- Title: The Haunted Universe
- Additional cover text: "Miracles, hauntings, UFOs, unexplained disappearances, monsters — are they the work of some alien power? Or are they the creations of the psychic power within us?:
- Author: D. Scott Rogo (1950-1990)
- Cover illustrator: Unknown
- What's happening on the cover? Unknown. I guess I'm reminded of Magnolia, though.
- Additional questions posed on the back cover: "Is our universe haunted by bizarre denizens of another dimension? Are we being manipulated by extraterrestrials for a reason? Or are we ourselves the actual culprits, unconsciously calling on the psychic energies of our minds to create these phenomena? Is it mind over matter, belief giving birth to reality?"
- Publication date: 1977
- Publisher: Signet (New American Library), W7508
- Format: Paperback
- Pages: 168
- Cover price: $1.50 (about $7.67 today, which is just about par for the course for a trade paperback)
- Dedication: "To Martin Ebon, in thanks for his help and support"
- Others thanked in acknowledgements: Berthold Schwarz, Raymond Bayless, Vincent Gaddis (inventor of the phrase "Bermuda Triangle"), John Keel and Ivan Sanderson.
- Closing excerpt from acknowledgements: "Finally, I would like to thank those few 'respectable' parapsychologists and colleagues who urged me not to write this book, fearing it would adversely reflect on both me and the field. It was their timidity and reticence that helped me realize how important getting this material out in the open really is!"
- First sentence: "By inclination I am a pretty reserved fellow."
- Last paragraph: "I do not know what further research will prove about all the theories and speculations I have outlined in this book. They might all prove to be false. On the other hand, I shall be delighted if eventually science discovers that I am right!"
- Excerpt #1: "We have pretty well established that people and objects disappear into nowhere, or show up out of nowhere, or disappear and then reappear sometime later. All this is reminiscent of the U.S. postal system: letters never arrive, show up weeks after they were mailed, or undergo similar remarkable adventures. This analogy isn't meant to be totally flippant. What I'm suggesting is that all of these oddities represent a transportation system. And like any other system, things are bound to go wrong everyone once in a while! The concept of instantly transporting objects and people via teleportation through some sort of 'hyper-dimension' is certainly not mere science fiction."
- So, the idea of mail — including the Christmas postcards I sent to a pen pal in the Netherlands but that never arrived — getting lost could represent a "hyper-dimension" event and not merely human incompetence or poor design of sorting/processing machines? Apparently.
- Excerpt #2: "Dr. [Arthur] Guirdham is no slouch. He is a highly regarded and trained mental health specialist who was a practicing clinician for some forty years. However, there is one element of his approach to psychiatry that makes him unique among behavorial scientists. He believes that the world is haunted by evil forces and that these forces can exert a wicked pressure on unsuspecting man."
- Rating on Goodreads: 3.69 stars (out of 5)
- Goodreads review excerpt: In 2021, coffee wrote, "Specifically [Rogo] feels that collective conciousness created UFOs, miracles such as weeping statues, and cryptids such as Mothman and Big Foot. I'd say chronologically, so far this is my favorite of all of Scott Rogo's books, as he finally loosens up and rids himself of the crutch that is Raymond Bayless. ... Regardless, the book reads like someone who just read up a bunch of John Keel and wrote his own version of hwat [sic] he thinks is going on. That would be seen as me throwing shade, but I love John Keel so this was great reading."
- Rating on Amazon: 4.2 stars (out of 5)
- Amazon review excerpt: In 2007, author Laura Knight-Jadczyk wrote a 5,100-word review of The Haunted Universe that veers into several tangents and concludes: "... I don't think I trust much of what he writes at all. Have to give him two stars for trying, but he loses points for obfuscation of evidence and subjective thinking."
- Additional insight: If you're interested in contemporary thoughts about Rogo, two fans of his writing on X (formerly Twitter) are Theo Paijmans (@memizon) and Loren Coleman (@CryptoLoren).
But wait, there's more!
This card for ordering the Astara publication "Finding Your Place in the Golden Age" was tucked away inside, perhaps for use as a bookmark.
Astara has been around since 1951 and is still going strong. From its website: "Since 1951, Astara has existed to provide humanity with the knowledge of the Laws of the Universe, so that they may learn to make decisions based upon their own Higher Guidance. Spiritual self-realization is emphasized and information is provided to guide each individual on their own sacred life's path. Astara's teachings bridge the gap between contemporary Eastern and Western spiritual philosophies, presenting their mysteries in a clear context with the wisdom of ancient spiritual truths."
According to Encyclopedia.com, Astara was founded by Robert and Earlyne Chaney, both former spiritualists.
