William G. Roll

William G. Roll (born July 3, 1926) 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 was born 1926 in Bremen, Germany where his father was Vice-consul. 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.)

Career

William enrolled at the University of California, Berkeley 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 as president of the Oxford University Society for Psychical Research. It was there he published his thesis, "Theory and Experiment in Psychical Research", which earned him his M. Litt. degree. He was part of the Parapsychology Laboratory of Duke University from 1957-1964 and also in 1964 was president of the Parapsychological Association. In 1958, he coined the term "recurrent spontaneous psychokinesis" (RSPK)^[1] 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 were centered around a young male member of the family.^[2] It was Roll's first case.^[3]

In 1961 Roll became Project Director of the Psychical Research Foundation, an off-shot of J. B. Rhine's Laboratory. After Rhine's retirement from Duke, the PRF left the Duke campus, but in 1969 it became a sponsored program of the School of Electrical Engineering.^[4][5] The connection between Duke and the Foundation ended in the late 1970s.^[6]

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 began teaching in West Georgia in 1986, but moved to Lund in 1990 after he received his Ph.D. there. He subsequently returned to the United States to again teach at the University of West Georgia. 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 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 so-called "paranormal" phenomena has focused on theorizing about and testing for scientific explanations, but some of his theories postulate concepts that extend beyond mainstream science.^[6][7]

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.

See also

• Parapsychology
• Tina Resch
• Psychokinesis

References

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