Joe Nickell facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Joe Nickell
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Nickell in 2018
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| Born | December 1, 1944 West Liberty, Kentucky, U.S.
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| Died | March 6, 2025 (aged 80) |
| Education | University of Kentucky (BA, MA, PhD) |
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| Known for | CSICOP |
Joe Nickell (December 1, 1944 – March 6, 2025) was an American skeptic. He was famous for investigating strange claims and mysteries. He looked into things like ghosts, UFOs, and supposed miracles.
Nickell was a senior research fellow for the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. He wrote many articles for their magazine, Skeptical Inquirer. He also helped lead the Center for Inquiry Institute. He wrote or edited more than 30 books.
Some of his most important work included showing that the James Maybrick "Jack the Ripper Diary" was a fake. He also helped check if an old book called The Bondwoman's Narrative was real. It might have been the first novel by an African-American woman. Nickell also looked into who wrote the famous poem "The Night Before Christmas". He found evidence that Clement Clarke Moore was the author.
Contents
Joe Nickell's Early Life and Learning
Joe Nickell was born and grew up in West Liberty, Kentucky. His parents were J. Wendell and Ella (Turner) Nickell.
He earned his first college degree in 1967 from the University of Kentucky.
In 1968, when he was 24, he moved to Canada. He wanted to avoid being called to serve in the Vietnam War. In Canada, he started working as a magician, a card dealer, and a private investigator. He came back to the United States in 1977. This was after President Jimmy Carter allowed people who avoided the draft to return.
He went back to the University of Kentucky for more studies. He earned a master's degree in 1982 and a PhD in 1987. His PhD was in English, where he studied how to investigate literature and folklore.
In 2003, Nickell met his college girlfriend, Diana G. Harris, again. He found out he had a daughter named Cherette with her. He also had two grandsons. Diana and Joe got married in 2006. Diana later helped Joe with his investigations.
Cherette had always wondered about her biological father. She felt a strong feeling that Joe Nickell might be her dad. After talking more and taking a DNA test, she learned that Joe was indeed her father.
Joe Nickell wrote about this experience. He said that even though he was a skeptic, he learned to appreciate intuition. He was very happy to find his daughter and grandsons.
Joe Nickell's Amazing Career
Joe Nickell had many different jobs. He was a stage magician, a carnival salesman, and a private detective. He also worked as a blackjack dealer and a riverboat manager. He was a university teacher, an author, and a paranormal investigator. His website lists over 1,000 different roles he took on!
Since the early 1980s, he wrote and edited many books. These books covered many different topics.
A writer from The New Yorker magazine, Burkhard Bilger, wrote about Nickell. He met Nickell in 2002 in Lily Dale, New York. Nickell was there in disguise to investigate Spiritualist psychics.
Nickell was a regular guest on the Point of Inquiry podcast. He also held a special Houdini Seance every Halloween at the Center for Inquiry.
News and TV shows often asked for his opinion. They wanted his skeptical view on strange events.
He even helped actress Hilary Swank for her role in the movie The Reaping (2007). She played a paranormal investigator in the film. Joe Nickell passed away on March 6, 2025, at the age of 80.
Joe Nickell's Books and Investigations
Nickell's books cover four main areas: religious mysteries, forensic science, paranormal events, and general mysteries. He also wrote books for young readers.
Investigating Miracles and Religious Items
Nickell looked into many religious items and claims of miracles. In 1982, he wrote Inquest on the Shroud of Turin: Latest Scientific Findings. In this book, he showed how he collected evidence. He then followed the evidence to reach a conclusion. He updated the book in 1998 with new information. This included details about radiocarbon dating.
In his 1993 book Looking for a Miracle, Nickell studied miracles claimed by different religions. These included weeping statues, relics, and visions. For each event, Nickell looked at old written accounts. He explored natural explanations for what happened. He also thought about why religious groups might believe in these miracles. He often concluded that the miracles were either tricks or misunderstandings of natural events.
For example, he studied the weeping St. Irene icon in New York. Nickell said,
The shiny surface and small bumps made it look like the icon was crying. A religious person who wanted to see tears... could, especially with a candle, see glimmering in the tiny eyes. This, along with vertical cracks, made it look like tears.
His 2007 book Relics of the Christ focused on Christian relics. Relics are old items believed to be from holy people or events. Nickell suggested that honoring relics had become like a new form of worship. He said that no religious item has ever been proven to have special powers. But he always approached each case with an open mind. He wanted to find the truth.
In 2008, Prometheus Books published John Calvin's Treatise on Relics. Nickell wrote the introduction for this book.
In his 2013 book The Science of Miracles, Nickell investigated 57 reported miracles. He looked at everything from the Virgin Mary's face appearing on a grilled cheese sandwich to the Loretto Chapel staircase. He presented facts and myths clearly and respectfully.
