The supernatural has always attracted the attention of many people of all nationalities on all continents. This inexhaustible, permanent interest invariably influenced myths, religious ideas, folklore, and even the ordinary everyday life of every nation. It is possible to study and discuss all this heritage indefinitely. In this article, we will touch on this phenomenon only from one side - from the side of the inhabitants of that which we usually call "supernatural beings". A list and description of all such creatures in full would make up a whole library, so we will limit ourselves to the most famous and popular creatures in modern culture.
Gnomes
The word "dwarf" in Latin means an underground inhabitant. These creatures are known in almost all regions of the earth where there is a mountainous area or desert. The traditional, familiar image of a gnome comes from German-Scandinavian folklore, but is also known among the Slavs (for example, Polish dwarves are relatives of gnomes). Their own dwarf people, living in mountain dungeons, is also found in the Urals, where they are called either a miracle, or a bunch. According to popular legends, these supernatural creatures are engaged in jewelry making, mining of all kinds of treasures and, among other things, have significant knowledge in medicine.
The nature of the gnomes
By itself, the word "dwarf", according to one version, began to be used in the 16th century by Paracelsus, the famous European doctor and occultist. He used it to designate the spirits of the earth - the elementals. The latter are supernatural beings that set the world in motion by influencing one of the four primary elements - earth, air, fire or water. So, the spirits, called gnomes by Paracelsus, just lived in the elements of the earth. Later, this term began to denote the entire list of supernatural beings living, according to legend, underground and united by common features - appearance, craft, and so on.
goblins
Goblins are another category of supernatural neighbors of humans. In general, they can be considered as distant relatives of the dwarves. They also live underground, in mountain gorges dotted with caves. Like the dwarves in many legends, goblins do not tolerate the light of the sun. But if the gnomes are still representatives of Scandinavian and German folklore, then the goblin is a character from Romanesque culture. These supernatural creatures got their very name from the old French language.
The appearance of goblins is described in legends very differently. But the invariable feature of all of them is an incredible ugliness. Goblins are human-like, ranging in height from thirty centimeters to two meters. When necessary, they can turn into beautiful people. But they are always given away by long ears, claws on their hands and sinister animal eyes. The only exception to the rule is the English hobgoblins, who play the role of cute brownies in British folklore, which we will talk about next.
Brownies
Creatures that are known in Russia under the name of brownies are perhaps the most common character in world folklore. Of course, they are described in different ways and interacted with in different ways, but everywhere these creatures top the list of supernatural beings. In the Slavic tribes, they were also called kutny gods. The brownie lives with the family in their home and monitors the economy, security and a favorable atmosphere. However, if the owners are negligent, then he can also appear as a formidable, frightening creature. There was no consensus about where this keeper of home comfort comes from. Someone believed that this was a manifestation of the first ancestor, the progenitor of the genus. Others insisted that it was a deceased family member. With the Christianization of Rus', faith in brownies did not disappear, but opinions began to prevail among the people that it was either a spirit sent by God, or, conversely, a petty demon inhabited by the devil in order to harm the inhabitants as much as possible. However, there was also a belief that unrepentant sinners become brownies, whom God sends as a punishment to serve people as spirit protectors.
Russian brownies
One way or another, the brownie was the one on whom the well-being of the family depended. Therefore, they always tried to build good relations with him. It was customary to feed the brownie, leaving a plate of food for him in a special place. The grateful spirit protected the dwelling from thieves, from fire, averted troubles and misfortunes. The brownie was especially concerned about livestock, and mainly about horses. It was believed that at night he was busy in the stable, taking care that the horse did not remain hungry or unkempt. Like other supernatural beings, in Russia it was believed that the brownie could predict the future. For example, if at night you hear a roar, howling, crying and similar ominous signs, then you have to wait for trouble. If at night there is a quiet laugh, joyful exclamations and the like, then a pleasant surprise awaits the family.
In some legends, female brownies also appear. In some cases, we are even talking about entire families of brownies. However, this is much less common in folklore.
dragons
Dragons are very popular supernatural creatures with hundreds of varieties all over the world. Currently, their popularity is increasing, thanks to the mass passion for the fantasy genre in art. Legends about supernatural creatures, similar in appearance to huge lizards, cutting through the air space and breathing fire, are known literally on all continents among all tribes and peoples. The storyline in them can be very different, and the cultural codes and symbols they carry are correspondingly different. In Asia, for example, dragons are the wisest creatures who descended from heaven and gave people knowledge, culture, medicine, taught them magic, agriculture and morality. In the West, on the contrary, they were chthonic monsters, carrying with them only death and destruction. In Christian times, the dragon was often associated with the devil, but at the same time it was a favorite heraldic symbol. The battle with him for the sake of saving a woman or acquiring wealth is a characteristic plot for European as well as Slavic folklore.
