Barry Taff is an American author and investigator of hauntings, UFOs and alien abduction phenomena.
Life and Career
Barry E Taff earned a PhD in psychophysiology with a minor in biomedical engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in 1975. He began doing psi research under Thelma Moss at UCLA in 1969 where he remained until 1978, founding the university’s first parapsychology laboratory. Taff claims to have investigated around 4,500 cases of ghosts, hauntings, and poltergeists over a period of four decades, while also conducting research in telepathy and precognition.1
Taff has described his research on numerous TV and radio programmes.
Entity Case
In the summer of 1974, Doris Bither, a mother of four, began experiencing seemingly supernatural phenomena, including the feeling of assault by an unseen presence. Kerry Gaynor, a parapsychologist, interviewed her that year, uncovering a history of abuse that was likely rooted in her troubled childhood. Tensions existed within her family, affecting her relationship with her four sons. Bither claimed attacks by both a primary entity and three male spirits. During subsequent investigations Taff documented numerous light anomalies, some of which appeared to respond to Gaynor’s commands.
Taff also photographed orbs and light phenomena around Bither, which decreased in frequency and intensity over the years (she died in 1995).2
Aliens Above, Ghosts Below
Aliens Above, Ghosts Below (2011) describes ghostly apparitions reported by families across Los Angeles, along with stories of UFO sightings, alien encounters, and abductee experiences. It features accounts of the ‘San Pedro haunting’ and the ‘Entity’ case that inspired a 1982 movie of the same name. It also includes scientific studies on telepathy and macro-psychokinesis, and lesser-known phenomena such as Kirlian Photography (claimed by some to capture the human aura or energy field). After examining the evidence, Taff explores explanatory models, from holographic brains to time travel and modern theoretical physics.3
Website
Michael Duggan
Literature
Moss, T., Eveloff, H.H., Chang, A.F. (1974). A laboratory investigation of telepathy: The study of a psychic. Behavioural Neuropsychiatry 6, 1-12.
Taff, B. (2011). Aliens Above, Ghosts Below: Explorations of the Unknown. Cosmic Pantheon. London, U.K
Taff, B. (2011). The Real Entity Case. [Web page]