The Use of the Strauch Scale to Study Dream Reports from Sacred Sites in England and Wales

Krippner, Stanley and Devereux, Paul and Fish, Adam (2003) The Use of the Strauch Scale to Study Dream Reports from Sacred Sites in England and Wales. Dreaming, 13 (2). pp. 95-105. ISSN 1053-0797

Abstract

Thirty-five volunteers spent between one and five nights in one of four unfamiliar outdoor "sacred sites" in England and Wales where they were awakened following rapid eye movement periods and asked for dream recall. They also monitored their dreams in familiar home surroundings, keeping dream diaries. Equal numbers of site dreams and home dream reports were obtained for each volunteer. Two judges, working blind and independently, evaluated each of the resulting 206 dream reports, using the Strauch Scale which contains criteria for identifying "bizarre," "magical," and "paranormal" elements. Of the 103 site dream reports, 46 fell into one of these categories, versus 31 of the home dream reports. A number of explanations exist for this difference, including expectancy, suggestion, the effect of unfamiliar surroundings, the nature of the volunteers' awakenings, and possible anomalous properties of the sacred sites. The latter possibility, however, is unlikely due to the fact the 22 volunteers reported site dreams containing Strauch Scale items, while 20 reported home dreams containing these content items, a minimal difference.