Joe Nickell died at 80 – American skeptic

Biography and cause of death of Joe Nickell

Joe Nickell, an American skeptic and paranormal investigator, lived from December 1, 1944, until March 20, 2025.

Joe Nickell contributed often to Skeptical Inquirer, the publication of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, during his time there as a senior research fellow. He also served as the Institute’s assistant dean for the Center for Inquiry. Over thirty books were either written by him or edited by him.

One of Nickell’s proudest professional achievements was debunking James Maybrick’s “Jack the Ripper Diary” fraud. Scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. sought Nickell’s opinion in 2002 on the manuscript of Hannah Crafts’ The Bondwoman’s Narrative (1853–1860), which may be the first book written by an African-American woman. Nickell concluded that Clement Clarke Moore was the rightful author of “The Night Before Christmas” after reviewing documents requested by historian and document dealer Seth Keller.

 

 

 

Joe Nickell: Background, schooling, and familial

Jerry Nickell’s son was Joe Nickell. The daughter of Wendell and Ella (Turner) Nickell grew up in the Kentucky town of West Liberty. His parents let him use their home as a makeshift crime lab, sating his interests in magic and inquiry.

The bachelor’s degree was his. earned a degree in 1967 while enrolled at UK.

He emigrated to Canada in 1968, when he was 24 years old, to evade the widespread conscription for the Vietnam War. He started off performing magic, dealing cards, and investigating private cases there. Nickell came back to the US when President Jimmy Carter pardoned draft evaders unconditionally in 1977.

For his master’s degree, he went back to the University of Kentucky. (1982) and a doctorate (1987). He has a doctorate in English literature with an emphasis on folklore and literary criticism.

Joe Nickell got back in touch with Diana G. Harris, his college sweetheart, at the end of 2003. He found out he had two grandkids and a daughter, Cherette, from a previous relationship. Before this, Harris was married, but they split up. On April 1, 2006, she and Nickell tied the knot. In the time after, Harris had lent a hand to Nickell’s investigation.

Diane Harris had informed Cherette that her real father had been Diane’s first husband, but Cherette hadn’t believed her since she didn’t look anything like him. One of Cherette’s guests brought up the fact that her parents weren’t married when she was born on her wedding day. Cherette later, acting on intuition, confronted her mother head-on about her paternity and detected ambivalence in her response. Subsequent discussions and a genetic test confirmed Nickell’s paternity to Cherette.

Joe Nickell based his essay on the unconscious gathering and processing of data on his daughter’s assertion that she had conducted an intuitive search for him. He said, “Cautions notwithstanding, I must admit to a new appreciation of intuition, without which I would not have known of my wonderful daughter—and two grandsons! It’s enough to warm an old skeptic’s heart.”

 

Joe Nickell’s Career

Joe Nickell, Richard Wiseman, and Phil Plait at TAM9 in 2011.
Nickell has a long range of professional and personal roles, including those of stage magician, carnival pitchman, private investigator, blackjack dealer, riverboat manager, university professor, novelist, and paranormal investigator (among more than a thousand). A prolific author and researcher, he has published, co-authored, and edited works across several genres since the 1980s. Reference required

After meeting Nickell in Lily Dale, New York, in the summer of 2002, Burkhard Bilger of The New Yorker wrote a profile on him. In order to probe Spiritualist psychics, the investigator had assumed a false identity.

A frequent guest on Point of Inquiry, Nickell also led the Center for Inquiry’s Halloween Houdini Seance.

His critical eye made him a go-to guy for TV and news producers.

Joe Nickell spoke with Blake Smith of the Skeptic podcast MonsterTalk on his worldview.

“Oh, humbug… Those people were probably drunk or lying or hoaxing.” I just believe we shouldn’t do that, and I don’t like debunkers and dismissers either. It is not necessary for me to believe in vampires in order to discuss their literary and cultural history if I am studying them. There are various facets, and each one merits academic investigation.

Hilary Swank, who stars as a paranormal investigator in the 2007 horror thriller The Reaping, sought his advice as a character consultant.

 

Joe Nickell’s Literary works

Religion, forensics, the paranormal, and mysteries are the four primary genres into which Nickell’s works fall. Two novels for younger readers, one about extraterrestrial beings and another about a local alcoholic beverage, were among his many works. He also “contributed to” or wrote for smaller presses on other occasions.

