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For the 1972 British television play, see The Stone Tape.
According to the Stone Tape theory, emotions can be stored in materials, such as the trees in this allegedly haunted forest in Brazil

The Stone Tape theory is the speculation that ghosts and hauntings are analogous to tape recordings, and that mental impressions during emotional or traumatic events can be projected in form of energy, "recorded" onto rocks and other items and "replayed" under certain conditions. The Idea draws inspiration and shares similarities with views of 19th century intellectualists and psychic researchers, such as Charles Babbage, Eleonor Sidgwick and Edmund Gurney. Contemporary, the concept was popularized by 1972 Christmas ghost story called The Stone Tape, produced by the BBC.[1][2] Following movie's popularity, the idea and "stone tape" term was retrospectively and innacurately attributed to British archaeologist turned parapsychologist-T. C. Lethbridge, who believed that ghosts were not spirits of the deceased, but were simply non-interactive recordings similar to a movie.

History[edit]

The idea that environmental elements are capable of storing traces of human thoughts or emotions was introduced by multiple 19th century scholars and philosophers as an attempt to provide natural explanations for supernatural phenomena. In 1837 a polymath Charles Babbage published work on natural theology-Ninth Bridgewater Treatise. Babbage speculated, that spoken words leave permanent impressions in the air, even though they become inaudible after time. He suggested that it is possible due to transfer of motion between particles.[3]

"Stone tape theory" could also be derived from concept of "place memory". In the early days of Society for Psychical Research place memory was considered an explanation for ghostly apparitions, seemingly connected with certain places. In late 19th century, two of SPR involved investigators- Edmund Gurney and Eleonor Sidgwick, presented views about certain buildings or materials being capable of storing records of past events, which can be later playbacked by gifted individuals.[3]

Another 19th century idea associated with "Stone Tape Thoery" is psychometry- a belief, that it is possible to obtain knowledge about history associated with an object through physical contact with it.[3]

In the 20th century, the idea that objects are able to store and playback past events was re-introduced in 1939 and 1940 by then SPR president- H. H. Price. Price speculated about "psychic ether" as an intermediate medium between spiritual and physical reality, which can enable objects to carry memory traces of emotions or experiences from the past. In his works, he stated that existence of such traces should be proveable by means of scientific methods and that they yet remain unproved hypotheses.[3] Following Price' ideas, an archeologist turned paranormal researcher- T. C. Lethbridge, claimed, that past events can be stored in objects thanks to fields of energy, that he believed to surround streams, forests or mountains. His 1961 book Ghost and Ghoul popularized these ideas which allegedly could have inspired creators of 1972 BBC movie-The Stone Tape[3]

Reception[edit]

In their book How to Think About Weird Things: Critical Thinking for a New Age, authors Theodore Schick and Lewis Vaughn dismissed the idea as an irrational claim, stating, "The problem is that we know of no mechanism that could record such information in a stone or play it back. Chunks of stone just do not have the same properties as reels of tape."[2] Sharon Hill, science educator and geologist, claims that "stone tape theory" is a misleading term, as it suggests to encompass structure, credibility and explanatory power or scientific theory, while in reality it is speculation that lacks physical basis. According to her, it is an attempt to present a pseudoscientific claim in a seemingly scientific style.[3][4] Hill also suspects that "kernel of the idea of stone tape" is psychometry [3], which is criticized for being a form of cold reading rather than unexplained supernatural phenomenon.[5][6]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Colin Stanley (2011), Around the Outsider: Essays Presented to Colin Wilson on the Occasion of His 80th Birthday, John Hunt Publishing, pp. 296–, ISBN 978-1-84694-668-4
  2. ^ a b Theodore Schick; Lewis Vaughn (2 February 2013), How to Think About Weird Things: Critical Thinking for a New Age: Seventh Edition, McGraw-Hill Higher Education, ISBN 978-0-07-752631-3, The problem is that we know of no mechanism that could record such information in a stone or play it back. Chunks of stone just do not have the same properties as reels of tape. Even magnetic tape can't record sound or video without a special recording head. Speaking to a magnetic tape will not record anything. Nor can one hear what's recorded on a magnetic tape by putting it up to one's ear. In both cases, a special device like a read/write head is needed, and the stone tape theory provides no clue as to what such a device would be. p-326
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Hill, Sharon. "Spooky rocks". Skeptical Inquirer. Center for Inquiry. Retrieved 12 February 2018. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  4. ^ Hill, Sharon. "The "Stone Tape Theory" of hauntings: A geological perspective". sharonahill.com. Retrieved 12 February 2018. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  5. ^ Stollznow, Karen. "A Psychometry Reading". Skeptical Inquirer. Center for Inquiry. Retrieved 12 February 2018. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  6. ^ Carroll, Robert. "Psychometry". The Skeptic's Dictionary. Retrieved 12 February 2018. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)

Further reading[edit]


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