Unicorns
Our list of supernatural creatures continues with such an interesting character as a unicorn. He is depicted, as a rule, in the form of a horse with a beautiful straight horn growing from his forehead.
The earliest images of this animal come from India, and their age is estimated at four thousand years. Gradually, from Asia, this character penetrated into ancient Greece and Rome. However, there he was considered a very real animal. Such beliefs spread among the Greeks thanks to a doctor named Ctesias, who spent many years in Persia, and upon returning to his homeland in Hellas, described in his writings massive Indian donkeys with a horn growing on their foreheads. All this took place in the 5th century and was later popularized by Aristotle. The traditional equine appearance of the unicorn today was not originally taken for granted. He was represented both with the body of a goat and a bull, and according to some descriptions, this creature looked more like a rhinoceros.
Unicorns in later legends
In late Western European myths, the unicorn appeared as a ferocious creature, a meeting with which promised death. But, being the personification of morality and holiness, this creature could only be tamed by a virgin and kept in submission only by a golden bridle. It is not surprising that with the spread of Catholicism, this animal became one of the emblems of the Virgin Mary. His enemies were elephants and lions. Belief in them was so strong in Europe and Russia that as early as the 19th century, naturalistic studies were carried out to find out whether supernatural beings called unicorns really exist or not. Some European monarchs, including those, were proud that their wands - attributes of royal power - were made from the horn of this animal. There was even a European market for the sale and purchase of these horns, in which Russian merchants (mostly Pomors) played an important role. Today it has been established that these horns actually belonged to narwhals.
Werewolves
Werewolves are another supernatural being, the list of varieties of which exceeds all conceivable limits. But they all have a common feature - they have the ability to turn from people into animals, and vice versa. Most often these are wolves, but in fact there are legends in which heroes turned into birds, fish, and other animals. The difference between the reincarnations of werewolves from other magical transformations is that they do it either of their own free will or under certain conditions, but in any case they turn back into people. In Russian mythology, even one of the heroes named Werewolf had this ability, according to folk legends, and the prince. Similar plots in Indian, Scandinavian and Celtic mythologies are extremely popular. In addition, the ability for such reincarnations was almost everywhere assigned to sorcerers and witches. During the time of the Inquisition, the accusation of such an act served as a pretext for initiating an investigation into connections with the devil.
Sometimes they distinguished werewolves from birth and those who became such for some reason. That person could be born a werewolf, whose mother during pregnancy ate the meat of an animal killed by a wolf, or bore the curse of werewolf herself. And to acquire the ability to turn into animals, one could either magically, or become an apostate. It was believed that in the latter case, a person becomes a werewolf, however, after death. The latter are joined by children who died not baptized. Accordingly, some werewolves experience this ability as a curse, while others use it as a magical gift and know how to control this ability.
Ghosts and Ghosts
Ghosts are, perhaps, the only supernatural beings whose list and photos can be viewed from strictly scientific positions. This phenomenon is so unprecedented that it goes beyond the boundaries of myths and legends and is part of everyday life. And today there are a lot of people who even grew up in the conditions of an advanced civilization, but, moreover, are confident in the existence of ghosts. Moreover, a huge number of eyewitnesses declare that they had or have contact with them. We are talking not only about mediums and parapsychologists, but also about specialists who are within the framework of strict academic science. However, the number of the latter is small. But the amount of eyewitness testimony, mysterious photographs and video footage of ghosts is overwhelming.
According to the most common belief, ghosts are the souls of dead people. Why do they appear in this world and what is their nature - there is no unity of opinion. But practically no one has any doubts that the dead appear in the form of translucent silhouettes.
Mermaids
Finishing off our list of supernatural creatures are mermaids. In modern culture, this is a very ambivalent character. It must be said right away that beautiful maidens with fish tails are not mermaids, they are sea maidens. Mermaids, on the other hand, are girls of a completely human appearance, originating from Slavic legends. In pre-Christian times, they were considered the spirits of rivers, and after Christianization, the opinion spread that drowned women who committed suicide become mermaids. They are not accepted for them in the afterlife, and therefore they are forced to serve their sentence on earth, living at the bottom of the river. The only night the mermaids come ashore is at night
Conclusion
As already mentioned, the characters listed above are far from all supernatural beings. Their list can be continued up to tens and hundreds of thousands of names, if you delve into the beliefs of each people in detail. The curious will no doubt be able to do this and find much more new unknown material.
It's no secret that people are always interested in the unknown. The most mysterious creatures are of genuine interest, and also influence the legends and folklore of different countries and peoples.
In this article, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with the least known creatures, however, no less scary and frightening. Whether they are mythical is up to you.
There are two alternative versions of the appearance of the wendigo.
- Based on the first, it is believed that a brave warrior sold his soul in order to protect his tribe from an impending threat. After the tribe was saved, he went into the forest and was never seen again.
