American Society for Psychical Research - Revision history

GaryJJSpate at 01:15, 4 August 2026

2026-08-04T01:15:41Z

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	The '''American Society for Psychical Research''' (ASPR) is the oldest organisation in the United States dedicated to the scientific investigation of psychic and paranormal claims.<ref name="psi-encyclopedia">{{cite web \|title=American Society for Psychical Research (ASPR) \|url=https://psi-encyclopedia.spr.ac.uk/articles/american-society-psychical-research/ \|publisher=Psi Encyclopedia (Society for Psychical Research)}}</ref> Founded in Boston in 1885 following a visit from British physicist [[William Fletcher Barrett\|William Barrett]], it modelled itself on the [[Society for Psychical Research]] in London, though the two bodies have followed largely independent, and at times conflicting, paths.<ref name="occultworld">{{cite web \|title=American Society for Psychical Research (ASPR) \|url=http://occult-world.com/ghost-societies/american-society-for-psychical-research-aspr/ \|publisher=Occult World}}</ref>		The '''American Society for Psychical Research''' (ASPR) is the oldest organisation in the United States dedicated to the scientific investigation of psychic and paranormal claims.<ref name="psi-encyclopedia">{{cite web \|title=American Society for Psychical Research (ASPR) \|url=https://psi-encyclopedia.spr.ac.uk/articles/american-society-psychical-research/ \|publisher=Psi Encyclopedia (Society for Psychical Research)}}</ref> Founded in Boston in 1885 following a visit from British physicist [[William Fletcher Barrett\|William Barrett]], it modelled itself on the [[Society for Psychical Research]] in London, though the two bodies have followed largely independent, and at times conflicting, paths.<ref name="occultworld">{{cite web \|title=American Society for Psychical Research (ASPR) \|url=http://occult-world.com/ghost-societies/american-society-for-psychical-research-aspr/ \|publisher=Occult World}}</ref>

GaryJJSpate at 01:15, 4 August 2026

2026-08-04T01:15:29Z

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	{{~~OrganisationInfobox~~		{{InfoboxOrganisation
	\|name=American Society for Psychical Research		\|name=American Society for Psychical Research
	\|type=Psychical research organisation		\|type=Psychical research organisation
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	\|status=Largely inactive		\|status=Largely inactive
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			The '''American Society for Psychical Research''' (ASPR) is the oldest organisation in the United States dedicated to the scientific investigation of psychic and paranormal claims.<ref name="psi-encyclopedia">{{cite web \|title=American Society for Psychical Research (ASPR) \|url=https://psi-encyclopedia.spr.ac.uk/articles/american-society-psychical-research/ \|publisher=Psi Encyclopedia (Society for Psychical Research)}}</ref> Founded in Boston in 1885 following a visit from British physicist [[William Fletcher Barrett\|William Barrett]], it modelled itself on the [[Society for Psychical Research]] in London, though the two bodies have followed largely independent, and at times conflicting, paths.<ref name="occultworld">{{cite web \|title=American Society for Psychical Research (ASPR) \|url=http://occult-world.com/ghost-societies/american-society-for-psychical-research-aspr/ \|publisher=Occult World}}</ref>
	The '''American Society for Psychical Research''' (ASPR) is the oldest organisation in the United States dedicated to the scientific investigation of psychic and paranormal claims. Founded in Boston in 1885 following a visit from British physicist [[William Fletcher Barrett\|William Barrett]], it modelled itself on the [[Society for Psychical Research]] in London, though the two bodies have followed largely independent, and at times conflicting, paths.

