Professor Roy also had another scientific passion, however: he was an active researcher in the paranormal, and is now remembered as much for his supernatural investigations as for his astronomical ones. His interest was sparked out of a chance encounter in the 1950s: one day, he became lost in the old university library and came across a section of books on spiritualism and psychic research. In Roy’s own words (as reported in his obituary in The Guardian in 2013):

‘My first ignorant reaction was “What is this rubbish doing in a university library?” But curiosity made me open some of the books. I was surprised to recognise some of the authors of this “rubbish”, such as Sir Oliver Lodge, Professor William James, Professor Sir William Crookes, and so on. My balloon of ignorance was punctured by the needle of my scientific curiosity, and I found myself called up to a new career.’

Professor Roy pursued this new career alongside his scientific one for the rest of his life. He actively investigated hauntings, often at the request of home occupants who wanted to be rid of their supernatural tenants. He became a member of the London Society for Psychical Research, and 1987 he became the founding president of the Scottish Society for Psychical Research. He wrote a number of books on his paranormal work and the history of such research, including A Sense of Something Strange, Investigations Into the Paranormal (1990), Archives of the Mind (1996) and The Eager Dead (2008). Later in life, he became charmingly known as ‘the Glasgow ghostbuster.’

It might seem somewhat surprising today to see a very distinguished physical scientist involved with the paranormal; however, as Roy himself noted above, there is a long history of talented physicists investigating the supernatural. British physicist Oliver Lodge (1851-1940), for instance, was one of the early researchers of electromagnetic radiation and consequently one of the pioneers of radio communication, but also was president of the London Society for Psychical Research at one time and a member of a group known as ‘The Ghost Club.’ Lodge thought that the existence of invisible electromagnetic radiation could provide a mechanism by which spirits could exist undetected alongside the living. Another example of a physical scientist with interest in the supernatural is English chemist William Crookes (1832-1919), who was a pioneer in the creation of vacuum tubes, and who studied X-rays and radioactivity during his career. Many people are familiar with his name due to his invention of the Crookes radiometer, a glass bulb containing windmill-like vanes inside that turn on their own when exposed to light. Crookes was also, however, active in The Ghost Club and the London Society for Psychical Research, and performed experimental tests of the abilities of many supposed mediums.