William G. Roll
Encyclopedia
William G. Roll is a noted psychologist
and parapsychologist on the faculty of the Psychology Department of the University of West Georgia
in Carrollton, Georgia, in the United States. He has held various positions there, including Professor of Psychology and Psychical Research, assistant professor, and instructor. Sometimes credited as William Roll, or informally, Bill Roll, he has been a parapsychologist since the 1950s and has authored or coauthored many investigation research papers, articles, and four books: The Poltergeist (1972), Theory and Experiment in Psychical Research (1975), Psychic Connections (1995, with co-author Lois Duncan), and Unleashed: Of Poltergeists and Murder: The Curious Story of Tina Resch (2004, with co-author Valerie Storey). He is also notable for making several appearances in the television show Unsolved Mysteries
, among them an episode discussing disturbances on the RMS Queen Mary
. (In this episode he is mistakenly credited as being Danish-born.)
where his father was American Vice-consul. At the age of 3 after his parents divorced, Bill moved to Denmark with his mother, Gudrun Agerholm Roll. His mother died in 1942 and in 1946 he went to America with his father, who had come to Denmark with the American Allied forces. During the last year of the war, Bill participated in the Danish resistance movement against the Germans.
in 1947 where he received his BA majoring in philosophy and psychology. A year after graduating he went on to Oxford University where he did parapsychology research for eight years. During this period, he was president of the Oxford University Society for Psychical Research. At Oxford, he wrote his thesis which earned him his M. Litt. degree, "Theory and Experiment in Psychical Research". His thesis was later published in the United States by Arno Press.
After Oxford, Roll was invited by J. B. Rhine to join the Parapsychology Laboratory of Duke University, where he worked from 1957-1964. In 1964 he became president of the Parapsychological Association. In 1958, he coined the term "recurrent spontaneous psychokinesis" (RSPK) in a research paper written with J. G. Pratt
that dealt with their investigation of objects moving in a home in Seaford, Long Island, New York
USA, that was centered around a 12-year old son of an affected family. It was Roll's first case.
In 1961 Roll became Project Director of the Psychical Research Foundation (PRF), an off-shoot of J. B. Rhine's Laboratory. After Rhine's retirement from Duke, the PRF left the Duke campus, but in 1969 it returned to Duke as a sponsored program of the School of Electrical Engineering. The connection between Duke and the Foundation ended in the late 1970s.
Roll received a Ph.D.
in psychology from Lund University
in 1989 for a thesis entitled, "This World or That: An Examination of Parapsychological Findings Suggestive of the Survival of Human Personality After Death".
He has generally retired from teaching today (though he taught a course in parapsychology at the University of West Georgia in Spring 2007), but continues to write, speak at conferences, and conduct occasional investigations. He was awarded the Parapsychological Award for a Distinguished Career in Parapsychology in 1996 and the Dinsdale Memorial Award from the Society of Scientific Exploration in 2002.
Dr. Roll's most famous case was as the lead investigator on the 1984 "Columbus Poltergeist" case, in which remarkable color photos were taken by a veteran newspaper photographer for the Columbus Dispatch newspaper, Fred Shannon, which allegedly showed spontaneous telekinesis events in action occurring in the home of Columbus, Ohio teenager Tina Resch
.
Roll's research and published writing concerning psychic phenomena has focused on theorizing about and testing for scientific explanations, but some of his theories postulate concepts that extend beyond mainstream science.
Dr. Roll's most recent research, as presented to the American Psychological Association, claims that the root cause of psychic phenomena is a combination of modern physics (i.e., quantum mechanics) and neuroscience.
Bill Roll currently resides in Georgia, has several adult children, and his wife is Lydia.
