The Basement: Brian Laythe | Ghosts, Possession, and Shadow People
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What is the podcast about and who is the guest?
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Today I'm talking with Dr. Brian Lathe, a social psychologist who spent years hauling truckloads of equipment into haunted houses that did the thing almost nobody does in his field. He published the numbers. Three studies, and in all three, the electromagnetic field shifted right before something happened. Shadow figures out of a basement with no other exit, beach balls off a bed eleven times in an hour, and nobody knows why.
Beach balls off a bed Uh, that's not a haunting human. That's a bachelorette potty losing their damage deposit.
Uh I don't get it. Anyway, how do you know what goes on at a bachelorette party?
Uh I used to be an exotic dancer. Uh my stage name was Magic Pike.
Okay.
Oh, you're so jelly at my wrist.
Today we're covering what ghost hunting shows get wrong about those blinking meters, why Brian isn't convinced hauntings are dead people, and a personality scale that predicts who has these experiences.
Um, not dead people, uh well I guess grandma's off the hook.
Off the hook for what?
Well every noise in the attic we blamed on her for like twenty years. Turns out it's probably just a raccoon. Uh or or a squatter. Who knows?
And there is an abandoned rectory in Cincinnati where he told the owners to shut down. That story ended his field work. And after hearing it, I wouldn't go back either.
How does the interview with Dr. Brian Laythe begin?
After our conversation, I'll come back and break everything down. Let's go down to the basement.
Okay. I read your dissertation. Loved it. Um You hired actors to insult fraternities to attack their beliefs. Yeah.
When
a w what what's going on there?
Um when I was in graduate school before I officially got into parapsychology, um I was really interested in the idea of social identity theory, uh which is in in essence uh a theory that says when you label groups and make them different you will instantly get uh bias. You will instantly get prejudice. Uh and it and it's silly because it's not talked about a lot, but it is a hugely robust area of social psychology research. It's not two or three papers, it's a couple of hundred. I bet. Um And so the whole point of the dissertation was if I bring um an an actress or an actor into these groups and I basically tell the group that they're a piece of crap. Right. Um well put us in the room. What's who's the group and what are what are the attacks?
Well, I oh man, this is twenty some years ago. Um So I did religious groups, I did fraternities and sororities, and I did a couple of political groups. Um and I actually had to extend my dissertation time because I actually ended up going to I think I wanna say at least three, if not four, colleges or universities to get enough groups to do it. Yeah, it was a
chunky paper.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Um and I'm surprised you pulled up a dissertation.
Um So um what would well hang on, your dissertation is your is the whole theme of your career, that dissertation. You
think so?
I I d I do indeed. It's it's all about it's all about beliefs and And how if someone has a belief that's strong enough, no matter how much you insult or attack it, They will not waver.
Yes. Yeah. No, I mean you're absolutely right. That was incredibly insightful. I should have caught that. Um Huh. Um well yes, because my the reason I even got into graduate school was I started in psychology of religion, right? Um so the idea was let's look at group differences. Let's look at what happens when you bring a actress in who says, I am mad at your group, you did this to me, you did that to me which was essentially what they would do. They would claim to be from another student organization. Tell us what specifically. Give the attack. I am trying to remember.
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Chapters
7 chapters
1
What is the podcast about and who is the guest?
0:00–1:51
2
How does the interview with Dr. Brian Laythe begin?
1:51–7:27
3
What does Dr. Laythe’s dissertation on social identity theory involve?
7:27–1:29:03
4
How do magic, religion, and scientific measurement of paranormal belief intersect?
1:29:03–1:43:09
5
What is the “baby gas demon” story and how does it illustrate Pentecostal exorcism practices?
1:43:09–2:15:46
6
What happened during the haunted rectory investigation and why was it considered a possible possession?
2:15:46–2:41:56
7
How can trauma, trans‑liminality and therapy be addressed after intense paranormal experiences?
2:41:56–2:59:20
Speakers
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