Scientists & Authors
Here can be found some 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.
Damon Abraham
American researcher who uses AI and machine-learning techniques to examine the interplay between psi and technology.
David Acunzo
David Acunzo is a neuroscientist based at the University of Virginia, whose research encompasses topics relevant to parapsychology.
Carlos S Alvarado
Researcher, author and educator (1955–2021) in the field of parapsychology, with a focus on the history of early psychical research.
Margaret L Anderson
Margaret L Anderson (1920–1986) was a professor of education and parapsychologist best known for testing children for ESP.
Loyd Auerbach
American mentalist, parapsychologist and author of books about hauntings and survival, who aims to educate the public about the paranormal.
Cleve Backster
Cleve Backster (1924–2013), a polygraph expert, carried out experiments which he claimed showed a degree of conscious awareness in plants.
WW Baggally
British psychical researcher (c 1848–1928) best remembered for his part in the SPR's investigation of Eusapia Palladino.
Ian S Baker
Ian Baker is a psychologist at the University of Derby who has carried out ESP research.
Arthur Balfour
Tory politician and philosopher (1848–1930) with an interest in psychical research, specially mediumship.
Peter A Bancel
American experimental physicist who carries out psi-research at the Institut Métapsychique International in Paris.
Dennis Bardens
English journalist and author (1911–2004), founder of the BBC news programme Panorama.
Allan Barham
Allan Barham (1912–1989), an Anglican vicar, wrote and lectured extensively about psi phenomena.
William F Barrett
British physicist (1844–1925) and co-founder of the Society for Psychical Research in 1882.
Mary Rose Barrington
British lawyer (1926–2020), longtime vice-president of the SPR and investigator of paranormal phenomena.
Imants Barušs
Canadian psychologist and author specializing in consciousness studies, including phenomena suggestive of postmortem survival.
Vasileios Basios
Physicist based in Brussels interested in understanding how consciousness interacts with the physical world.
Kenneth Batcheldor
British psychologist (1921–1988) who showed 'table tipping' could be produced by living agents through psychokinesis
Alexander Batthyány
Austrian philosopher, cognitive scientist and researcher concerned with phenomena surrounding death and dying.
Eberhard Bauer
German psychologist and parapsychologist, whose research interests include cultural and historical aspects of psychical research in Germany.
Raymond Bayless
Raymond Bayless (1920–2004) was an American landscape painter and author of books on psychical phenomena.
Julie Beischel
Co-founder of the Windbridge Research Center in Arizona, USA, concerned primarily with mental mediumship.
John Beloff
John Beloff (1920–2006), a British psychologist, was concerned with the philosophy of mind and psi-related topics.
Daryl Bem
Daryl Bem, an American social psychologist, has carried out landmark experiments on precognition.
William Bengston
American sociologist and practitioner of ‘energy healing’ (1950–2025) who engaged in successful laboratory tests.
Henri Bergson
Influential French philosopher (1859–1941) who was strongly interested in psi phenomena.
Annie Besant
Annie Besant (1847–1933) was an English theosophist, socialist and women’s rights activist concerned with spiritual development.
Theodore Besterman
British researcher and longtime SPR librarian who investigated mediums and wrote on paranormal topics.
Dick Bierman
Dutch psychologist and experimental parapsychologist, . His work includes research on the role of consciousness in quantum collapse.
Malcolm Bird
American mathematician and parapsychologist (1886–1964), involved in investigations of the medium Mina Crandon in the 1920s.
Frederick Bligh Bond
English architect and archeologist (1864–1945) remembered for his medium-guided excavations at Glastonbury Abbey.
Mark Boccuzzi
American psi researcher, co-founder of the Windbridge Research Center, which is concerned primarily with mantal mediumship.
Theodora Bosanquet
English writer and editor (1880–1961) who was an active SPR member and practised automatic writing.
Ernesto Bozzano
Italian psychologist and psychical researcher (1862–1943), author of number of books analysing psi phenomena.
William Braud
American experimental parapsychologist (1942–2012), pioneer of study of distant mental influence on living systems (DMILS).
Stephen E Braude
American philosopher and parapsychologist (1945–2026) remembered for his field investigations of apparent psychokinesis.
Emma Hardinge Britten
British writer and stage performer (1823–1899) remembered for her advocacy of early Spiritualism.
CD Broad
Cambridge philosopher (1887–1971) who theorized on topics such as precognition and post-mortem survival.
Richard S Broughton
Experimental psi researcher concerned with cognitive and evolutionary aspects of ESP.
Göran Brusewitz
Swedish researcher who has studied psi connections between twins and has linked parapsychology to holistic biology.
Cédric Cannard
Cédric Cannard is a French researcher working on altered states of consciousness and psi phenomena.
Dani Caputi
American atmospheric scientist who has examined consciousness effects on micro-meteorological processes.
