FLAMMARION, NICOLAS CAMILLE [1842–1925]
French astronomer and pioneer of science fiction writing, Flammarion was fascinated by the paranormal and the possibility of life after death. His book Inhabitants of the Other World (1862) consists primarily of spirit communications allegedly given to him by a medium called Mlle Huer. Flammarion was also an avid ghost hunter and throughout his life investigated personally around a thousand cases of suspected hauntings.
In his book Haunted Houses he claimed to have visited 180 houses that were actively and genuinely haunted. He also quoted the Italian-born father of criminology, Cesare Lombroso (1836–1909), as his reference in suggesting that there were around 150 homes in England that were unoccupied or uninhabitable because of paranormal activity.