Call for Papers: Supernatural Law: Regulating the Paranormal, Submission Deadline- 13 January 2026

The law has always relied on its own kinds of ghosts. Lost precedents are invoked by courts; forgotten doctrines reappear to support unlikely arguments; and the invisible hands of long-dead founding fathers continue to guide the powers of today’s governments. But does the law believe in ghosts? Does its reach extend to that which cannot be seen, proven, or explained? The law is, in principle, concerned with the normal—with order, evidence, and reason—but can it, or should it, concern itself with the paranormal? Who decides what counts as “normal” or “paranormal,” and might law itself be one of the forces that draw and police that boundary?

Welcome submissions from legal scholars of all legal cultures and disciplines – property law, insurance law, criminal law, international law, constitutional law, animal law, human rights, and beyond – who are interested in considering how their area of expertise encounters the paranormal. We particularly encourage contributions from those who may never have written about the supernatural before but wish to reflect on how law defines, regulates, or denies the existence of the inexplicable. In selecting contributions, we will favour chapters that engage in theoretical reflections regarding the relationship between the law and the paranormal, or that have a clear thesis/theory, as opposed to descriptive chapters.

Submission instructions and timeline

Please submit an abstract of no more than 500 words, accompanied by a two-page CV, by 13 January 2026. Submissions should be sent in a single pdf document, with “Supernatural Law” as the subject of your email, to Dr Marina Lostal, Dr Sophie Duroy, and Prof Joel Colon-Rios: ml20391@essex.ac.uk; sophie.duroy@essex.ac.uk; joel.colonrios@essex.ac.uk.

Authors of selected abstracts will be invited to prepare full draft chapters of approximately 8,000 words, which will be presented at a hybrid/online (tbd) workshop in September 2026. Selected chapters are expected to be published in an edited volume on the topic, which will be submitted for consideration to major academic publishers.

Important dates