 

 

 

Joe Nickell: Enchantments and sacred relics

Joe Nickell looked at relics from religion and made claims about supernatural occurrences. In his 1982 book Inquest on the Shroud of Turin: Latest Scientific Findings, Nickell laid forth his research strategy, which included gathering data and establishing a sustainable conclusion based on that evidence. In 1998, he revised the book to include new information on radiocarbon dating as well as other forensic, anatomical, iconographic, and historical data.

Joe Nickell examines the miracles professed by different faiths in his 1998 revised 1993 book Seeking a Miracle: Weeping Icons, Relics, Stigmata, Visions, and Healing Cures. For each occurrence, Nickell discusses the surrounding cultural context, looks at other natural explanations, evaluates the recorded reports from the time, and then speculates about the religious community’s reasons. He draws the conclusion that the purported miracles were either exaggerations or incorrect interpretations of real-life events.

One example is what Nickell stated after looking at the New York City symbol of St. Irene crying in Queens:

Weeping was given the impression by the interplay of light caused by the glossy varnish and certain surface imperfections. Someone who is pious and has a tendency to see tears could, particularly with a light in hand, make out the appearance of tears in the little eyes as they glistened, with the help of vertical fissures and other streaks.

The Christian practice of preserving artifacts for future generations is the subject of Relics of the Christ (2007, British version released as The Jesus Relics: From the Holy Grail to the Turin Shroud). Chatting with D.J. Nickell argued on the Point of Inquiry podcast that the devotion of artifacts has evolved into a new kind of idolatry—the veneration of a living, breathing god inside the artifacts, complete with eyes that move, tears that flow, and even the ability to walk. He declared, “I’m interested in the evidence because I want us to know what the truth is… I urge skeptics… not to be as closed-minded as the other side is ridiculously open-minded.” Despite the fact that no historical icon has ever been proven authentic in the sense of displaying such attributes, he approaches each case with a suspension of disbelief.

With an introduction by Nickell, John Calvin’s Treatise on Relics was released in 2008 by Prometheus Books. He drew on his own 2007 book, Relics, to produce a concise biography of Calvin.

Joe Nickell used his method of investigation to debunk 57 claimed miracles in his 2013 book The Science of Miracles: Investigating the Incredible. Nickell respectfully and clearly describes both reality and fiction, whether it’s the Virgin Mary’s visage on a grilled cheese sandwich, the Cross’s regeneration after portions were removed, or the structural flaws of the Loretto Chapel stairway. The New York Journal of Books panned the book because its research relied too much on sources other than the Bible.

The treatment of miracles mentioned in the Bible is less appealing to readers. In particular, Mr. Nickell examines Jesus’ miracles, which he mostly writes off as little more than a series of parables that were repurposed as miraculous tales. His attitude towards glossolalia, or speaking in tongues, is just as contemptuous. The extensive and readily accessible evidence that supports the truth of this spiritual talent is not brought to light by him. Also, he doesn’t bother to read I Corinthians 12 and 14, where the apostle Paul addresses the issue of glossolalia in his first epistle to the church at Corinth.

 

Scientific examinations

Jim Nickell at his desk
New York, Amherst, in 2013
Initially published as a definitive study for scholars and practitioners, Nickell’s Pen, Ink, and Evidence: A Study of Writing and Writing Materials for the Penman, Collector, and Document Detective was a book in the authentication genre. Among the Georgia Review’s critics of Nickell’s work was Mary Hood:

“Quiet passion” is a better choice than “enthusiasm” to convey Nickell’s serious, authoritative tone. Both Nickell’s enthusiasm for the topic and the way he presents it are deeply religious. Every beautifully polished page has its own blessing and delight, even if the book includes an index for the fact-checker who is too busy to stroll. This is especially true for the genuine pen collector, paper-freak pilgrim, or office supply addict.

Nicoll starts with photography’s background in Camera Clues: A Guide to Photographic Investigation. From the image’s theme and contents to its physical attributes, he lays forth techniques for dating pictures. He delves into the topic of picture retouching and how to spot bogus vintage images. He goes on to talk about how police enforcement agencies utilize photography and how vintage images may be used to identify people and locations. Ghost and spirit photography are only two of the many trick photography methods he outlines. [citation required] Thanks to digital photography and computer graphics, these tricks have become much more complex.

