3400 BC – Egyptian manuscripts spoke of ghosts and spirits  The Egyptian Book of the Dead told of the ancient Egyptian conception of the afterlife with collections of hymns, spells, and instructions to allow the deceased to pass through obstacles in the afterlife

2000 BC – A Babylonian story, etched on clay tablets, titled “The Epic of Gilgamesh” tells of the hero Gilgamesh and the ghost of his dead friend, Enkidu.

1450 BC – Since the Bible was written, it has featured stories of ghosts, spirits and the paranormal

753 BC – Roman, Greek tales = once proper burial and rituals conducted, the dead are left on their own.
-Mythology believed the dead went to Hades and were restless, yet harmless.

- Believed ghosts/spirits were for helping/consoling/answering questions

469-399 BC – Greek philosopher, Socrates, changed the outlook on ghosts.  It was now understood that ghosts could be helpful, but also threatening beings.  It was common knowledge, at the time, that a spirit of the deceased would stay near the grave of its body.

427-347 BC – Greek philosopher, Plat, spoke “prowling about tombs and sepulchers, near which, as they tell us, are seen certain ghostly apparitions of souls which have not departed pure.”

55 BC – Roman poet Lucretius believed that ghosts were a shell, which diffused from body after the death of a person and lingered in the atmosphere after death.

100 AD – The believed first written example of a haunting is written by Pliny the Younger.  It tells about a home in Athens, which described horrid noises and the phantom of an elderly man.

1500’s – The modern technique of using dowsing rods originated in Germany.

1848 – Hydesville, New York. Two sisters claimed they had managed to communicate with a spirit in the house through rapping sounds that meant yes, no or specific letters. Even though in old age the sisters admitted they made it up, it still started a gigantic movement. They toured the country for many years holding seances and speaking to spirits. The Spiritualism Church was founded in 1853 and in two years claimed over 2 million followers.  

1849 – The first documented public demonstration of Mediumship by Margareta Fox in the Corinthian Hall in New York

1857 – Allan Kardec published “The Book of the Spirits” in which he established the basis of the Spritism.  He explained his beliefs, which were considered subversive by the Catholic Church.

1882 – The Society for Psychical Research (SPR) was founded. The SPR was the first organized effort to gather scientists and scholars together for critical and sustained investigations of paranormal phenomena.

1920 – Thomas Edison documented that he had begun to create an instrument which would “furnish psychic investigators with an apparatus which will give a scientific aspect to their work”.  This instrument is described as a “spirit phone” or “spirit communicator”.

1936 – The famous picture of ‘The Brown Lady’ is photographed in Raynham Hall in Norfolk, England.

1941 – Attila von Szalay was among the first to try recording what he believed to be voices of the dead as a way to augment his investigations in photographing ghosts.

1968 – the $1000 Paranormal Challenge was born.  It is now the $1,000,000 Paranormal Challenge.  A challenge in which skeptics are offering one million dollars for reputable proof of the paranormal.

1969 – The ‘Parapsychological Association’ became affiliated with the ‘American Association for the Advancement of Science’

1980’s – The use of EMF meters in paranormal investigations begins to emerge.

2004 – The television show ‘Ghost Hunters’ premieres, spawning numerous other paranormal TV programming and ‘rejuvenating’ the public interest in the paranormal.

2007 – The official online home of the Network of Paranormal Investigators launches : www.NPIMI.com