Mystery AtlasSociety for Psychical Research
The London society founded in 1882 to investigate paranormal claims scientifically; its members conducted the principal investigations of the Enfield case and reached opposing conclusions.
This is a knowledge-graph entry: what our data records about Society for Psychical Research and how it connects to the rest of the atlas. It does not have a full article of its own yet.
Connected to
How this topic links to the people, places, and ideas around it — drawn from our knowledge graph.
Related Mysteries
Society for Psychical Research investigated Enfield Poltergeist — SPR investigators reached opposing conclusions: Grosse and Playfair reported unexplained phenomena; Anita Gregory and John Beloff reported trickery and suggestibility.
- Borley Rectorybuilt 1862, demolished 1944
Society for Psychical Research investigated Borley Rectory — The SPR's 1956 critical survey concluded much of the evidence for hauntings was exaggerated or fabricated.
- The Cheltenham Ghost1882-1889
Society for Psychical Research investigated The Cheltenham Ghost — Frederic Myers investigated from 1886 and the Society published Rosina Despard's account in its Proceedings in 1892.
- Chaffin Will CaseJune–December 1925
Society for Psychical Research investigated Chaffin Will Case — Barrister W. H. Salter interviewed the family in 1926 and published his account in the Society’s Proceedings in 1927, finding no evidence of prior knowledge of the will.
Theories & Explanations
Society for Psychical Research influenced Stone Tape Theory — Late-19th-century SPR researchers Edmund Gurney and Eleanor Sidgwick speculated that buildings or materials could store and later replay records of past events, a recognised precursor to the theory.
People
Society for Psychical Research had as a member Maurice Grosse.
Society for Psychical Research had as a member Frederic W. H. Myers — A founding Council member who led its investigation of the Cheltenham case.
Society for Psychical Research is associated with Rosina Despard — Supplied the primary testimony the Society published under the pseudonym R. C. Morton.
Creatures & Figures
- Angels of Monslegend emerged September 1914 onward
Society for Psychical Research investigated Angels of Mons — The SPR's 1915 investigation found no first-hand testimony it could trace to any authoritative source.
Explored on these pages
Did a Dead Man's Ghost Reveal His Hidden Will?
The Chaffin will case: how a dream apparition led to a hidden 1919 will, and why the story remains one of psychical research's oddest legal disputes.
Did Angels Really Protect British Troops at Mons?
Did angels really appear to protect British troops at Mons in 1914? How Arthur Machen's short story became a mass-believed wartime legend.
Was the Cheltenham Ghost the Best-Documented Haunting Ever?
Was the Cheltenham Ghost the best-documented English haunting? Rosina Despard's experiments, the SPR's 1892 report, and the sceptical explanations.
What Made Borley Rectory 'the Most Haunted House in England'?
Why Borley Rectory earned its 'most haunted house in England' reputation, Harry Price's investigation, and why later researchers found much of it fabricated.
What Was the Enfield Poltergeist?
What the Enfield poltergeist was: the 1977-79 events in a London council house, what investigators recorded, the caught trickery, and the open disputes.