Robert Bartholomew is a psychologist and author. His work offers the sceptical reading of strange events. In the case of the Jersey Devil in 1909, he wrote with Peter Hassall that the panic was a classic example of mass hysteria. That same year, New Zealand had its phantom airship scare. Writing with Bryan Dickeson, Bartholomew called that wave a moral panic driven by fear of German Zeppelins. He also looked at the Knowles family's Nullarbor encounter of 1988. There he pointed to small group panic, fuelled by fear, 13 hours of driving and lack of sleep.
Stories3
The Jersey Devil's Phenomenal Week
44Partially documented
Author who called the panic a classic case of mass hysteria
The New Zealand Phantom Airship Scare of 1909
26Thinly documented
Researcher who framed the wave as a moral panic
