Eleanor Sidgwick

Statistician of the Paranormal

Oh yesssss, there are such things as ghosts! For over one in ten people in Victorian Britain they were all too real, according to the Society for Psychical Research’s “Census of Hallucinations.” In a 2021 poll of 1,000 American adults, that number doubled with 20-percent claiming a ghostly experience.

Eleanor Sidgwick (1845-1936) was a British mathematician, educator, and psychical researcher. As the principal of Newnham College, Cambridge, she played a pivotal role in advancing women’s education. Sidgwick was also a leading figure in the Society for Psychical Research, contributing significantly to the scientific study of paranormal phenomena.

Of the 17,000 people questioned between 1889 and 1892, 1,942 reported an experience with an unexplained apparition. Parapsychologist Eleanor Sidgwick (better-known as Nora to her friends) oversaw this nationwide survey. Then she analyzed all the data, summarizing study findings in a report written in 1894.

This updated resource guide aims to put all relevant information about Eleanor Sidgwick’s contributions to fields of paranormal study in one place.

What did Eleanor Sidgwick do that was so influential?

1. Eleanor Sidgwick brought scientific methods and statistical analysis to psychical research.
2. Eleanor Sidgwick helped establish the Society for Psychical Research as a respected scientific institution.
3. Eleanor Sidgwick inspired the next generation of psychical researchers.

1. Eleanor Sidgwick brought scientific methods and statistical analysis to psychical research.

As one of the few mathematically trained researchers in the early Society for Psychical Research (SPR), Eleanor Sidgwick introduced quantitative analysis to the investigation of paranormal phenomena. Quantitative analysis analyzes experimental data using math. The statistical tests and specific calculations used uncover patterns and trends, which are otherwise difficult to identify.

Nora’s landmark “Census of Hallucinations” gathered and analyzed a large sample of spectral experiences. The census collected over 17,000 responses from people across Britain. The census questionnaire asked participants whether they had ever experienced a vivid, but unexplained sensory impression (such as seeing an apparition or hearing a voice).

By subjecting the huge dataset to rigorous statistical tests, Nora uncovered patterns and correlations that had previously been invisible. One of her most striking findings was just how common crisis apparitions were among the Victorians. Crisis apparitions are sightings of a dead or dying person near the time of death by witnesses previously unaware of the death.

Of the 1,684 people in the census who claimed they encountered the ghost of a person known to them, 300 reported visual experiences. 80 of these wraiths could be classified as crisis apparitions as they occurred within 12 hours of the person’s death.

Using the most recent census data and government mortality tables, Nora calculated that the odds of even one such coincidence occurring in the sample by chance were incredibly small: 1 in 19,000. Yet the census had found many more such cases among a far smaller number.

Nora’s statistical analysis demonstrated that this occurrence was dramatically more frequent than would be expected by chance alone. This suggested objective reality to the phenomenon.

The census is a treasure trove of curious crisis apparition cases. In one instance, a woman named Mrs. B saw the vanishing image of her mother pass along a wall and fade. She did not mention it to anyone until an aunt arrived by steamer to tell her of her mother’s sudden and unanticipated death. Subsequent corroboration of the time of death verified that her mother had died within 15 minutes of Mrs. B’s vision.

Another report involved a witness who glimpsed a close friend walking amongst a crowd of people on the other side of the street in an unexpected city. As he rushed across the street to say hello, his friend disappeared. Later, the percipient received word that his friend had died at the same day and hour.

Other reports described non-humanoid apparitions heralding death. Percipients claimed to see mysterious orbs of light, columns of smoke, and even strange dematerializing moths which coincided with the deaths of loved ones.

Such eerie accounts were more than just ghost stories to Nora. Through statistical analysis, Nora built a compelling case that these experiences of crisis apparitions were not mere coincidences or tall tales. While she stopped short of claiming the census definitively proved the reality of crisis apparitions, she argued that the phenomenon deserved continued scientific study.

Nora’s investigative prowess was not limited to the “Census of Hallucinations.” She also collaborated with her husband Henry Sidgwick and fellow SPR members Edmund Gurney and Frederic Myers to investigate mediums.

Nora diligently subjected the séance transcripts of famous Spiritualist medium Leonora Piper to linguistic analysis. Comparing the style and content of the spirit messages in all of the transcripts of Piper’s sittings to known writings of the deceased was a mammoth task.

Nora found that Piper’s controls, ostensibly deceased personalities who operated Piper’s body when she was in trance, were clearly fabrications. However, the information Piper brought to sitters through these impersonations was astoundingly accurate. Nora’s findings suggested verified telepathy or authentic communication with the dead.

Nora also conducted investigations into other mediums, clairvoyance, telekinesis, and telepathy, always seeking to rule out alternative explanations and fraud. In one notable case, Nora debunked the American medium William Eglinton, who claimed to produce spirit writing on sealed slates. Through careful observation and experimentation, she demonstrated that Eglinton’s feats were mere magic tricks.