Etzel Cardeña
Mexican-born psychologist with interests in consciousness, dissociation and altered states related to psi.
Walter Whately Carington
British psychical researcher (1892–1947) who pioneered word association tests in the investigation of mediumship.
James Carpenter
American clinical psychologist, psychotherapist and parapsychologist, best-known for his innovative First Sight Theory of psi.
Bernard J Carr
British cosmologist whose research interests centre on a theory of physics capable of accommodating psi phenomena.
Hereward Carrington
British-born psychical researcher (1880–1958) and prolific author of popular of books on psi and postmortem survival.
Lewis Carroll
Lewis Carroll (1832–1898), author of Alice in Wonderland, was interested in psychical research and theosophy.
Manfred Cassirer
German-born author and researcher (1920–2003) with wide interests in psychical research.
Arthur Chattock
Arthur Chattock (1860–1934) was a British physicist who carried out telepathy experiments.
David Christie-Murray
British priest and teacher (1913–2010) who in later life wrote about survival and reincarnation.
Callum E Cooper
British psychologist who specializes in the study of spontaneous cases of psi phenomena.
Tony Cornell
Investigator associated with the SPR (1923–2010), specially concerned with hauntings and poltergeists.
Philip J Cozzolino
American researcher who has investigated psychological aspects related to parapsychological phenomena.
William Crawford
William Crawford (1881–1920), a college lecturer in mechanical engineering, is known for his investigation of a Spiritualist circle in Belfast.
Robert Crookall
English geologist (1890-1981) who promoted out-of-body experiences as evidence of ‘astral projection’ and postmortem survival.
William Crookes
British scientist (1832–1919) who did controversial experiments with Daniel Home and other mediums in the 1870s.
Pierre Curie
Nobel prize-winning French physicist (1859–1906) who in the years before his death became enthusiastic about seance phenomena.
Ramsés D’León Macías
Mexican parapsychcologist who has carried out research in presentiment and psychokinesis.
Michael Daw
Michael Daw is a research scientist investigating a relationship between dietary practices and psi abilities.
Moritz Dechamps
German researcher investigating quantum effects in the context of micro-psychokinesis experiments.
Deborah Delanoy
Psychologist who has conducted research in ESP and direct mental interaction with living systems (DMILS).
Max Dessoir
German philosopher and psychologist (1867–1947) credited with originating the term ‘parapsychology’.
Eric John Dingwall
British author and psi researcher (1890–1986), noted for a robustly critical approach to the phenomena.
Rosemary Dinnage
British journalist and author (1928–2015), leading figure in the Society for Psychical Research.
York Dobyns
A long-term member of the research team at the Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research (PEAR) laboratory.
ER Dodds
Oxford classics professor (1893–1979), authority on supernatural beliefs in antiquity and sceptic of postmortem survival.
Hugh Dowding
Air Chief Marshal Hugh Dowding (1882–1970), head of RAF Fighter Command during the Battle of Britain, who became a Spiritualist.
Arthur Conan Doyle
In later life, the creator of Sherlock Holmes (1859–1930) became an evangelist for Spiritualism.
Hans Driesch
German biologist and philosopher (1867-1941) who published extensively on psychical research and its connection to vitalism.
Carl du Prel
German philosopher (1839–1899), proponent of research into the connection of psi phenomena to the unconscious.
CJ Ducasse
American philosopher (1881–1969) who wrote extensively about postmortem survival and reincarnation.
Brenda Dunne
American parapsychologist (1944–2022), whose remote viewing and psychokinesis research made important contributions.
JW Dunne
JW Dunne (1875–1949) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and aeronautical engineer who became well-known for books about time and precognition.
Hoyt Edge
American philosopher who has carried out psi research, principally in the area of psychokinesis.
John W Edmonds
American lawyer, judge, and politician (1799–1874), remembered as one of the first serious investigators of séance mediums.
Jule Eisenbud
American psychoanalyst (1908–1998) known for his insightful theorising about unconscious motivation and psi effects.
Arthur Ellison
Arthur J Ellison (1920–2000), an electrical engineer, carried out research with psychics and served two terms as president of the SPR.
Giovanni Battista Ermacora
Italian scientist (1858–1898) who devoted much time to researching telepathy and other psychical phenomena.
Suitbert Ertel
German statistician and psychologist (1932–2017) who developed the highly successful ESP 'ball selection' test of psychokinesis (PK).
Álex Escolà-Gascón
Professor of applied mathematics whose research has included remote viewing and aspects of paranormal belief.
Hilary Evans
British author (1929–2011) of books on hauntings, UFOs and Fortean phenomena, co-founder of ASSAP and of the Mary Evans Picture Library.
Renaud Evrard
French psychologist with a particular interest in the clinical, historical and theoretical aspects of parapsychology.
Letitia Fairfield
Letitia Fairfield (1885–1978) was a pioneering medical doctor, lawyer and women’s rights campaigner interested in parapsychology.
