. Explaining the Unexplained." New Page Books / Career Books, Franklin Lakes, NJ, USA, 2003. Pbk. 217pp. Index. ISBN 1-56414-661-8 rrp: $14.99.

This book attempts to explain a variety of phenomena including ghosts, out-of-the-body experiences, psychic healing, prophesies, channelling, dreams, the psychic nature of animals etc etc. I am sure many people will have already read one of Hans Holzer’s previous 135 books on the supernatural / UFOs and similar subjects. One was quite enough for me and I doubt if there will be queues in the bookstores of the world of people waiting to get their hands on this one.

However, should you be tempted by the title, I should explain why I wouldn’t advise purchasing this book. Quite simply it claims to explain “unexplained” phenomena in scientific terms. It doesn’t. Instead Holzer bases all his explanations (apart from the numerous cases of fraud etc) on a form of “science” that isn’t (to put it charitably) mainstream. And this basis is presented to readers, not for them to “believe”, but to simply accept as true. No referenced scientific evidence is provided, neither is there an attempt to provide a logical reason to accept what Holzer is writing. Indeed, apart from the large number of books on Nostradamus, there are pitifully few books in the “Further Reading” and quite a few are written be “Dr” Holzer himself.

One would need to quote whole chunks of the book to prove this case and I’ve no wish to burden the reader with that so here’s a few examples:

“… As parapsychology made progress, we have been able to give hard evidence of that inner body, the etheric, seat of human personality, which leaves the physical outer shell at death, and proceeds to a parallel world where it continues to function fully…“(p.14); the personality is “a kind of electromagnetic field with specific impulses...” “God” simply is … We know for a fact now that spiritual dimension exists, based not on faith or religious conviction, but available evidence.” (p.19). “When a person dies, he or she is immediately received into the Other Side, usually by a reception committee of loved ones or friends, who will convey the individual to a first stop … “ (p.113). “Many people have reported a strong sensation of falling from great heights and/or a sense of dizziness just before awakening. This is due to the sudden and rather sharp stepping down, or slowing down, of one’s bodily vibrations from the thinner and much faster etheric plane to the denser, and therefore slower, physical one.” (p.84) and finally “The evidence is firm and multifaceted that people who pass from this physical life into the next stage of life, the etheric dimension, or if you like, the “spirit world”, are not sitting around twiddling their etheric thumbs for eternity either. As I understand it from countless investigations, everybody works.” (p.14)

Now I wouldn’t want people to think that this exercise is totally uncritical. Far from it. “Dr” Holzer (with his doctorate from the London College of Applied Science” (whatever that is)) takes hefty swipes at fraudulent channellers and psychics, especially those who charge for their services. (Although this is also used to advertise “Hans Holzer’s Psychic Yellow Pages”) And he has little time for vampires, werewolves and the like, interest in which is purely media driven. These creatures do not exist (on our physical plane anyway!) and so are of no interest to the parapsychologist. 

Equally I am sure that many readers will welcome the opportunity to read lots of “testimonies” from those who have experienced “out-of-the-body” episodes, or who claim to have had near death experiences or seen ghosts. However, no matter how many stories like that one piles up in a book, they do not constitute scientific evidence. Holzer himself acknowledges that these sort of phenomena are impossible to replicate in laboratory conditions but sidesteps the problem by using the usual cop-out about the science he uses being the science not of the present but the future. We shall see.

For now, any attempt to explain the “unexplained”, i.e. that which lies outside of mainstream science, can only do so “scientifically” by basing it in the accepted science of the day. If one wishes to involve concepts that lie outside of the mainstream, then you have to logically explain your concepts (including refuting any valid objections) and provide proper evidence and generally make it tell a better story. Holzer’s attempt to use the “etheric” as the basis for a scientific approach fails simply because it lies outside the mainstream, and cannot be falsified and any “evidence” for it can be accounted for in other and better ways. Which is not say that existing explanations for “unexplained” phenomena are correct, merely they seem to be better than any alternatives. Or put another way Holzer attempts to “explain” these mysteries by using an even bigger one.

I’d give this one a miss if I were you.

3/10

Richard Alexander