At A Glance
David Jaher received a B.A. from Brandeis University and an M.F.A. in Film Production from New York University. At NYU, he was the recipient of the WTC Johnson for Fellowship for Directing. Jaher is an author and screenwriter, and has worked
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- God Doesn’t Roll Dice with the Yankees
A talk focusing on the historical uses and present misunderstanding of astrology, and how it once embodied both science and divination. The focus will be on my own experiences developing an astrological system for betting on sporting events, and the year I spent making a living as a high stakes astrogambler. The deeper theme concerns what this suggests about the nature of fate.
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- The Era of the Saxophone and Spirit Trumpet
This presentation focuses on the great historical paradox of the Twentieth Century: the 1920s occult renaissance and why it occurred in a era known more for technological breakthroughs, material excess, and prize contests. I speak about the famous Scientific American contest as the consummation of these trends; and examine a time when a magician was the most famous living American and a psychic medium became a Jazz Age icon. The talk features art by Norman Rockwell and spirit photographs once presented throughout America by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
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- The New Religion
Ghosts, or at least belief in them, have been around for centuries but they have now found a particularly strong following in highly secular modern countries.’ the New York Times recently reported. This talk focuses on the rise and revival of Spiritualism, the seance based religion that is only one of three American-born faiths; along with Mormonism and Christian Science. The lecture examines Spiritualism’s origins in the Fox sisters spectral phenomena of 1848, it’s revival during World War One, and it’s influence on the supernaturalism of today.
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- The Quest Eternal
This talk focuses on the early 20th century scientific quest to establish proof of an afterlife and of immortality. I compare it to present endeavors today, including the phenomenon of the Near Death Experience as an outgrowth of resuscitation science; and how Quantum theory might ultimately validate the theories of psychic scientists. I talk about some of the great scientists and inventors of the early 1900s, including Sir Oliver Lodge, Charles, Richet, Thomas Edison, and Albert Einstein.
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David Jaher received a B.A. from Brandeis University and an M.F.A. in Film Production from New York University. At NYU, he was the recipient of the WTC Johnson for Fellowship for Directing. Jaher is an author and screenwriter, and has worked in the past as a professional astrologer. His first book,The Witch of Lime Street, released in October of 2015 to much critical acclaim. The Witch of Lime Street was praised by The New York Review of Books and named as a Nonfiction Book of the Year by NPR. STX Entertainment is producing a film version of the book from a screenplay written by Jaher.
David Jaher, "The Witch of Lime Street: Seance, Seduction, and Houdini in the Spirit World"
'Lime Street' Bewitches With Mystery And Mayhem
When Harry Houdini showed up at 10 Lime Street in Boston to prove Mina Crandon was a fraud psychic, they were carrying all the weight of their age behind them — and they both knew it.… Read more
Skepticism Versus Spiritualism: A Q&A with Author David Jaher
Jaher chronicles a 1920s Scientific American contest meant to uncover the truth about speaking with the dead… Read more
