Back to Haunt Us

Peter Sjöstedt-Hughes

The idea of the supernatural helps us make sense of phenomena that would otherwise remain anomalous — we create cyphers such as the ghost, the demon, or the miracle. The paranormal, on the other hand, evades such interpretation, confronting us with the raw mysterious experience — the unexplainable light in the sky, the slip in time, the apparition, the impossible.

The modern world sees the supernatural as a domain of knowledge and a precursor to scientific understanding. Can we, however, really narrate the shift from supernatural to natural phenomena like the development of alchemy into chemistry?

Do we form a philosophical stance — one which accepts the incompleteness of the universe itself, not merely our limited knowledge of it — or do we become lost in the arbitrary nature of meaning, thus risking that our world becomes increasingly solipsistic if not schizophrenic?

Continuing study of the paranormal has reawakened interest in the supernatural tradition and promises much more penetrating insights into this realm. Back to Haunt Us brings together artists and scholars who engage with unexplained and unexplainable phenomena.

The symposium will feature talks from: Quentin S. Crisp, Jack Hunter, Daniel Corrick, and Peter Sjöstedt-Hughes.