Douglas Scott Rogo (February 1, 1950 – August 18, 1990) was an American writer,journalist and researcher on subjects related toparapsychology. Rogo was murdered in 1990 at the age of 40.[1][2] His case remains unsolved.[3][4]
Born inLos Angeles, California, and educated at theUniversity of Cincinnati and San Fernando Valley State College (nowCalifornia State University, Northridge; he graduated summa cum laude from the latter institution in 1972. (His B.A. was in music; Rogo played theoboe and theEnglish horn, and for two years played professionally with theSan Diego Symphony and other ensembles.) Rogo served as a consulting editor forFate Magazine for which he wrote a regular column; he advocated greater involvement by both researchers and skeptics in parapsychological research.[7] He is most well known for his book written with Raymond Bayless titledPhone Calls From The Dead (1979) in which they describe an alleged paranormal phenomenon in which people report that they receive simple, brief, and usually single-occurrencetelephone calls fromspirits of deceased relatives, friends, or strangers.[8]
In his bookThe Haunted Universe (1977) Rogo hypothesized that strange phenomena such asflying saucers andBigfoot are really psychic projections that are produced by the minds of the observers themselves.[9]
Rogo was last seen alive on August 14, 1990.[3] He was found by police in his home on August 16. He had been stabbed to death.[1][4] There were no signs of a struggle although a number of Rogo's personal items were missing and his wallet was empty.[3] The police later arrested 29-year-old John Battista. After an initial mistrial, he was tried and convicted of Rogo's murder in 1992. After lengthy appeals, his conviction was later overturned, due to prosecutorial misconduct, in 1996.[4] His killer is still unknown and the case remains open.
In his memory, theParapsychology Foundation establishedThe D. Scott Rogo Award for Parapsychological Literature in 1992 to benefit authors working on manuscripts pertaining to parapsychology.[10][11] The parapsychologist George P. Hansen wrote: "Scott was also a leading authority on the history of psychical research. In this I would estimate that there are only three or four people in the world who might be considered to be in his league. The breadth of his historical knowledge of the field was unsurpassed."[2]
Rosemary Guiley has written "within the parapsychology establishment, Rogo was often faulted for poor scholarship, which, critics said, led to erroneous conclusions."[12] The parapsychologist Douglas Stokes wrote that Rogo'sPhone Calls From The Dead "was widely criticized in the parapsychological community for its generally sloppy and credulous nature."[13]
Science writerTerence Hines has written Rogo was a proponent ofpseudoscience as he had advocated a nonfalsifiable hypothesis in parapsychology.[14]
Skeptical investigatorJoe Nickell has heavily criticized Rogo for being "credulous". In his bookMiracles: A Parascientific Inquiry Into Wondrous Phenomena, Rogo declared various cases to be evidence for genuinemiracles. However, Nickell found possible naturalistic explanations that Rogo had ignored.[15]
The Search for Yesterday: A Critical Examination of the Evidence for Reincarnation. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. 1985.
Life After Death: The Case for Survival of Bodily Death. Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, England: Aquarian Press. 1986.
Mind Over Matter: The Case for Psychokinesis: How the Human Mind Can Manipulate the Physical World. Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, England: The Aquarian Press. 1986.
On the Track of the Poltergeist. Englewood Cliffs. NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc. 1986.
The Infinite Boundary: A Psychic Look at Spirit Possession, Madness, and Multiple Personality. New York: Dodd, Mead & Company. 1987.
Psychic Breakthroughs Today: Fascinating Encounters with Parapsychology’s Latest Discoveries. Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, England: The Aquarian Press. 1987.
The Return From Silence: A Study of Near-Death Experiences. Wellingtiorough, Northamptonshire, England: The Aquarian Press. 1989.
Beyond Reality: The Role Unseen Dimensions Play in Our Lives. Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, England: The Aquarian Press. 1990.
^abHansen, George P..D. Scott Rogo and His Contributions to Parapsychology. The Anthropology of Consciousness, Vol. 2, Nos. 3–4, September–December 1991, pp. 32–35.
