Psi Encyclopedia

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. It is sponsored by the Society for Psychical Research.

Mark Boccuzzi created this short video that explains what we are about.

Featured

Rhea A White

American parapsychologist, librarian, bibliographer, and editor of the Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

Presentiment Research Methods

Confirmatory studies should be preregistered and use pre-stimulus physiological data to predict random stimuli.

Charles Drayton Thomas

Methodist minister (1867–1953) who studied mental mediumship, chiefly of Gladys Osborne Leonard.

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.

Psi Research in France

This article discusses psi research in France, from nineteenth century ‘animal magnetism’ to the present day.

Callum E Cooper

British psychologist who specializes in the study of spontaneous cases of psi phenomena.

Preventing Researcher Fraud

Preventive research practices offer the strongest protections against fraud in parapsychology.

Dealing with the Stacking Effect

When several test participants respond to the same target, their trials are statistically dependent.

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 linked to 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.

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.

Uri Geller

Israeli-born celebrity psychic renowned for metal-bending and telepathic feats which, however, are not without controversy.

Ganzfeld ESP

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

Bronislaw Malinowski among the Trobriand Islanders

Anthropology and Psi Research

Anthropologists have long been fascinated by belief in psi, a near universal aspect of human culture.

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.

Dreams and ESP

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

Oskar Estebany

Twentieth-century Hungarian-Canadian psychic healer whose abilities were demonstrated in successful laboratory experiments.

Pam Reynolds (Near-Death Experience)

This near-death experience of an American woman is regarded as especially significant.

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.

photograph of soldier of the Northumberland Fusiliers of World War 1

Drop-In Communicators

Communicators unknown to both medium and sitters who provide enough information for their identification.

William Stainton Moses

British Anglican priest and teacher who described experiences with mediumship in a private circle.

Is Xenoglossy Evidence of Survival?

Xenoglossy in mediumship is less indicative of survival than some researchers assume.

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.

photograph of Nagpur University, where Uttara studied

Uttara Huddar/Sharada (reincarnation case)

Unusual Indian adult case involving a change personality and language in a dissociative state.

Famous Past Life (FPL) Claims

Claims to remember having been famous people must be regarded with caution, yet they have been supported in a few cases.

Cameron Macauley (reincarnation case)

Glaswegian who as a young child claimed to remember living on a remote Scottish island.

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.

Joseph Glanvill

17th century clergyman (1636–1680) and member of the Royal Society, one of the first intellectuals to take an interest in paranormal claims.

Harold E Puthoff

American physicist and parapsychologist, a key figure in the US government-funded Star Gate remote viewing programme.

Cromwell Fleetwood Varley

Telegraph engineer (1828–83) who tested Florence Cook with apparatus of his own invention.

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 Institute

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

International Association for Near Death Studies (IANDS)

US-based outfit founded in 1981 to study NDEs and provide support and educational resources.

College of Psychic Studies

British Spiritualist organization, offering mediumship training and courses related to consciousness, healing and the psychic arts.

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.

Susan Gerbic

American studio photographer who exposes what she believes to be pseudoscience through a special brand of 'guerilla skepticism'.

Susan J Blackmore

British psychologist, consciousness researcher and psi sceptic, who has frequently appeared in the media promoting her views.

James Randi

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

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.