Lionel Fanthorpe
Retired Anglican priest, author of numerous popular fiction and non-fiction works relating to occult and paranormal phenomena.
Sally Rhine Feather
Retired American clinical psychologist, daughter of JB Rhine and Louisa Rhine, who carried out psi experiments in the 1960s.
Everard Feilding
English barrister, psychical researcher and minor aristocrat (1867–1936), author of a 1909 report on physical medium Eusapia Palladino.
Peter Fenwick
British neuropsychiatrist and neurophysiologist (1935–2024), leading authority on near-death and end-of-life experiences.
GW Fisk
GW Fisk (1882–1972) was a British experimental parapsychologist who made a notable contribution to ESP research.
Camille Flammarion
French astronomer and psychical researcher (1842–1925), notable for his writings on psi and mediumship.
Ana Borges Flores
Portuguese lawyer by training who has moved into psychology and psi research, developing experimental tests in quantum theory.
Théodore Flournoy
Swiss psychologist (1854–1920) noted for his book From India to the Planet Mars, a psychological study of the trance medium Hélène Smith.
David Fontana
Psychologist and psi researcher (1934–2010) who wrote extensively about transpersonal psychology, dreams and survival of death.
EE Fournier d’Albe
Irish physicist and inventor (1868–1933), remembered in psychical research for his investigation of the Goligher mediumistic circle.
Morris Freedman
Toronto-based neurologist who done experiments suggesting that psi may be facilitated by frontal lobe brain damage.
Christopher C French
British psychologist and prominent parapsychology sceptic who has carried out his own laboratory psi research.
Tomokichi Fukurai
Pioneering Japanese experimental psychologist (1869–1952) who carried out psi research, noted for studies of ‘thoughtography’.
Joe Gallenberger
American clinical psychologist noted for psychokinesis training programs carried out over two decades in Las Vegas casinos.
Hamlin Garland
Hamlin Garland (1860–1940) was an American psychical researcher, noted for his investigation of the Buried Crosses communications.
Alan Gauld
British psychologist (1932–2024) known for his writings on hypnosis. poltergeists, mediumship and the history of psychical research.
Gustave Geley
French investigator of mediums (1865–1924) remembered for his controversial attempts to provide proof of ectoplasm in the form of plaster moulds.
Mostyn Gilbert
Mostyn Gilbert (1924-1992) was an American historian living in England who pursued interests in physical mediumship and survival.
Joseph Glanvill
17th century clergyman (1636–1680) and member of the Royal Society, one of the first intellectuals to take an interest in paranormal claims.
Jacob W Glazier
American transdisciplinary researcher whose scholarship includes critical theory and parapsychology.
Mollie Goldney
British psychical researcher (1895–1992) noted for contributions to the critical literature on hauntings and physical mediumship.
Bernard Grad
Canadian biologist and cancer researcher (1920–2010) who pioneered laboratory studies of ‘laying-on-of-hands’ or spiritual healing.
Andrew Green
British ghost hunter and author of popular books on hauntings (1927–2004), known in the media as Britain's 'Spectre Inspector’.
Celia Green
British philosopher and psychologist (b 1935) who has published extensively on lucid dreams, ESP and the out-of-body experience.
Anita Gregory
German-born linguist and psychical researcher (1925–1984) who investigated and wrote about psi phenomena.
Bruce Greyson
American psychiatrist at the University of Virginia who is the world's leading authority on near-death experiences.
Jacobo Grinberg-Zylberbaum
Mexican psychologist and consciousness researcher who carried out experiments in telepathy and extraocular vision.
Maurice Grosse
British engineer and inventor (1919–2006) who in later life became engaged in psychical research.
Gabriel Guerrer
Gabriel Guerrer is a Brazilian experimental physicist who has investigated the possible influence of consciousness on matter.
Arthur Guirdham
English psychiatrist (1905–1992) who attracted notice with books claiming the group reincarnation of members of the Medieval Cathar sect.
Edmund Gurney
Edmund Gurney (1847–1888) was a founder member of the SPR noted for his research on hypnotism, telepathy and apparitions.
Radclyffe Hall
English writer (1880–1943), author of The Well of Loneliness, known in psychical research for her report on sittings with Gladys Osborne Leonard.
Erlendur Haraldsson
Icelandic psychologist (1931–2020) who investigated end-of-life phenomena, mediumship, and reincarnation.
Robert Hare
American chemistry professor and inventor (1781–1858), whose experiments with mediums convinced him of postmortem survival.
Renée Haynes
English historian and psychical researcher (1906–1994) who wrote extensively about psi phenomena and coined the term ‘boggle threshold’.
Benson Herbert
British parapsychologist (1912–1991) who investigated what he believed to be the electrical origins of psi phenomena.
Rosalind Heywood
Englishwoman (1895–1980) who wrote a memoir describing her frequent psychic experiences, often in relation to healing and family matters.
