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.

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‘Raymond’ by Oliver Lodge

The soldier son of Sir Oliver Lodge who was killed in battle in 1915 and subsequently communicated with his family through mediums.

photo of Alex Malarkey

‘The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven’ (recanted NDE)

Best-selling American book describing the supposed NDE of a 6-year-old child.

photograph of Sylvan Muldoon, author of books on 'astral projection'

‘The Phenomena of Astral Projection’ (1951)

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

Anthropologist Roger Wescott (1925-2000) coined the term anomalistics

Anomalistics

Anomalistics is the study of anomalies unexplained by science, similar to Forteana, but with a greater emphasis on scientific evaluation.

Horse Frightened by a Thunderstorm, by Eugène Delacroix (1824)

Boggle Threshold

Term coined by Renée Haynes to refer to the level of tolerance of a discomforting new idea, varying from person to person.

photograph of painting by Gabriel von Max, the Seeress of Prevorst (1892)

Ernesto Bozzano’s ‘Phénomènes Psychiques au Moment de la Mort’ (Psychic Phenomena at the Moment of Death)

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Nigel Buckmaster

The benefactor whose bequest financed the Psi Encyclopedia describes the mystical vision that prompted his interest in psi research.

photo of Edgar Cayce

Edgar Cayce

American psychic famous for trance readings in which he diagnosed the cause of medical symptoms and prescribed effective remedies.

Cottingley fairies

Cottingley Fairies

1920s hoax by two girl, who persuaded Sir Arthur Conan Doyle that they had photographed themselves playing with fairies.


Stella Cranshaw

London nurse (1900–1986) who produced abundant phenomena in investigative sittings organized in the 1920s by Harry Price.

croiset newspaper articles

Croiset Archive

Details of correspondence, reports, films and other materials relating to the Dutch psychic Gerard Croiset (1909–1980).


Gerard Croiset

Dutch psychic (1909–1980) known for demonstrations of precognitive clairvoyance (chair tests) and for finding missing persons.

photo of crop circle in a wheat field

Crop Circles

The intricate patterns that sometimes appear in crop fields have been attributed to various factors, including supernatural ones..

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Pearl Curran (Patience Worth)

Author of critically-acclaimed novels, poems and other works that were said to be channeled from discarnate entities.

photo of Natasha Demkina

Natasha Demkina

Russian woman who claims the ability to view inside human bodies and correctly diagnose diseases. Scientific tests have had mixed results.

alexis didier

Alexis Didier

French clairvoyant (1826–1886) whose extraordinarily accurate readings were made while he was in a hypnotic trance.

photograph of hands holding dowsing rods

Dowsing

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

Ghost Meter Pro

Electromagnetism and Paranormal Phenomena

Electromagnetism may be implicated in reports of seemingly paranormal phenomena.

albert einstein2

Eminent People Interested in Psi (list)

A list of some 200 scientists, thinkers, writers, and artists who took seriously the possibility of psi.

Extraordinary light phenomena

Extraordinary Light Phenomena

The widespread experience of a seeing an extraordinary light, one that brings comfort, love or healing.


Eyewitness Testimony (Analysis)

This article discusses the reliability of eyewitness testimony about paranormal events.

compass crop

Felicia Parise

American woman who taught herself to move small objects by means of psychokinesis and was observed doing so in test conditions.

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Forteana

Collective term for anomalous or paranormal-seeming phenomena, as exemplified in the writings of Charles Fort (1874–1932).

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Francis Bacon and the Occult

Francis Bacon (1561–1626) believed in the possibility of psi but opposed its investigation on theological grounds.

Uri Geller, psychic

Uri Geller

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

photo of Katie's face with gold leaf

The Gold Leaf Lady

Florida housewife who exhibits psychic effects, notably golden-like brass foil that appears on her skin and clothes.

photo of Henry Gross dowsing

Henry Gross

American game warden and dowser (1895–1979) who located water for landowners in his home state of Maine and in Bermuda.

human radiations

Human Radiations

The idea that humans radiate biophysical forces was once used to explain phenomena such as auras, ESP, healing, and luminous effects.

image of house keys on hall table

JOTT: Phenomena of Spatial Discontinuities

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

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Journal of Parapsychology (JP)

Journal founded by JB Rhine at Duke University in 1937, historically devoted to experimental parapsychology.

