That rare individual, Dr Alex Tanous, may no longer be with us, but his memory and work lives on, mostly due to the activity of the Alex Tanous Foundation and now also due to the enterprise of SPR member Callum E. Cooper. Amongst the plethora of people claiming to be psychic, Tanous is noteworthy for his involvement with Dr Karlis Osis and the American Society for Psychical Research, and his willingness to test his claims under laboratory conditions.
Cooper has recently edited some previously unpublished material by Tanous and published it as Conversations with Ghosts with White Crow Books. It was Cooper who approached me to do this special feature and introduced me to Alice Tanous Kelley, Alex Tanous’s niece and Research Assistant at the Alex Tanous Foundation. She has been exceptionally helpful in providing illustrative material for this issue.
In addition, Callum solicited some very personal contributions from well-known and much-respected figures in psychical research, in alphabetical order: Prof. Erlendur Haraldsson and Gerd Hövelmann. Attendees at last year’s SPR conference (jointly held with the Parapsychological Association) will remember Prof. Haraldsson’s excellent talk on the Icelandic medium Indridi Indridason and Hövelmann being presented with the greatly deserved Parapsychological Association’s Outstanding Career Award.
Special features give the Paranormal Review a unique character and allow us to explore issues in a greater depth than one normally finds. But of course, I always aim to include articles on different topics. This issue we have a number of original historical and theoretical researches, as well as some new features.
Wim Kramer and Maurice van Luijtelaar recently made some important archival discoveries and now present their thorough analysis of a most interesting case; and Robert Charman takes the implications of Predictive Anticipatory Activity head on. Readers will also notice two new features: one focusing on the people; the other on some of their weird things. To make this work, I need your help and to risk sounding like Number Two from The Prisoner: ‘We want information... information... information’. Please do send me an email when you do anything paranormal.
Dr Leo Ruickbie
Editor
CONTENTS
8 THE PSYCHIC LIFE OF DR TANOUS
Callum E. Cooper explores the life and legacy of Dr Alex Tanous.
12 REMEMBERING ‘UNCLE AL’
Callum E. Cooper talks to Alice Tanous Kelley about her uncle, Alex Tanous, and the Alex Tanous Foundation.
14 TWO DAYS WITH TANOUS
Gerd H. Hövelmann recalls two days spent with Alex Tanous in New York in 1983, including an experiment in thoughtography.
17 CASE OF THE MISSING WALLET
Prof. Erlendur Haraldsson reminisces about Alex Tanous at the ASPR in the 1970s
4 PRESIDENT’S LETTER
The President of the SPR, Prof. John Poynton, writes about psychical research and the ‘scientific revolution’.
6 PSI SOCIETY
The journey of the Batcheldor ‘Theory Notebooks’ and other news in psychical research.
7 PERMANENT PARANORMAL OBJECT
Dr Leo Ruickbie asks whether Prof. Josephson’s unusual desk key really did bend reality.
18 DANCING TABLES AND IGNES FATUI
Wim Kramer and Maurice van Luijtelaar analyse their recent discovery of reports and photographs from experiments conducted by Dr Tenhaeff and
Gerard Croiset in 1951.
24 PHYSIOLOGICAL PREMONITION
Robert Charman explores the implications of the evidence for Predictive Anticipatory Activity.
27 ANNOUNCEMENTS
CFPs and research funding.
28 MAKING THINGS HAPPEN
Callum E. Cooper and David T. Saunders report on the SPR's 69th Study Day.
32 GHOSTS IN THE MACHINES
Brandon Hodge reveals a famous violinist’s fascination with the Additor.
34 LETTERS
Does teleplasm leave a stain?
35 CONTRIBUTORS
36 EVENTS
The SPR’s 40th conference.