| Better Reading Makes Better Investigations... A Look Back at the Works of D. Scott Rogo Probably the most important part of my work with the Association for the Study of Unexplained Phenomenon today is reinforcing what had already been accomplished in our field to date, less we be condemned to reinvent the wheel with every new generation. I come to this point in my career and this one goal after realizing that much of what has been learned has also been forgotten. I can go out to lecture a college level class in the paranormal and still get the same questions, but more important I find that even when in the company of fellow researchers, many of the questions being debated have already been answered. That is not to say they have all been answered fully or even correctly, but to be sure we are not collectively spinning our wheels, someone has to remind the community of past accomplishments. The list of people who have made a positive contribution to this field are numerous, but one name comes to mind that I hear little mentioned, today. That of D. Scott Rogo, who unfortunately died at the hands of a felon in 1990 at the age of 40! While I can’t say that I knew him well, I did meet Scott several times and was always impressed, that is not to say that we always agreed, we didn’t, but he had a mind that you had to admire and accomplished the creation of a body of work that would be noteworthy for a man who lived twice as long, at my count 27 books and countless articles and papers. Scott was best known as a writer and journalist of the paranormal, but in reality he was far more than that. Unlike many authors, Scott was an active scientific investigator. He served as a visiting researcher at both the Psychical Research Foundation (then in Durham, North Carolina) and the (former) Division of Parapsychology and Psychophysics of Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York. He published three papers reporting experimental research and conducted a study on personality factors of successful subjects in ganzfeld. Much closer to my own interests, Scott was an active field investigator of hauntings and poltergeists.Not only did he produce many books and popular articles, but in addition he published full papers in all of the professional parapsychology journals. He was certainly unique in my generation, he was a leading authority on the history of psychical research. In this I would estimate that there are only three or four people in the world who might be considered to be in his league. The breadth of his historical knowledge of the field was exceptional. Scott’s interests included parapsychology, Fortean phenomenon and popular occultism. He knew this wide range of literature of the paranormal probably better than anyone else, which led to his own research and publishing success. His articles covered near death experiences, autism and ESP, multiple personality research, critiques of James Randi’s debunking, and the miracles of saints. Much of Scott’s writing was related to issues of survival of bodily death. He took the affirmative position on the question, but he did not disregard the evidence challenging his view. His The Search for Yesterday is probably the single best book critiquing the research on reincarnation. Although anthropology was not his main interest, his writings were sometimes enriched by examples from anthropological sources and discussions of psi in non-western cultures; for instance, his book The Poltergeist Experience, he included coverage of a stone-throwing case in Sumatra and a fire-igniting poltergeist in India. His Exploring Psychic Phenomena briefly discussed Amazon natives’ use of psychoactive drugs to elicit ESP. Scott wrote at least two articles on anthropology for parapsychologists and in turn he also presented our ideas to them. Again, I do not always agree with some of Scott’s findings, but I do acknowledge his body of work and dedication to our field of study. We do not have to agree to succeed. One of Rogo’s best characteristics was the ability to discuss and debate, while honoring the other person’s perceptions, a quality that is needed more in many arenas today! I would like to suggest the following books by Rogo for any researcher of the unexplained; they will certainly serve as a great benchmark for their own ideas. An Experience of Phantoms. New York: Taplinger Publishing Company. 1974. Parapsychology: A Century of Inquiry. New York: Taplinger Publishing Company. 1975. Exploring Psychic Phenomena: Beyond Mind and Matter. Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House. 1976. In Search of the Unknown: The Odyssey of a Psychical Investigator. New York: Taplinger Publishing Company. 1976. The Haunted Universe: A Psychic Look at Miracles, UFOs and Mysteries of Nature. New York: New American Library. 1977. The Haunted House Handbook. New York: Tempo Books/Grosset & Dunlap. 1978. The Search for Yesterday: A Critical Examination of the Evidence for Reincarnation. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. 1985. Life After Death: The Case for Survival of Bodily Death. Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, England: Aquarian Press. 1986. On the Track of the Poltergeist. Englewood Cliffs. NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc. 1986. The Infinite Boundary: A Psychic Look at Spirit Possession, Madness, and Multiple Personality. New York: Dodd, Mead & Company. 1987. Beyond Reality: The Role Unseen Dimensions Play in Our Lives. Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, England: The Aquarian Press. 1990. Phone Calls From the Dead. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. 1979. co-authored with Raymond Bayless Earths Secret Inhabitants. New York: Tempo Books/Grosset & Dunlap. 1979. Co-authored with Jerry Clark The Tujunga Canyon Contacts. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. 1980. Co-authored with Anne Druffel |
