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PF Bibliography #38:
The Study of the Historical Literature of Parapsychology


Those beginning to study the old parapsychology literature may want to start from the bibliography listed below. Crabtree lists many primary sources, while the PF online bibliography offers suggestions of books discussing aspects of the history of the field. There is also a list of useful articles that cover a variety of aspects.

Another resource listed below for your study of past literature is that of the old textbooks or overview books. Examples are those of Barrett, Moser, and Richet. These books reflect the topics and approaches of their era and are very diferent from our current overviews (click here). For example, the old books focus more on mediumship and spontaneous cases than the current ones.

Bibliographies
Crabtree, A. (comp.). (1988). Animal Magnetism, Early Hypnotism, and Psychical research, 1766-1925: An Annotated Bibliography. White Plains, NY: Kraus International.

See also: http://www.parapsychology.org/dynamic/info/pfbib10.pdf

Old Overview Books

Barrett, W. F. (1911). Psychical Research. New York: Holt.

Carrington, H. (1930). The Story of Psychic Science. London: Rider.

Holms, A. C. (1969). The Facts of Psychic Science and Philosophy Collated and Discussed. New Hyde Park, NY: University Books. (Original work published 1925).

Moser, F. (1935). Der okkultismus: Tauschungen und Tatsachen [Occultism: Deception and Fact] (2 vols.). Munich: Von Ernst Reinhardt.

Richet, C, (1923). Thirty Years of Psychical Research. New York: Macmillan. (Original work published in French 1922)

Servadio, E. (1930). La Ricerca Psichica [Psychical Research] Rome: Cremonese.

Sudre, R. (1926). Introduction à la métapsychique humaine [Introduction to Human Metapsychics]. Paris: Payot.

Sudre, R. (1960). Treatise on Parapsychology. London: George Allen & Unwin (Original work published in French 1956).

Articles
(For books see http://www.parapsychology.org/dynamic/info/pfbib10.pdf.)

Alvarado, C. S. (1993). The case of Eusapia Palladino: Gifted subjects' contributions to parapsychology. Journal of the Society for Psychical Research, 59, 269-292.

Alvarado, C. S. (2002). Dissociation in Britain during the late nineteenth century: The Society for Psychical Research, 1882 1900. Journal of Trauma and Dissociation, 3, 9-33. http://www.parapsych.org/PDF/Alvarado_JTD_Volume_3_2002.pdf

Alvarado, C. S. (2003). The concept of survival of bodily death and the development of parapsychology. Journal of the Society for Psychical Research, 67, 65-95. http://www.survivalafterdeath.org/articles/alvarado/concept.htm

Alvarado, C.S. (2004). On the centenary of Frederic W.H. Myers’s Human Personality and Its Survival of Bodily Death. Journal of Parapsychology, 68, 3-43. http://www.survival-research.net/downloads/alvarado_myers_jp.pdf

Alvarado, C. S. (2005). Concepts of force in early psychical research. Pesquisa Psi: http://www.pesquisapsi.com/

Alvarado, C. S. (2005). Ernesto Bozzano and the phenomena of bilocation. Journal of Near-Death Studies, 23, 207-238.

Anderson, R. I. (1990). Robert Hare's contribution to psychical research. Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research, 84, 235-262.

Bauer, E. (1967). Max Dessoir und die Parapsychologie als Wissenschaft [Max Dessoir and parapsychology as science]. Zeitschrift für Parapsychologie und Grenzgebiete der Psychologie, 10, 106-114.

Bauer, E. (1989). Exkursionen in "Nachtgebiete der Natur" - Justinus Kerner und die historische Spukforschung [Excursions into the "night-side of nature": Justinus Kerner and histori-cal RSPK research]. Zeitschrift fur Parapsychologie und Grenzgebiete der Psychologie, 31, 3-19.

Beloff, J. (1989). The Rhine legacy. Philosophical Psychology, 2, 231-239.

Berger, A.S. (1985).The early history of the ASPR: Origins to 1907. Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research, 79, 39-60.

Bringmann, W.G., Bringmann, N.J., & Bauer, E. (1990). Fechner und die Parapsychologie [Fechner and parapsychology]. Zeitschrift für Parapsychologie und Grenzgebiete der Psychologie, 32, 19-43.

Chéroux, C. (2004). Photographs of fluids: An alphabet of invisible rays. In C. Chéroux, A. Fischer, P. Apraxine, D. Canguilhem, & S. Schmit, The Perfect Medium: Photography and the Occult (pp. 114-138). New Haven: Yale University Press.

Coon, D.J. (1992). Testing the limits of sense and science: American experimental psychologists combat spiritualism, 1880-1920. American Psychologist, 47, 143-151.