In 1891, Alfred Russel Wallace (the first scientist to propose the concept of natural selection and the co-founder of the theory of evolution) challenged the SPR to investigate spirit photography. Nora responded with her paper “On Spirit Photographs” in 1891, which cast doubt on the subject, revealing the fraudulent methods used by spirit photographers such as William H. Mumler.

In her 1886 paper “Results of a Personal Investigation into the ‘Physical Phenomena of Spiritualism’,” published in the Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research, Nora made a striking statement explaining why employing skepticism was essential to her investigative process:

“It is not because I disbelieve in the physical phenomena of Spiritualism, but because I think it possible that such things occasionally occur, that I am interested in estimating the evidence for them.”

Although Nora’s negative conclusions (as well as the criticisms of other ASR investigators) brought important facts to light, they also sparked controversy. As a result, William Stainton Moses and other prominent Spiritualist members resigned from the SPR.

Nora’s tough stance toward physical mediumship, in particular, should not be mistaken for dogmatic skepticism. She was first and foremost a scientist. Unlike many of her contemporaries and their ilk today, she neither dismissed all claims of spiritual phenomena out of hand nor, conversely, accepted extraordinary claims without sufficient evidence.

Nora argued that it was precisely because paranormal experiences could be genuine, that such claims needed to be investigated thoroughly. Condemning fakery was her approach to salvaging the authentic. Nora was not a profiteer, financially tied to the authenticity of all paranormal phenomena, nor a religiously-motivated believer desperately clinging to its reality.

Nora’s argued that all claims deserved to be examined carefully and impartially. Rather than starting from a position of belief or disbelief, she sought to gather and evaluate all the available evidence as objectively as possible, using the tools of observation, experimentation, and statistical analysis.

This approach set Nora apart from many other researchers of her time as well as those of today, who approach unexplained phenomena with strong preconceptions or biases. By remaining open to the possibility of genuine psychical experiences, while also subjecting them to painstaking scientific scrutiny, Nora helped to establish a new standard of evidence-based investigation in the field of parapsychology.

In “Results of a Personal Investigation into the “Physical Phenomena of Spiritualism,’” Nora describes her inquiries into various manifestations including slate-writing, materializations, and levitations. While she found some of the evidence intriguing, she ultimately concluded that much of it could be explained by trickery or self-deception on the part of the mediums and observers.

Nora employed statistical methods to separate signal from noise. By bringing scientific rigor to a field that had previously been dominated by anecdote and speculation, she helped to establish parapsychology as a serious academic discipline.

2. Eleanor Sidgwick helped establish the Society for Psychical Research as a respected scientific institution.

When Nora and her husband Henry joined forces with a small group of Cambridge scholars to found the SPR in 1882, they were driven by a shared conviction that the scientific method could and should be applied to the study of paranormal phenomena. Nora declared that scientists were opposed to investigations into psychic realm not out of “mere prejudice” but “legitimate caution.” She acknowledged that it was the investigator’s job to provide sufficient evidence as well as repeatable conditions. In 1908, Nora wrote:

“. . . in the meanwhile, as I have said, much would be done to remove scepticism by careful observation under as many conditions as possible.”

Over the next five decades, Nora worked tirelessly to transform the SPR into a respected scientific organization known for its thorough research methods and high standards of evidence. As a member of the SPR’s governing council, she insisted on maintaining strict protocols for investigating alleged psychic phenomena and pushed back against widespread skepticism from the mainstream scientific community.

In recognition of her many contributions, Nora was elected President of the SPR in 1908, becoming the first woman to hold that position. In her presidential address, she reflected on the progress the SPR had made on testing the hypothesis of survival after bodily death:

“The evidence needs careful and critical study . . . it is not likely to make good copy for the Daily Mail [but acquiring proof of] . . . continued existence . . . has become possible”

Under Nora’s guidance, the SPR attracted a number of eminent scientists and scholars to its ranks, including physicist Oliver Lodge, American psychologist William James, and future British Prime Minister Arthur Balfour, Nora’s brother. These luminaries lent credibility to the society’s work and helped to establish it as a serious research institution.

As the SPR’s unofficial archivist, Nora amassed an enormous collection of case reports, correspondence, and experimental data over her 50-year tenure. This unique archive, housed at Cambridge University Library, remains an invaluable resource for parapsychology scholars.

Thanks to Nora’s tireless efforts, the SPR evolved from a disparate group of Cambridge eggheads into a harmonious collective of dedicated researchers. When most of the founders passed away early on, the SPR was in real danger of disbanding. Nora held the group together during these challenging times.

In large part, the SPR persists today as a globally recognized leader in the scientific study of psychical phenomena because of her actions. By the time of Nora’s death in 1936, the society had established a track record of thorough research and a reputation for intellectual integrity.

