The Philip Experiment

From a Biography of the researcher "The Toronto Society for Psychical Research (TSPR) was another organization dedicated to psychical research and had Iris Owen on as its Secretary-Treasurer. It was under the TSPR’s auspices that the Owens’ famous Philip experiment was conducted. Headed by Iris, the Philip experiment sought to recreate the table tilting experiments of British psychical researchers such as Kenneth J. Batcheldor, who determined that group psychokinesis was possible. To do so, an imaginary ghost named Philip was created as a way to guide and focus the table tilting group’s psychical energy as questions were posed to and responses sought from the imaginary Philip. Iris published the experiment’s results in a 1976 book, “Conjuring up Philip: An Adventure in Psychokinesis”, where she concluded that table tilting is the result not of spiritual remnants of the deceased tilting the table, but of group psychokinesis – she firmly believed that the imaginary Philip only responded the way the group desired and provided no information that they as individuals or a group did not already possess." http://umanitoba.ca/.../html/Owen_GeorgeAndIris_2011.shtml

I’ve often wondered where Philip was a mischievous interloper.