About the author
Michele Hanks is a cultural anthropologist whose research examines paranormal investigation and ghost tourism in England. Her earlier study, Haunted Heritage, looked at the cultural politics of ghost tourism, and she returns to the same fieldwork terrain in Doubting Ghosts: Paranormal Investigation and the Paradoxes of Belief (Routledge, 2025). Based on ethnographic observation of English "ghost hunters," the book examines how investigators apply scientific, secular methods to phenomena they suspect lie outside secular explanation, and how they live with the resulting contradictions between skepticism and belief. Hanks writes as a scholar rather than a practitioner, treating paranormal investigation as a social practice worth documenting on its own terms. Her work suits readers interested in the anthropology of belief, the culture of ghost hunting, and the everyday reasoning investigators use to hold scientific method and supernatural suspicion together, rather than readers looking for a guide to conducting an investigation themselves.
📖 Where to start with Michele Hanks
💬 What our editors say about Michele Hanks's books
“Hanks delivers a compelling ethnography that challenges simplistic views of ghost hunting as mere delusion. The text excels at unpacking the paradox of professional skepticism in paranormal investigation. However, readers seeking…”
Esoterica Books editorial team, Occult literature desk · on Doubting Ghosts: Paranormal Investigation and the Paradoxes of Belief
“Hanks delivers a rigorous academic analysis that may frustrate readers seeking practical ghost-hunting advice or supernatural validation. It is not suited for those who prefer definitive proofs of the afterlife over sociological…”
Esoterica Books editorial team, Occult literature desk · on Doubting Ghosts: Paranormal Investigation and the Paradoxes of Belief
