The First Society of Paranormal Research
A look at an early survey of The Society for Psychical Research
By: Sam Little
London, 1882. A group of like minded individuals join together to form a society devoted to researching paranormal phenomena. The Society for Psychical Research was the first of it's kind and gartered a great deal of respect. They broke ground in many ways. In this article I want to look at one of their earliest surveys in regards to characterizing ghosts. This survey in many ways was at the time the most in depth look at how to categorize ghosts sightings. The survey involved 17,000 people. Some of these characteristics conflict with each other which made the survey an instant attack subject to skeptics. Let's look at it shall we?
- Often perceive and react to objects around them. They behave as if they were totally aware of their surroundings, coming in through doors not walls. They move around furniture, not pass through it. If a ghost moved through a house it uses staircases and hallways, established pathways and routes taken by the living.
- Can disappear of pass into walls, through closed doors, or through solid objects.
- Can be perceived by multiple viewers (a so-called "collective" case) although the ghost sometimes appears to some but not all of the group
- Are visible and audible only to certain people
- Are sometimes, though rarely tangible (feel solid to the touch)
- Are sometimes, though rarely reflected in the mirror
- Sometimes behave with regard to the lighting of the situation. In other words they cast shadows or block the light as they pass in front of it
- Can be penetrated. You can pass through them or place your hand through them without any physical resistance
- Appear and disappear in unexplained ways, even in locked rooms
- Disappear while you are watching them
- Sometimes become transparent and fade away
- Leave behind no physical traces such as footprints
- Are often perceived by animals, esp. domestic animals before or even without human notice
- Almost always occupy the center of your vision
- Appear three dimensional. You can walk all around the apparition, and it appears material, not like a flat projection.
- Are often accompanied by a feeling of cold. Either the room temperature drops or there is an icy breeze or wind. Or if it touches you it feels cold.
- Sometimes first appears as a presence. You wake up with a start of feel something in the room with you.
- Can create the sensation of a pressure weighing against your body.
This list is not in any way written in stone. It was simply one of the first looks at a massive amount of witness accounts and collected case files the SPR had managed to stockpile. Happy Hunting
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