	== Founding ==		== Founding ==
			The push to establish an American counterpart to the SPR followed Barrett's 1884 visit to Boston; the ASPR formally organised in January 1885, with astronomer Simon Newcomb elected as its first president and psychologist G. Stanley Hall among its vice-presidents.<ref name="encyclopedia-founding">{{cite web \|title=American Society for Psychical Research (ASPR) \|url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/science/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/american-society-psychical-research-aspr \|publisher=Encyclopedia.com}}</ref> Harvard psychologist and philosopher William James was closely involved in getting the society off the ground, though its early leadership drew from a wider circle of Boston-area scientists and scholars.<ref name="psi-encyclopedia"/>
	The push to establish an American counterpart to the SPR ~~began~~ in ~~September 1884~~, ~~when Barrett met~~ with ~~a Boston committee that included~~ astronomer Simon Newcomb~~, physiologist Henry Pickering Bowditch,~~ and Harvard psychologist and philosopher William ~~James.~~ James was ~~instrumental~~ in getting the society off the ground ~~but~~, in a decision he later regretted, declined a formal governing role, leaving the ASPR's early direction to figures less sympathetic to psychical claims. Newcomb was elected the society's first president when it formally organised in early 1885.

	== Absorption and reconstitution ==		== Absorption and reconstitution ==
			Financial strain led the ASPR to become a branch of the London SPR in 1889, its research work carried out largely by Richard Hodgson until his death in 1905, after which the branch was dissolved.<ref name="encyclopedia-proceedings">{{cite web \|title=Proceedings of the Old American Society for Psychical Research \|url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/science/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/proceedings-old-american-society-psychical-research \|publisher=Encyclopedia.com}}</ref> Following a year of preparation, the ASPR was reconstituted as an independent body in 1906 under [[James H. Hyslop\|James Hyslop]], initially operating out of his New York residence, and it has remained based in New York since.<ref name="encyclopedia-proceedings"/>
	Financial strain led the ASPR to become a branch of the London SPR in 1889, its research work carried out largely by Richard Hodgson until his death in 1905~~. The~~ branch dissolved the ~~following~~ year~~. In 1906~~ the ASPR was reconstituted as an independent body under [[James H. Hyslop\|James Hyslop]], operating ~~for a time~~ out of his New York residence, and it has remained based in New York since.

	== Margery and the Prince resignation ==		== Margery and the Prince resignation ==
			The ASPR's most notorious episode centred on Mina "Margery" Crandon, a Boston medium investigated by the society's research director, [[Walter Franklin Prince]], through the 1920s. Prince concluded Crandon was fraudulent; the ASPR board did not agree, and in 1925 appointed ''Scientific American'' writer J. Malcolm Bird — a Margery sympathiser — as co-research officer alongside him. Prince resigned in protest, joined by other disaffected members including psychologists Gardner Murphy and William McDougall, and together they founded the rival [[Boston Society for Psychic Research]], intended as a home for the ASPR's original, more sceptical principles.<ref name="encyclopedia-founding"/>

	The ASPR~~'s most notorious episode centred on Mina~~ "~~Margery~~" ~~Crandon~~, a ~~Boston medium investigated~~ by the society's research director, [[Walter Franklin Prince]], through the 1920s. Prince concluded Crandon was fraudulent; the ASPR board did not agree, and in 1925 appointed ''Scientific American'' writer J. ~~Malcolm Bird — a Margery sympathiser — as co-research officer alongside him~~. ~~Prince resigned in protest~~, ~~taking a group of disaffected members with him to found~~ the ~~rival [[Boston Society for Psychic Research]], intended as a home for the ASPR~~'s ~~original, more sceptical principles~~.		== Later history and decline ==
			The Boston Society for Psychic Research merged back into the ASPR in 1941.<ref name="encyclopedia-founding"/> Gardner Murphy later served as ASPR president for roughly two decades, bringing renewed prestige and recruiting notable researchers during a period when laboratory parapsychology, led by J. B. Rhine at Duke University, had become the field's cutting edge.<ref name="encyclopedia-founding"/>