- Another version says that the wendigo began to lose its human appearance due to the use of black magic, and was also a cannibal. In any case, in the end, this monster appeared.
Many compare it with, but outwardly it is completely different from. And the behavior of the wendigo has significant distinguishing features.
Growth exceeds the average, but you can’t call it huge. However, he is very thin. According to some descriptions, it is clear that sometimes parts of the body may be missing due to frostbite: toes, the tip of the ear or nose. The body is covered with matted hair, or may be completely bald.
Wendigo love to hunt down their prey. Overtaking a lonely traveler, they begin to frighten him by making sounds. When the person begins to look around for the source of the sound, the wendigo attacks.
It will not be possible to escape, because wendigo are very fast and hardy. As a rule, no one manages to survive after meeting with this monster.
The only way to kill this monster is to stick an iron or silver blade through the heart.
The folklore of every country is filled with stories of reborn people who have received new abilities. One of these creatures was the shtriga, or strix.
Being people from birth, they turned into because of the addiction to eat human flesh.
In the Middle Ages, shtriga belonged to witches. It is possible that they could be a kind of vampires of ancient Rome.
Ultimately, shtrigi are dead mythical creatures, but by using the life force of slain families, they prolong their existence.
You can only kill a monster with a red-hot iron while eating.
Draugs or Draugrs
Like shtrigi, they were originally human. But after death, they turned into the living dead. 
The draugs live in a cemetery, next to the graves of the Vikings. Approaching any settlement, they sow fear and death, destroying everything in their path.
Surprisingly, draugs are mentioned in some books. For example, "The Saga of the People from the Sandy Shore" tells about Thorolf.
Being a draugr, he killed people, after which the valley was empty. Draugs are also mentioned in the Saga of the Sand Valley Men.
These monsters love to inhabit the tombs of rich people, thus protecting their property from thieves.
Draughs are strong, have pale skin, and are able to grow in size. After killing a person, the monster first drinks his blood, and then begins to eat him.
It is believed that draugs appear in the form of smoke, being released from their graves.
Icelandic legends say that the only way to kill a draugr is to cut off its head, then burn it and scatter the ashes over the sea water.
These mythical creatures prefer to live near the sea coasts. Freed from the graves, they are looking for victims among the sailors.
They can take on many different forms, causing people to be scared to death. For example, instead of a head, algae grow.
Nautical legends say that draugs can take the form of stone or seaweed. Before you step on something like that, you need to spit on it.
If the draug gets on the ship in the form of a stone, then the ship is doomed to death along with the entire crew. And sometimes draugs can be harbingers of death.
ghouls
The word "ghouls" comes from Arabic myths and refers to demons. They lived in cemeteries, and according to legend, they are the descendants of the Iblis.
Iblis are genies who have an analogue in Christianity - Satan. Iblis harass women, and if they succeeded, then ghouls appeared.
Iblis could wander the earth, since Allah thus tested people: whether Iblis could sow immorality and vice in their heads.
According to some reports, ghouls are those living in the desert, capable of taking the form of hyenas or other animals.
Luring the wanderers deep into the depths, the ghouls ate them. They gave preference to children, but sometimes they did not disdain the dead.
They most often take the form of werewolves, but can take the form of any creature they kill, including humans and animals.
In order to renew their appearance, they shed their old skin like snakes.
In appearance, it is impossible to distinguish whether it is a real person or a shapeshifter.
The only thing that gives them away is the glow of the eyes, which can only be seen on video frames or photographs.
Familiars. Black Dogs
Witches with black magical abilities give birth to peculiar animals - familiars.
These mythical creatures are connected to the master by demonic bonds or magic.
European witches prefer cats, weasels, toads or owls. Shamans use a totem as a familiar.
Black dogs can also be familiars of black witches.
An old English legend tells of Black Shaq, who foreshadowed death by his appearance. In 1577, A. Fleming described his appearance in the book Strange and Terrible Miracle.
The dogs appear in bright flashes of light, just as they disappear, but the place is chosen exclusively for witchcraft.
Japanese legends also mention black dogs that were sacrificed to bring rain. In Asia, the blood of black dogs was considered a powerful talisman.
Reaper
To summon this creature, you need an altar, as well as a number of magical items for the ritual: human blood and a special cross.
After the Reaper appears, he takes the life of the one who called him to restore balance.
The reaper is not a demon, it's just the appearance of death, which was called the psychopomp.
They served as a kind of guide to the afterlife. Charon in Greece, Valkyries in Norway, Anubis in Egypt, and so on. Some shamans, for example, are psychopomps themselves.
Reapers have power over time and people's minds. It can change the vision of the world, of the person himself.
The appearance of the Reaper is different for each individual case, but it is generally accepted that he appears in rags or funeral clothes.
