The Society for Psychical Research

What The Society for Psychical Research does

The Society for Psychical Research (SPR) is a UK-registered charity (Charity No. 207325) founded in 1882 and headquartered at 1 Vernon Mews, London. It is recognized as the first organization to conduct scholarly research into human experiences that challenge contemporary scientific models, with an unbroken operating history spanning 144 years as of 2026. The organization serves academic researchers, general public enthusiasts, and field investigators interested in psychical phenomena, parapsychology, and anomalous experiences.

SPR's core offerings revolve around scholarly publishing, knowledge dissemination, and community convening. Its flagship product is the Journal of the Society for Psychical Research (JSPR), a peer-reviewed quarterly journal first published in 1884 and hosted on Open Journal Systems (OJS). Complementary products include the Psi Encyclopedia (a free public resource), Psi Open Data (an open data repository), the Research Catalogue (1884-2011), a searchable library catalogue of books at Vernon Mews, and the SPiDER-X generative-AI tool used by the Psi Dynamics Research Unit for procedural, non-interpretive data handling in case analysis. Membership administration and event management run on the CiviCRM platform.

SPR operates a membership-based, community-led go-to-market model with 1-10 employees. Revenue is generated through annual membership subscriptions, conference attendance fees (in-person residential packages £311-£450 and Zoom tiers £25-£55), paid web events for non-members (£5), publications and merchandise sales through the SPR shop, and voluntary donations. Distribution is primarily direct through the website, the annual international conference (49th edition scheduled for November 2026 in Stratford-Upon-Avon, 58 physical spaces), Zoom-based web events, the physical library at Vernon Mews, and a partnership with the Lexscien Online Library. The organization has no external investors, parent company, or commercial ownership interests and is governed by its own elected officers and committees.

Name

The Society for Psychical Research

Legal name

The Incorporated Society for Psychical Research

Website

https://spr.ac.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1882

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Society for Psychical Research is a UK-registered charity founded in 1882 that conducts scholarly research into psychical and paranormal phenomena, serving academic researchers, enthusiasts, and field investigators through its peer-reviewed journal, knowledge resources, annual conferences, and member community.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Parapsychology Research

NAICS

Book Publishers (513130), Web Search Portals, Libraries, Archives, and Other Information Services (5192), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (541720)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721), Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)

akta.pro primary industry

Scholarly Societies & Conference Proceedings Publishing (MPAJABAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Academic & Scholarly Journals Publishing (Peer-Reviewed) (MPAJABAC), Social Sciences Scholarly Publishing (EDAGAFAD)

Keywords

• Parapsychology research
• Psychical research society
• Paranormal phenomena study
• Psi research publications
• Scholarly parapsychology

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: Annual membership subscriptions providing access to publications, events, library resources, and other member benefits
2. Conference Revenue: Fees collected from annual conferences, both physical attendance (residential and day delegate) and Zoom attendance. Includes early bird discounts and student rates.
3. Web Event Fees: Charges for virtual events featuring speakers such as Dean Radin; members attend free while non-members pay a fee
4. Publications Sales: Sale of books, recordings, and merchandise through the SPR shop
5. Donations: Voluntary contributions from supporters to support the society's research activities

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels11 records

Core offering

The Society for Psychical Research conducts and disseminates scholarly research into psychical, paranormal, and anomalous phenomena. It publishes the peer-reviewed Journal of the SPR (since 1884) and its magazine, maintains an extensive library at 1 Vernon Mews London, hosts an annual international conference and online web events, and provides free resources such as the Psi Encyclopedia and Psi Open Data repository. The society operates as a membership-based UK-registered charity open to researchers and the general public.

