Loyd Auerbach

Did You Know?

• He investigated the Toys R Us in Sunnyvale, California and found that toys moving on their own were due to trucks driven on the street.
• He has appeared on ESPN's SportsCenter as well as paranormal shows.
• He is a research consultant for LexisNexis in addition to his paranormal work.

Early life and education

Loyd Auerbach is the son of Barbara Auerbach and Richard "Dick" Auerbach, the latter a longtime producer and executive at NBC Sports and independent producer of the Rose Bowl Game and Tournament of Roses Parade. He developed an early interest in the paranormal, watching The Twilight Zone and One Step Beyond and holding séances. He helped start a parapsychology club at his high school and interned informally with a parapsychologist in Westchester County, NY before moving to California. Auerbach reports two out-of-body experiences in which he dreamed he was elsewhere and his image was seen there by friends. He earned a BA in Cultural Anthropology from Northwestern University in 1978 and a Master's in Parapsychology from John F. Kennedy University.

Career

Loyd Auerbach earned a master’s degree in parapsychology from John F. Kennedy University and later served on the core faculty of its graduate parapsychology program. He also worked as a public information and media consultant for the American Society for Psychical Research from 1982 to 1983, advising on psychic matters and investigating paranormal cases. Auerbach has said that the 1984 film Ghostbusters brought him public attention. Since 1989, he has owned and directed the Office of Paranormal Investigations, looking into ghost sightings, demon possessions, hauntings, and other unexplained events. He divides ghosts into three types: poltergeists, which he attributes to a living person’s energy moving objects; apparitions, thought to be spirits of the dead; and hauntings, which he calls psychic imprints on a location. His office prioritizes research over profit, charging fees to cover costs and establish credibility. Auerbach compares himself to a psychiatrist for psychic phenomena, noting that most ghosts and poltergeists are not real entities but psychic effects. He has voiced frustration that more funding goes to psychics than to serious parapsychology research, including extrasensory perception, telekinesis, and the survival of the mind after death. He believes spirits stuck between worlds should be helped.