Forensic Investigations: Solving Document Mysteries
Nickell's first book about checking if things are real was Pen, Ink, and Evidence. This book was about studying writing and writing materials. It was seen as a very important book for researchers.
In Camera Clues: A Handbook for Photographic Investigation, Nickell wrote about the history of photography. He showed how to figure out the age of old photos. He also explained how fake old photos could be made and how to spot them. He described how police use photography to identify people and places. He also explained trick photography, like photos of ghosts.
Detecting Forgery: Forensic Investigation of Documents (1996) explained what a document expert does. He said that fake documents often fail because the forgers don't know about old typefaces, inks, papers, or signatures. Nickell explained how he found fakes like Daniel Boone's musket and the Vinland Map.
In Real or Fake: Studies in Authentication (2009), Nickell used his knowledge of paper, ink, and pens. He showed how he investigated specific cases. These included the fake diary of Jack the Ripper and the real date of The Bondwoman's Narrative.
Investigating the Paranormal
Secrets of the Supernatural was Nickell's first book about investigating paranormal mysteries.
Missing Pieces: How to Investigate Ghosts, UFOs, Psychics, and Other Mysteries was written by Nickell and Robert A. Baker. It's a guide on how to investigate paranormal claims. It also talks about why people believe in these things. Nickell often quoted Baker, who said, "... there are no haunted places, only haunted people."
In Psychic Sleuths: ESP and Sensational Cases, Nickell gathered reports from researchers. They investigated claims by people who said they were "psychic detectives." None of the reports found that psychics had real special insights. Nickell concluded that these people were either fooling themselves or tricking others.
In Entities: Angels, Spirits, Demons, and Other Alien Beings, Nickell showed how ghost stories have changed over time. He explained how new technology influenced them. For example, the fake Cottingley Fairies photos were only possible when cameras became common.
Adventures in Paranormal Investigation goes into more detail than some of his other books. He looked at topics from dowsing (finding water with a stick) to healing spas.
The first part of CSI Paranormal is a guide on how to investigate paranormal claims. Nickell shared his steps for investigating:
- Investigate on site (go to the place).
- Check all the details of a story.
- Research similar cases.
- Look closely at physical evidence.
- Understand how a strange event developed.
- Test the claim in a controlled way.
- Try new ways to analyze the situation.
- Try to make the "impossible" happen again.
- Go undercover to investigate (like he did in Lily Dale).
In the second part of the book, Nickell showed how he used these steps. He investigated things like the Roswell UFO and the grilled cheese Madonna.
In The Science of Ghosts (2012), Nickell talked about common ghost stories. These included stories about Elvis, phantom soldiers, and haunted places. He showed that these stories are not proof of spirits. Instead, they show how a spooky setting can affect people who are ready to believe. He also looked at modern paranormal investigators from TV shows like Ghost Hunters. He compared their investigations to his own.
Solving Other Mysteries
Ambrose Bierce Is Missing And Other Historical Mysteries was Nickell's first book for the public about historical investigations. His 2005 update, Unsolved History: Investigating Mysteries of the Past, was the same book with two new recommended readings.
Real-Life X-Files and its follow-up, The Mystery Chronicle, are short essays. They cover the history and possible causes of many different mysteries.
Lake Monster Mysteries was a book Nickell wrote with Ben Radford. It explored famous lake monsters around the world.
For Tracking the Man-Beasts: Sasquatch, Vampires, Zombies, and More, Nickell traveled to many places where monsters were reported. He went to the Pacific Northwest for Bigfoot and Australia for the Yowie. He also visited places for werewolves, vampires, and the Chupacabra. Nickell showed how these monster stories changed over time. He concluded that the tales reflect culture, not real creatures.
Books for Young Readers
In 1989, Nickell wrote his first book for kids, The Magic Detectives. It presented paranormal stories as mysteries. Kids could find clues in the stories. The answers were printed upside down after each story. The book also had guides for teachers.
His 1991 book, Wonder Workers! How They Perform the Impossible, was about famous magicians. It showed how both honest and trickster magicians performed amazing feats. It helped readers understand the history of magic.
Articles and Online Writings
Joe Nickell wrote a regular column called "Investigative Files" for the Skeptical Inquirer magazine. He wrote this column from 1995 until he passed away. He also wrote often for the Center for Inquiry website.
Awards and Recognition
Joe Nickell received several awards for his work. In 2004, he got the Isaac Asimov Award from the American Humanist Association. He also shared the Robert P. Balles Prize in Critical thinking in 2005 and 2012. This award is given by CSICOP, now called CSI. In 2000, CSI gave him the Distinguished Skeptic award.
He also received an award for promoting science in popular media in 2009. This was at the 3rd Annual Independent Investigative Group IIG Awards.
In October 2011, an asteroid was named JoeNickell in his honor. Its official name is 31451 (1999 CE10). It was discovered by James E. McGaha.
