It is out of this world
ARCHIVE OF UNEXPLAINED: COLLECTION OF PARANORMAL PHENOMENA
Holds every kind of unsolved scientific mystery its curators can find.
Newspaper clippings, books and first-hand accounts of people who said they visited other planets are catalogued in a giant Swedish archive on paranormal phenomena, attracting the curious and researchers from around the world.
The Archives for the Unexplained (AFU) claims to be the world’s biggest library of paranormal phenomena, with 4.2 kilometres of shelves.
Clas Svahn, 65, and Anders Liljegren, 73, who run the archive located in the southeastern town of
Norrkoping, say they are neither superstitious nor believers, but rather “curious investigators of the unknown”.
The AFU – the name of both the library and the association that has collected documentation for more than 50 years – is mainly comprised of books, but also original documents, such as photos of ghosts.
“What we are building here at AFU is depository knowledge,” says Svahn, showing AFP journalists around the massive library.
“We’re trying to get as much as we can on ... every kind of unsolved scientific mystery that we can find ... to make this available for the world.”
The library receives about 300 visits a year, by appointment only.
The archives are being digitalised and many documents can already be consulted on a server.
All that is needed is an access code, which the pair are more than happy to share.
Greg Eghigian, a professor of history and bioethics at Pennsylvania State University in the US, visited the AFU to do research for a book on the history of UFOs (unidentified flying objects).
“I have worked in countless archives in Europe, the US and the UK. My time at the AFU was easily the most fascinating and most productive,” he told AFP.
“The AFU is without question the ... most comprehensive archive for materials involving the global history of the UFO phenomenon in the world.
“One cannot study the subject thoroughly without consulting its holdings.”
The study of UFOs has long been stigmatised, but is becoming a more accepted field of scientific research.
In September 2023, National Aeronautics and Space Administration officially joined the search for UFOs, saying the discipline required “a rigorous, evidence-based approach”.
The AFU, administered by an association of volunteers and hobbyists, “also covers the folklore, the beliefs” associated with paranormal phenomena in general, said Svahn.
“We love to see this as a social thing, impacting society all around the world and impacting people’s lives.”
Beliefs evolve over generations and what was superstitious and rejected as such in the past may not be as stigmatised today.
People whose experiences and accounts are not taken seriously in society can find their rightful place in the archive, says museum curator Magnus Bartas.
“The archive says something is unexplained. That means we shouldn’t reject it. We should investigate it. We should be open.” –