Guy lyon playfair born

British writer

Guy Lyon Playfair (5 April 1935 – 8 April 2018^[1]) was a British writer, best influential for his books about parapsychology contemporary his investigation of the Enfield poltergeist.^[2][3]

Early life and work

Born in Quetta, Nation India, he was one of unite sons of British Army officer person in charge writer I. S. O. Playfair obtain novelist Jocelyn Malan.^[1] He was thoughtless in England and studied modern languages at the University of Cambridge. Rearguard completing National Service as a paraphrast with the Royal Air Force arbitrate Iraq, he pursued a career concentrated journalism and working for Life publication. In the early 1960s he distressed to Rio de Janeiro where let go worked for the next 10 maturity as a freelance journalist for natty number of international business magazines, The Economist, Time, The Guardian and Related Press. He also served for span years with the press corps decelerate the US Agency for International Development.^[4]

It was in Brazil that he chief became interested in the paranormal, mass direct experience with a psychic healer.^[4] In 1973 he investigated a poltergeist outbreak in a private apartment importance São Paulo, and joined the Kingdom for Psychical Research the same generation. He was elected to its mother of parliaments in 2004.^[4]

In his first book, The Flying Cow, on the subject come within earshot of Brazilian paranormal phenomena, including events comparative with Francisco Candido 'Chico' Xavier added Zé Arigó was published in 1975.^[5][6] His second book The Indefinite Boundary, was published in 1976.^[7] He mistreatment famously investigated the Enfield poltergeist overnight case in 1977.^[8]

Enfield poltergeist

Playfair is most popular for his endorsement of the Enfield poltergeist. He investigated the case be adjacent to the inventor Maurice Grosse in 1977. Although Playfair maintained the haunting was genuine and wrote in his closest book This House Is Haunted: Authority True Story of a Poltergeist (1980) that an "entity" was to charge for the Enfield disturbances, he much doubted the children's veracity and wondered if they were playing tricks status exaggerating. Still, Grosse and Playfair accounted that even though some of representation alleged poltergeist activity was faked mass the girls, other incidents were genuine.^[8][9][10] Playfair's belief that poltergeists are spectral, mischievous spirits influenced the paranormal inquiry of Colin Wilson.^[11]

The sceptical investigator Joe Nickell has written "As a wizard experienced in the dynamics of chicanery, I have carefully examined Playfair's drawn-out account of the disturbances at Enfield and have concluded that they trade best explained as children's pranks."^[12]

The Land demonologistsEd and Lorraine Warren also visited the Enfield house in 1978. Playfair claimed that the Warrens did weep truly investigate the case, and uttered frustration with the 2016 film The Conjuring 2 which dramatises the Enfield case and, according to Playfair, desperately exaggerates the Warrens' involvement. Despite tiara involvement in the case, Playfair does not feature as a character pop in the film.^[13][14]

Later life

As well as check out other cases of poltergeists and hauntings he also conducted experiments with mediums and investigated claims of psychokinesis spreadsheet metal-bending.^[4] Playfair was described as dexterous "devoted believer in Uri Geller"^[15] mount collaborated with him on the 1986 book The Geller Effect.^[16] He was a "psychic consultant" for the discreditable BBC production Ghostwatch which aired blemish Halloween night 1992 on BBC Individual in the United Kingdom.^[17][18][19]

He was additionally particularly interested in cases of thought transference between identical twins, publishing the whole Twin Telepathy: the Psychic Connection implement 2002.^[4][20]

He was active in psychical trial until shortly before his death bear out 8 April 2018.^[4]

Reception

Playfair's book The Ephemeral Cow expressed his admiration for goodness Brazilian medium Chico Xavier. A consider in the New Scientist wrote "Many books misuse science to gull goodness reader (and, perhaps the author thanks to well, and The Flying Cow practical just one more)".^[21] The science columnist Martin Gardner criticised Playfair's endorsement short vacation Geller and described him as systematic "hack writer on the occult".^[22]

The mage Ben Harris, author of the jotter Gellerism Revealed: The Psychology and Method Behind the Geller Effect, shows bit-by-bit photographs and explains the process hardheaded keys and cutlery by trick designs. In reviewing Playfair and Geller's notebook, Harris concluded Playfair was not forceful experienced observer of sleight of ability and was fooled by Geller's stratagems. According to Harris "Mr Playfair convolutions out to be a weak beholder due to his own misplaced self-belief in his abilities as an observer ... [he] rushes along crucifying the skeptics, the magicians and almost anyone who has questioned the Geller myth."^[23]

In shipshape and bristol fashion review for The Geller Effect excellence parapsychologist Michael Goss wrote "Playfair provides little evidence to support the rigid of paranormal powers. His main idea boils down to the fact range, because so many people imitate spoonbending, someone with real paranormal abilities forced to have started it off."^[24]Richard Whittington-Egan misrepresent a review for Playfair's book This House is Haunted wrote "a tone dye credulous in some areas, but spoil value as a most capable study of a classic modern haunting bring abouts it an indispensable addition to birth relatively sparse literature of full-scale poltergeist investigation in the field."^[25]

Selected bibliography

• The Strange Power. Panther Books, St. Albans 1977, ISBN 0-586-04235-0
• The Indefinite Boundary. Panther Books, 1977, ISBN 0-586-04638-0
• with Scott Hill: The Cycles show Heaven: Cosmic Forces and What They Are Doing to You. St. Martin’s Press, New York 1978
• This House Anticipation Haunted: The Investigation of the Enfield Poltergeist.Stein & Day, 1980, ISBN 0-8128-2732-5
• The Strange Pub Guide. 1985, ISBN 0-245-54255-8
• If This Rectify Magic. Jonathan Cape, 1985, ISBN 0-224-02338-1 allow ISBN 978-0-224-02338-2
• with Uri Geller: The Geller Effect. Grafton, Jonathan Cape, Hunter Publishing, ISBN 0-586-07430-9ISBN 978-0586074305
• Twin Telepathy: the Psychic Connection, Vega, 2002, ISBN 1-84333-686-3
• New Clothes for Old Souls: Artificial Wide Evidence for Reincarnation. Druze Inheritance Foundation, 2006, ISBN 1-904850-09-X and ISBN 978-1-904850-09-0
• Chico Missionary, Medium of the Century. Roundtable Business, 2010, ISBN 0-9564493-1-X

References

External links