Journalism, sceptical controversy and parapsychology have converged in the career of Robert McLuhan, who has helped shape one of the field’s main public resources. Through blogging, publishing and editorial work, he became a prominent interpreter of parapsychology for general readers and the principal architect of the Psi Encyclopedia.
- A former foreign correspondent, McLuhan later turned sustained attention to psychical research after personal experiences prompted doubts about a brain-bound model of consciousness.
- His 2010 book Randi’s Prize examined sceptical critiques of paranormal claims and argued that the evidence for psi had been widely misunderstood.
- He created and edited the Psi Encyclopedia from its launch in 2015 until April 2026, when James G Matlock succeeded him as General Editor.
Contents
Life and Career
Robert McLuhan was born in 1951 in Paris, France, where his father, a regular army officer, was posted. He gained a BA and BLitt at Oxford University, then worked as a foreign correspondent for the Guardian and for the Associated Press in Spain and Portugal. In 1980 he swapped journalism for the music business, producing club dance records. He later returned to freelance journalism, specialising in business management, technology and foreign affairs.
Contributions to Parapsychology
Beginnings
In midlife, McLuhan became interested in parapsychology, as a result of anomalous personal experiences which made him doubt the scientific consensus that consciousness is produced by the brain. He started to read widely on the topic and this eventually led him to the Society for Psychical Research (SPR). There he made a comprehensive study of the contents of its journals and proceedings published since 1882 and eventually summarised these in a catalogue for personal use. Other related activities are listed below.
Paranormālia Blog
In 2007, McLuhan started a blog named ‘paranormālia’, writing regular essays and reviews on topical subjects related to parapsychology. The blog ran until November 2017 and acted as a forum for readers interested in psi phenomena and consciousness. It remained accessible until 2025, when the Typepad platform on which it was hosted ceased operation.1Ars Technica (2025). For entries archived by the Wayback Machine, see here.
Randi’s Prize
In 2010, McLuhan published a book describing the controversies in parapsychology and psychical research, entitled Randi’s Prize: What Sceptics Say About the Paranormal, Why They Are Wrong, and Why It Matters.2McLuhan (2010). The title references the Million Dollar Challenge offered by James Randi, a Canadian-born stage magician and active debunker of paranormal claims, as a symbol of sceptical attitudes. The book covers a wide range of scientific investigations of psi phenomena, including psychokinetic manifestations, laboratory experiments, reincarnation and near-death experiences, closely comparing the arguments on both sides. The book was reissued by White Crow Books under the same title in 2019.
Psi Encyclopedia
In March 2013, McLuhan wrote a blog post about Guerrilla Skepticism on Wikipedia (GSoW)3McLuhan (2013)., a movement led by Susan Gerbic which aims to edit Wikipedia articles to reflect scientific materialist scepticism.4Gerbic (2015). Publicity by Gerbic had shed light on the recent trend on Wikipedia for articles on parapsychological topics to present an almost entirely sceptical view. Later, in 2019, Gerbic was reported as saying in an interview that the group consisted of 144 editors who had edited 900 articles.5Hint (2019). McLuhan’s post generated considerable comment and was followed by attempts to restore balance to certain Wikipedia pages relating to parapsychology. These met with limited success, however.
Discussions also centred on the idea of creating a free online resource that conveyed the history, aims and achievements of parapsychology as these are generally viewed by people working within the field. In 2013, McLuhan, then a member of the SPR’s governing council, won significant funding from the SPR for the creation of an online encyclopedia, drawn from a bequest from long-time SPR member Nigel Buckmaster. The Psi Encyclopedia (PE) launched in 2015 and by 2026 had more than 700 entries authored by over eighty contributors, many of them scientists, researchers and other specialists in the topics they wrote about. McLuhan himself contributed many articles.6For a list of McLuhan’s articles, see here.. McLuhan retired from the PE in April 2026 and James G Matlock took over the role of General Editor.7See this site’s About and Staff pages.
In retirement from his role with the PE, McLuhan is planning to setup a YouTube channel to help bring parapsychology and psi research to a wider audience.
Selected Book Reviews
Immortal Remains: The Evidence for Life After Death by S.E. Braude (2005). Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 69, 33-37.
The Eager Dead: A Study in Haunting by A.E. Roy (2008). Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 72, 236-39.
Irreducible Mind: Toward a Psychology for the 21st Century by E.F. Kelly, E.W. Kelly, A. Crabtree, A. Gauld, M. Grosso, & B. Greyson (2009). Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 73, 177-84.
Debating Psychic Experience: Human Potential or Human Illusion?, ed. by S. Krippner & H.L. Friedman (2012). Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 76, 44-47.
Paranormality: Why We See What Isn’t There by R. Wiseman (2012). Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 76, 179-82.
Pseudoscience and Deception: The Smoke and Mirrors of Paranormal Claims, ed. by B. Farha, with a foreword by M. Shermer (2014). Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 78/3, 174-75.
Induced After Death Communication: A Miraculous Therapy for Grief and Loss by A.L. Botkin & C. Hogan (2015). Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 79/4, 225-26.
Melvyn Willin
Acknowledgement: Robert McLuhan read over this article, made improvements, and added details not publicly available elsewhere.
Works Cited
Ars Technica (2025). Blogging service TypePad is shutting down and taking all of its blogs with it. [Web page.]
Gerbic, S. (2015). Wikapediatrician Susan Gerbic discusses her Guerrilla Skepticism on Wikipedia project. Skeptical Inquirer. [Web page.]
Hitt, J. (2019, 26 February). Inside the secret sting operations to expose celebrity psychics. The New York Times Magazine. [Web page.]
McLuhan, R. (2010). Randi’s Prize: What Sceptics Say About the Paranormal, Why They Are Wrong, and Why It Matters (2010). Leicester: Matador. [Reprinted 2019 by White Crow Books, Hove, UK.] [Web page.]
McLuhan, R. (2013). Guerrilla sceptics. Paranormālia. [Blog post, 26 March. To access from the link, use the year scale (top left) to choose early 2014, then page-search for ‘March 2013’ and click on it.]