	== ~~Later history~~ and ~~decline~~ ==		The organisation's finances deteriorated substantially in subsequent decades: net assets fell from roughly $3 million in 1991 to a reported negative $7.5 million by 2015, driven in part by accumulated mortgage debt against its longstanding townhouse headquarters at 5 West 73rd Street, acquired in 1966.<ref name="grokipedia">{{cite web \|title=American Society for Psychical Research \|url=https://grokipedia.com/page/American_Society_for_Psychical_Research \|publisher=Grokipedia}}</ref> A foreclosure action was initiated in 2020, and the building was sold at a court-ordered auction in 2023, with the sale formally recorded in June 2024 for $11.75 million — an amount reported to be less than the ASPR's outstanding debts, leaving no surplus for the organisation.<ref name="skepinquirer-demise">{{cite web \|title=The Demise of the American Society for Psychical Research \|url=https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/the-demise-of-the-american-society-for-psychical-research/ \|publisher=Skeptical Inquirer \|date=2025}}</ref><ref name="psi-encyclopedia"/>

	~~The society saw~~ a ~~resurgence of activity in the 1960s under psychologist Gardner Murphy~~, ~~but its fortunes declined steadily thereafter. By the 2010s~~ and ~~2020s,~~ researchers ~~and journalists~~ attempting to access its ~~New York~~ archives reported long silences~~, unanswered correspondence,~~ and ~~an organisation that appeared to be running down its remaining assets~~. The ~~ASPR sold its longstanding headquarters in~~ 2024, and by 2025 ~~was widely described as functionally inactive~~, ~~even as it nominally remains~~ a ~~registered non-profit~~.		By late 2024, the ASPR's listed address had become a rented mailbox at a shipping company on Columbus Avenue, and independent researchers attempting to contact the organisation or access its archives reported long silences and no functioning staff contact beyond a phone number.<ref name="skepinquirer-demise"/> The society's website nonetheless continued to accept paid membership fees ranging up to several hundred dollars through late 2025, alongside a December 2024 fundraising appeal describing the organisation's archival holdings — reportedly including correspondence from William James, Arthur Conan Doyle, and Harry Houdini — as secure.<ref name="unexplained">{{cite web \|title=Inside the Fall of the American Society for Psychical Research \|url=https://www.unexplained.ie/article/1237-inside-the-fall-of-the-american-society-for-psychical-research-aspr/ \|publisher=Unexplained.ie \|date=2025}}</ref> Researchers Tom Ruffles and Barry Conrad have separately called on the New York Attorney General's Charities Bureau to investigate the organisation's finances, and launched a public petition urging intervention to preserve its archives.<ref name="unexplained"/>

	== Relevance ==		== Relevance ==

	Whatever its present state, the ASPR's archive and back catalogue of published Proceedings and Journal issues remain a significant primary source for the history of American psychical research, documenting more than a century of investigations into mediumship, apparitions, and thought-transference — the same territory much of modern parapsychology continues to work.		Whatever its present state, the ASPR's archive and back catalogue of published Proceedings and Journal issues remain a significant primary source for the history of American psychical research, documenting more than a century of investigations into mediumship, apparitions, and thought-transference — the same territory much of modern parapsychology continues to work.

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	* [[Boston Society for Psychic Research]]		* [[Boston Society for Psychic Research]]
	* [[Medium]]		* [[Medium]]

			== References ==
			{{Reflist}}

			== External links ==
			* [https://psi-encyclopedia.spr.ac.uk/articles/american-society-psychical-research/ Psi Encyclopedia — American Society for Psychical Research]
			* [https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/the-demise-of-the-american-society-for-psychical-research/ Skeptical Inquirer — The Demise of the American Society for Psychical Research]

	[[Category:Organisations]]		[[Category:Organisations]]

GaryJJSpate at 18:54, 23 July 2026

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GaryJJSpate at 18:54, 23 July 2026

2026-07-23T18:54:21Z

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			{{Disambiguation
			\| this = the American paranormal research organisation founded in 1884
			\| other1_desc = its British counterpart, founded two years earlier
			\| other1_link = [[Society for Psychical Research]]
	}}		}}

GaryJJSpate: Created page with "{{OrganisationInfobox |name=American Society for Psychical Research |type=Psychical research organisation |founded=1885, Boston, Massachusetts |founders=William Fletcher Barrett, Simon Newcomb, William James, G. Stanley Hall |known_for=Oldest psychical research body in the United States; investigations of Mina "Margery" Crandon |status=Largely inactive }} The '''American Society for Psychical Research''' (ASPR) is the oldest organisation in the United States dedicated t..."

