Welcome to the Psi Encyclopedia! We aspire to provide a comprehensive introduction to academic parapsychology, which studies the range of psychic experiences collectively termed ‘psi’. The existence of psi phenomena – and the related idea that consciousness is independent of the physical body and so may survive death – is strongly disputed by materialist scientists, yet parapsychologists are convinced they have evidence for these things. The Psi Encyclopedia presents this evidence in nearly 750 signed articles by over 80 authors, many of them senior academics, arranged in categories and subcategories that highlight the major interests of the field.
Mark Boccuzzi created this short video that explains what we are about.
Featured
Robert McLuhan
British journalist, a prominent interpreter of parapsychology for general readers and the principal architect of the Psi Encyclopedia.
Francis Bacon and the Occult
Francis Bacon (1561–1626) believed in the possibility of psi but opposed its investigation on theological grounds.
Animals in Psi Research
The psi abilities of animals have been reported in informal observations and tests, including modern lab experiments.
Eminent People Interested in Psi (list)
A list of some 200 scientists, thinkers, writers, and artists who took seriously the possibility of psi.
Psi Research in Brazil
This article traces the development of interest in psi phenomena and parapsychological research in Brazil.
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.
Maroczy Mediumistic Chess Match
Match played between a living Russian grandmaster and a deceased Hungarian one.
Key Topics
Remote Viewing
An experimental form of clairvoyance, in which a suitably trained person attempts to visualise the topography of a distant scene.
Near-Death Experiences (Overview)
This article describes anomalous mental events reported by people who have survived a near-fatal accident or illness.
Society for Psychical Research (SPR)
Membership organization founded in London in 1882 for the scientific investigation of claims of psychic phenomena.
Psychokinesis Research (Overview)
Research on PK has progressed from early tests with dice to random number generators, field studies, and quantum experiments.
Clinical Parapsychology
Therapeutic approach that aims to provide support for people disturbed by anomalous event experiences.
Reincarnation: An Introduction
This introductory article covers beliefs in reincarnation, evidence for reincarnation, and sceptical views of the research.
Psychedelics and Psi
A gradual easing of restrictions means that psi research with psychedelics, once prevalent, could soon resume.
Altered States of Consciousness and Psi
ASCs have long been known to be associated with psi experiences.
Recent Additions
Peter Underwood
British paranormal researcher long associated with the Ghost Club, author of more than 50 about haunting phenomena.
Gustav Theodor Fechner
German pioneer in experimental psychology who proposed an influential theory of immortality.
JB Rhine and the Replication Crisis in Research
Rhine anticipated reforms associated with psychology’s replication crisis.
Cyril L Burt
Influential but controversial British psychologist (1883–1971) who believed psychic phenomena merited serious attention.
Elizabeth Jane Puttock (Elizabeth d’Esperance)
British medium whose materialisation séances attracted both supporters and critics.
The Widow’s Mite
Veridical mediumistic communications about a misplaced ancient Roman coin that suggest postmortem survival.
Isaac K Funk
American clergyman, editor, publisher and lexicographer who was well-known for his psychical investigations in his day.
Psychical Research before 1882
Several investigators of séance phenomena helped prepare the ground for the creation of the SPR in 1882.
Cromwell Fleetwood Varley
Telegraph engineer (1828–83) who tested Florence Cook with apparatus of his own invention.
Rhea A White
American parapsychologist, librarian, bibliographer, and editor of the Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research.
Melvyn John Willin
English musician, psychical researcher and SPR audiovisual archivist whose work has centred on music-related anomalies.
John Björkhem
Swedish priest, physician, hypnotist and psychical researcher (1910–1963) who experimented with hypnosis and psychometry.
Thomas Warren Campbell
Originator of a theory of everything (TOE) that presumes consciousness to be at the root of all there is.
Boston Society for Psychic Research
Organisation that split from the American Society for Psychical Research in 1925, reuniting with it in 1941.
Marcello Truzzi
American sociologist known for distinguishing open-minded scepticism of psi phenomena from simple debunking.
Ada Goodrich Freer
Clairvoyant who contributed to studies of crystal-gazing, second sight and hauntings in the 1890s.
Placement Effects in Psychokinesis Tests
Haakon Forwald tested whether his willed psychokinesis could deflect thrown dice and other cubes.
Haakon Forwald
Norwegian-born Swedish engineer and inventor who conducted innovative placement PK experiments with dice and cubes.