 

RIP Joe Nickell – inspiration, colleague, and great friend.I guess now you know for sure…

— DoctorAtlantis.bsky.social (@doctoratlantis.bsky.social) 2025-03-06T22:09:09.103Z

 

Spirit photographs taken by Joe Nickell during 2012 QED Convention

Forensic Investigation of Documents: Detecting Forgeries (1996) provides a synopsis of the duties of a document expert. According to him, forgers’ failure to recognize or replicate vintage paper, ink, fonts, pens, watermarks, signatures, and styles is a telltale indicator of a fake document. The Vinland Map, Mormon documents from Mark Hofmann, and Daniel Boone’s musket are all explained by Joe Nickell as being forgeries.

Publications Weekly states that the 1998 book Crime Science: Methods of Forensic Detection offered a wealth of general knowledge supplemented by concise case studies.

Drawing on his earlier work on the technical features of paper, ink, fonts, pens, and other keys to establishing the validity of paper documents, Joe Nickell relied on this knowledge in Real or Fake: Studies in Authentication (2009). Updated content describes the methodical examination of particular cases: a false Jack the Ripper journal, a fake Bondwoman’s narrative, a fake Lincoln’s Lost Gettysburg Address, and a fake An Outlaw’s Scribblings.

 

Joe Nickell: Explorations into the supernatural

Photograph of purported Spontaneous Human Combustion taken by Joe Nickell during 2012 QED Convention
The first book in Nickell’s paranormal research genre was Secrets of the Supernatural: Investigating the World’s Occult Mysteries.

The Crystal Skulls, the Mackenzie House, and other lesser-known mysteries were among those he and his associate John F. Fisher sought solutions for. “For each new generation, they have to relearn that there is controversy… Each new generation hears these for the first time… It’s an endless process in which you have to be willing to speak to the next crop of people.” Nickell explained on a Point of Inquiry podcast years later, explaining why the same mysteries are reported over and over again.

Written by Joe Nickell and Robert A. Baker, the manual Missing Pieces: How to Investigate Ghosts, UFOs, Psychics, and Other Mysteries combines psychological descriptions of believers with practical methods for researching the paranormal. According to Nickell, “… there are no haunted places, only haunted people.” This comment from Baker was extensively used.

In their book “Mysterious Realms: Probing Paranormal, Historical, and Forensic Enigmas,” Nickell and Fisher examine ten well-publicized mysteries, such as the murder of John F. Kennedy, the Gray Lady ghost of Kentucky, and conspiracy theories surrounding the cover-up of UFO sightings.

Nickell commissioned a number of academics to look at the psychic detectives’ assertions. He compiled their accounts in Psychic Sleuths: Extrasensory Perception and Incredible Cases. The psychics are not credited in any of the publications for having any insights that are backed by facts. According to Nickell, these people were either completely naive or scam artists. They also used retrofitting and cold reading in conversations with police investigators as psychological methods to get information.

The evolution of ghost tales from the 17th century onwards, impacted by new forms of communication and technology, is traced by Nickell in Entities: Angels, Spirits, Demons, and Other Extraterrestrial Beings. For instance, it was only after cameras were accessible to the masses that the phony Cottingley Fairies photos could be created.

Edited by Joe Nickell , Barry Karr, and Tom Genoni, The Outer Edge: Classic Investigations of the Paranormal is a compilation of essays. Some of the writers included are Martin Gardner, Susan Blackmore, Ray Hyman, and James Randi. The paper “Incredible Cremations: Investigating Spontaneous Combustion Deaths,” written in 1987 by Nickell and John F. Fischer, is also included.

Compared to Nickell’s other works, Adventures in Paranormal Investigation is more extensive. From dowsing to healing spas, Frankenstein, and beyond, he covers it all. An article on his coming to terms with the fact that his daughter was an adult and that she had said she had been searching for him due to “intuition” is included.

Instructions for conducting investigations into paranormal activity make up the bulk of CSI Paranormal’s first half. Nickell explains the steps he will take to pursue the case to:

Go on-site to find out
Verify account information
Background information
Thoroughly analyze the tangible evidence
Think about how something has evolved
Evaluate a hypothesis by means of a controlled experiment or test.
Think about a fresh evaluation

Think you can pull off the “impossible”?
Investigate while hiding your identity
Halfway through the book, Nickell demonstrates how this method has been used to assess the veracity of claims made by John Edward, the grilled cheese Madonna, the Roswell UFO, and the Giant Ell.

