Hereward Carrington

Hereward Carrington (1880-1958) was an American author and investigator of psychic phenomena, who also wrote extensively on conjuring and stage magic, and alternative medicine. Born in Jersey, he emigrated to the United States in 1888 and developed an early interest in psychical research, joining the Society for Psychical Research at age 19. He later became a member of the American Society for Psychical Research, where he established a reputation as an investigator.

Carrington examined several high-profile cases, including that of medium Eusapia Palladino, whose abilities he both investigated and wrote about. While he exposed fraudulent mediums and tricks used in spiritualist demonstrations, he also maintained that some psychic phenomena were genuine. He founded the American Psychical Institute in 1921, which served as a laboratory for investigating psychic phenomena. Carrington also explored subjects like astral projection, co-authoring books on the topic. He held pseudoscientific views on dieting, promoting fruitarianism.

Hereward Carrington dedicated much of his career to investigating claims of psychic abilities and spiritual phenomena. He was involved in high-profile cases, notably that of the medium Eusapia Palladino, whose séances he attended and documented. Carrington's investigations often involved a dual approach: exposing fraudulent practices while simultaneously seeking evidence for genuine psychic abilities. He wrote extensively on his findings, contributing to the discourse on spiritualism and the paranormal. His work aimed to scrutinize alleged supernatural occurrences, distinguishing between trickery and what he considered potentially real psychic manifestations. Carrington also explored phenomena like astral projection, collaborating with other researchers in this area.

Beyond his investigations into psychic phenomena, Carrington possessed a keen interest in conjuring and stage magic, which informed his critical analysis of spiritualist mediums. In his book 'The Physical Phenomena of Spiritualism' (1907), he detailed the tricks employed by fraudulent mediums, covering methods such as slate-writing, materializations, and spirit photography. He identified specific mediums, including Henry Slade and William Eglinton, whose techniques he exposed. Carrington estimated that a significant majority of physical and mental phenomena attributed to spiritualism were fraudulent, yet he still believed in the possibility of genuine mediumship. His background as an amateur conjuror provided him with the expertise to discern illusion from genuine occurrences.

In 1921, Carrington established the American Psychical Institute, an organization that included a laboratory dedicated to the study of psychical phenomena. This institute was among the early facilities to conduct such investigations, predating the National Laboratory of Psychical Research. Although it operated for only two years initially, Carrington later revived it in 1933 in New York City with the help of his wife, Marie Carrington. The institute served as a platform for his research and investigations into various aspects of the paranormal. During its operation, notable figures, including Canadian political leader William Lyon Mackenzie King, were associated with the institute.

“I have no particular theory to defend, and no belief to uphold. I am not a convinced spiritualist; at the same time, I am willing to grant that the evidence for survival is remarkably strong.”