Product overview

The Society for Psychical Research operates as a scholarly research organization offering a portfolio of publications, knowledge resources, and events centered on psychical research. Its core product is the Journal of the Society for Psychical Research (JSPR), a peer-reviewed quarterly journal published since 1884, alongside The Magazine of the SPR. The society provides free resources including the Psi Encyclopedia and Psi Open Data repository. Additional offerings include a searchable library catalogue with thousands of volumes, annual international conferences, SPR Web Events (online presentations), audio/video recordings of events, and a research participation service for reporting paranormal experiences. The organization functions primarily as a membership-based academic society rather than a commercial product company.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Journal of the Society for Psychical Research (JSPR) A peer-reviewed academic journal published quarterly since 1884, providing a forum for communication and critical debate on psychic, parapsychological, and anomalous effects, including laboratory and fieldwork research reports, theoretical papers, methodological discussions, and historical analyses. Targeted at academic researchers, scholars, and serious enthusiasts in parapsychology.
• The Magazine of the SPR The society's magazine publication (renamed from Paranormal Review in 2021, which ran 2014-2020), covering current research, news, and commentary on psychical research topics for members and the public.
• Psi Encyclopedia A free online encyclopedia providing comprehensive information on psi research topics, paranormal phenomena, and related subjects in psychical research, accessible to the public.
• Psi Open Data An open data initiative providing access to research data from psi research studies for transparency and reproducibility in parapsychology.
• Research Catalogue (1884-2011) Summaries of archive articles from the founding of the SPR to 2011, providing historical documentation of psychical research for scholars and researchers.
• Library Catalogue A searchable catalogue of a well-stocked library of books held at 1 Vernon Mews, covering topics in parapsychology, spiritualism, and related fields, browsable by author name, title, or alphabetical listings. Provides both physical library access at the London headquarters and online catalogue search.
• Annual International Conference The society's annual international conference (49th edition scheduled for November 2026 in Stratford-Upon-Avon), featuring paper presentations, discussions, and networking for researchers and enthusiasts in psychical research. Available with residential packages, day delegate options, and a Zoom attendance option.
• SPR Web Events Virtual Zoom-based events featuring presentations by researchers and speakers on psi research topics; free for members and associates, paid for non-members; recordings distributed to registrants.
• Recordings of SPR Events Audio and video recordings of events held by the society, available for viewing and purchase via the SPR shop.
• Report an Experience A service allowing members of the public to report paranormal experiences for potential investigation by the society's research committees, including the Spontaneous Cases Committee.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Society for the Anthropology of Consciousness (SAC): An academic society within the American Anthropological Association studying consciousness, including altered states and anomalous experiences. It overlaps with SPR's interdisciplinary scholarly approach to consciousness-related research and publishes peer-reviewed work.
• Windbridge Research Center: US nonprofit research organization investigating the intersection of consciousness and physical science, including mediumship research. Comparable to SPR's Psi Dynamics Research Unit in deploying rigorous empirical investigation of anomalous claims.
• International Association for Near-Death Studies (IANDS): Membership organisation publishing the peer-reviewed Journal of Near-Death Studies, focused on near-death experiences and consciousness. Highly comparable to SPR as a scholarly society with publications, conferences, and research focus overlapping with parapsychology.

Direct peers

• Koestler Parapsychology Unit: University of Edinburgh-based parapsychology research unit founded in 1985. Directly comparable to SPR's Psi Dynamics Research Unit in mission and methodology, though it operates as an academic department rather than an independent society.
• Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS): Founded in 1973 to study consciousness and human potential, IONS publishes research, hosts events, and maintains a membership base. Comparable to SPR in its focus on consciousness and anomalous phenomena, nonprofit scholarly model, and member-driven publications.
• Rhine Research Center: US-based parapsychology research institute founded in 1965 by J.B. Rhine, continuing laboratory-based psi research, investigator training, and public education. Directly comparable to SPR in mission, scholarly focus, and nonprofit research-publishing model.
• Society for Scientific Exploration: A professional society for the study of anomalous phenomena, publishing the peer-reviewed Explore journal. Highly comparable to SPR in its scholarly publishing of unconventional scientific topics and society-based research community model.
• American Society for Psychical Research (ASPR): The US counterpart learned society founded in 1885, three years after SPR, focused on psychical research. It publishes the Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research and operates a research library — directly parallel to SPR's publications and library activities.
• Parapsychological Association: The international professional organization for parapsychology, founded in 1957 and affiliated with the American Association for the Advancement of Science. It is the closest direct peer to SPR, covering the same scholarly domain of psi research, hosting academic conferences, and publishing peer-reviewed work.

Others

• British Psychological Society: A UK learned society comparable to SPR in organisational structure (membership-based, charity status, peer-reviewed journals, library, conferences), but operating in mainstream psychology rather than parapsychology. Useful as a structural analogue for governance, publishing, and member-service models.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SPR1882
• Facebookfacebook.com/The-Society-for-Psychical-Research-SPR-295503008217
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/psychical-research-society

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about The Society for Psychical Research