Early Psychical Research Reference Works: Remarks on Nandor Fodor’s Encyclopaedia of Psychic Science

Nandor Fodor's Encyclopaedia of Psychic Science (ca. 1933 or 1934) contains over 900 alphabetically arranged entries covering a wide range of psychic phenomena, including apparitions, auras, automatic writing, clairvoyance, hauntings, materialization, poltergeists, premonitions, psychometry, and telepathy, as well as mediums, psychics, researchers, writers, magazines, journals, organizations, and theoretical ideas. The article argues that despite some omissions and bibliographical problems, the encyclopedia serves as a useful reference work for studying developments in psychical research before its publication.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Some early reference works about psychic phenomena have included bibliographies, dictionaries, encyclopedias, and general overview books. A particularly useful one, and the focus of the present article, is Nandor Fodor’s Encyclopaedia of Psychic Science (n.d., ca. 1933 or 1934). The encyclopedia has more than 900 alphabetically arranged entries. These cover phenomena such as apparitions, auras, automatic writing, clairvoyance, hauntings, materialization, poltergeists, premonitions, psychometry, and telepathy, but also mediums and psychics, researchers and writers, magazines and journals, organizations, theoretical ideas, and other topics. In addition to the content of this work, and some information about its author, it is argued that the Encyclopaedia is a good reference work for the study of developments before its publication, even though it has some omissions and bibliographical problems. Keywords: Encyclopaedia of Psychic Science; Nandor Fodor; psychical research reference works; history of psychical research