Hereward Carrington was an American writer of British origin in the first half of the twentieth century and researcher of psychic phenomena. He left a legacy of more than a hundred books and was a rival of the famous illusionist Harry Houdini, who, unlike Carrington, did not believe in psychic events.
In 1921, Carrington founded the American Psychical Institute that included one of the first laboratories for the study of psychic phenomena. It existed for only two years, but was revived in 1933 in New York. Carrington was an amateur illusionist and was critical of some paranormal phenomena. Among his works there are also exposures of fraudulent tricks employed by spiritualists.
One of Carrington’s books – Your Psychic Powers and How to Develop Them – has long been considered a classic. It gives practical instructions, covering, among other things, the topic of dreams, astral projection, and near-death experiences.
Another well-known work by the researcher is Phenomena of Astral Projection (co-authored with Muldoon). Carrington distinguished two types of astral projection: spontaneous (when people suddenly find themselves outside their physical body) and experimental (at will). The latter was classified by the scientist as a rare phenomenon. The only case known to him, in fact, was that of a lucid dream.
Carrington also became the contributor of story ideas and the primary consultant for The Mysteries of Myra – a 15-episode silent film released in 1916. It featured various supernatural phenomena, including astral projection. The main character, Dr. Payson Alden, was modeled after Carrington himself.
The researcher’s books are available on Amazon.