Visualizing the Supernatural
This 2025–26 museum exhibition traced 250 years of visual culture surrounding apparitions, mediumship and the occult.
René Peoc’h
French researcher whose studies with imprinted chicks suggested they can bias the movement of a robot through PK.
Explore the Psi Encyclopedia
ESP & Psychokinesis
Extra-sensory perception (ESP) comprises telepathy, clairvoyance and precognition. Psychokinesis (PK) is the direct influence on matter by mind alone. Both ESP and PK have been tested in the laboratory and studied in real life situations. Together they constitute psi, in the strict sense of the term. Subcategories group together overviews and general topics in psi studies, tests of ESP and PK, and researcher biographies.
Presentiment in Laboratory Studies
An unconscious form of precognition that can be demonstrated with techniques commonly used in research on psychophysiology.
Christine Simmonds-Moore
British psychologist and parapsychologist whose research interests include the psychology of paranormal belief.
Mina Stinson Crandon (Margery)
Controversial American physical medium who caused a split in the ASPR in the 1930s.
Mind & Body
This category contains articles that treat consciousness in relation to the body. Subcategories focus on consciousness and psi; dreams and psi; and distant healing and psychotherapy. Also included are sitter groups and macro-psychokinesis as well as poltergeists, often assumed to relate to discarnate entities but now known more often to have living agents. A final subgroup is concerned with out-of-body and near-death experiences and events reported on the threshold of death.
Pam Reynolds (Near-Death Experience)
This near-death experience of an American woman is regarded as especially significant.
Near-Death Experiences (Overview)
This article describes anomalous mental events reported by people who have survived a near-fatal accident or illness.
Marilyn Schlitz
American social anthropologist and psi researcher, studying distant intentionality, healing and special gifted populations.
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. Subcategories focus on hauntings and apparitions and on psychic (also called mental) mediumship.
Wilmot Apparition
19th century case in which a woman felt herself go out-of-body to her husband's ship, where she was perceived by him and another person.
Did Robert Swain Gifford Survive Death?
Analysis of the Thompson-Gifford case of ostensible possession as evidence of survival.
Enfield Poltergeist
Celebrated 1970s case in a north London suburb, in which poltergeist disturbances were documented over a two-year period.
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. Subcategories highlight case studies, past life regression, and biographies of major researchers.
Reincarnation and the Population Problem
The idea that increases in population are a problem has been addressed in various ways.
Jenny Cockell (Mary Sutton reincarnation case)
Am English woman recalled the life of a working-class Irish woman from early in the 20th century.
Antonia (regression case analysis)
Highly evidential story of a 16th century Spanish woman, recovered through hypnosis.
Researchers & 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. The biographies are grouped in subcategories by 30-year age cohorts, highlighting contemporaries.
Jacob Jolij
Jacob Jolij is a Dutch psychologist who has carried out experiments in presentiment and psychokinesis.
Julia Mossbridge
American cognitive neuroscientist who has carried out parapsychological studies, notably on precognition and presentiment effects.
Walter Whately Carington
British psychical researcher (1892–1947) who pioneered word association tests in the investigation of mediumship.
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.
Windbridge Research Center
Non-profit research institute based in Tucson, Arizona, dedicated to the rigorous study of mental mediums.
International Consciousness Research Laboratories (ICRL)
Dedicated to understanding consciousness with a view to improving humanity’s future.
Rhine Research Center
Successor to the Parapsychology Laboratory at Duke University, dedicated to psi research, education and community activities.
Sceptical Views
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.
Michael Shermer
Well-known American author, media personality and career sceptic, founder of the Skeptics Society and its magazine Skeptic.
Blackmore-Sargent Controversy – A Reconsideration
This article presents a new analysis of cheating accusations made by Susan Blackmore.
Antony Flew
British analytic philosopher known for his influential critiques of theism, postmortem survival and parapsychology.
General Topics
This category contains articles on a variety of topics that do not fit well in any of the main categories, from dowsing to crop circles and other anomalistic phenomena, the Miscellaneous Anomalistic subcategory. Other subcategories list articles on psychics and mystic and on important articles, books and journals in the field of parapsychology.
Anomalistics
Anomalistics is the study of anomalies unexplained by science, similar to Forteana, but with a greater emphasis on scientific evaluation.
Scientific Mysticism
Describes the theory of mathematician and mystic Michael Whiteman, based in part on his own experiences.
Eminent People Interested in Psi (list)
A list of some 200 scientists, thinkers, writers, and artists who took seriously the possibility of psi.