2026-07-23T18:51:31Z

Created page with "{{OrganisationInfobox |name=American Society for Psychical Research |type=Psychical research organisation |founded=1885, Boston, Massachusetts |founders=William Fletcher Barrett, Simon Newcomb, William James, G. Stanley Hall |known_for=Oldest psychical research body in the United States; investigations of Mina "Margery" Crandon |status=Largely inactive }} The '''American Society for Psychical Research''' (ASPR) is the oldest organisation in the United States dedicated t..."

New page

{{OrganisationInfobox
|name=American Society for Psychical Research
|type=Psychical research organisation
|founded=1885, Boston, Massachusetts
|founders=William Fletcher Barrett, Simon Newcomb, William James, G. Stanley Hall
|known_for=Oldest psychical research body in the United States; investigations of Mina "Margery" Crandon
|status=Largely inactive
}}

The '''American Society for Psychical Research''' (ASPR) is the oldest organisation in the United States dedicated to the scientific investigation of psychic and paranormal claims. Founded in Boston in 1885 following a visit from British physicist [[William Fletcher Barrett|William Barrett]], it modelled itself on the [[Society for Psychical Research]] in London, though the two bodies have followed largely independent, and at times conflicting, paths.

== Founding ==

The push to establish an American counterpart to the SPR began in September 1884, when Barrett met with a Boston committee that included astronomer Simon Newcomb, physiologist Henry Pickering Bowditch, and Harvard psychologist and philosopher William James. James was instrumental in getting the society off the ground but, in a decision he later regretted, declined a formal governing role, leaving the ASPR's early direction to figures less sympathetic to psychical claims. Newcomb was elected the society's first president when it formally organised in early 1885.

== Absorption and reconstitution ==

Financial strain led the ASPR to become a branch of the London SPR in 1889, its research work carried out largely by Richard Hodgson until his death in 1905. The branch dissolved the following year. In 1906 the ASPR was reconstituted as an independent body under [[James H. Hyslop|James Hyslop]], operating for a time out of his New York residence, and it has remained based in New York since.

== Margery and the Prince resignation ==

The ASPR's most notorious episode centred on Mina "Margery" Crandon, a Boston medium investigated by the society's research director, [[Walter Franklin Prince]], through the 1920s. Prince concluded Crandon was fraudulent; the ASPR board did not agree, and in 1925 appointed ''Scientific American'' writer J. Malcolm Bird — a Margery sympathiser — as co-research officer alongside him. Prince resigned in protest, taking a group of disaffected members with him to found the rival [[Boston Society for Psychic Research]], intended as a home for the ASPR's original, more sceptical principles.

== Later history and decline ==

The society saw a resurgence of activity in the 1960s under psychologist Gardner Murphy, but its fortunes declined steadily thereafter. By the 2010s and 2020s, researchers and journalists attempting to access its New York archives reported long silences, unanswered correspondence, and an organisation that appeared to be running down its remaining assets. The ASPR sold its longstanding headquarters in 2024, and by 2025 was widely described as functionally inactive, even as it nominally remains a registered non-profit.

== Relevance ==

Whatever its present state, the ASPR's archive and back catalogue of published Proceedings and Journal issues remain a significant primary source for the history of American psychical research, documenting more than a century of investigations into mediumship, apparitions, and thought-transference — the same territory much of modern parapsychology continues to work.

== See also ==
* [[Society for Psychical Research]]
* [[Walter Franklin Prince]]
* [[Boston Society for Psychic Research]]
* [[Medium]]

[[Category:Organisations]]