ESP & Psychokinesis

The term extra-sensory perception (ESP), introduced in the 1930s, comprises telepathy, clairvoyance and precognition, acknowledging that these categories may considerably overlap. Psychokinesis is the direct influence on matter by mind alone, without physical action. All have been successfully tested in the laboratory and studied in real life situations.

Dreams and ESP

This article describes the experience and study of ESP in dreams, notably of telepathic interactions and precognitions of future events.

Unusual Ways of Testing for Psi

Psi abilities have been tested in more ways than the usual ones of card guessing, dice throwing, remote viewing and Ganzfeld.

Meta-Analysis in Parapsychology

Meta-analysis is a statistical procedure that combines studies in a particular area of research to provide more robust findings

Gifted People

Most people may only experience a psychic event once or twice in their lives, but for a few it’s a natural ability, which some develop as a professional career. Two types feature in the Psi Encyclopedia: those who have demonstrated telepathy, clairvoyance, precognition or psychokinesis in some way, and those who believe themselves to be in communication with the deceased.

Anna Prado

Brazilian spiritist medium (1883–1923) reputed to produce direct writing, levitations, apports and materialization phenomena.

Stefan Ossowiecki

Polish businessman (1877–1944) whose clairvoyant abilities were the subject of successful tests with European psychical researchers.

Amyr Amiden (physical medium)

Brazilian medium known for the appearance near him of materialized objects, sometimes on request.

Mind & Body

This category contains articles that treat consciousness in relation to the body. Major topics covered include healing and psychotherapy; dreams and dreaming; and out-of-body experiences, end-of-life experiences, and near-death experiences, all of which suggest that consciousness may have an existence independent of the physical body.

Eben Alexander

Near-death experience described by an American neurosurgeon that attracted media attention and controversy.

Sylvan J Muldoon

American who wrote about his out-of-body experiences, which occurred throughout his life, and which he was able to control.

Ernesto Bozzano’s ‘Phénomènes Psychiques au Moment de la Mort’ (Psychic Phenomena at the Moment of Death)

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Survival of Death

Life continued in a spiritual or purely mental form after bodily death is a staple of religious beliefs worldwide, and likely is as old as humanity. The question of evidence for it has been central to the Society for Psychical Research since its founding in 1882. This category includes articles on mediumship as well as general topics related to the survival question. Other survival-related topics appear under other category headings.

Maroczy Mediumistic Chess Match

Match played between a living Russian grandmaster and a deceased Hungarian one.

The Scole Circle

This Norfolk-based group held séances during the 1990s, claiming to have communicated with spirits and observed other phenomena.

Bindelof Phenomena

Describes séance phenomena experienced by a group of American teenage boys between 1929 and 1933.

Reincarnation

Reincarnation beliefs are widespread in the world and in recent decades researchers have found what they believe is evidence of them through the study of people (mainly children) who claim to have lived before. This category includes case studies and overviews of phenomena that appear regularly in the cases. Some articles deal with past life regression as well.

Past-Life Memories from Before 1900

Accounts of past-life memory documented in historical sources share many features with cases studied more recently.

Birthmarks in Reincarnation Cases

Birthmarks and birth defects in reincarnation cases correspond to injuries that caused deaths in the previous lives.

Twins Reincarnation Research

Investigations have shown that twins in reincarnation cases typically knew each other in earlier lives.

Haunting

Location-based hauntings have been relatively little studied by parapsychologists, but the frequent incidence of apparitional episodes (the appearance of a deceased family member) attracted the attention of early researchers. Much interest has also centred on so-called ‘poltergeist’ episodes, of powerful domestic disturbances now often attributed to involuntary psychokinetic effects by living agents.

Why Do Ghosts Wear Clothes?

Sceptics use the fact that apparitions appear fully clad as reason to doubt them. This article discusses why they might.

Miami Poltergeist

1960s episode in which Florida-themed souvenir items were seen repeatedly falling from warehouse shelves.

Sauchie Poltergeist

Poltergeist disturbances centering on an 11-year-old girl. in a Scottish village in 1960.

General Topics

This section lists articles on a variety of topics that are not found in any of the main categories, from brain research and altered states of consciousness to dowsing, crop circles and other anomalistic phenomena.

Psi Encyclopedia Style Guide

A reference for contributors to the Psi Encyclopedia, providing guidance on style and presentation.

Dowsing

Traditional method of locating underground water or minerals by the movement of a pair of metal rods, a forked stick or a pendulum.

Boggle Threshold

Term coined by Renée Haynes to refer to the level of tolerance of a discomforting new idea, varying from person to person.

Scientists & Authors

Here can be found more than 300 biographical profiles of key figures who have been involved in psi research and parapsychology as field investigators, experimentalists, theorists and commentators. Many have scientific and academic backgrounds – in psychology, physics, biology, philosophy, engineering and other disciplines.

Emily Williams Kelly

American psychologist with interests in near-death experiences, end-of-life phenomena, and reincarnation.

Walter Leaf

Prominent English banker, classical scholar and psychical researcher (1852-1927) who contributed to the study of medium Leonora Piper.

Andrew Lang

British folklorist (1844–1912) who noted consistencies in psi phenomena cross-culturally and over time.

Organizations

The oldest organizations devoted to parapsychology were member organizations like the Society for Psychical Research, established in London in 1882. Since JB Rhine founded the Parapsychology Laboratory at Duke University in 1930, there have been university-based units as well. This category comprises both historical and contemporary bodies concerned with research and education in parapsychology.

Emotion and Motivation Laboratory

Laboratory which conducts psi research, based at the University of Munich, Germany.

Institute for Frontier Areas of Psychology and Mental Health (IGPP)

The IGPP is a German parapsychology organization based in Freiburg.

Center for Research on Consciousness and Anomalous Psychology (CERCAP)

Under Etzel Cardeña at Lund University. 

Scepticism

Sceptics argue that psychics and mediums achieve their effects by trickery, that psychic experience is an illusory effect caused by a combination of brain misperceptions and confirmation bias, and that evidence of psi in laboratory tests can be attributed to poor methodology. This category includes biographies of leading sceptics as well as general articles discussing their allegations.

CEM Hansel

British psychologist who authored controversial critiques of parapsychology.  

Michael Shermer

Well-known American author, media personality and career sceptic, founder of the Skeptics Society and its magazine Skeptic.

James Randi

Canadian-born conjurer (1928–2020) and public scourge of psychics, faith healers, parapsychologists and practitioners of alternative medicine.