There is speculation that Peter Pan was some kind of guide to the afterlife, as the book describes how he accompanied the children on their journey after death.
Lycanthropy
In the Middle Ages, this phenomenon was associated with sorcerers who wore magical clothes or a belt.
As they are also called, they covered the body with a potion, put on a special belt and turned into a wolf with great strength and endurance. Later, the myth of the magic belt gradually disappeared.
Now it is read that werewolves can turn themselves on a full moon. It is not known how much of this is fiction, but the Roman writer left one story that told real events involving a werewolf.
In many folklore stories from different nations, there is an opinion that werewolves are exiles, vicious people.
In Armenian folklore, there is a mention of women who were possessed by a spirit for their sins. They could turn into wolves and were forced to kill their own children.
In North America, there is a legend about a lu-garoo who came from France. After conversion, this creature turned into a monster for 101 nights in a row, and during the day it experienced torment and suffering. Most often, they were expelled by people, which angered the lu-gara, contributing to bitterness and murder.
You can kill them with silver: a bullet or a blade. But it is possible to cure lycanthropy. If you kill the progenitor, the one who turned the werewolf, then all those infected by him will be released.
Volkolak existed in Slavic mythology. They could be of their own free will. Most often, sorcerers turned into werewolves to enhance their abilities.
An evil spirit from old Russian mythology. He was several centimeters tall, his body was covered with black hair, and his head was bald. Anchutka had no heels.
There is an opinion that it is impossible to pronounce his name aloud, otherwise Anchutka will instantly appear in front of you.
Residence, as a rule, a field, a bathhouse or a reservoir. The main condition is proximity to people, but away from other supernatural beings.
Field anchuts are the most peaceful. Bathhouses and swamps have a perky disposition, they joke evilly, endangering a person’s life.
Marsh anchutes grab swimmers by the legs and try to drown them, while bathing anchutes frighten people with strange sounds or appear in terrible images.
Anchutki can be invisible. They move quickly and are afraid of iron and salt.
Shakers and Navi
Shakers - causing diseases. Most often mentioned in conspiracies.
Represented as 12 ugly women. They are associated with evil spirits, and when a person is sick, they appear next to him in the guise of a devil.
Navi - the spirits of death. Ancient Russian creatures that send diseases to both people and cattle. Their involvement in disasters was not ruled out.
At night they roam the dark streets, killing all travelers. The only way to escape from the Navi was not to leave the house, protecting it with amulets.
An infinite number of creatures and monsters are present in various myths and religions. Differing in appearance and abilities, they always created problems for people, and most often killed them.
Of course, the existence of each has not been proven, so believing in them or not is entirely your choice.
Photos from open sources
Mysterious and incomprehensible events constantly occur in all corners of the planet. (website)
However, not all of them are world famous. Only the most amazing supernatural cases become the subject of conversation among the inhabitants of all countries. So, everyone knows about the American Area 51, where the military studied an unidentified flying object shot down by them with an alien corpse on board, or about the Egyptian pyramids, near which trees grow several times faster, and the water clears itself.
Undoubtedly, in such a large and eventful country as Russia, there were also many paranormal events that struck the imagination not only of the Russians themselves, but of all earthlings. Therefore, many of us may ask a natural question: what supernatural phenomena that happened directly to our people are best known abroad?
Tunguska meteorite
This amazing event took place in the days of the Russian Empire. On the morning of June 30, 1908, in the region of the Siberian river Podkamennaya Tunguska, there was a colossal explosion with a capacity of fifty megatons of TNT equivalent, which is comparable to the power of the largest hydrogen bomb. As a result of the explosion, trees were knocked down on an area of over two thousand square kilometers, and windows flew out in houses within a radius of several hundred kilometers from the epicenter.
Photos from open sources
The event, accompanied by an intense glow of the sky, was recorded by all the observatories of the planet. According to the official version, it exploded over Siberia, but for some reason its fragments were not found. Many experts suggest that it was not the meteorite that was to blame, but Russia's testing of secret weapons, or the experiments of the legendary physicist Nikola Tesla, or the tricks of aliens. To this day, this incident is shrouded in a veil of mystery, and world scientists are still breaking their heads over it.
Soviet cosmonauts, as pioneers of space research, had a hard time, because due to the imperfection of the equipment, emergency situations arose very often. Space flights were further aggravated by the fact that our stargazers suffered from aliens who flew up to them at close range. Many Soviet cosmonauts who returned from orbit reported that unidentified flying objects were approaching their ships.
For 13 seasons of the Supernatural series, we enjoy the company of charismatic brothers surrounded by various wickedness, angels and demons. And where there is mysticism in the plot, there will definitely be something interesting in the shooting itself, stories and the real life of the actors. For fans of the series, we have collected the most interesting facts about Supernatural.
