The Carlos S. Alvarado Archives

Essays in the History of Parapsychology and Psychology (1900–2022)

Carlos S. Alvarado, Nancy L. Zingrone, Sonali Bhatt Marwaha

• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
• Year: 2026
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9781538198551
• Topic: Psychology
• Subtopic: History & Theory in Psychology
• Index: Psychology

The disciplines of psychiatry, psychology, psychical research and parapsychology have emerged from the same foundational roots of Euro-American philosophy and science. Dr. Carlos S. Alvarado's work presents a unique glimpse into the pre-history, foundations, and evolution of these disciplines, before developing their distinctive identities as we know them today. These volumes are of immense relevance to research scholars and students of psychology and parapsychology, as well as those of philosophy, history, theology, and psychoanalysis.

The prolific work of Dr. Carlos S. Alvarado has centered on studies about the history of psychical research and on survey research of various psychic experiences in a career spanning from 1976 to 2021. Curated from a publication list of over 500 publications in multiple languages, The Carlos S. Alvarado Archives is a collection of Dr. Alvarado's peer-reviewed articles covering the European-American history of parapsychology and psychology. Arranged in the order of the content date, the papers present a systematic evolution of the history of parapsychology from the 1800s to the present, including the early foundations of psychology and parapsychology and the changing perspectives in the field.

Spread out over three volumes, the 142 papers cover historical topics that include mesmerism, hypnosis, somnambulism, dissociation, consciousness, hysteria, Spiritualism, Spiritism, and mediumship. Many of these papers cover the work of European and American stalwarts such as William James, Charles Richet, Alfred Binet, Allan Kardec, G. Stanley Hall, F.W.H. Myers, Michael Faraday, William Stainton Moses, and Albert de Rochas, and several others from the 19th to 21st century.

These volumes are of immense relevance to research scholars and students of psychology and parapsychology, as well as those of philosophy, history, theology, and psychoanalysis.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Halftitle Page
• Title Page
• Dedication Page
• Table of Contents
• List of Tables
• Foreword
• Acknowledgments
• Preface
• 1 Historical Perspective in Parapsychology: Some Practical Considerations
• 2 The Language Barrier in Parapsychology
• 3 Théodore Flournoy’s Contributions to Psychical Research
• 4 Historical Notes on Psychic Phenomena in Specialized Journals
• 5 Note on the Reception of Théodore Flournoy’s Des Indes à la Planète Mars
• 6 Classic Text No. 113: Final Chapter From India to the Planet Mars: A Study of a Case of Somnambulism with Glossolalia, by Théodore Flournoy (1900)
• 7 Classic Text No. 122: Camille Flammarion on the Powers of the Soul
• 8 Classic Text No. 110: Cesare Lombroso on Mediumship and Pathology
• 9 Ernesto Bozzano on the Phenomena of Bilocation
• 10 Note on the Term Telergy
• 11 Distortions of the Past
• 12 Psychic Phenomena and the Mind-Body Problem: Historical Notes on a Neglected Conceptual Tradition
• 13 Classic Text No. 107: Joseph Maxwell on Mediumistic Personifications
• 14 Telepathy, Mediumship, and Psychology: Psychical Research at the International Congresses of Psychology, 1889–1905
• 15 “Never Sacrifice Anything to Laboratory Work”: The “Physiological Psychology” of Charles Richet (1875–1905)
• 16 Studying Ernesto Bozzano: Suggestions for Future Historical Studies
• 17 Classic Text No. 98: ‘Visions of the Dying’, by James H. Hyslop (1907)
• 18 Bottazzi and Palladino: The 1907 Séances
• 19 Observations of Luminous Phenomena Around the Human Body: A Review
• 20 G. Stanley Hall on “Mystic or Borderline Phenomena”
• 21 Poltergeist Research and Conceptualizations in the United States: A Review of Old and Recent Developments
• 22 Eusapia Palladino: An Autobiographical Essay
• 23 Remarks on William James and Psychical Research
• 24 Investigating Mental Mediums: Research Suggestions from the Historical Literature
• 25 On W. J. Crawford’s Studies of Physical Mediumship
• 26 Introduction to Ernesto Bozzano’s Analysis of Hauntings and Poltergeist Cases
• 27 Notes on Mental Mediumship and Memory
• 28 Mediums that Paint and Draw
• 29 Mediumistic Materializations in France During the Early 1920s
• 30 Psychic Phenomena and the Vital Force: Hereward Carrington on “Vital Energy and Psychical Phenomena”
• 31 Musings on Materializations: Eric J. Dingwall on “The Plasma Theory”
• 32 Supernormal Knowledge: The Work of Eugène Osty
• 33 Luminous Phenomena at Death: The Case of the Monk Family
• 34 Fragments of a Life in Psychical Research: The Case of Charles Richet
• 35 Early Psychical Research Reference Works: Remarks on Nandor Fodor’s Encyclopedia of Psychic Science
• 36 Prescribing for Parapsychology: Note on J. B. Rhine’s Writings in the Journal of Parapsychology
• 37 Proof and Process Approaches to the Study of Spontaneous Parapsychological Phenomena
• 38 Discussing Parapsychology at Utrecht: The First International Conference of Parapsychological Studies
• 39 Ian Stevenson and the Modern Study of Spontaneous ESP Experiences
• 40 ESP and Altered States of Consciousness: An Overview of Conceptual and Research Trends
• 41 Paranormal Faces: The Bélmez Case
• 42 Poltergeist Agents: A Review of Recent Research Trends and Conceptualizations
• 43 Characteristics of Hauntings With and Without Apparitions: An Analysis of Published Cases
• 44 Psychical Research in Spain
• 45 A Century Of Psychical Research Comments on Renee Haynes’s
• 46 Exploring the Features of Spontaneous Psychic Experiences
• 47 Autobiography in Parapsychology: Comments on Men and Women of Parapsychology: Personal Reflections
• 48 The History of Women in Parapsychology: A Critique of Past Work and Suggestions for Further Research
• 49 Private and Public Faces of Psychic Phenomena: Comments on an Italian Conference
• 50 Fifty Years of Supporting Parapsychology: The Parapsychology Foundation (1951–2001)
• 51 Thoughts on the Study of Spontaneous Cases (Guest Editorial)
• 52 Reflections On Being A Parapsychologist
• 53 On the Centenary of Frederic W. H. Myers’s Human Personality And Its Survival Of Bodily Death
• 54 Interrelationships of Parapsychological Experiences, Dream Recall, and Lucid Dreams in a Survey with Predominantly Spanish Participants
• 55 An Overview of Modern Developments in Parapsychology
• 56 In Memoriam Robert Van de Castle (1927–2014)
• 57 A Review of Qualitative Mediumship Research
• 58 Eight Decades of Psi Research: Highlights in the Journal of Parapsychology
• 59 The Place of Spontaneous Cases in Parapsychology
• Index
• About the Editors and Contributors
• eCopyright