In late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century France, a number of groups turned to the wondrous and occult as a means of understanding and explaining the world. Investigating the Supernatural examines these varied efforts through the phenomena witnessed at sÚances. SÚances were wildly popular in France between 1850 and 1930, among the general public and scholars alike. Sofie Lachapelle explores how five distinct groups attempted to use and legitimize sÚances: spiritists, who tried to create a new 'science' concerned with the spiritual realm and the afterlife; occultists, who hoped to connect ancient revelations with contemporary science; physicians, psychiatrists, and psychologists, who developed a pathology of supernatural experiences; psychical researchers, who drew on the unexplained experiences of the public to create a new field of research; and metapsychists, who attempted to develop a new science of yet-to-be understood natural forces. Lachapelle discusses the practices, aims, and level of success of these five disciplines, paying special attention to how they interacted with each other and with the world of mainstream science. Though they all believed mystical phenomena worthy of serious study, for all but physicians, psychiatrists, and psychologists they were a means to challenge accepted science, in general, and French science, in particular. Through their stories, Lachapelle explores the complex relationship between science and the supernatural in France and relates why this relationship ultimately led to the marginalization of psychical research and metapsychics. An enlightening and entertaining narrative that includes colorful people like 'Allan Kardec' -- a pseudonymous former mathematics teacher from Lyon who wrote successful works on the science of the sÚance and what happened after death -- Investigating the Supernatural reveals the rich and vibrant diversity of unorthodox beliefs and practices that existed at the borders of the French scientific culture in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Introduction 1. From Turning Tables to Spiritism 2. Occult Wisdoms, Astral Bodies, and Human Fluids 3. Pathologies of the Supernatural 4. Witnessing Psychical Phenomena 5. The Rise and Fall of Metapsychics Conclusion Acknowledgments Notes Bibliographic Essay Index
""A welcome addition to the growing literature on spiritism, occultism and physical research in modern France.""
