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
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
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
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 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.
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.
Annalisa Ventola
Executive director of the Parapsychological Association, who has carried out research into poltergeists and hauntings.
Margaret L Anderson
Professor of education and parapsychologist, best known for conducting ESP tests with school children.
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.
The Gold Leaf Lady
Florida housewife who exhibits psychic effects, notably golden-like brass foil that appears on her skin and clothes.
Dreams and ESP
This article describes the experience and study of ESP in dreams, notably of telepathic interactions and precognitions of future events.
Psychoanalysis and Psi
Psychoanalysts have often reported instances of psi occurring between patient and practitioner.
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.
Hafsteinn Björnsson (medium)
Icelandic trance medium (1914-1977) who produced 'drop-in' communications and xenoglossy.
Poltergeists (Overview)
This article provides an introduction to poltergeist research, describing major cases and theoretical perspectives.
The Widow’s Mite
Veridical mediumistic communications about a misplaced ancient Roman coin that suggest postmortem survival.
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.
Patterns in Reincarnation Cases
Universal, near-universal and culture-linked patterns can be discerned in the dataset of reincarnation cases.
Ma Tin Aung Myo (reincarnation case)
Study of a Burmese girl whose statements and behaviours suggested she was remembering the life of a Japanese soldier.
Physical Signs in Reincarnation Cases
Physical signs of reincarnation include facial structure, eye form, skin colour, physique, and other features.
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.
Damon T Abraham
American researcher who uses AI and machine-learning techniques to examine the interplay between psi and technology.
Jeffrey Mishlove
American parapsychologist who as host of New Thinking Allowed has interviewed hundreds of experts on psi-related topics.
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.
Robert Bigelow and the Bigelow Institute for Consciousness Studies
Billionaire American businessman whose foundation funds research on post-mortem survival.
College of Psychic Studies
British Spiritualist organization, offering mediumship training and courses related to consciousness, healing and the psychic arts.
Society for Psychical Research Archives
The SPR maintains a substantial archive consisting of materials collected since its inception in 1882.
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.
The One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge
Prize offered until 2015 by the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF) but never awarded.
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.
Scientific Mysticism
Describes the theory of mathematician and mystic Michael Whiteman, based in part on his own experiences.
Crop Circles
The intricate patterns that sometimes appear in crop fields have been attributed to various factors, including supernatural ones..
Eyewitness Testimony (Analysis)
This article discusses the reliability of eyewitness testimony about paranormal events.