Photo: commons.wikimedia.org / BeatlesOriginals
Filming
As planned by Eric Kripke, the series was supposed to last no more than 3 seasons. After the overwhelming success, the end was pushed back to the 5th season, where the storyline seemed to bring to a logical conclusion. But the continuation followed and at the moment we are talking about the release of the 14th, final season. The series will consist of exactly 300 episodes.
2. 16 instead of 22
The third season of the series was released in 2007. This is the only season where there are not 22 episodes, but only 16. This happened because of the writers' strike, demanding higher deductions from the trade union.
3. Kripke is the head of everything
The first idea of the producers was a storyline - a couple of journalists collect urban legends and publish them in the newspaper column "Unnatural". But with the arrival of Eric Kripke, the storyline turned into a travel tape. According to his plan, each small town tells its own story. And after the director and and - there was no doubt - the duo must be brought to the fore.
Thanks to Kripka, the famous "Supernatural" appeared, the Winchester family and their faithful companion -.
4. Why Kansas?
The writer/producer chose Lawrence, Kansas as the home of the Winchester family because of the town's proximity to the legendary Stull Cemetery. After all, a lot of interesting legends collected by Kripke over the course of 10 years are connected with him.
5. Who would have thought
Before approving the script already known to us, for the pilot series, the following options for starting the story were offered:
- the brothers were raised by an uncle and aunt;
- Sam's girlfriend became a Demon;
- Dean was a serial killer and killed his father (according to Sam, that's why he left to study);
The brothers' father dies in Jessica's house.
6. I demand rock!
In addition to music written specifically for the series, the show uses a large number of original recordings of rock bands. It was expensive, because their use is not cheap, and Kripke was tempted to leave if he was not allowed to use them. Some tracks are taken from Kripke's personal collection. A fan of his work, what can I say.
7. Kripke is not forever?
After the release of the fifth season, Eric left the project. This fact terribly upset the fans of the series, although the screenwriter promised that he would continue to participate and suggest interesting ideas to the new team.
8 The Real From Supernatural
All the sites that took place according to the plot of the series were created by the authors in real life. Now from all these addresses there is a redirect to the official resource of the film studio. Dean's real phone number was also used. He could be seen in the Ghost Rider series. You could call there and hear the message left by Ackles, the same as in the movie.
9. Book cult
Based on the plots of the series, 12 books were written from 2007 to 2013. These are novels written by different authors.
10. Anime
In 2009, one season of the anime series was filmed at the Japanese Film Studio, it has 22 parts. Padalecki voiced Sam in English in all episodes, Ackles was able to take part only in the last couple of episodes.
11. Exorcism
The series uses actual lyrics for exorcisms. They are taken from the texts of Psalm 67 (68) and the Romanesque ritual, banned in the 14th century, although some parts of this ritual are taken from the Bible.
Characters
12. Fathers and sons
In real life, the actor D.D. Morgan, who played the father of the Winchester brothers, is only 12 years older than his “serial” eldest son Ackles. But the difference between the “brothers” both in the plot and in life is the same, 4 years.
13. Winchesters or Harrisons
Kripke is a fan of Harrison Ford and wanted the family of hunters to have the last name Harrison. However, the real Sam Harrison lived in Kansas and the legal aspect forced her to change her last name. Not everything went smoothly with the Winchesters either, Jack Winchester was found alive (that was the name of Sam and Dean's father), the character had to change the name, and John Winchester appeared.
14. When the result exceeded expectations
Many of the characters we love were intended to be episodic. These include:
- Bob Singer - was supposed to appear in one episode;
- Crowley (Mark) was considered a guest character until season 10;
- Misha Collins did not even dream that Castiel would last so long and be included in the main team;
- Mark Pellegrino - Lucifer, included in the main team only in season 12.
15. King of Hell
Crowley is the only mystical character who is not one in real life. Aleister Crowley is a real person, occultist, researcher and, according to many sources of Kabbalah practices, the creator of the TARO THOT deck. Of course Alistair was in the most famous occult organizations. Therefore, his British persona came in handy for the role of the colorful king of hell.
16. Sam or Dean
Initially, Ackles auditioned for the role of Sam, but after rereading the script, he decided that Dean was closer in spirit to him. Ackles took part in the casting of actors for the role of Sam.
17. Castiel (Castiel)
There is no mention of such an angel in Christian scripture, but there is in the Kabbalistic one, where Cassiel is the strongest angel and is not able to appear before a person in his true form, because it kills mere mortals.
creatures
18. Demons
All demon characters (except Crowley mentioned) are mostly taken from occult, cabalistic and esoteric writings, some are taken from Christian writings, mythology of different countries. In particular, Kabbalah, the Book of Enoch, the Old Testament, the myths and legends of Scandinavia, Greece, Rome.
