The Carlos S. Alvarado Archives

Essays and Investigations in Out-of-Body Experiences, Near-Death Experiences and Associated Phenomena

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

• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
• Year: 2026
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9781538198575
• 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
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Dedication Page
• Table of Contents
• List of Illustrations
• List of Tables
• Foreword
• Acknowledgments
• Preface
• 1 A Brief History of Psi Research
• 2 Trends in the Study of Out-of-Body Experiences: An Overview of Developments Since the Nineteenth Century
• 3 The Spirit in Out-of-Body Experiences: Historical and Conceptual Notes
• 4 Online Resources for the History of Out-of-Body Experiences and Death-Related Phenomena
• 5 Neglected Near-Death Phenomena
• 6 Early and Modern Developments in the Psychological Approach to Out-of-Body Experiences
• 7 On Subtle Bodies, Out-of-Body Experiences, and Apparitions of the Living: A Review of Ernesto Bozzano’s Study of “Bilocation”
• 8 Bystanders’ Perceptions of Deathbed Phenomena
• 9 A Study of the Features of Out-of-Body Experiences in Relation to Sylvan Muldoon’s Claims
• 10 On the Use of the Term Out-of-Body Experience
• 11 Explorations of the Features of Out-of-Body Experiences: An Overview and Critique of the Work of Robert Crookall
• 12 ESP During Out-of-Body Experiences: A Review of Experimental Studies
• 13 Research on Spontaneous Out-of-Body Experiences: A Review of Modern Developments, 1960–1984
• 14 Phenomenological Aspects of Out-of-Body Experiences: A Report of Three Studies
• 15 ESP During Spontaneous Out-of-Body Experiences: A Research and Methodological Note
• 16 Individual Differences in Aura Vision: Relationships to Visual Imagery and Imaginative-Fantasy Experiences
• 17 Synesthesia and Claims of Psychic Experiences: An Exploratory Study
• 18 Factors Related to the Depth of Near-Death Experiences: Testing the “Embellishment Over Time” Hypothesis
• 19 Psi Experiences and the “Big Five”: Relating the NEO-PI-R to the Experience Claims of Experimental Subjects
• 20 Mapping the Characteristics of Out-of-Body Experiences
• 21 Out-of-Body Experiences and Sensations of ‘Shocks’ to the Body
• 22 Out-of-Body Experiences Among Readers of a Spanish New Age Magazine
• 23 Out-of-Body Experiences: Alterations of Consciousness and the Five-Factor Model of Personality
• 24 Sleepwalking and Spontaneous Parapsychological Experiences: A Research Note
• 25 Out-of-Body Experiences During Physical Activity: Report of Four New Cases
• 26 The Dissociative Experiences Scale-II: Descriptive Statistics, Factor Analysis, and Frequency of Experiences
• 27 Exploring the Factors Related to the After-Effects of Out-of-Body Experiences
• 28 Research on Non-Pathological Dissociation
• 29 Pleasurable Western Adult Near-Death Experiences: Features, Circumstances, and Incidence
• 30 Psychological Correlates of Aura Vision: Psychic Experiences, Dissociation, Absorption, and Synaesthesia-Like Experiences
• 31 Features of Out-of-Body Experiences: Relationships to Frequency, Wilfulness of and Previous Knowledge about the Experience
• 32 The Variety of Aura Experiences
• Index
• About the Editors and Contributors
• eCopyright