![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/eng\/files\/2017\/09\/exhibit_cropped.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nThe most notable paranormal beliefs include those that pertain to ghosts, extraterrestrial life, unidentified flying objects, psychic abilities or\u00a0extrasensory perception, and\u00a0cryptids. Cryptid are any animal whose existence is not confirmed by science. The study of them is known as cryptozoology! Bigfoot, Loch Ness Monster, Chupacabra, dragons, unicorns, and werewolves are among the most popular cryptids.<\/p>\n Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia, PA is \u201cthe world\u2019s first true penitentiary, a prison designed to inspire penitence, or true regret, in the hearts of prisoners.\u201d1<\/sup><\/span>\u00a0In 1829, the prison received \u201cCharles Williams, Prisoner Number One. Burglar.\u201d2<\/sup> The prison\u2019s history is \u201cfull of suicide, madness, disease, murder, and torture\u201d which makes it one of the most haunted places in America.3\u00a0<\/sup>The prison is now open for tours and even has \u201cTerror Behind the Walls\u201d – a haunted house attraction.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Patent # 9,517,421 is a \u201cdevice for fanciful detection of ghosts\u201d which is \u201cA novelty toy, apparel, or jewelry, device for fanciful detection of ghosts, or other paranormal phenomena, through exploitation of Hall Effect, or of thermochromic material.\u201d4<\/sup>\u00a0That might be useful on the next trip to Eastern State Penitentiary when Ghost Hunting!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Believing in the paranormal goes back to Early Christianity. The Church sought \u201cto suppress belief in the old gods and goddesses\u201d so when misfortunes happened it became the work of the devil and demons. By the 15th<\/sup> Century, this belief extended to \u201cindividuals in [the community] who were collaborating with Satan to induce misfortune: \u201cwitches\u201d5<\/span>\u00a0<\/sup>When inexplicable events occurred, it became common to hunt \u201cwitches,\u201d which, between 1450-1750, lead to the deaths of 40,000 to 60,000 \u201cwitches,\u201d who were burned at the stake. 6<\/a><\/sup><\/span>\u00a0One popular image of a witch is cackling over a bubbling cauldron. If the Witch\u2019s Brew produces CO2<\/sub> that she wants to collect, the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers\u2019 2014 Handbook on Refrigeration <\/em>explains the typical way to collect CO2<\/sub>. 7<\/sup><\/span><\/p>\n Arguably the most famous cryptid is Bigfoot. One of the earliest discoveries of Bigfoot was in 1811 when David Thompson was crossing the Rocky Mountains in Alberta. In his journal he wrote:<\/p>\n I saw the track of a large Animal \u2013 has 4 large Toes abt 3 or 4 In long & a small nail at the end of each. The Bal of his foot sank abt 3 In deeper than his Toes \u2013 the hinder part of his foot did not mark well. The whole is about 14 In long by 8 In wide & very much resembles a large Bear\u2019s Track. It was in the Rivulet in about 6 In snow.8<\/sup><\/p><\/blockquote>\n The paranormal can be found all around – from ghosts of trapped souls in a prison to witches working with the devil to people finding cryptids in their backyards.<\/p>\n While you’re in the Library checking out the exhibit, be sure to stop by the Creative Space and see our Pepper’s Ghost! Get ready for Halloween – come explore the world of the paranormal with us!<\/p>\n Resources:<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Guest Blogger: James M. Cox Things that go bump in the night, things that cannot be explained, creatures that seem to only exist in popular culture, and other unusual occurrences are all examples of the paranormal. Paranormal\u00a0events are phenomena described in\u00a0popular culture, folklore, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts isContinue reading “New Exhibit Explores the Paranormal!”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":163,"featured_media":6555,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,14,1],"tags":[],"syndication":[35],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6529"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/163"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6529"}],"version-history":[{"count":29,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6529\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6605,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6529\/revisions\/6605"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6555"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6529"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6529"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6529"},{"taxonomy":"syndication","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/syndication?post=6529"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>Since then there have been thousands of sightings but no real non-blurry pictures of Bigfoot. Mostly from \u201ccamera-shake\u201d as people ran away in fear. Thankfully the book, Motion Deblurring: Algorithms and Systems <\/em>edited by A.N. Rajagopalan and Rama Chellappa is \u201cA comprehensive guide to restoring images degraded by motion blur. A wide range of methods drawn from basic theory and cutting-edge research.”9<\/sup>\u00a0But, it always helps to have a good camera to start with and the Hero5 GoPro records 4k Video for your next Cryptozoology Expedition. The Engineering Library has 3 in the Tool Library<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n