By Nemo C Mörck, Associate Editor
Thanks to a bequest left by Nigel Buckmaster to the Society for Psychical Research (SPR), the Psi Encyclopedia (PE) was founded in 2014, in response to perceived bias on Wikipedia. The latter encyclopedia was founded in 2001 by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger. Robert McLuhan has shared some reflections on his thinking back when he was given the job of launching the PE, which went live in 2015.1McLuhan (2025). McLuhan served as General Editor until April 2026, when James Matlock took up the mantle and found himself with big shoes to fill. McLuhan has since started a YouTube channel, on which he continues to talk about psi research.
In his reflections, McLuhan writes that our platform was named the Psi Encyclopedia, rather than the Parapsychology Encyclopedia or the Psychical Research Encyclopedia, because he regarded psi ‘as being somewhat more neutral and inclusive’. Neutrality is something he and we strive for. The PE did, after all, come about due to bias witnessed on Wikipedia. Much of this is probably due to the ‘Guerrilla Skepticism on Wikipedia’ project, which was founded in 2010 by Susan Gerbic and remains active.
McLuhan was far from the only one to notice bias on Wikipedia. In addition to him, individuals such as Tom Butler, Tom Ruffles, and Craig Weiler have provided commentary on the issue.2Butler (2020); Ruffles (2016); Weiler (2013/2020). However, bias on Wikipedia is not a problem that afflicts psi research alone. One of the platform’s founders, Sanger, has repeatedly drawn attention to this, noting that Wikipedia did not turn out as he envisioned.3Orlowitz (2026).
That said, it is not surprising that articles on controversial topics become biased. My stance has always been that it is not worthwhile to wage war with the sceptics on a battlefield which they control. The changes made can be undone as soon as you go back to living your life. Matlock had this experience some years ago when asked by Erlendur Haraldsson to update his Wikipedia page. Matlock’s changes were undone within a day and when he went back and tried again, they were undone again, at which point he and Erlendur gave up. They were very happy when the SPR introduced the PE under McLuhan’s editorship.
From the start, McLuhan strove to provide reliable information and also to bring in sceptical perspectives to provide balance in coverage. At the time of this writing, at the end of September 2026, we have 765 articles – quite an achievement – but compared to the number of articles on Wikipedia, it is a drop in the ocean. McLuhan received ‘an enthusiastic response’ when he asked experts to write for the PE, but because most experts did not have the time to write on topics beyond their expertise, he turned to staff writers to supplement them. Some of these – notably, Michael Duggan, KM Wehrstein, and Melvyn Willin – are responsible for a considerable number of articles. Wehrstein and Willin are now Associate Editors of the PE.
For security reasons, we cannot provide a forum for public debate on our site, although we are reposting our articles and blogs on Facebook, X, Bluesky and other social media platforms (see our earlier blog on this topic), and we invite discussion there. You may also write to us at [email protected] with comments or suggestions. However, I would advise writers to be specific and precise.
We regard the PE as a community project, but naturally its scope is not as broad as Wikipedia’s. That brings another contrast to mind. In our community, we are interested in psi, reincarnation, mediums, near-death experiences, Fortean phenomena, and more. The sceptics have a much wider remit than we do and are more heavily involved in the culture war. This is evident if one studies their publications: Skeptical Inquirer, Skeptic (UK), and Skeptic (US).
I regard the sceptics as being more reactionary than we are. Psi research to them is, in the grand scheme of things, small fry. However, when something attracts significant media attention – such as The Telepathy Tapes podcast, a psychic detective failing to provide useful information, or an uncritical article about near-death experiences – they react and try to get their perspective out far and wide. We who work on the PE are less concerned with current events. Naturally, we would like all entries to be up to date, but with our small staff, it takes time to incorporate the latest findings.
McLuhan writes that, for him, the main purpose of the PE ‘has always been to create a bridge between psi research and the general public, to generate interest in our field and balance the rather jaundiced perceptions that the sceptic community so successfully propagates.’ Under Matlock’s editorship, we are emphasising the PE‘s educational potential as well. I think that we have successfully done these things, but this is work that will never end, and we will need help to continue. After a decade, the funds Buckmaster supplied are running low, and the PE will soon need to appeal for support through a fundraising drive, a new venture for us.
Works Cited
Butler, T. (2020). Wikipedia arbitration. Etheric Studies. [Web page, 3 December.]
McLuhan, R. (2025). The psi encyclopedia. The Magazine of the Society for Psychical Research 18, 4-7.
Orlowitz, J. (2026). Not here to build an encyclopedia Larry Sanger, Jimmy Wales, and the twenty-five-year fight over who founded Wikipedia. Medium. [Web page, 23 June.]
Ruffles, T. (2016). Wikipedia and its prejudices: a recent example. Tom Ruffles Blogspot. [Web page, 29 March.]
Weiler, C. (2020). Psi Wars: TED, Wikipedia and the Battle for the Internet (2nd Ed.). Guildford, UK: White Crow Books. [Original work published 2013.]