The Philip Experiment
A group in Toronto invented a ghost called Philip, and then, they said, he started knocking on their table.
What was reported
In 1972 a group from the Toronto Society for Psychical Research, guided by the mathematician A. R. G. Owen and his wife Iris, set out to test whether a group's shared belief could produce the effects usually blamed on spirits. They invented a character, Philip Aylesford, an English nobleman of the 1600s with a tragic love story.
After months of quiet meditation with no result, they switched to a relaxed, cheerful séance. Then, they said, raps came from the table in answer to their questions, and the table moved around the room. A session was filmed for television.
Explanations offered
The group concluded the effects came from their own minds rather than a real spirit, since Philip only 'knew' what they had invented. Sceptics say the raps and movements were most likely caused by small unconscious muscle movements, known as the ideomotor effect, and ordinary noises.
- When
- 1972–1973
- Where
- Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Witnesses
- A Toronto research group, and later television audiences
- Status
- Mostly explained
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.