Meet the Anthropologists Behind Beyond the Human
Who we are, why we study the paranormal, and where you can find us
It’s been a year and we really haven’t said much about where you can find us other than on Beyond the Human and here at Field Notes from the Beyond. We thought it might be a good idea to introduce ourselves and point to a few other places you can find us. First, let me introduce my colleague, Ryan Goeckner. Check out his website here:
A little bit about Ryan:
Ryan’s fascination with the paranormal began when he first saw the famous Patterson-Gimlin film as a kid – and he’s been hooked ever since. Now, as a cultural anthropologist, Ryan explores how our beliefs about the unknown shape the way we see the world and relate to one another.
His work bridges the gap between academic research and real-world investigation. He’s explored how college courses can shape beliefs about the paranormal and has spent over a decade investigating haunted sites across the U.S., including the Missouri State Penitentiary, Waverly Hills Sanatorium, and The Sallie House in Atchison, Kansas. Ryan brings a scholarly lens to these experiences, helping apply critical, cultural perspectives to the practice of paranormal investigation.
If you like to read about the paranormal, you can find Ryan’s paranormal book recommendations at Mulder’s Bookshelf on Instagram and TikTok.
instagram.com/mulders.bookshelf/
You can learn all about his research at his website.
I’m Chris Daley and here’s my website:
A little bit about me:
I’m what many would call “one of those over-educated people”. I stayed in school until I was 30, picking up alphabet soup after my name. I learned a lot – enough to make a decent living as a medical school and university professor. I’m a medical anthropologist, which means I study things at the intersection of culture and medicine. It’s a really interesting intersection because so much of it doesn’t fit into natural explanations. That’s where paranormal, supernatural, and anomalous phenomena come in and where my fascination with it began.
Over the years, I’ve learned about things that affect our health that medicine can’t or won’t examine because the explanations are a little…out there? Many of these illnesses can be explained and treated if we look outside the medicine many of us are used to. Once I began accepting that things like ghost sickness and possession are real, my world opened up. I became fascinated by all things paranormal and started learning as much as possible.
Because I believe in learning by doing, I started investigating the paranormal and helping people in any way I could. I’m now just as fascinated as ever and have 30 years of experiences, evidence, and stories to confirm what I already knew to be true – the paranormal is real and people who believe in it and are affected by it aren’t crazy (ok, maybe some are…but they’re not crazy because they believe in the paranormal).
Where else can you find us?
Thank you so much for your support of Field Notes from the Beyond! This isn’t the only place you can find us. You’ve heard us talk about the podcast a lot; Beyond the Human, is available wherever you get your podcasts. You can find every episode here.
You can also find us on Instagram and TikTok.
Instagram: Beyond the Human | Paranormal Podcast (@beyond.the.human.pod) • Instagram photos and videos
TikTok: https://www/tiktok.com/@beyondthehuamanpod
250 Years of American High Strangeness
In celebration of 250 years of US history, we’re exploring the history of high strangeness in each state. Here’s one of my favorites:
If you’re interested in Morgellons and Lyme Disease, we’ve recently started a Substack on our research project about it. Check it out here:
Since our 250 Years of American High Strangeness series was so popular, we’ve been working on some new short form content, including:
Continuing 250 Years of American High Strangeness over the next year
Paranormal PhDs - a video series where we profile academics researching anomalous phenomena
We also have a YouTube channel. Although we don’t post there that often, this is where you can find recordings of our research presentations related to the paranormal like this one we did for the Society for Scientific Exploration:
If you like hearing about our research in this format, we have an upcoming presentation at the Paranormal Research Symposium in Gettysburg, PA next month! Learn more about the symposium and the Association of Paranormal Study sponsoring it:
https://associationofparanormalstudy.com
In case you haven’t figured it out, Ryan’s a bit more active on social media. Ok, a LOT more active, but he’s working on convincing me. We’ll see how that goes. After all, he did convince me to do a podcast with him and I’m enjoying it, so you never know what could happen.
Should I start a companion Scully’s Bookshelf?
Tell us what you’d like to see on any of our platforms!
Who are we?
We are a group of scholars interested in understanding paranormal, supernatural, and anomalous phenomena from an academic perspective. We want to document and validate experiences people have and study them in a rigorous way to bring credibility to these phenomena. Join us for our monthly podcast Beyond the Human and follow us on Spotify, Instagram, and Patreon to learn more about who we are, our methods, and what we want to learn!