19. Leviathans
According to Scandinavian mythology, leviathans are huge sea monsters that live at the bottom of the Mariinsky depression. In other words, the snakes of Jörmungandr, carrying the end of the world. In the series, they were slightly stylized, but the essence of their existence survived.
20. Monsters
Most of the monsters are taken from legends, tales, mystical, occult books. But there are those whose origin is the work of the authors of the series.
21. Inhabitants of heaven
Among those known to us from the Bible are the Archangel, Angels, Seraphim, Nephilim. Apparently, reapers can also be attributed to divine beings, who collect souls and direct them to their destination for distribution.
22. Other entities
Among the many creatures that the brothers met on the way, there are various fairy-tale characters, ghosts, lost souls and entities from other cultures of our big planet.
I would like to note that the series "Supernatural" is not just an entertainment show. He introduces us to the mythology of different countries, eras and religions.
Assume that the supernatural exists and consists of beings/forces that can interact with our natural universe in ways that are contrary to the natural laws of that universe (at least as we know them).
Take any general or historical example of the supernatural such as miracles, spiritual/supernatural revelations, sixth senses (in some contexts), angels/demons, various explanations of God/gods, vampires/werewolfs, etc. What do you like or is your favorite . In general, you just need a being that exists in another dimension/plane of existence and can at least one-way interact with ours in a way that "violates" the laws of nature.
What evidence can exist or can be obtained for these beings/forces/events being truly supernatural? Is it possible that they can be scientifically tested or proven? To what level or extent?
Any supernatural event that can be observed (such as faith healing) can have witnesses that provide some amount of legal/historical evidence, but is there a way to expand this into a more rigorous scientific test? For example, if we could know that a supernatural event was going to happen at a certain point in time, and capture whatever data we want, could that ever reach a higher level of evidence than courtroom-style evidence?
Note: this probably applies to many other similar questions such as proving one of the many ambiguous hypotheses, proving free will/dualism, etc. I think this might also work for proving alien encounters...
Court Ammon
What do you define as "truly supernatural?" I have found with this particular topic that the "supernatural" treatment gets dominated by the discussion that follows. As one trivial example, if supernatural means "not explainable by natural means" and science seeks to prove everything by "natural means", science will never prove the supernatural because it is defined as doing otherwise.
Philipp Klöcking ♦
Supernatural = not in nature, transcending it. Proof = relation to / explanation by a fact in nature (taken as the sum of all facts, fields of science and experience, etc.). So supernatural by definition means unprovable. Unprovable means that it is meaningless unless it is transcendent to something provable. Only 2 Kantian cents.
LightCC
@virmaior Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't it philosophical to think about how one proves what is real and what is the basic nature of reality?
Philipp Klöcking ♦
@LightCC: If this is your only question, first read the already answered questions on this topic, they are to the right of "related" and were already highlighted to you when writing this question.
Answers
Court Ammon
I think your question is hard to answer, is that it depends on the meanings of several words:
- supernatural
- Proof of
- witness
- proof
Many of them are notoriously difficult to identify on their own. Trying to define them together often leads to trivial results.
For example, it is trivial to demonstrate that there can be no evidence for the supernatural. Any supernatural effect would have to be unpredictable by our existing empirical models. His exploration will lead to one of two outcomes:
- It defies scientific analysis, and in this case it is not scientifically proven
- He submits to scientific analysis, in which case he becomes part of "nature". (See Quantum Mechanics for an excellent example of positive whimsical results woven into the model, empirically defended through experimentation, and now considered "natural")
In contrast, religion constantly claims the existence of the supernatural and offers its own supernatural history as evidence. This proof is clearly not scientific (although some try), but it is considered proof for them. In order to dismiss their claims, we must define "prove" in a way that excludes their claims. Many definitions have been proposed, but most of the criteria for "non-scientific proof" do not correspond to what we tend to call "proof", just as scientific "proofs" generally do not correspond to what mathematicians call "proof".
There have been dozens, if not hundreds, of attempts to prove the supernatural by conducting statistical studies of "witnesses" to try and determine criteria for credulity for them. Generally speaking, the witnesses have proved unreliable in this regard.
To delve deeper into this area of philosophy in these vague terms. Epistemology is the study of what can be known, and has many terms that are more suited to the enterprise: deduction, induction, and abduction are particularly useful examples of terms. It even serves as an effective approach to the concept of "witness", which at first glance seems more complicated. If you look at epistemology, you will recognize approaches and words that can be used to frame your question in a way that will get you a less trivial answer. This is a good line of questions, it's just a question that's hard to handle in the Stack Exchange Q&A format unless you acquire the local language first.
LightCC
I freely admit that I am a philosophical layman and do not know all the necessary terms. I agree that it is possible to trivialize the answer by the definition of the term. For me, this is usually (but not always) just a way to avoid the original question. But there are cases where this is clearly not the case. Thanks for the reply - I'm always willing to learn but often lazy about learning the best technical vocabulary for queries like this...
