evidence before him the more maze-like and knotted the problem became - and no amount of classical scientific method would yield a result.
And then a notion arose. Could it not be the case that unexplained events are simply a side effect - evidence, if you will - of a multilayered reality, extending beyond the limited confines of three-dimensional space? And, if so, how might such an acknowledgement affect the manner in which reality is approached? Could we not be on the verge of realising that the narrow, sensory world we inhabit is exactly that: blinkered and limited, and barely a glimpse of the complete picture?
And this is where The Goblin Universe enters the fray. Its thesis attempts to explain the countless unexplained phenomena of our universe by pointing to a reality of which human beings are only capable - if willing - of catching the merest sight. The final chapter of this book 'The Hall of Mirrors' perfectly sums up the nature of the reality into which we are thrown, equipped with only the most basic sets of sensory devices with which to navigate its deceiving domain.
Holiday's final conclusion is at once a response to a classical epistemic problem and a rallying call to open our eyes and pay attention to the manifold reality which supports our very existence. Whether Eel-horses really do glide across Irish bogs or Men in Black make sinister doorstep calls is by the by; the real point is that, as Holiday himself puts it: "Like it or lump it, we are all in that damned Hall of Mirrors." (1986; p.215).
Yet this declaration, perhaps, is the hardest challenge of them all. For optical illusions and whispering galleries may be popular entertainments, but raise the possibility that the Universe itself is made of the same stuff and polite interest soon gives way to derision. A natural reaction, maybe, but hardly the most practical.
Holiday sought to look beyond our human horizons towards something other. He braved a sceptical world to bring us closer to understanding the limits of our understanding. But stepping outside of our conceptual scheme may be something that we simply cannot do. Thus we are trapped in the Hall of Mirrors without a means of looking behind its distorting perspective; our vision is the mirrors. Nonetheless, however 'trapped' we may be, we are still at liberty to consider our situation and seek answers to the imponderables of our shadowy world.
This is what makes living in the Goblin Universe both our greatest test and our greatest advantage. For the foggy nature of our sense data forces us to sharpen our critical thinking and apply ourselves to the business of comprehending reality in a more conscious, thoroughgoing manner. If not, the only lucidity we are likely to experience will be little better than a waking dream.