Students study the supernatural in Buffalo

Let's shuffle over to The Buffalo News for the story:

We're in good hands. In my annual April Fool visit to the realm of pseudoscience, I visited Center for Inquiry Research Fellow Chris Whittle's University at Buffalo honors class studying the so-called supernatural.

His 21 students are investigating reports of everything from coffee shop ghosts in Clarence (Alyssa Brown) to the monster South Bay Bessie in Lake Erie (Ryan McNerney); from the physics of quack medical devices (Chris Wirz) to voices heard over white noise (Heather Camp); from the reported odd behavior of the Buffalo Museum of Science's mummies (Hajan Thomas, Luke Mohr, Jon Morabito, Peter Ruocco and Laura Karnath) to the contemporary local occurrence of panthers (Sarah Finch); from abominable snowmen in Washington State (William King and Chris LaFleur) to giant frogs in Buffalo's old Central Terminal basement (Ian Phillips).

"It's all nonsense" may be your first reaction - as was my own - but these bright and energetic young men and women have been asked to take their responsibilities seriously and to examine their assigned aspect of what some - but unfortunately not most - of us think of as weirdness with objectivity.

I think these students are doing a remarkable job.

The most serious problem in carrying out their research, they told me, is bringing objectivity to their task. When you're a member of a university community, the identified home of science and rationality, that's not so easy to do. When you're taught by a Center for Inquiry representative, you know which way the class is slanted.

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One is Nathan Brandwein's study of so-called "real vampires" - yes, vampires. These are not people restricted to Transylvania: a quick Web check locates at least 45 here in Buffalo. There are several roles: sanguinarians who drink human blood and psi-vampires who instead get their boost through psychic energy. At least they're not modern-day Draculas: they have volunteer donors. One vampire Web site even welcomes the following: "Vampires, Wiccans, WereCreatures, Goths, Pagans, Dragons, the Fae (all types, Fairies, Sidhe, Elves, etc.), Donors and Supporters."

Click on the link for the entire story. It's a good read.