Philipp Klöcking ♦
@LightCC: Well, philosophy is essentially the development of a more technical vocabulary for learning and explaining the logical scheme of terms. Otherwise, every native speaker can be a "philosopher" only through the ability to use the language correctly. Especially Philosophy.SE encourages asking and answering with specific technical usage of specific philosophers.
LightCC
Also, I'm not sure that expanding the natural realm to contain any future evidence of the supernatural is always the destruction of the supernatural. This has certainly been the case in many cases in recent history (the last 400 years or so). But let's say we find a way to transfer ourselves to another dimension that has "angels/demons" and a different set of "laws of existence". It would seem to expand our natural world to include this new multiverse and say that it is no longer "supernatural"... I'm not sure if the word for that is pretentious? Deceptive? Just wrong?
LightCC
@ PhilipKlöcking I'll step up my game then! :)
Court Ammon
@LightCC What if we transfer ourselves to a dimension where the inhabitants of that dimension can demonstrate telepathy or even run right through solid walls like they're not even there? Some may even exist in regions where you can prove that no one can survive. Will we include them as "natural law" or will they be seen as unnatural because you had to leave the world you know to get there? The study of the supernatural essentially leads to the study of the natural. (By the way, these behaviors are anthropomorphisms of the usual behavior of quantum mechanics.)
Nelson Alexander
Oh sure.
You can *scientifically prove** what is considered supernatural. But once you do, they are no longer supernatural. They are "natural", as the methods show natural Sciences.
However, you are probably wasting your time with the various hobgoblins and creepy powers you list. We do not see such phenomena, werewolves, resurrections or mind control that require a scientific explanation. First you need to demonstrate them publicly and repeatedly, which in most cases is indefinable.
As Hume noted, by "miracle" we mean precisely that which cannot be predicted, controlled, or replicated experimentally. We now fly, cure the plague, transmit voices for miles, and do other previously "wonderful" things. But they are no longer "miracles" except metaphorically.
Likewise, magnetism, séances, ghosts, and the like have often interested hopeful scientists and philosophers. William James, with his tolerant epistemology, for example, "liked to dim the lights to give miracles a chance," as Oliver Wendell Holmes put it. The search never ends, the possibilities are never completely ruled out.
Thus, it is possible that some of the machinations of the strange world that you mentioned can be brought to science. We have never seen X-rays before, so perhaps meaningful "auras" will be found. We've never worked with machines with direct neural input, so it's possible that such powers could somehow be telepsychically engineered. We've never created genetically monstrous mice or glowing rabbits, so maybe werewolves are right around the corner.
The thing is, you're wrong about the categories. Everything can become the object of the scientific method. But once it has been adequately demonstrated, contextualized within existing theoretical frameworks, experimentally tested, and test results repeated "at will," we will no longer call it "supernatural." And, of course, there is the issue of research funding...
LightCC
Thanks to Nelson, but I want to point out that I did not limit the discussion to scientific research or evidence (although scientific evidence is not limited to the scientific method and can only include empirical data). I find it interesting (and actually quite funny) that you can replace "supernatural" in my question with something like "aliens" and you can pretty much leave the same question unchanged... and have those same answers.
LightCC
So, thinking about it a little more, the gist of your answer is that the body of evidence shows that scientific research has responded to a natural explanation for what people who lived before the age of reason would call "supernatural", that the bar of evidence is so high that not can be met?
Nelson Alexander
I don't know what a bar is "high". Science is simply a method of determining, falsifying, predicting, experimenting, etc., ending in a hypothetical consensus that is always open to revision given new evidence. Of course, there are many things we don't know. Many may contradict or revise our current "laws of nature." But it is assumed that the things we call "supernatural" do not belong to the realm of "natural science." They may simply be intermittent, unmanageable, random, perceived by only a few. As such, they are not "provable" in the "scientific" sense.
Alexander S King
I think you need to divide the supernatural into two categories:
- Religious Supernatural: Miracles, Divine Intervention, Angels, etc... by definition they are outside the scope of science and cannot be verified. Testing requires reproducibility and falsification, and neither is applicable in the case of religious supernatural events. The whole point of miracles is that God supposedly made the rules about who works in the universe, and he's the only one who can break them.
- Occult Supernatural: Vampires, werewolves, fairies, witches, etc... if anyone ever proves the existence of such creatures, then we'll just have to update the laws of science to account for their existence. You can already see this in the literature that deals with this type of fantasy - those who deal with these types of creatures are portrayed as scientists who simply specialize in unusual areas of research.
In any case, to prove beyond a doubt that something supernatural happened is very unlikely. If something really outlandish were to happen (say, a person levitating, or a truly incredible healing, such as an amputee who had his natural limb restored), then there are only two ways to convince normal rational people of their truth:
- Or you can somehow reproduce the event at will.