The girl in the snow, Elvis, spectral soldiers, and haunted lighthouses, castles, ships, and theaters are just a few of the paradigmatic ghost tales told by Joe Nickell in The Science of Ghosts (2012). By following the evolution of these tales over time, he proves that they are not proof of spirits but rather of the influence that the right environment may have on vulnerable witnesses.

Modern paranormal investigators, such as Syfy Channel’s Ghost Hunters’ Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson, are analyzed by him. While comparing their Myrtles Plantation, Winchester Mystery House, and St. Augustine Lighthouse investigations to his own, he draws parallels.

 

Joe Nickell Unsolved Mysteries

The 1992 publication of Nickell’s historical mystery series, Ambrose Bierce Is Missing And Other Historical Mysteries, was the first such effort. To objectively evaluate theories that attempt to explain riddles, he refers to the legal notions of “a preponderance of the evidence” and “clear and compelling evidence” in the introduction.

Instead of utilizing data to test a hypothesis, one riskily imposes a hypothesis on the evidence due to subjective wishes for an explanation’s veracity. Just two volumes were added to the “Recommended Works” section in Nickell’s 2005 revision of Ambrose Bierce, Unsolved History: Investigating Mysteries of the Past. The material is otherwise identical to the original.

A number of mysteries have had their origins, mythology, and probable explanations explored in the two books Real-Life X-Files and The Mystery Chronicle. Joe Nickell has been known to recreate tales in order to prove that extraordinary abilities are not necessary to get the same results. In others, he uses research to debunk urban legends.

Joe Nickell and five of his cousins built a 440-foot condor in a Kentucky field in 1982 using a method that Nickell thinks may have been utilized to build the Nazca Lines in Peru: mapping the coordinates of points on a picture. “In other words, for the small drawing, we would take measurements along the center line from the beak end to a point on the line opposite the point to be plotted, say the tip of a wing.

Then we would take measurements from the center line to the desired point. For a given number of units on the small drawing, the same number of units—larger units—on the large drawing would be required.” To determine the most probable explanation for the original sightings of the Mothman in West Virginia, Nickell interviewed witnesses and performed experiments on-site. Based on the findings of this inquiry, the most probable reason was the mistaken identification of an owl, namely a barred owl.

Secrets of Sideshows is essentially an encyclopedia of that now-extinct style of entertainment, according to Harry Eager of the Maui News. Eager criticizes Joe Nickell for minimizing the performances’ savagery and bleak fakery, particularly what he terms as “prettying” the nerds.

Joe Nickell and Ben Radford worked together on Lake Monster Mysteries: Investigating the World’s Most Elusive Creatures. In his summary of a theory that might account the lake monster encounters, author Ed Grabianowski states,

… a compelling case that relies once again on data mapping. He made a map showing where lake monster sightings in North America seem to occur. Then, he discovered an almost exact match when he superimposed the distribution of the common otter. It was discovered that a group of three or four otters swimming in a straight line gives the impression of a serpentine, humped beast swishing through the water. When seen from a distance, it is easy to assume that they are just one creature.

“I am not making this up. This is not speculation,” Nickell said. While this is obviously not the case for every lake monster sighting, it does serve as a prime illustration of how our senses may be deceived. I’ve spoken to individuals who approached what they believed to be a lake monster, only to find out it was really a group of otters. It’s true!

 

I have just heard the very sad news that Joe Nickell has died. I had the absolute honour of accompanying Joe on lake monster investigations in Windermere and Loch Ness. It was wonderful. Joe taught me extremely important lessons that would come to form the basis of how I work as an investigator.

— Hayley Stevens (@hayleyisaghost.bsky.social) 2025-03-06T20:25:40.688Z

 

Zombie Joe Nickell

2012 CSI Convention in Nashville
Tracking the Man-Beasts: Sasquatch, Vampires, Zombies, and More required Nickell to visit numerous sites where monster sightings had been reported. These included the Pacific Northwest for Bigfoot, Australia for the Yowie, New England for vampires, Argentina for the Chupacabra, West Virginia for aliens, and Louisiana for swamp creatures. From the earliest accounts to the most recent sightings, Nickell follows the monsters’ iconography and finds that the stories reflect the changing cultural milieu rather than any actual foundation in actuality.

