National Paranormal Day
Sunday, May 3, 2026
The academic turn. In 1882, a group of Cambridge-educated academics founded the Society for Psychical Research in London, the first organization dedicated to investigating psychic phenomena using scientific methods. The SPR studied telepathy, mesmerism, mediumship, apparitions, and haunted houses. Its founding members included Henry Sidgwick, Frederic Myers, and Edmund Gurney.In 1930, J.B. Rhine brought the inquiry to the American university system. At Duke University, he founded the Parapsychology Laboratory and developed the Zener card test: a deck of 25 cards with five symbols (circle, cross, wavy lines, square, star), used to test whether subjects could identify hidden cards at rates exceeding chance. Rhine published his findings in "Extra Sensory Perception" in 1934. His work was controversial but brought laboratory controls to a field that had relied on anecdote and séance
History
The academic turn. In 1882, a group of Cambridge-educated academics founded the Society for Psychical Research in London, the first organization dedicated to investigating psychic phenomena using scientific methods. The SPR studied telepathy, mesmerism, mediumship, apparitions, and haunted houses. Its founding members included Henry Sidgwick, Frederic Myers, and Edmund Gurney.In 1930, J.B. Rhine brought the inquiry to the American university system. At Duke University, he founded the Parapsychology Laboratory and developed the Zener card test: a deck of 25 cards with five symbols (circle, cross, wavy lines, square, star), used to test whether subjects could identify hidden cards at rates exceeding chance. Rhine published his findings in "Extra Sensory Perception" in 1934. His work was controversial but brought laboratory controls to a field that had relied on anecdote and séance
How It's Celebrated
National Paranormal Day is observed by recognizing the importance of the day, learning about its background and significance, and sharing awareness with others through conversation and social media. Many people take time to reflect on the meaning of the observance and participate in relevant activities or community events.