- The event took place in front of a significant number of independent witnesses, who all testify to its occurrence.
Philipp Klöcking ♦
As stated in the comments above, other explanations should also be ruled out. This is much more than just having a huge group of witnesses. We have them at every "magic" show in Las Vegas every day, but nothing supernatural happens, there's just no obvious explanation for them.
LightCC
I appreciate the answer. Thank you. I don't think angels/demons fit into the first category because my understanding is that myths/literature don't have unlimited power. Regarding your original claim that miracles/divine intervention are unverifiable - I'm not sure if your first answer at the end isn't potentially contradicting that claim?
Alexander S King
"I'm not sure if your first answer at the end doesn't potentially contradict that statement?" No - because testing and proof are two different things. We may rely on witnesses or archaeological evidence to prove that something happened, but you can never verify it.
LightCC
I agree that you will need some sort of repeatability and/or interaction for testing. I need to know that an event is coming up so I can collect data. For example, if a genie gave me 3 wishes and I've only used 1 so far...
Mozibur Ulla
AT logic Hegels in the introduction to the first book of Genesis reads:
So much is logical for a man, such is his nature. If, however, we contrast nature as such, as the domain of the physical, with the domain of the spiritual, then we must say that logic is supernatural an element that pervades all his natural behavior, his ways of perceiving, intuition, desire...
And logic has its own methods of proofs and demonstrations.
LightCC
I accept this definition of the supernatural because it explains it in terms of dualism. The natural being is physical, and the supernatural is spiritual. But it is not clear to me what the proof requirement is here. Is Hegel saying that the fact that we are logical is a supernatural element inherent in us? That would be proof (by definition?) that we are dualistic in nature, wouldn't it?
Conifold
If the test-taker is interpreted in the way that he is usually interpreted in science, at least two conditions must be met. First, the supernatural must be recurrent and/or reproducible, or we can observe some violation of natural laws at predictable times (for example, bleeding from a crucifix on certain dates), or, even better, perform experiments that cause such violations to occur. . Second, it had to be a manifest, sublime mystical experience private to the individual, no matter how experienced and trustworthy, it would not do. However, I suspect that if these conditions are met, whatever phenomena are posed, they would be moved from the supernatural to the natural pillar and studied scientifically.
Single events, supernatural or not, can be the subject of something like historical research, and there is a notion of confirmation based on the existence of credible and documented accounts. However, this credibility often includes the idea that, at a minimum, these accounts are physically plausible. So miracles in the singular say that it will take an extraordinary level of documentation to bridge the credibility gap.
The supernatural, as in violations of natural laws, is often associated with unlikely events such as "unlikely" escapes or healings. They are not supernatural, even if they are colloquially exaggerated as "nothing less than a miracle". We know that human probabilistic intuition is very wrong and sees miracles where there are none due to the base rate error. For example, the Vatican standard for miraculous healing is that the recovery must be "complete", "instantaneous", "lasting", and "scientifically inexplicable". However, from a scientific point of view, statistical accidents, although inexplicable, are not miraculous. Again, there must be a recurring pattern and a high level of supporting documentation to draw a statistical conclusion about something supernatural.
LightCC
I appreciate the answer and tend to agree with the analysis. I think there is room for possible testability if a way can be found to cause the event to repeat. For example, capture a vampire and conduct experiments (for a fun example!). A faith healer who can heal multiple times may be different. But in general I agree with the recommendations you suggest.
James Kingsbury
Much of this, of course, will depend on who you ask. My own religious tradition maintains that miracles are rare (that is, they do happen, but even the circumstances under which they occur are not a recurring routine). There are groups in the Catholic Church that ask a different but related question: for a given claim of something miraculous (such as being healed by a miracle or an apparition), was it actually a miracle?
It is known that there is a concept of "devil's advocate", whose job it was to punch miracles in claims, showing that they were fraudulent or due to natural causes.
Recently, people in the city of Međugorje claimed to have seen Mary (the mother of Jesus), and later the Catholic Church said there was not enough evidence for this.
Many have studied Lourdes as an example where there are many reports of miraculous healings. It was shown that individual healing are beyond the scientific knowledge of mankind, but since the healing process itself is not repeated, it is impossible to experiment with scientific meaning.
In these three examples, or in any others that might be given, it is important to note that they take the form of a test or historical study rather than a scientific experiment. Since (at least the Catholics claim) miracles are not repeatable historical events, it seems appropriate to use an approach more like a question like "Did Caesar subjugate Gaul?". not "How long does it take for this object to fall?"
LightCC
Similar to other answers - appreciate additional citations. Consensus is presented only by historical/witness/empirical evidence, meaning that you have to decide for yourself based on the evidence - no scientific method is possible. Unless you can constantly summon or cause a supernatural being to continuously trigger supernatural events.
