The Philip Experiment
In 1972, a group of researchers invented a fictional ghost named Philip Aylesford and attempted to contact him through séances. To everyone's amazement, Philip responded - knocking on tables, moving furniture, and answering questions about the fictional life they had created for him.
In 1972, members of the Toronto Society for Psychical Research conducted an experiment that challenged fundamental assumptions about paranormal phenomena. They deliberately invented a ghost - creating a fictional biography, name, and history - then attempted to contact him through traditional séance methods. What happened next has been debated for fifty years.
The Experiment
The experiment was conceived by Dr. A.R.G. Owen, a mathematician and member of the Toronto Society for Psychical Research. Owen wanted to test whether a group could create paranormal phenomena through concentrated belief, without any actual spirit being involved.
Eight members of the group created “Philip Aylesford,” a fictional English aristocrat with an elaborate backstory:
- Born in 1624 in England
- Married to a cold, unfriendly woman named Dorothea
- Had an affair with a beautiful Gypsy woman named Margo
- When Dorothea accused Margo of witchcraft and had her burned at the stake, Philip committed suicide at age 30
The biography was intentionally detailed but entirely fabricated. All participants knew Philip was fictional.
The Séances
The group began meeting regularly in 1972, sitting around a table in typical séance fashion, attempting to contact Philip. For months, nothing happened. The atmosphere was perhaps too serious, too scientific.
In 1973, they changed their approach. They created a more relaxed, almost playful atmosphere - dimmed lights, casual conversation, singing old songs. During one session, a faint knock came from within the table.
They asked if it was Philip. One knock for yes. The response came: yes.
Philip Responds
Over the following months, Philip became increasingly communicative:
Knocking: Philip responded to questions with knocks - one for yes, two for no. He answered questions about his fictional life consistently, never contradicting the invented biography.
Table Movement: The table began to move on its own, sliding across the floor, tilting dramatically, even balancing on one leg while participants’ hands remained on top.
Anomalous Phenomena: The table would rock and move with participants’ hands only lightly touching it - sometimes lifting completely off the floor with no visible means of support.
Personality: Philip developed what seemed like a personality, responding with enthusiasm to certain topics and seemingly sulking when ignored.
What Was Philip?
The Philip Experiment raised profound questions:
If Philip was fictional, what was responding? The group had invented him, yet something was producing consistent, apparently intelligent responses.
Unconscious psychokinesis? Dr. Owen suggested the phenomena might be caused by the collective unconscious of the group - that their concentrated belief somehow produced physical effects.
Self-deception? Skeptics argue the participants unconsciously produced the knocking and table movements without realizing it.
Something else? Some researchers suggested the group may have attracted an actual entity that adopted the Philip persona.
The experiment was documented on film and in Dr. Owen’s 1976 book “Conjuring Up Philip.” The footage shows the table moving dramatically while participants’ hands remain clearly visible and still.
Implications
The Philip Experiment suggested something remarkable: paranormal phenomena might be created by human consciousness rather than external spirits. This “tulpa” or “thoughtform” theory proposes that concentrated belief can manifest physical effects.
Other groups have replicated the experiment with similar results, inventing fictional spirits who then apparently responded through séance phenomena.
If true, this raises questions about all paranormal contact. Are the spirits contacted in séances actually spirits of the dead, or are they thoughtforms created by the expectation and belief of the living? Does it matter if the phenomena are real either way?
Legacy
The Philip Experiment remains one of the most intriguing documented paranormal investigations. It neither proves nor disproves the existence of ghosts, but it suggests the relationship between belief and paranormal experience may be more complex than either believers or skeptics assume.
Philip Aylesford never existed - except that, in some sense, he apparently did.