Welcome to the Psi Encyclopedia, a production of the Society for Psychical Research. 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 more than 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
Titus Rivas
Dutch theoretical psychologist and philosopher (1964-2026) who studied NDEs and children who recall previous lives.
After-Death Communications (Overview)
ADCs have been interpreted through both psychological and survival-based models.
Animals in Psi Research
The psi abilities of animals have been reported in informal observations and laboratory tests.
Rhea A White
American parapsychologist, librarian, bibliographer, and editor of the Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research.
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.
Maróczy 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
Psychic Phenomena in Goethe’s Life and Work
Goethe's life and writings were deeply shaped by his anomalous experiences.
Envelope, Cipher and Lock Tests of Survival
Prospective tests of post-mortem communication have not succeeded as planned.
Robert A McConnell
American physicist and parapsychologist (1914–2006) who challenged the rejection of psi by mainstream science.
Augustus De Morgan
De Morgan (1806–71) was a British mathematician who conducted experiments in mesmerism and early Spiritualism.
Haunted York
York's reputation as Britain’s most haunted city rests on a long history of reported apparitions and other anomalies.
Fraud in Experimental Parapsychology
Researcher fraud has been a problem for experimental parapsychology, as for other sciences.
Minnie Meserve Soule
Important American trance medium (1867–1936) who worked closely with researchers for three decades.
Sleep Paralysis and Anomalous Experience
Sensed presences and apparitions have been reported while the body is immobilized.
Joseph Jastrow
Pioneering American experimental psychologist (1863–1944) briefly associated with the ASPR, although sceptical of psi.
After-Death Communications (Overview)
ADCs have been interpreted through both psychological and survival-based models.
Elwood Worcester
American Episcopal clergyman and psychologist (1862–1940) who helped found the Boston Society for Psychic Research.
Siméon Edmunds
British researcher (1917–69) concerned with hypnotism, spirit photography, parapsychology and Spiritualism.
Global Consciousness Project (GCP) 2.0
GCP 2.0 extends the original GCP with a larger network of quantum random number generators.
Global Consciousness: Theories
This article considers interpretations of data gathered by the Global Consciousness Project.
Minot Judson Savage
Unitarian minister (1841–1918) who sat with Leonora Piper and was involved with the early American Society for Psychical Research.
Presentiment Research Methods
Confirmatory studies should be preregistered and use pre-stimulus physiological data to predict stimuli.
Charles Drayton Thomas
Methodist minister (1867–1953) who studied mental mediumship, chiefly of Gladys Osborne Leonard.
Edward F Kelly
American psychologist and parapsychologist concerned with consciousness and its relation to psi and postmortem survival.
Free-Response Methods
Targets such as random images or locations allow for richer impressions than do forced-choice tests.
Children’s Near-Death Experiences
New research employs creative, participatory methods to interview children about their NDEs.
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.
Roger Nelson
Experimental psychologist and parapsychologist who founded the long-running Global Consciousness Project.
Daniel Dunglas Home
Well-known nineteenth century medium, some of whose phenomena were observed in controlled conditions.
de Rochas on Physical Mediumship
A 1896 book provides detailed descriptions of phenomena produced by European mediums.
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.
Harry Edwards
Celebrated British spiritual healer of the mid-20th century, who engaged in vigorous controversy with religious and medical critics.
Music and Psi
This article explores the many ways music has been related to altered states of consciousness and psychic experiences.
Natasha Demkina
Russian woman who claims the ability to view inside human bodies and correctly diagnose diseases. Scientific tests have had mixed results.
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.
Eusapia Palladino
Nineteenth century Italian trance medium (1854–1918) who produced psychokinetic phenomena of striking strength.
Miami Poltergeist
1960s episode in which Florida-themed souvenir items were seen repeatedly falling from warehouse shelves.
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. Subcategories highlight case studies, past life regression, and biographies of major researchers.
Physical Signs in Reincarnation Cases
Physical signs of reincarnation include facial structure, eye form, skin colour, physique, and other features.
Past-Life Memories from Before 1900
Accounts of past-life memory documented in historical sources share many features with cases studied more recently.
Planned Reincarnations
Planned reincarnation suggests that next-life circumstances can be chosen not just between lives but prior to death.
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.
Gerhard Mayer
German psychologist interested in cultural studies and interdisciplinary approaches relating to parapsychology and anomalistics.
Hideyuki Kokubo
Japanese researcher known for work on bio-PK (non-contact healing and energy therapies such as Reiki and Johrei).
Brian Inglis
Irish journalist, author and broadcaster (1916–1993), whose many published works include books about psychical research.
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.
Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research (PEAR) Laboratory
The PEAR lab carried out ground-breaking experimental psi research for nearly three decades.
Institut Métapsychique International (IMI)
Since 1919, France's IMI has made important contributions to psi and mediumship research.
International Association for Near Death Studies (IANDS)
US-based outfit founded in 1981 to study NDEs and provide support and educational resources.
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.
Cold Reading
Discusses the psychological strategies that can be used to simulate a mediumistic communication or psychic reading.
Marcello Truzzi
American sociologist known for distinguishing open-minded scepticism of psi phenomena from simple debunking.
Harry Houdini
The legendary stage magician (1874–1926) was hostile to Spiritualism and wrote books about his debunking of mediums.
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.
Boggle Threshold
Term coined by Renée Haynes to refer to the level of tolerance of a discomforting new idea, varying from person to person.
Dermo-Optical Perception
This article describes research into claims of being able to perceive colours through touch alone.
‘Raymond’ by Oliver Lodge
The soldier son of Sir Oliver Lodge killed in battle in 1915 thereafter communicated with his family through mediums.