Mysterious Psychic Forces

Mysterious Psychic Forces is an illustrated book by Camille Flammarion, first published in 1907. In this thorough, inquisitive work the celebrated French astronomer turns his scientific mind toward spiritualism and psychical research, recording séances, experiments, photographs, and the investigations of other European savants.

Flammarion writes with a careful skepticism — willing to record levitation, telepathy, psychokinetic phenomena and impressions in putty, yet insisting on rigorous observation and warning against fraud and charlatanry — which makes the book valuable both as historical documentation of early parapsychology and as a model of methodical inquiry into psychic phenomena. The book sits at the crossroads of late-Victorian spiritualism and early 20th-century scientific curiosity. Readers interested in psychic phenomena, mediumship, telepathy and the history of parapsychology will find detailed case studies, descriptive photography and candid reflections from an author who was both fascinated by and cautious about claims of the supernatural. Flammarion’s blend of popular science prose and investigative reporting helps explain why his writings influenced later thinkers curious about life after death, abnormal psychology, and unexplained forces — making this a useful title for researchers, collectors of occult literature, and anyone exploring the origins of modern psychical research.