Fischer, A. (2004). “A photographer of marvels”: Frederick Hudson and the beginning of spirit photography in Europe. In C. Chéroux, A. Fischer, P. Apraxine, D. Canguilhem, & S. Schmit, The Perfect Medium: Photography and the Occult (pp. 29-43). New Haven: Yale University Press.

Gauld, A. (1978). Psychical research in Cambridge from the seventeenth century to the present. Journal of the Society for Psychical Research, 49, 925-937.

Gauld, A. (1996). Notes on the career of the somnambule Léonie. Journal of the Society for Psychical Research, 61, 141-151.

Hacking, I. (1988). Telepathy: Origins of randomization in experimental design. Isis, 70, 427-251.

Irwin, H. J. (1987). Charles Bailey: A biographical study of the Australian apport medium. Journal of the Society for Psychical Research, 54, 97-118.

Irwin, H. J. (1988). Parapsychology in Australia. Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research, 82, 319-338.

Kelly, E. F. (2001). The contributions of F.W.H. Myers to psychology. Journal of the Society for Psychical Research, 65, 65-90.

LaChapelle, S. (2005). Attempting science: The creation and early development of the Institut Métapsychique International in Paris, 1919-1931. Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences, 41, 1-24.

Marchesi, M. (1994). Enrico Morselli e le polemiche sulla fotografia medianica [Enrico Morselli and controversies about mediumistic photography. Metapsichica (Go the following: http://www.metapsichica.it/Frame1.htm and click on "Pubbliocazioni", then scroll down to Metapsichica 1994. Inside the 1994 issue, under the "Sommario" on the left, this article is number 5.)

McVaugh, M., & Mauskopf, S. H. (1976). J. B. Rhine's Extra-Sensory Perception and Its Background in Psychical Research. Isis, 67, 160-189.

Nicol, F. (1966). Clerical contributions to parapsychology. International Journal of Parapsychology, 8, 227-247.

Nicol, F. F. (1977). Philosophers as psychic investigators. Parapsychology Review, 8(2), 1-11.

Nicol, F. F. (1979). Fraudulent children in psychical research. Parapsychology Review, 10(1), 16-21.

Noakes, R. (2004). The “Bridge which is between physical and psychical research”: William Fletcher Barrett, sensitive flames, and Spiritualism. History of Science, 42, 419-464.

Otani, S. (1970). The history of parapsychology in Japan. Parapsychology Review, 1(4), 4-5.

Parra, A. (1998). La literatura rhineana y su impacto en la parapsicologia experimental hispano-parlante [The Rhinean literature and its impact of hispanic-speaking experimental parapsychology. Revista Argentina de Psicología Paranormal, 9, 225-242. http://www.alipsi.com.ar/publicaciones_articulo.asp?id_articulo=324

Parot, F. (1993). Psychology experiments: Spiritism at the Sorbonne. Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences, 29, 22-28.

Rhine, J. B. (1968). Psi and psychology: Conflict and solution. Journal of Parapsychology, 32, 101-128.

Rhine, L. E. (1967). Parapsychology, then and now. Journal of Parapsychology, 31, 231-248.

Rhine, L. E. (1971). The establishment of basic concepts and terminology in parapsychology. Journal of Parapsychology, 35, 34-56.

Rogo, D. S. (1986). Psi and the scientific mind: Some historical notes. Parapsychology Review, 17(4), 5-8.

Rogo, D. S. (1987). The founders of the Society for Psychical Research: A retrospective look. Parapsychology Review, 18(4), 5-9.

Rogo, D. S. (1988). Experimental parapsychology before 1900. Parapsychology Review, 19(4), 11-16.

Stokes, D. M. (2002). A history of the relationship between statistics and parapsychology. Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research, 96, 15-73.

Tietze, T. R. (1985). The “Margery” affair. Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research, 79, 339-379.

Walker, B. A., & Serdahely, W. J. (1990). Historical perspectives on near-death phenomena. Journal of Near-Death Studies, 9, 105-121.

Weaver, Z. (2005). The life and times of Stefan Ossowiecki. In M.R. Barrington, I. Stevenson, & Z. Weaver, A World in a Grain of Sand: The Clairvoyance of Stefan Ossowiecki (pp. 5-25). Jefferson, NC: McFarland.

Zingrone, N. L. (1988). Authorship and gender in American parapsychology journals. Journal of Parapsychology, 52, 321-343.

Zingrone, N. L., & Alvarado, C. S. (1987). Historical aspects of parapsychological terminology. Journal of Parapsychology, 51, 49-74.

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© Parapsychology Foundation, Inc. January 2006. Prepared by CSA.


 
 

 

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