‘Psi’, the Greek letter ψ, is the modern term for psychic phenomena. The existence of psi – and the related idea that consciousness is independent of the physical body (and so may survive bodily death) – are disputed, as they seem to violate well-established natural laws. However, researchers are convinced they have evidence for these things, posing a challenge to materialist science. The Psi Encyclopedia presents their reasoning in over 700 signed articles by 86 authors, many of them senior academics. It also provides links to books, articles and videos that are free to view.

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Key Topics

photograph of JB Rhine, one of the first to explore psychological variables underlying psi

Psychology and Parapsychology

Explores the overlap between psychology and parapsychology, such as personality and other variables linked to psi.

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Eminent People Interested in Psi (list)

A list of some 200 scientists, thinkers, writers, and artists who took seriously the possibility of psi.

Ingo Swann, one of the first remote viewers

Remote Viewing

An experimental form of clairvoyance, in which a suitably trained person attempts to visualise the topography of a distant scene.

Tunnel in Near-Death Experience

Near-Death Experience (Overview)

This article describes anomalous mental events reported by people who have survived a near-fatal accident or illness.

Early reincarnation beliefs in the West are associated with the Greek philosopher Pythagoras in the sixth century BCE

Reincarnation: An Introduction

This introductory article covers beliefs in reincarnation, evidence for reincarnation, and sceptical views of the research.

image of dice being thrown

Psychokinesis Research

Overview of experimental research on mind-matter interaction, which began with dice-throwing and now employes random-number generators.

Psychologist Gardner Murphy led the ASPR during its heyday in the 1960s.

American Society for Psychical Research (ASPR)

The oldest parapsychological organization in the United States, founded in 1884, now practically defunct.

photo of N'kisi, an African Grey parrot involved in ESP experiments

Animals in Psi Research

Describes informal observations, early tests and modern lab experiments looking at animals' psychic capabilities.

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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.

photograph of testing in dermo-optical perception of colours

Dermo-Optical Perception

This article describes scientific research into the phenomenon of ‘seeing’ colours by touch alone.


Jaytee (pet telepathy)

This article describes experiments that appeared to demonstrate a telepathic link between a dog and its owner.

Psi Ganzfeld: in the laboratory

Ganzfeld ESP

The Ganzfeld is a sensory deprivation laboratory technique that has proven effective in facilitating telepathy and remote viewing.

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.


Eusapia Palladino

Nineteenth century Italian trance medium (1854–1918) who produced psychokinetic phenomena of striking strength.

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Felicia Parise

American woman who taught herself to move small objects by means of psychokinesis and was observed doing so in test conditions.

Stanislawa Tomczyk

Stanislawa Tomczyk

Polish woman whose ability to produce visible psychokinetic effects in controlled conditions is well documented.

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.

image of young girl with divided personality

Doris Fischer

Notable early 20th century American case of dissociative identity disorder, described by Walter Franklin Prince, who helped cure her.

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Psychedelics and Psi

A gradual easing of restrictions means that psi research with psychedelics, once prevalent, could soon resume.

photograph of James Hyslop (1854-1920), one of the first to refer to spirit obsession in a therapeutic context

Spirit Release Therapy

Clinical treatment used with patients who appear to be ‘possessed’ by harmful spirit entities.

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.

picture of Enrico Morselli

Morselli’s Psicologia e Spiritismo

Study of Eusapia Palladino, with emphasis on clinical and psychological aspects of the case.

detail of a photograph obtained paranormally and said to be of Dr Bindelof

Bindelof Phenomena

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

1907 photograph of Kongensgade street in Copenhagen, where the fire broke out

Copenhagen Fire

Early nineteenth-century mediumship case in which a communicator in Iceland reported a fire then underway in Denmark.

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.

Kornayel, near Beirut, Lebanon - birthplace of Imad Elawar

Imad Elawar (reincarnation case)

Ian Stevenson was able to record the child's memories in this Lebanese Druze case, then verify them himself.

photograph of Talawakele, Sri Lanka

Gnanatilleka Baddewithana (reincarnation case)

Sri Lankan case studied by two teams, with past-life memories recorded before verifications.

University of Virginia, Charlottesville, where a collection of 2500 past life memory cases is held

Reincarnation Case Patterns

Universal, near-universal and culture-linked patterns can be discerned in the dataset of reincarnation cases.

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.

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Vienna Workshop Poltergeist

A Viennese member of the Society for Psychical Research describes poltergeist distrurbances he witnessed.

reciprocal apps

Reciprocal Apparitions

Reciprocal apparitions are experienced in out-of-body states at the same time they are perceived.

image of low frequencies

Infrasound

Infrasound (audio frequencies below normal human hearing) has been suggested as the cause of paranormal-seeming effects.

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.

Brenda Dunne

Brenda Dunne

American parapsychologist (1944–2022), whose remote viewing and psychokinesis research made important contributions.


Arthur Koestler

Hungarian journalist and author (1905–1983) whose bequest supports the Koestler Parapsychology Unit at Edinburgh University.

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Titus Rivas

Dutch theoretical psychologist and philosopher who has studied near-death experiences and children who recall previous lives.

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.

Cambridge University Library, where much of the SPR archive is stored

Society for Psychical Research Archives

The SPR maintains a substantial archive consisting of materials collected since its inception in 1882.

Tuscon, Arizona

Windbridge Institute

Institution founded in 2008 to conduct research on psi functioning, with an emphasis on real-world applications.

Waterside Campus, University of Northampton

Exceptional Experience and Consciousness Studies (EECS)

Based at the University of Northampton, this is the largest centre for parapsychological research in the world.

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.

photograph of James Randi

The One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge

Prize offered until 2015 by the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF) but never awarded.

james randi

James Randi

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

Paul Edwards

Reincarnation Case Studies: Criticisms

This article addresses objections critics have raised to the reincarnation case research of Ian Stevenson and others.

General Anomalistics

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.

Anthropologist Roger Wescott (1925-2000) coined the term anomalistics

Anomalistics

Anomalistics is the study of anomalies unexplained by science, similar to Forteana, but with a greater emphasis on scientific evaluation.


Eyewitness Testimony (Analysis)

This article discusses the reliability of eyewitness testimony about paranormal events.

Cottingley fairies

Cottingley Fairies

1920s hoax by two girl, who persuaded Sir Arthur Conan Doyle that they had photographed themselves playing with fairies.

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