Paranormal News from the Paranormal Museum! February 20, 2026

--By Maddie Kosloski of the Perfectly Proper Paranormal Museum

Welcome back to the Perfectly Proper Paranormal Museum Dispatch—where the exhibits whisper secrets, the shadows have opinions, and the coffee is always strong enough to wake the dead (or at least keep me typing through another late-night research rabbit hole).

It's been a week of tangled threads here: that lingering pall from the museum murder investigation, my sister breezing in like a whirlwind of family lore and unsolicited advice, and the haunted painting refusing to give up its ghosts without a fight. Yet the museum endures, as do the mysteries that keep us all coming back. Let's dive into this week's roundup of the strange, the skeptical, and the sincerely spooky.

1) A renewed thirst for mediumship standards

The conversation around professionalizing mediumship has bubbled up again in paranormal circles—think calls for ethical guidelines, certification programs, or even something resembling licensing to separate genuine practitioners from the charlatans who prey on grief. On one hand, the intent feels noble: protect the vulnerable, elevate the field, curb the frauds who turn séances into pay-to-play cons. On the other, how do you license something as intangible as spirit communication? Who decides what qualifies as "real"? History is littered with attempts at regulation in psychic arts (from Victorian-era fraud exposés to modern self-policing associations), and they rarely end well—either too loose to matter or too rigid to honor the genuine mystery. Still, the discussion persists because the stakes are human hearts. Fraud doesn't just steal money; it steals hope. If standards emerge, they'll need to balance discernment with openness, lest we gatekeep the very phenomena we're trying to understand.

2) Is a chupacabra responsible for recent animal deaths in Mexico?

The classic goat-sucker legend refuses to stay buried. Fresh reports from rural areas in Mexico describe livestock found exsanguinated—drained of blood, puncture wounds, no signs of typical predators. Locals whisper of the chupacabra again: that spiny, reptilian creature (or hairless canine hybrid, depending on which eyewitness you ask) that's haunted Latin American folklore since the 1990s. Skeptics point to mundane culprits—coyotes with mange, big cats, even environmental factors—but the precision of the wounds and the eerie lack of struggle keep the cryptid theory alive.

3) The SORRAT paranormal archives

The Society for Research on Rapport and Telekinesis (SORRAT), that quirky 1960s–80s group led by John G. Neihardt and later tied to experiments with macro-PK (think objects moving without touch, table-tipping on steroids), left behind a fascinating, under-explored archive. Letters, photos, lab notes, and grainy footage of "minilab" sessions where groups attempted to influence physical reality through focused intention and emotional rapport. The results were mixed—some startling anomalies, plenty of nulls—but the emphasis on *rapport* (deep human connection as the catalyst) feels eerily relevant to our times. In a world that scatters us, SORRAT insisted that genuine paranormal effects might require trust, shared vulnerability, and collective focus. Their archives, scattered across universities and private collections, are a hidden trove for anyone researching how humanity's bonds might bend reality itself.

4) Modern resuscitation technology and the afterlife

Advancements in cardiac arrest revival—ECMO, targeted temperature management, delayed CPR protocols—are bringing people back from clinical death with sharper memories of near-death experiences (NDEs) than ever before. Recent studies and case reports describe vivid encounters: tunnels of light, life reviews, encounters with deceased loved ones, and a recurring sense of overwhelming love and interconnection. Skeptics argue these are brain-based hallucinations under extreme stress; experiencers and some researchers counter that the consistency across cultures and the transformative effects (reduced fear of death, increased empathy) suggest something more. The tech doesn't prove an afterlife, but it does force the question: if we can pull people from the brink with greater fidelity, what are they glimpsing on the other side?

5) Obama says UFOs are real, but he hasn't seen them

Former President Obama's latest comments (echoing earlier interviews) keep the door cracked open: unidentified aerial phenomena are real in the sense that credible pilots and sensors report things that defy known physics, but no, he personally never got the grand tour of little gray men or crashed saucers. His tone—measured, curious, non-committal—mirrors a broader cultural shift: from ridicule to reluctant acknowledgment.

That's the roundup, friends. The museum's lights stay on, the painting keeps its secrets (for now), and the research rolls forward. Drop your thoughts in the comments—what's got your radar pinging this week? And if you're local, swing by; the exhibits could use some fresh eyes (and maybe a little protection from whatever's lurking). Can't stop by in person? Check out our museum shop!

Stay curious, stay connected, and watch the shadows—they're watching back.

Until next time,

Maddie Kosloski, The Perfectly Proper Paranormal Museum🥧📚👻