PARANORMAL INVESTIGATOR TO SPEAK AT OLD DOMINION DEC. 7

Joe Nickell, senior research fellow of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP), will provide a revealing and entertaining look at some of the world's most mysterious phenomena at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 7, in room 101 of the Mills Godwin Jr. Life Sciences Building at 43rd Street and Elkhorn Avenue at Old Dominion University.

A professional paranormal investigator and self-proclaimed "ghostbuster," Nickell will discuss The Shroud of Turin, instances of spontaneous human combustion, ghostly occurrences at MacKenzie House, the giant Nazca drawings in Peru and similar mysteries. The information comes from Nickell's own case files and will be examined from a scientific viewpoint.

Nickell was formerly the resident magician at the Houdini Magic Hall of Fame and a private investigator. He taught technical writing for several years at the University of Kentucky before taking a full-time position with CSICOP at its offices at the Center for Inquiry in Amherst, NY.

Nickell has appeared on television programs including "Larry King Live," "Oprah," "Unsolved Mysteries," "Politically Incorrect" and "Dateline NBC."

For local information on Nickell's appearance, contact Larry Weinstein at weinstei@physics.odu.edu or 683-5803.

This event is sponsored by Science and Reason in Hampton Roads, an organization dedicated to promoting science, the scientific method, rational thinking and critical examination of dubious or extraordinary claims. For more information, consult the group's Web site at http://www.physics.odu.edu/~weinstei/srhr.html.