3. Eleanor Sidgwick mentored the next generation of psychical researchers.

Eleanor Sidgwick played a crucial role in training and mentoring the next generation of psychical researchers. As a leading figure in the SPR and the head of the women’s university Newnham College at Cambridge, she was well-positioned to identify and nurture promising young investigators.

One of Nora’s most important protégés was Alice Johnson, who joined the SPR as a research assistant in 1889. Under Nora’s guidance, Johnson quickly developed into a skilled investigator. Johnson would go on to study instances of meaningful coincidence and their possible paranormal origins.

Johnson, in her 1936 summation of Nora’s life’s work, recalled her unwavering devotion to following the evidence wherever it led:

“Her continued openness to new conceptions was remarkable. ‘If this is so, we may have to revise our ideas,’ she used to say, and clearly there was no opinion that she would not have revised, if the freshly alleged facts had satisfied her critical mind.”

With Nora’s support and encouragement, Johnson went on to become one of the SPR’s most valuable members, serving as the society’s secretary from 1903 to 1907 and then a research officer from 1907 to 1916. Johnson also edited the SPR’s published proceedings and authored numerous important papers on psychic phenomena.

According to Seymour H. Mauskopf, author of The Elusive Science: Origins of Experimental Psychical Research, although all the other founding members of the SPR had died by 1905, Nora carried on.

“The leadership of the SPR in the early 1920s centered upon [Nora], whose longevity, acuity, and social position had made her the symbol of the national tradition of organized psychical research.”

A tight-knit group (some of whom also lived with her) worked closely with Nora to direct the affairs of the SPR. These investigators included Alice Johnson and J.G. Piddington as well as Helen and W.H. Slater. By mentoring this new generation of investigators, Nora helped to ensure that the SPR’s work would continue.

Although seldom recognized, Eleanor Sidgwick was a vitally important pioneer of psychical research. She brought scientific rigor and statistical analysis to the study of the paranormal. Her tireless work to establish the SPR as a respected scientific institution laid the foundation for more than a century of research into the mysteries of the mind.

Nora’s most enduring legacy may be the impact she had on the lives of other researchers. Nora’s guidance helped create a tradition of comprehensive, evidence-based inquiry that continues to inspire and shape the field of parapsychology. As Alice Johnson put it:

“Her own standard seemed above the reach of ordinary mortals, but she had an infinite tolerance and charity for other people’s weaknesses, and a most generous appreciation of their capacities and achievements.”

So why isn’t Nora better-known today?

This is a really good question. How can someone who did so much for the paranormal research community be almost entirely forgotten?

Sensationalism Sells. Science Doesn’t.

As a woman in the male-dominated world of Victorian science, Nora often had to work twice as hard to prove herself and gain acceptance from her colleagues. However, we most likely don’t remember Nora because we’d rather not do the math.

It’s true that at the time many of Nora’s male contemporaries received more attention and credit for their contributions. Even today, the contributions of female psychical researchers and paranormal investigators are marginalized, under-represented, and entirely left out of presentations and writings by parapsychology historians.

Nora’s husband Henry Sidgwick, Edmund Gurney, and Frederic Myers are most often exclusively credited for the work of the SPR. Nora usually isn’t mentioned at all or only receives a meager nod as Henry Sidgwick’s wife.

However, most paranormal investigators today don’t know the names of male psychical researchers either. The history of the field, thrilling as it is, is currently locked up in books. Endless, intimidating walls of text are a formidable barrier to entry for many would-be enthusiasts.

Today if you don’t have a television series, your work usually isn’t known in the paranormal community, no matter the significance of your contributions. Nora, especially, had a cautious, comprehensive approach to psychical research, which often involved painstaking statistical analysis and careful attention to detail. Her approach was exacting and methodical. In other words, not very sexy.

Nora’s style of investigation, while scientifically sound, doesn’t get the eyeballs flashy figures like a muscle-y and perfectly quaffed Zak Bagans attract. Although Nora was the real deal, her work doesn’t command nearly as much attention as an alpha male shouting down a demon, and, it never did. Humans really love sensationalism and a good show, but truly the devil — or, in this case, the substance — is in the details.

Read More . . .

• Phantasms of the Living by Edmund Gurney, Frederic W. H. Myers, and Frank Podmore (1886)
• Report on The Census of Hallucinations by Eleanor Sidgwick (1894)
• Henry Sidgwick: A Memoir by Arthur Sidgwick and Eleanor Mildred Sidgwick (1906)
• Presidential Addresses to the Society for Psychical Research, 1882-1911 by Various Authors (1912)
• Phantasms of the Living edited and abridged by Eleanor Sidgwick (1918)
• Mrs. Henry Sidgwick’s Work in Psychical Research by Alice Johnson (1936)