Psychologist
Psychologist is a professional or academic title used by individuals who are either:* Clinical professionals who work with patients in a variety of therapeutic contexts .* Scientists conducting psychological research or teaching psychology in a college...
and parapsychologist on the faculty of the Psychology Department of the University of West Georgia
University of West Georgia
The University of West Georgia is a comprehensive doctoral-granting university in Carrollton, Georgia, approximately 45 miles west of Atlanta, Georgia. The University is built on 645 acres including a recent land gift of 246 acres from the city of Carrollton in 2003...
in Carrollton, Georgia, in the United States. He has held various positions there, including Professor of Psychology and Psychical Research, assistant professor, and instructor. Sometimes credited as William Roll, or informally, Bill Roll, he has been a parapsychologist since the 1950s and has authored or coauthored many investigation research papers, articles, and four books: The Poltergeist (1972), Theory and Experiment in Psychical Research (1975), Psychic Connections (1995, with co-author Lois Duncan), and Unleashed: Of Poltergeists and Murder: The Curious Story of Tina Resch (2004, with co-author Valerie Storey). He is also notable for making several appearances in the television show Unsolved Mysteries
Unsolved Mysteries
Unsolved Mysteries is an American television program, hosted by Robert Stack, from 1987 until 2002, and later by Dennis Farina, starting in 2008...
, among them an episode discussing disturbances on the RMS Queen Mary
RMS Queen Mary
RMS Queen Mary is a retired ocean liner that sailed primarily in the North Atlantic Ocean from 1936 to 1967 for the Cunard Line...
. (In this episode he is mistakenly credited as being Danish-born.)
Early Years
Roll was born 1926 in Bremen, GermanyGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
where his father was American Vice-consul. At the age of 3 after his parents divorced, Bill moved to Denmark with his mother, Gudrun Agerholm Roll. His mother died in 1942 and in 1946 he went to America with his father, who had come to Denmark with the American Allied forces. During the last year of the war, Bill participated in the Danish resistance movement against the Germans.
Career
He enrolled at the University of California, BerkeleyUniversity of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
in 1947 where he received his BA majoring in philosophy and psychology. A year after graduating he went on to Oxford University where he did parapsychology research for eight years. During this period, he was president of the Oxford University Society for Psychical Research. At Oxford, he wrote his thesis which earned him his M. Litt. degree, "Theory and Experiment in Psychical Research". His thesis was later published in the United States by Arno Press.
After Oxford, Roll was invited by J. B. Rhine to join the Parapsychology Laboratory of Duke University, where he worked from 1957-1964. In 1964 he became president of the Parapsychological Association. In 1958, he coined the term "recurrent spontaneous psychokinesis" (RSPK) in a research paper written with J. G. Pratt
Joseph Gaither Pratt
Joseph Gaither Pratt was an American psychologist who specialized in the field of parapsychology. Among his research interests were extrasensory perception, psychokinesis, mediumship, poltergeists and psi....
that dealt with their investigation of objects moving in a home in Seaford, Long Island, New York
Seaford, New York
Seaford is a census-designated place in Nassau County, New York, United States. The population was 15,294 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Seaford is located at ....
USA, that was centered around a 12-year old son of an affected family. It was Roll's first case.
In 1961 Roll became Project Director of the Psychical Research Foundation (PRF), an off-shoot of J. B. Rhine's Laboratory. After Rhine's retirement from Duke, the PRF left the Duke campus, but in 1969 it returned to Duke as a sponsored program of the School of Electrical Engineering. The connection between Duke and the Foundation ended in the late 1970s.
Roll received a Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in psychology from Lund University
Lund University
Lund University , located in the city of Lund in the province of Scania, Sweden, is one of northern Europe's most prestigious universities and one of Scandinavia's largest institutions for education and research, frequently ranked among the world's top 100 universities...
in 1989 for a thesis entitled, "This World or That: An Examination of Parapsychological Findings Suggestive of the Survival of Human Personality After Death".
He has generally retired from teaching today (though he taught a course in parapsychology at the University of West Georgia in Spring 2007), but continues to write, speak at conferences, and conduct occasional investigations. He was awarded the Parapsychological Award for a Distinguished Career in Parapsychology in 1996 and the Dinsdale Memorial Award from the Society of Scientific Exploration in 2002.