J Arthur Hill
J Arthur Hill (1872–1951) was an English author of books on psychical research and spiritualism.
Reginaldo Hiraoka
Brazilian philosopher and psychologist with research interests in ganzfeld ESP and collective influence on random number generators.
Glenn Hitchman
British psychologist interested in implicit precognition, morphic fields and the use of floatation tanks to induce psi-conducive states.
Richard Hodgson
Australian-born psychical researcher, noted for his early strong scepticism of physical mediums and his later advocacy of Leonora Piper.
Ulf Holmberg
Swedish economist who has investigated the potential impact of human consciousness on random physical systems.
Nicola Holt
British psychologist and psi researcher, whose work has focused on the relationship of psi to creativity and other personality traits.
Hans Holzer
Austrian-born American author (1920–2009) and lay paranormal investigator, largely of hauntings and poltergeists.
Charles Honorton
American parapsychologist (1946–1992) who helped pioneer the ganzfeld sensory deprivation technique of ESP testing.
Charles Hope
Minor British aristocrat (1892–1962) who participated in experiments with Rudi Schneider and investigated the Borley Rectory haunting.
Jack Houck
American engineer (1939–2013) noted for his mass demonstrations of psychokinesis at metal bending ‘parties’.
James Houran
American parapsychologist whose interests include paranormal belief, ghostly phenomena, and transliminality.
Jack Hunter
British anthropologist whose work explores connections between consciousness, religion, ecology and paranormal phenomena.
James Hervey Hyslop
James Hervey Hyslop (1854–1920) was an American philosopher and psychologist who was deeply engaged in psychical research.
Brian Inglis
Irish journalist, author and broadcaster (1916–1993), whose many published works include books about psychical research.
LP Jacks
British preacher and philosopher (1860–1955) who was interested in psychical research and wrote about issues related to postmortem survival.
Robert Jahn
Robert Jahn was a plasma physicist who founded the PEAR laboratory, which specialized in studying mind-machine interactions.
William James
Psychologist and philosopher William James (1842–1910), who studied medium Leonora Piper, was a strong advocate of psychical research.
CEM Joad
CEM Joad (1891–1953) was a British philosopher and television personality with an active interest in psychical research
Alice Johnson
Cambridge zoologist (1860–1940) who played a significant role as researcher and administrator in the SPR's early years.
Raynor C Johnson
English physicist (1901–1987), author of influential books about psychical research, postmortem survival and mysticism.
Jacob Jolij
Jacob Jolij is a Dutch psychologist who has carried out experiments in presentiment and psychokinesis.
Carl Gustav Jung
Swiss psychiatrist CG Jung (1875–1961) had a strong interest in psi phenomena, perhaps best known through his concept of synchronicity.
Debra Lynne Katz
American parapsychologist, author, educator, and intuitive practitioner, carrying out research on remote viewing and related topics.
Montague Keen
Montague Keen (1925–2004), a journalist and later a farmer, was a leading member of the SPR who investigated crop circles and mediums.
Jürgen Keil
German-Australian psychologist and parapsychologist (1930–2024) who studied psychokinesis, ESP, and child reincarnation cases.
Edward F Kelly
American psychologist and parapsychologist concerned especially with consciousness and its relation to psi functioning and postmortem survival.
Emily Williams Kelly
American psychologist with interests in near-death experiences, end-of-life phenomena, and reincarnation.
James E Kennedy
American psi researcher specializing in experimental research, methodology and theoretical development.
Karolina A Kirmse
German researcher who has carried out experiments aimed at uncovering the quantum basis of psi phenomena.
Marios Kittenis
Researcher whose work has included presentiment, remote psychophysical interactions, and the psi effects of psychedelic drugs.
Arthur Koestler
Hungarian journalist and author (1905–1983) whose bequest supports the Koestler Parapsychology Unit at Edinburgh University.
Hideyuki Kokubo
Japanese researcher known for work on bio-PK (non-contact healing and energy therapies such as Reiki and Johrei).
Jürgen Kornmeier
German parapsychologist with research interests in perception, altered states and consciousness.
Stanley Krippner
American psychologist and parapsychologist, known for research in dream ESP, altered states of consciousness and shamanism.
John G Kruth
Executive director of the Rhine Research Center. His research interests include bioenergy in healing.
Guy Lambert
British senior civil servant (1889–1983) who investigated mediumship, poltergeists and other survival-related topics.
Andrew Lang
British folklorist (1844–1912) who noted consistencies in psi phenomena cross-culturally and over time.
Hubert Larcher
French physician and parapsychologist (1921–2008) noted for his study of consciousness between life and death.
Lawrence LeShan
American psychologist and parapsychologist (1920–2020), the author of numerous books and articles on paranormal topics.
Walter Leaf
Prominent English banker, classical scholar and psychical researcher (1852-1927) who contributed to the study of medium Leonora Piper.
