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.

Remote Viewing

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

Psychedelics and Psi

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

Experimental Parapsychology in Europe

This article provides an overview of psi research in laboratories across continental Europe.

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.

Miguel Alberto Mantilla

Mexican boy (b 1904) with a remarkable ability to calculate calendar dates at high speed, rarely making mistakes.

Ariel Farias

Argentinian factory worker and martial arts teacher who took part in recent successful recent psychokinesis experiments.

Ted Owens

American psychic who won notoriety by claiming macro-psychokinetic (PK) powers, including an ability to control the weather.

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.

Dream Incubation

Dream incubation is the modern term applied to dreaming for purposes of problem solving, healing and divination.

Lourdes Cures

Healing powers attributed to the shrine of Lourdes are said to have brought about cures for many debilitating diseases.

The Phenomena of Astral Projection (1951)

Classic study of OBEs, described in the context of the occult idea of 'astral projection'.

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.

R-101 Airship Disaster

Classic case, in which a communicator identified himself as captain of an airship that had crashed two days earlier.

Mediumship and Spirit Possession in Cross-Cultural Perspective

There is great overlap in the expression of mediumship and spirit possession.

Cold Reading

Discusses the psychological strategies that can be used to simulate a mediumistic communication or psychic reading.

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.

Dreams and Past-Life Memory

Apparent past-life memories may surface in the dreams of both children and adults, but rarely are they detailed enough to be verified.

Kumkum Verma (reincarnation case)

Indian case of the young daughter of educated parents who remembered being the wife of a Muslim blacksmith.

Sumitra/Shiva (replacement reincarnation case)

Rare Indian case of a woman who appeared to die and then revived, with a complete change of identity.

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.

Enfield Poltergeist

Celebrated 1970s case in a north London suburb, in which poltergeist disturbances were documented over a two-year period.

Tina Resch (Columbus Poltergeist)

Focus of poltergeist-type phenomena at her home in Columbus, Ohio, in 1984,

Podmore’s ‘Apparitions and Thought-Transference’

Argues that apparitions may be explained through telepathy.

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.

Emily Williams Kelly

American psychologist with interests in near-death experiences, end-of-life phenomena, and reincarnation.

Alfred Russel Wallace

British naturalist (1823–1913) who investigated seance mediums and became a convinced spiritualist.

Chris Roe

British psychology professor and psi researcher interested in the nature of anomalous experiences and the psychology of belief.

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.

Institute for Frontier Areas of Psychology and Mental Health (IGPP)

The IGPP is a German parapsychology organization based in Freiburg.

Emotion and Motivation Laboratory

Laboratory which conducts psi research, based at the University of Munich, Germany.

Institute of Paranormal Psychology (IPP)

Argentinian organization established in 1994 that conducts psi research and provides educational resources.

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.

Cold Reading

Discusses the psychological strategies that can be used to simulate a mediumistic communication or psychic reading.

Trevor Hall

English chartered surveyor and amateur conjuror (1910–1991), author of books attacking deceased psychics and researchers.

CEM Hansel

British psychologist who authored controversial critiques of 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.

Jott: Phenomena of Spatial Discontinuities

The everyday misplacements of objects may sometimes have a non-normal cause.

Religious Levitation

Reports of individuals being seen, spontaneously and involuntarily, to rise into the air and remain suspended

Dowsing

Traditional method of locating underground water or minerals by the movement of a pair of metal rods, a forked stick or a pendulum.