G.N.M. Tyrrell’s Classification of Apparitions

George Nugent Merle Tyrrell was a British mathematician and parapsychologist whose 1943 book “Apparitions” became one of the foundational texts in the systematic study of ghosts. His classification system and theoretical framework continue to influence paranormal research today.

Tyrrell’s Background

Tyrrell was educated at the University of London and worked as a radio engineer before devoting himself to psychical research. He joined the Society for Psychical Research and eventually served as its president. His scientific training shaped his approach to investigating the paranormal.

Unlike many paranormal researchers, Tyrrell was primarily a theorist rather than a field investigator. He analyzed cases collected by others, seeking patterns and developing explanatory frameworks. His approach was systematic and empirical within the limits of his data.

The Myers Connection

Tyrrell built on the work of Frederic Myers, a founder of the Society for Psychical Research. Myers had proposed that apparitions were telepathic projections from the dead or dying. Tyrrell expanded this theory, developing a more sophisticated model of how apparitions might function.

Tyrrell’s central insight was that apparitions behave like physical objects—they move around obstacles, reflect in mirrors, cast shadows—yet lack physical substance. This paradox suggested that apparitions were somehow manufactured by the percipient’s own mind, working with information from another source.

The Classification System

Tyrrell identified four main types of apparitions:

Experimental apparitions were deliberately produced, usually through willing projection by a living person. These cases involved someone attempting to appear to another through force of will and succeeding. Such cases suggested that apparitions could be mentally generated.

Crisis apparitions appeared at moments of death or extreme danger. The classic example involved someone seeing a loved one at the moment of their distant death. These were the most commonly reported and best-documented types of apparitions.

Post-mortem apparitions appeared after death, sometimes long after. These were the traditional “ghosts” of folklore, spirits of the dead who returned for various reasons. Tyrrell analyzed what distinguished genuine reports from folklore.

Haunting apparitions were tied to locations rather than individuals. They appeared to multiple witnesses over time, often performing repetitive actions. Unlike other apparitions, they seemed unaware of observers, more like recordings than interactive beings.

The Stage Carpenter Theory

Tyrrell proposed that apparitions were collaborative creations. The percipient’s unconscious mind acted as a “stage carpenter,” constructing a realistic apparition from telepathic information received from another source—either a living person, a dying person, or a deceased spirit.

This explained why apparitions appeared solid and realistic. The percipient’s mind clothed the telepathic communication in sensory detail, drawing on memory and expectation. The apparition looked and behaved like a physical person because the perceiving mind made it so.

Collective Apparitions

Tyrrell gave particular attention to cases where multiple witnesses saw the same apparition. These cases seemed to argue against simple hallucination, since several people experienced the same thing independently.

He proposed that in collective cases, the telepathic information reached multiple minds simultaneously, and each constructed a similar apparition. Minor differences between witnesses’ accounts reflected individual variations in the construction process.

Legacy and Criticism

Tyrrell’s framework has been criticized as unfalsifiable. Since apparitions are supposedly constructed by the unconscious mind, any failure to appear or inconsistency can be explained away. The theory explains too much to be scientifically useful.

Nevertheless, his classification system remains influential. Researchers still distinguish between crisis apparitions, post-mortem apparitions, and hauntings. His observation that apparitions behave like physical objects continues to puzzle investigators.

Modern Relevance

Contemporary parapsychologists have built on Tyrrell’s work while updating it with modern knowledge of perception and consciousness. The fundamental questions he raised—why apparitions appear real, how they might be perceived, what information they might convey—remain central to the field.

Whether or not ghosts exist, Tyrrell’s systematic approach demonstrated that the question could be addressed rationally. His work elevated ghost research from folklore collection to something approaching scientific inquiry.