Oliver Lodge
British physicist (1851-1940) remembered for his pioneering early work in electricity and radio, who became an active investigator of mental mediumship.
Cesare Lombroso
Influential Italian criminologist, doctor and psychiatrist (1835–1909) who engaged in psychical research and endorsed Eusapia Palladino.
Walter von Lucadou
German physicist interested in consciousness studies who has developed a theory of psi based on quantum mechanics.
Richard James Lucido
American psychologist whose experiments support the idea that consciousness causes the collapse of the wave function.
David Luke
Psychologist and psi researcher focusing in particular on the effects of psychoactive substances.
Edith Lyttelton
British playwright and social activist (1865–1948) who became involved with psychical research and practised automatic writing
Fatima Regina Machado
Brazilian psychologist concerned with the psychological and psychosocial impacts of psychic experiences, specially poltergeists.
Andrew MacKenzie
New Zealand-born journalist and novelist (1911–2001) who also wrote and reviewed books about psychical research.
Francisco I Madero
Wealthy landowner (1873–1913) who became Mexico's 37th president, whose career was profoundly influenced by his Spiritist beliefs.
Markus Maier
German psychologist whose work in consciousness theory has extended to include experiments in psychokinesis and precognition.
Everton Maraldi
Brazilian psychologist with research interests in the psychology of non-ordinary experiences, spirituality, religion and health.
Gabriel Marcel
French existentialist Roman Catholic philosopher (1889–1973) who as a young man was actively involved in psi research in France.
Betty Markwick
British mathematician and statistician, credited with having uncovered fraud in ESP experiments by SG Soal.
CC Massey
CC Massey (1838–1905) was an English barrister, Theosophist, and founding member of the Society for Psychical Research.
James G Matlock
American anthropologist and leading reincarnation researcher with a multicultural and interdisciplinary approach.
Edwin C May
American physicist and parapsychologist, notable for his direction of the US government-funded Star Gate remote viewing program.
Elizabeth Lloyd Mayer
American psychoanalyst (1947–2005) who became interested in psi following a startling anomalous experience.
Gerhard Mayer
German psychologist interested in cultural studies and interdisciplinary approaches relating to parapsychology and anomalistics.
Rollin McCraty
Rollin McCraty is an American psychophysiologist who has carried out research in the relationship between heart and mind.
William McDougall
Eminent British psychologist (1871–1938) who contributed hugely to the establishing of parapsychology as an experimental science.
James McHarg
Scottish psychiatrist and medical historian (1917–2003) who studied the kinds of psychic experiences reported by his patients.
George Medhurst
British mathematician and engineer (1920–1971) who carried out experiments and scholarly studies in psychical research.
Herb Mertz
Author of The Selection Effect (2020), which describes a long-term self-study with a random event generator.
Antonia Mills
Canadian anthropologist and reincarnation researcher who studied beliefs and experiences in India and British Columbia.
Jeffrey Mishlove
American parapsychologist who as host of New Thinking Allowed has interviewed hundreds of experts on psi-related topics.
TW Mitchell
TW Mitchell (1869–1944) was a medical psychologist and psychotherapist interested in multiple personality disorder.
Garret Moddel
Quantum engineer at the University of Colarado who has carried out experiments in applied psi and remote viewing.
Robert Monroe
American busnessman (1915–1995), founder of The Monroe Institute, which offers training in his Hemi-Sync technology to explore consciousness.
Alexander Moreira-Almeida
Brazilian psychiatrist who has carried out empirical studies of mediumship and spiritual experiences.
Robert Morris
American psychologist and parapsychologist (1942–2004) who chaired Edinburgh University's Koestler Parapsychology Unit.
Julia Mossbridge
American cognitive neuroscientist who has carried out parapsychological studies, notably on precognition and presentiment effects.
Sylvan Muldoon
American man (1903–1969) who wrote about his out-of-body experiences, which occurred throughout his life, and which he was able to control.
Clement Mundle
Scottish philosophy professor (1916-1989) who participated in telepathy experiments and published commentary on psychical research.
Gardner Murphy
American psychologist (1895–1979) who made major contributions to parapsychology in a career that spanned six decades.
Frederic WH Myers
Founding member of the SPR (1843–1901), author of the classic Human Personality and its Survival of Bodily Death.
Michael Nahm
German biologist and parapsychologist, whose interests centre on end-of-life and survival-related phenomena. such as terminal lucidity.
Roger Nelson
Experimental psychologist and parapsychologist who founded the long-running Global Consciousness Project.
Fraser Nicol
British parapsychologist (d 1989) who carried out statistical experiments in ESP and psychokinesis. .
Ralph Noyes
Senior official in the British Ministry of Defence (1923–1998) involved in investigations of mediumship, crop circles and UFOs.
Ciaran O’Keeffe
British applied psychologist who has investigated paranormal phenomena, notably hauntings, from a sceptical perspective.