In the Louisiana swamps, he had a guide who could shed light on the origins of the tales by saying, “… frightening tales could sometimes have been concocted to keep outsiders away—to safeguard prime hunting territory or even possibly to help protect moonshine stills. Charbonnet also suggested that such stories served in a bogeyman fashion, frightening children so they would keep away from dangerous areas.”

 

Joe Nickell Preschoolers who read

With his 1989 children’s book The Magic Detectives: Join Them in Solving Strange Puzzles, Nickell piqued children’s interest in paranormal tales by framing them as puzzles with hidden clues. After every narrative, you’ll find the answers, which are written inverted. Additional projects and suggested readings for instructors are also included in the book.

When Wonder Workers! was in 1991! P.J. provided a brief summary of How They Perform the Impossible. Rooks describes itself as “… a 200-year, biographical tour of some of the more famous shenanigans and side show splendors of both sincere and charlatan magicians … {that} guides readers on a fascinating exposé of magical history that leaves us, at the end of every page, thinking,” A-ha! How on earth did they manage to pull it off? ”

 

Joe Nickell UFOs

Joe Nickell explained the physiology of alien abduction stories, saying, “People claiming to be abducted by aliens is such an astonishing thing that you think they have to be crazy or lying, but in fact they may be perfectly sane and normal.” In 1997, Joe Nickell co-authored an anthology of UFO articles published in the Skeptical Inquirer, The UFO Invasion, with Kendrick Frazier and Barry Karr.

The articles ranged from history and abductions to Roswell and crop circles. This book contained six of Nickell’s own articles. … These intense nightmares while awake were likely occurring to them. … While in this condition, people often see strange visions. … Hypnosis is the alternative kind of experience. … If you want to go to a fantastical place, hypnosis is the way to go.

 

Joe Nickell Additional inquiries

This is the Turin Shroud.

 

Joe Nickell The Turin Shroud

The Shroud of Turin, claimed to be the funeral cloth of Jesus miraculously imprinted with the image of his crucified body, is one of Christianity’s most famous icons. The Roman Catholic Church, in possession of the shroud since 1983, has allowed several public viewings and encourages devotions to the image but takes no official position on the icon’s authenticity.

Joe Nickell and others contend the Shroud is a 14th-century painting on linen, suggested through the 1988 radioactivity dating. One of Nickell’s many objections to the Shroud’s authenticity is the proportions of the figure’s face and body. Both are consistent with the proportions used by Gothic creators of the period and are not those of an actual person.

Experts on both sides of the controversy have tried to duplicate the Shroud using medieval and contemporary methods. Claimants to the Shroud’s authenticity believe the image could have been produced at the moment of resurrection by radiation, electrical discharge, or ultraviolet radiation; Nickell generated a credible shroud using the bas-relief method and contends that forgers had equivalent materials available during the 14th century.

It was a question of evidence, not religion, as many people imagine. You want people to be spot-on with their evidence. Details count. I assembled a team that included Catholics, Protestants, Jews, and agnostics.

 

Joe Nickell A family named Warren is

Despite Nickell’s rejection of the term “debunker” to describe his work, his evidence-based investigations of paranormal events failed to uncover any miracles, ghosts, or monsters. In 1992, he got into a heated exchange with Ed and Lorraine Warren on the Sally show because he insisted on documented facts. Nickell, the Warrens, and the Snedeker family were guests on Sally Jessy Raphael’s talk show with the Snedeker family.

The Snedeker family’s reports of ghosts and demons led to the 1992 book, In A Dark Place, The Story of a True Haunting, by novelist Ray Garton, and the 2009 movie, The Haunting in Connecticut. Following an on-air threat of violence from Ed Warren, Nickell stated:

I’ve spent the better part of two decades investigating haunted houses. In all that time, I haven’t encountered a single house that I didn’t believe to be haunted. I dare say the Warrens haven’t encountered a single house that they didn’t believe to be haunted either…. The houses that honestly believe people to be haunted tend to follow a pattern. This pattern is a mishmash of ghost stories, poltergeists, demons, and this, that. We witnessed a similar pattern with the Amityville Horror, a case that the Warrens believed to be real but which turned out to be a blatant hoax concocted over a few bottles of wine.

