Image credit: Book cover courtesy of Josh Graham / The Pioneers of Human Behaviour.In the summer of 1853, British scientist Michael Faraday set out to investigate something extraordinary.
Across Victorian parlors, people were gathering around tables, resting their hands on the surfaces, and waiting. Sometimes, the tables began to move.
Those participating insisted they weren't pushing. Some believed mysterious forces were responsible. Others suspected electricity, magnetism, or something science had yet to discover.
Faraday had another possibility in mind.
What if the people moving the tables genuinely believed they weren't moving them?
It's a question that sits at the heart of *The Haunted Mind: Ghosts, Fear, and the Psychology of Strange Experience*, a new nonfiction book by author Josh Graham.
Rather than attempting to prove or disprove the supernatural, Graham explores how human perception, expectation, memory, and psychology influence experiences that people struggle to explain.
THE EXPERIMENT THAT CHALLENGED A MYSTERY
In Chapter 2, titled "The Table That Moved," Graham revisits Faraday's investigation into the Victorian fascination with table-turning.
Faraday devised an experiment using layered materials that could reveal whether a participant's hands were moving before the table itself.
The results suggested that the participants were applying pressure without realizing it.
He later constructed an apparatus using a delicate pointer made from a hay stalk. Even slight sideways pressure caused the pointer to move.
When participants could see the pointer revealing their movements, something remarkable happened: the apparent mysterious force disappeared.
The experiment helped illustrate what psychologists now call the ideomotor effect, in which thoughts and expectations can produce small, unconscious muscular movements.
The same principle is frequently discussed in connection with Ouija boards and other devices that appear to respond independently to human questions.
But Faraday's investigation revealed something more interesting than a simple explanation of moving furniture.
People could be completely sincere about what they experienced and still misunderstand what caused it.
WHY THE UNEXPLAINED FEELS SO REAL
That distinction is central to Graham's approach.
In correspondence with Ghost Signal Radio, Graham explained that he wanted to explore how influential thinkers investigated mysterious experiences without dismissing the people who reported them or automatically accepting supernatural explanations.
The book moves through the history of spiritualism, psychology, and unusual human experiences, examining how the mind interprets events that don't immediately make sense.
Why can an empty room feel occupied?
How much can expectation influence perception?
And why do certain experiences remain vivid in our memories long after they occur?
These are questions that have fascinated paranormal enthusiasts, researchers, and skeptics for generations.
For readers interested in the unexplained, *The Haunted Mind* offers a different kind of journey: one that examines the people having extraordinary experiences alongside the scientific attempts to understand them.
A HALLOWEEN GIVEAWAY
To celebrate the book's release, Graham and The Pioneers of Human Behaviour are offering one paperback copy of *The Haunted Mind* to a randomly selected winner.
Entering is free.
Participants must leave one comment beneath the original giveaway video on YouTube answering the question:
"What's the strangest experience you've never quite been able to explain?"
The giveaway is open to eligible residents of the United Kingdom and all 50 United States and Washington, D.C., who are at least 18 years old and have reached the legal age of majority where they live.
Only one entry per person is permitted. No purchase, channel subscription, video like, or review is required.
Entries close October 31, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. GMT (7:59 p.m. Eastern).
The organizer states that a winner will be selected by random computerized drawing by November 7. The winner will be notified through a reply to their YouTube comment and must contact the organizer within seven days to claim the prize.
The paperback will be delivered without shipping or import charges to the eligible winner.
Full eligibility requirements, exclusions, and privacy information are available in the official rules beneath the giveaway video.
Enter the giveaway: https://youtu.be/tsC-uelEvys
Learn more about the book: https://pioneersofhumanbehaviour.com/the-haunted-mind/
The giveaway is organized and administered by Josh Graham and The Pioneers of Human Behaviour. Ghost Signal Radio is providing independent editorial coverage and is not responsible for selecting the winner or fulfilling the prize.