Julian Ochorowicz
Polish philosopher, psychologist and inventor (1850–1917), who made notable investigations of physical mediumship.
Ohkado Masayuki
Japanese linguist whose psi research centres on children's memories of previous lives and of the period between lives.
Arthur Oram
Arthur Oram (1916–2005), a leading member of the SPR, published experiments in telepathy and actively explored mediumship.
Karlis Osis
Latvian-born Karlis Osis (1917–1997) contributed classic studies of deathbed apparitions and out-of-body experiences.
Eugène Osty
French medical practitioner and psi researcher (1874–1938), noted for an innovative investigation of Rudi Schneider.
ARG Owen
British mathematics professor and parapsychologist (1919–2003), notable for the landmark ‘Philip’ psychokinesis experiments.
Gustav Pagenstecher
German-born physician and psychical researcher (1855–1942) remembered for work on psychometry.
Fotini Pallikari
Greek physicist interested in laser spectroscopy, materials science, foundations of quantum theory and psychical research.
John Palmer
American psychologist and parapsychologist who has conducted psi research using a range of experimental and theoretical approaches.
Adrian Parker
Anglo-Swedish clinical psychologist and parapsychologist who was among the first researchers to adopt the ganzfeld technique.
Denys Parsons
Denys Parsons (1914–1995) was an author, musician and psychical researcher who participated in psi experiments.
Satwant Pasricha
Indian clinical psychologist known for her research on childhood past life memories and near-death experiences.
Marieta Pehlivanova
Marieta Pehlivanova is a researcher at the University of Virginia, with interests relating to near-death and related experiences.
Charles S Peirce
Philosopher Charles S Peirce (1839–1914), originator of American Pragmatism, took a skeptical but open-minded interest in psychical research.
Michael A Persinger
American-Canadian psychologist (1945–2018), inventor of a device that sought to induce paranormal-seeming experiences.
Mikhail Petrovo-Solovovo
Russian diplomat and psychical researcher (1868–1954) known for interest in physical mediumship.
JG Piddington
John George Piddington (1869–1952) was a successful British businessman remembered for his investigation of mental mediumship.
Guy Lyon Playfair
English journalist and psychical researcher (1935–2018), known for his investigating and writing about psi phenomena in the UK and Brazil.
Frank Podmore
Frank Podmore (1856–1910) played a significant role in the early years of the SPR, first as an investigator, later as a sceptical theorist.
Diane Hennacy Powell
American psychiatrist who has conducted successful ESP research with autistic children.
John Poynton
South African-born zoologist with particular interests in out-of-body experiences and the thought of philosopher Michael Whiteman.
J Gaither Pratt
American psychologist and parapsychologist (1910–1979) who worked with JB Rhine at Duke University and Ian Stevenson at the University of Virginia.
Harry Price
Harry Price (1881–1948) was a popular British lay investigator of hauntings and mediums, whose work frequently caused controversy.
JB Priestley
English novelist and playwright (1894–1984), who often dealt with time and precognition, topics of central interest to psychical research.
Walter Franklin Prince
Episcopal minister and psychical researcher (1863–1934) known for his study of ‘Doris Fischer’, a case of multiple personality.
Psi Researchers I
List and capsule biographies of individuals who contributed to the study of psi in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Psi Researchers II
List and capsule biographies of individuals who contributed to the investigation of psi phenomena in the mid-twentieth century.
Andrija Puharich
Andrija Puharich was a scientist, inventor and psi researcher, recalled mainly for his close collaboration with the Israeli psychic Uri Geller.
Harold Puthoff
American physicist and parapsychologist, a key figure in the US government-funded Star Gate remote viewing programme.
Thomas Rabeyron
French clinical psychologist whose psi research has included the study of precognition and presentiment effects.
Dean Radin
Dean Radin is an American scientist known for innovative experiments in the study of consciousness and psi phenomena.
John Randall
British educator (1933–2011) who conducted ESP experiments and was a regular contributor to SPR publications.
Elizabeth Rauscher
American physicist with an interest in altered states of consciousness, who explored links between Eastern philosophy and quantum physics.
Glen Rein
Glen Rein is an American biochemist who has investigated the influence of human intention on DNA activity.
JB Rhine
Joseph Banks Rhine (1895–1980) is recognized as the founder of experimental parapsychology.
Louisa E Rhine
Louisa Rhine (1891–1983) analyzed spontaneous psi experiences sent to the Parapsychology Laboratory at Duke University.
Charles Richet
Charles Richet (1850–1935) was a French physiologist and Nobel prizewinner who made notable contributions to the study of psychical research.
Kenneth Ring
Retired American psychologist who is one the leading investigators of near-death experiences, about which he has written extensively.
Titus Rivas
Dutch theoretical psychologist and philosopher who has studied near-death experiences and children who recall previous lives.