As an example of abusive and exploitative con artists, Joe Nickell proceeded to use the Warrens in his interview with MonsterTalk podcast host Blake Smith.

Before you know it, the Warrens have successfully persuaded everyone that demons are involved. Lorraine might go into one of her light trances, which would mean she would just close her eyes and haul off and say something. She would sense some demonic presence. The two of them would talk a good talk about this.

You see both of these poor, unsuspecting people who, first of all, don’t know anything about the paranormal and are not aware that there are no haunted places, only haunted people, as Robert Baker used to say. When you have someone who’s an expert explaining to these individuals that there are these different kinds of spirits and this and that and the other, they don’t know any better. They think maybe these people know what they’re talking about.

It’s interesting that in each case of this, these were Catholic families. Ed and Lorraine would show up and convince them that it was really demonic and that they really needed to use their Catholic authority of exorcism and holy water and so forth. They were converted into a demonic book, and then they would get a ghostwriter. All of the shenanigans would be restyled, and exaggerated and spooky elements would be thrown in.

 

Joe Nickell Aliens

In order to explain the dynamic nature of UFO sightings, Joe Nickell explained to the Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe podcast crew that extraterrestrial encounters are either hoaxes, misunderstood natural occurrences, or the product of a fantasy-prone mentality.

I did an alien timeline and did sort of Walt Disney-esque cartoon drawings of the different types of aliens, beginning in 1947 with some little green men and showing the sort of imaginative variety of alien types over the years, of hairy dwarves and cyclopean figures and robotic forms and lumps and just all manner. Just as people would imagine, if I asked someone to imagine an alien creature, it would be all over the place.

But then, with the Betty and Barney Hill case, you began to get the little big-eyed, big-headed humanoid, and that type came back and back until now; if you go into a toy shop and you look at aliens, you see pretty much that’s the standard model.

Very unlikely that if life developed on some distant planet, it might look so much like us. We have a tendency to project our own image onto the various entities we’re interested in. And so Bigfoot is our big, stupid cousin from the past, and ET is our futuristic relative coming from the future back to save us. These are forms of us. Of course, ghosts are transparent forms of us; angels are us in wings, and of course, vampires are us with an attitude.

 

Joe Nickell Articles in magazines and blogs on the internet

From 1995 until his death, Nickel wrote the “Investigative Files” column for the Skeptical Inquirer (SI) magazine and contributed frequently to the Center for Inquiry website. Nickell’s interests and investigative skills were diverse and covered a wide range of topics, such as phrenology, psychic frauds, voodoo, Bigfoot, reincarnation, and spontaneous human combustion.

In his SI article about the Bell Witch Poltergeist, Nickell analyzed the content of the alleged Bell Manuscript for outdated references and word use, comparing the writing styles of Richard Williams Bell, the reported original author, and M.V. Ingram, the reporter who expanded on the story 50 years later. Nickell concludes, “Given all of these similarities, the two men’s texts, in addition to

As part of his work for the Center for Inquiry (CfI), Nickell penned “Nickell-odeon Reviews” that focused on the scripts’ underlying facts. Nickell lent credence to the plot of Charles Dickens’s The Invisible Woman, in which he confirmed the affair after his death, even though it was not mentioned in the film. Some had the offensive parts scribbled out, while others had been destroyed by his family. The invisibility cloak, however, was useless, so Dickens experts resorted to forensics, including infrared photography, to decipher the hidden passages. In them, the rumors about “Nelly” were substantiated, and there were allusions to her.

 

Joe Nickell Awards

The American Humanist Association bestowed the 2004 Isaac Asimov Award onto Nickell. He shared the 2005 and 2012 Robert P. Balles Prize in Critical Thinking, given by what is now known as CSI (formerly known as CSICOP). Joe Nickell was honored with the Distinguished Skeptic award, bestowed by CSI in 2000.

On May 18, 2009, at the 3rd Annual Independent Investigative Group IIG Awards, he was also given an award for promoting science in popular media.

James E. McGaha, the asteroid’s discoverer, honored him in October 2011 by naming it JoeNickell (1999 CE10).