Dr. Roll's most famous case was as the lead investigator on the 1984 "Columbus Poltergeist" case, in which remarkable color photos were taken by a veteran newspaper photographer for the Columbus Dispatch newspaper, Fred Shannon, which allegedly showed spontaneous telekinesis events in action occurring in the home of Columbus, Ohio teenager Tina Resch
Tina Resch
Tina Resch , born October 23, 1969, achieved some fame during what the media called the Columbus Poltergeist case. In 1984 a series of alleged spontaneous telekinesis events at her home were covered extensively by news media...
.
Roll's research and published writing concerning psychic phenomena has focused on theorizing about and testing for scientific explanations, but some of his theories postulate concepts that extend beyond mainstream science.
Dr. Roll's most recent research, as presented to the American Psychological Association, claims that the root cause of psychic phenomena is a combination of modern physics (i.e., quantum mechanics) and neuroscience.
Bill Roll currently resides in Georgia, has several adult children, and his wife is Lydia.
Selected publications
- Roll, W. G. (1968). Some physical and psychological aspects of a series of poltergeist phenomena. Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research, 62, 263-308.
- Roll, W.G., Burdick, D., & Joines, W.T. (1973). Radial and tangential forces in the Miami poltergeist. Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research, 67, 267-281.
- Roll, W.G., Burdick, D., & Joines, W.T. (1974). The rotating beam theory and the Olive Hill poltergeist. In W.G. Roll, RL. Morris & J. Morris (Eds.), Research in Parapsychology, 1973, (pp. 64–67). Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow.
- Roll, W.G., & Gearhart, L. (1974). Geomagnetic perturbations and RSPK. In W.G. Roll, RL. Morris & J. Morris (Eds.), Research in Parapsychology, 1973, (pp. 44–46). Metuchen, N.J: Scarecrow.
- Roll, W.G. (1986) Theory and Experiment in Psychical Research (Perspectives in psychical research). Ayer Co. Pub. (reprint of 1975 publication of M. Litt. thesis).
- Roll, W.G., Maher, M., & Brown, B. (1992). An investigation of reported haunting occurrences in a Japanese restaurant in Georgia. The Parapsychological Association 35th Annual Convention, Proceedings of Presented Papers, August 9–13, 151-168.
- Radin, D.I., and Roll, W.G. (1994). A radioactive ghost in a music hall. Proceedings of the 39th Annual Convention of the Parapsychological Association, 337-346.
- Duncan, Lois & Roll, W.G. (1995) Psychic Connections. Delacorte Books for Young Readers.
- Roll, W.G. & Persinger, M.A. (1998). Is ESP a form of perception? Contributions from a study of Sean Harribance. Journal of Parapsychology, 62, 116-118, abstract.
- Roll, W.G. & Persinger, M.A. (1998). Poltergeist and nonlocality: Energetic aspects of RSPK. Proceedings of Presented Papers: The Parapsychological Association 41st Annual Convention, August 6–9, 1998, 184-198.
- Roll, W.G. (2000). Poltergeist and space-time: A contemplation on Hans Bender's Ideas About RSPK. The Parapsychological Association, 43rd Annual Convention, Proceedings of Presented Papers, August 17–20, 316-332.
- Roll, W.G. & Nichols, A. (2000). Psychological and electromagnetic aspects of haunts. The Parapsychological Association 43rd Annual Convention, Proceedings of Presented Papers, August 17–20, 364-378.
- Roll, W.G. (2003). Poltergeists, electromagnetism and consciousness. Journal of Scientific Exploration, 17, 75-86.
- Roll, W.G. (2004). The Poltergeist. New York: Paraview (reprint of 1979 edition).
- Roll, W.G. & Valerie Storey (2004). Unleashed: Of Poltergeists and Murder: The Curious Story of Tina Resch. Paraview Pocket Books.
- Roll, W.G. (2006). On Apparitions and Mediumship. In L. Storm and M.A. Thalbourne (Eds.) The Survival of Human Consciousness (pp. 142–173). Jefferson, NC. McFarland & Company, Inc.
External links
- http://www.parapsych.org/members/w_g_roll.html Member bio on William G. Roll
- http://www.paraview.com/roll/ Paraview Pocket Books - publisher's website on "Unleashed" with author Roll's bio