Chris Roe
British psychology professor and psi researcher interested in the nature of anomalous experiences and the psychology of belief.
D Scott Rogo
Author, musician and paranormal researcher (1950-1990) who became a public figurehead for parapsychology.
William G Roll
American psychologist and parapsychologist (1926–2012) noted for reports of poltergeist phenomena for which living agents were responsible.
Serena Roney-Dougal
British psi researcher and educator whose research has probed the relationship between meditation and psi performance.
Archie Roy
Scottish astronomer and psi researcher (1924–2012) who carried out investigations of hauntings and mediumship.
Adrian Ryan
British researcher interested in the effect of geomagnetic activity on ESP, also in psi's philosophical and sociological implications.
Helen Salter
British psychologist and psychical researcher (1883–1959) who helped study the mediumistic Cross-Correspondences.
William Salter
Lawyer and psychical researcher (1880–1969) with a particular interest in mental mediumship and the Cross-Correspondences.
Herbert Saltmarsh
British psychical researcher (1881–1943) who wrote on mediumship, precognition and survival issues.
Carl Sargent
British parapsychologist (1952–2018) whose successful ganzfeld telepathy experiments were attacked by a prominent sceptic.
David Saunders
Psychologist and psi researcher interests in dreams, postmortem survival and the neuropsychology of anomalous experiences.
Marilyn Schlitz
American social anthropologist and psi researcher, studying distant intentionality, healing and special gifted populations.
Gertrude Schmeidler
American psychologist and parapsychologist, noted for her theory that ESP ability relates to belief.
Helmut Schmidt
German American parapsychologist (1928–2011) who pioneered the use of random event generators in studying psychokinesis.
Stefan Schmidt
German clinical psychologist and parapsychologist who has carried out research in distant interaction, telepathy and healing.
Arthur Schopenhauer
Arthur Schopenhauer (1788–1860) was a German philosopher whose metaphysics were partly shaped by his psi experiences.
Gary Schwartz
American psychology professor at the University of Arizona who has engaged in mediumship and psi healing research.
Stephan A Schwartz
American researcher whose experimental research focuses on remote viewing, which he has used in psychic archaeology.
Richard Sheargold
Richard Sheargold (1911–1988) was an English psychical researcher with particular interests in electronic voice phenomena.
Rupert Sheldrake
British biologist known for his theory of 'morphic resonance' and innovative experiments on telepathic capabilities of animals.
Simon Sherwood
British lecturer in psychology whose psi research interests include anomalous sleep experiences, dream-ESP and hauntings.
Yung-Jong Shiah
Chinese psychologist who has conducted ESP experiments, including studies in collaboration with American researcher Dean Radin.
Eleanor Sidgwick
A significant figure in the early Society for Psychical Research (1845–1936), a mathematician, educator and wife of Henry Sidgwick.
Henry Sidgwick
Influential British moral philosopher (1838–1900) whose doubts about religion led him to play a major role in the founding of psychical research.
Richard Silberstein
Australian neuroscientist who conducted a brain imaging study that appears to confirm telepathic interactions between itwins.
Christine Simmonds-Moore
British psychologist and parapsychologist whose research interests include the psychology of paranormal belief.
Matthew Smith
British psychologist and parapsychologist with research interests in positive psychology and ‘luckiness’, including exceptional human experiences.
SG Soal
British university mathematics teacher (1889–1975) who was discovered after his death to have faked results of telepathy experiments.
James Spottiswoode
American physicist who has carried out psi research with an emphasis on seeking physical correlates to psi performance.
Leanna Standish
American neuroscientist and naturopathic physician who has performed successful psi experiments in distant interactions.
Rex G Stanford
American parapsychologist (1938-2022) known for his Psi-Mediated Instrumental Response (PMIR) model of psi.
William T Stead
Nineteenth-century British journalist, author, social reformer and medium, who wrote about psychic experiences and postmortem survival.
Fiona Steinkamp
Philosopher who has carried out psi research in Germany and Britain, principally on mind-matter effects and precognition.
Paul Stevens
British psychologist who has carried out parapsychological research emphasizing the role played by the environment in psi expression.
Ian Stevenson
Canadian-born American psychiatrist (1918–2007) best known for his work on children's claims to remember previous lives.
Balfour Stewart
Scottish physicist (1828–1887) who was interested in psychical research and tried to reconcile modern physics with Christianity.
Lance Storm
Australian psychologist and parapsychologist who explores normal and anomalistic psychology using innovative methods.
Robert Strutt (Lord Rayleigh)
British physicist (1875-1947) who designed a method of using infrared photography in the investigation of physical mediumship.
René Sudre
René Sudre (1880–1968) was a French science journalist active in psi research during the 1920s.
Barry E Taff
Barry Taff is an American author and investigator of hauntings, UFOs and alien abduction phenomena
Elisabeth Targ
American psychiatrist (1961–2002) whose 1999 study on the effect of prayer on AIDS patients became the subject of controversy.