Illustration of telepathic 'skin-writing' by Olga Kahl. In this example, the word Francois', thought but not spoken by a person present, was followed by the letters F R A N appearing as red marks on Kahl's forearm.

Olga Kahl

Russian psychic known for her ability to cause words and images received telepathically appear briefly as red marks on her skin.

kirlian leaf

Kirlian Photography

Photographic technique pioneered in Russia that reveals light radiating from living organisms and other objects.

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Ninel Kulagina

Russian woman (1926–1990) whose apparent ability to move objects by psychokinesis was investigated by parapsychologists.

Miguel

Miguel Alberto Mantilla

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


Joe McMoneagle

Former US Army soldier who played a leading role as a remote viewer in the Star Gate psychic spying program run by American military.

orbs

Orbs (Light Anomalies)

Light anomalies often seen in photographs and video are attributed by some to the presence of ghosts or spirit entities.


Stefan Ossowiecki

Polish businessman (1877–1944) whose clairvoyant abilities were the subject of successful tests with European psychical researchers.


Ted Owens

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

novels by Patience Worth

Patience Worth (analysis)

Should the writings of 'Patience Worth' (Pearl Curran) be considered as products of creative dissociation?

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Photography and the Paranormal

Apparently paranormal images captured on film are vulnerable to claims of misinterpretation, malpractice or fraud.

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Padre Pio

Italian Roman Catholic friar and mystic (1879–1968) known for producing 'stigmata', bleeding sores recalling Christ's crucifixion.

Lotte Plaat

Lotte Plaat

Dutch clairvoyant (1895–1979) able to discern facts about events associated with an object and its owner by holding it (psychometry).

book cover of Podmore's 'Apparitions and Thought-Transference' (1894) Cambridge Library Collection, 2011

Podmore’s ‘Apparitions and Thought-Transference’

Argues that apparitions may be explained through telepathy.


Psychische Studien (journal)

Early German psychical research journal (1874–1925) that contained reports of experiences and investigations.

St. Joseph of Cupertino is lifted in flight at the sight of the Basilica of Loreto, by Ludovico Mazzanti  (detail)

Religious Levitation

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

noreen renier

Noreen Renier

American psychic detective who claims to have worked on more than 400 cases, mainly related to murder, rape and missing persons.

Charles Richet, physiologist and psi researcher

Richet’s ‘La Suggestion Mentale’

In a 1884 paper, physiologist Charles Richet pioneered the use of statistics in telepathy tests.

Charles Richet -Traite de Metapsychique and English translation Thirty Years of Psychical Research

Richet’s ‘Traité de Métapsychique’ (‘Thirty Years of Psychical Research’)

A classic review of the literature, published in 1922.


Christopher Robinson

British psychic said to possess precognitive dream ability of use to UK police and security services.

sai baba

Sai Baba

Sathya Sai Baba was an Indian religious leader known worldwide for 'miracles' such as materializing sweets and ornaments.

photograph of Michael Whiteman

Scientific Mysticism

Describes the theory of mathematician and mystic Michael Whiteman, based in part on his own experiences.

pavel stepanek

Pavel Stepanek

Czech ESP subject who performed consistently well in experiments carried out in Prague and in the US during the 1960s.

photo of Ingo Swann

Ingo Swann

American artist (1933–2013) whose psychic ability led him to participate in successful ESP and PK experiments in the 1970s.

portrait of Emanuel Swedenborg

Emanuel Swedenborg

Swedish engineer, philosopher, seer and psychic (1688–1772), who wrote about his encounters with spirits.

Stanislawa Tomczyk

Stanislawa Tomczyk

Polish woman whose ability to produce visible psychokinetic effects in controlled conditions is well documented.

ufo

UFOs, Aliens and Psi

Review of the research literature on UFO sightings and alien encounters, which may include claims of psi phenomena.


JH Michael Whiteman

British-born mathematician and philosopher who was inspired by his own psychical and mystical experiences.

Early fifteenth century woodcut showing a witch, a demon and a warlock flying towards a peasant woman

Witchcraft

Traces the development of witchcraft as the socially proscribed practice of magic, from Antiquity to the present day.

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