 | |
| Industry | Paranormal investigation andresearch |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1862,London |
| Headquarters | London,SW19 |
Key people | Alan Murdie Chair Nigel Bundy General Secretary Derek Green Investigations Officer Dr Robert Radakovic Events Officer Rosie O'Carroll Media Officer Mark Ottowell Journal Editor James Tacchi Science & Technical Officer Dr. Paul Foulsham Ghost Club Webmaster & Treasurer Gianna De Salvo Membership Secretary Alex Greenwood Archivist |
| Revenue | Non-profit |
| Website | GhostClub.org.uk |
The Ghost Club is aparanormal investigation and research organization, founded in London in 1862. It is believed to be the oldest such organisation in the world, though its history has not been continuous. The club still investigates mainlyghosts and hauntings.
The club has its roots inCambridge in 1855, wherefellows atTrinity College began to discussghosts andpsychic phenomena.[1] Launched officially in London in 1862, it countedCharles Dickens among its members.[2] One of the club's earliestinvestigations was of theDavenport brothers and their "spirit cabinet"hoax, the club challenging the Davenports' claim of contacting the dead.
The group continued to undertake practical investigations ofspiritualist phenomena, a topic then in vogue, meeting to discuss ghostly subjects.
The club was revived onAll Saints Day 1882 by the mediumStainton Moses andAlaric Alfred Watts,[2] initially claiming to be the original founders, without acknowledging its origins.[3] In 1882, theSociety for Psychical Research (SPR), with whom there was an initial overlap, was founded at a similar time.[2][4]
While the SPR was a body devoted to scientific study, the Ghost Club remained a selective and secretive organization ofconvinced believers for whom psychic phenomena were an established fact.[2] Stainton Moses resigned from the vice presidency of the SPR in 1886 and thereafter devoted himself to the Ghost Club. Membership was small (82 members over 54 years[citation needed]) and women were not allowed, but during this period it attracted some of the most original and controversial minds in psychical research. These included SirWilliam Crookes[5] SirOliver Lodge,Nandor Fodor and SirArthur Conan Doyle.
The archives[clarification needed] of the Club reveal that the names of members, both living and dead, were solemnly recited each November 2. Each individual, living or dead, was recognized a member of the club. On more than one occasion deceased members were believed to have made their presence felt.[citation needed]
Also involved were the poetW. B. Yeats (joined 1911) andFrederick Bligh Bond (joined 1925), who became infamous with his investigations into spiritualism atGlastonbury. Bligh Bond later left the country and became active in theAmerican Society for Psychical Research. He was ordained into theOld Catholic Church and re-joined the Ghost Club on his return to Britain in 1935.
The Principal ofJesus College, Cambridge,Arthur Grey, fictionalized the Ghost Club in 1919 as "The Everlasting Club"[6] in a ghost story that many still believe to be true.[7][8]
The 20th century's move fromséance room investigation to laboratory-based research meant the Ghost Club fell out of touch with contemporary psychic research.Harry Price, famous for his investigation intoBorley Rectory, joined as a member in 1927 as did psychologistNandor Fodor who represented the changing approach to psychical research taking place.[9] With attendance falling, the club closed in 1936 after 485 meetings. The Ghost Club records were deposited in theBritish Museum under the proviso that they would remain closed until 1962 out of respect for confidentiality.[2]
Within 18 months, Price relaunched the Ghost Club as a society dining event where psychic researchers and mediums delivered after-dinner talks. Price decided to admit women to the club, also specifying that it was not a spiritualist church or association but a group ofsceptics that gathered to discuss paranormal topics. Members in this period includedC. E. M. Joad, SirJulian Huxley,Algernon Blackwood, SirOsbert Sitwell andLord Amwell.
Following Price's death in 1948, the club was again relaunched by members of the committee, Philip Paul andPeter Underwood. From 1962 Underwood served as president; many accounts of club activities are found in his books.[citation needed]
Tom Perrott joined the club in 1967 and served as chairman from 1971 to 1993.[citation needed]
In 1993, the club underwent a period of internal disruption, during which Underwood left to become Life President of another society he had revived called "The Ghost Club Society".[10]
In 1998, Perrott resigned as chairman (although he remained active in club affairs), andbarrister Alan Murdie was elected as his successor. Murdie has written a number of ghost books includingHauntedBrighton[11] and regularly writes forFortean Times.[12] In 2005 he was succeeded by Kathy Gearing, the club's first female chairperson. Gearing announced her resignation in the club's Summer 2009 newsletter.[13] As of May 2022[update], Alan Murdie was again the club chairman.
The club continues to meet monthly at a pub in central London. Several investigations are performed in England every year. In recent times, investigations have also been organised inScotland by the club's Scottish Area Investigation Coordinator.[citation needed]
The club has been mentioned in numerous books, the most notable beingNo Common Task (1983),[29]This Haunted Isle (1984),[30]The Ghosthunters Almanac (1993)[31] andNights in Haunted Houses (1994),[32] all byPeter Underwood,Some Unseen Power (1985) by Philip Paul,[33]The Encyclopedia of Ghosts and Spirits (1992) byRosemary Ellen Guiley,[34]Will Storr Versus the Supernatural (2006) byWill Storr,[35]The Guide to Mysterious Glasgow (2009) byGeoff Holder,[36]Ghost Hunting: a Survivor's Guide (2010) by John Fraser[37] andA Brief Guide to Ghost Hunting (2013) by DrLeo Ruickbie.[38]
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