Russell Targ
American physicist and parapsychologist who collaborated with Harold Puthoff in remote viewing studies.
Jeff Tarrant
American psychologist and neurofeedback specialist who has carried out experiments with psychics, mediums and energy healers.
Charles T Tart
American psychologist (1937–2025) known for research on psi, out-of-body experiences, and the nature of consciousness.
Jon Taylor
Cambridge-trained scientist who has developed physical theories of precognition and intuition, bridging quantum physics and neuroscience.
Wilhelm Tenhaeff
Dutch psychologist and parapsychologist (1894–1981), known for his research and writings about the Dutch psychic Gerard Croiset.
Michael Thalbourne
Australian psychologist (1955–2010) whose wide research interests included psi and mystical experience.
JJ Thompson
Nobel prize-winning British physicist (1856–1940) much interested in claims by mediums to produce psychokinetic effects.
Robert Thouless
English social psychologist and parapsychologist (1894–1984), best known for his cipher tests of postmortem survival.
Herbert Thurston
English Jesuit Roman Catholic priest, scholar and active member of the SPR (1856–1939), who held a more positive view of psi than his clerical peers.
William A Tiller
American materials science professor (1929–2022) whose work suggested that psychic energy can influences chemical and biological systems.
Patrizio Tressoldi
Italian psychologist and consciousness researcher who has developed new ways to investigate presentiment and psychokinetic effects.
Una Troubridge
Una Troubridge (1897–1963), an English sculptor, carried out mediumship research with the novelist Radclyffe Hall.
Jim B Tucker
Child psychiatrist who succeeded Ian Stevenson at the University of Virginia in studying children's claims to remember previous lives.
Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemens)
American author Mark Twain (1835–1910) described telepathic interactions with people at a distance.
GNM Tyrrell
English mathematician, physicist and radio engineer (1879–1952), remembered for his theoretical treatise on apparitions.
Montague Ullman
American psychiatrist and parapsychologist who in landmark 1960s experiments demonstrated ESP occurring in the dream state.
Jessica Utts
Leading American statistician who has endorsed statistical methods and findings in parapsychology, notably with the Star Gate programme.
Robert Van de Castle
Robert Van de Castle (1927–2014) was an American psychologist specializing in dreams who also was active in parapsychology
Mario Varvoglis
American parapsychologist living in France, president of the Institut Métapsychique International.
Leonid Vasiliev
Leonid Vasiliev (1891–1966), a Russian physiologist and parapsychologist, reported numerous successful experiments in ‘mental suggestion’.
Annalisa Ventola
Annalisa Ventola is executive director of the Parapsychological Association and has carried out research into poltergeists and haunting.
David Vernon
British psychologist specializing in neuroscience, cognition and research methods, who has carried out psi research as well.
Margaret Verrall
Leading member of the SPR (1857–1916), notable for her study of automatic writing, which she herself successfully practised.
Helané Wahbeh
Research director at the Institute of Noetic Sciences, pursuing a scientific exploration of consciousness that includes practical applications.
Harald Walach
German clinical psychologist and psi researcher who has worked with physicists to develop a theory of psi based on quantum mechanics.
Alfred Russel Wallace
British naturalist (1823–1913) who investigated seance mediums and became a convinced spiritualist.
René Warcollier
French psychical researcher (1881–1962) who published numerous studies of telepathy by means of transmission of drawings.
Lyall Watson
South African-born zoologist anthropologist and author of books about science and the paranormal (1939–2008).
Caroline Watt
Scottish psychologist who has made contributions to understanding psi from both a proponent and sceptic angle.
Zofia Weaver
Council member of the Society for Psychical Research (b 1947) with a particular interest in the history of mediums in her native Poland.
Marina Weiler
Marina Weiler is a Brazilian neuroscientist who studies anomalous experiences in terms of neuroscience.
Donald J West
English psychiatrist and criminologist (1924–2020) who was active in psi research and the SPR for eight decades.
Michael Whiteman
British-born mathematician and philosopher (1906–2007) who was inspired by his own psychical and mystical experiences.
Bryan Williams
Student of cognitive psychology interested in field-like influences on the behaviour of random number generators.
Marc Wittmann
Cognitive neuroscientist based in Freiburg, Germany, where he conducts research on time perception and psi phenomena.
Marjorie Hines Woollacott
American neuroscientist who has studied the veridical and transformative effects of near-death experiences.
Wilhelm Wundt
German psychologist whose scepticism of psi phenomena was motivated by religious concerns.
Wellington Zangari
Brazilian psychologist whose research interests include anomalistic psychology, hypnosis and altered states of consciousness.
Nancy L Zingrone
American psychologist and parapsychologist who is among the most active workers in disseminating information about the field.
George Zorab
Dutch psychical researcher and commentator (1898–1990), who wrote extensively about diverse topics in the field.