This section is dedicated to images that fall into the broad category of “thoughtography.” These photographs contain images which are believed to be the direct result of psychic thought phenomena. While some researchers believe this to be the explanation for all paranormal images, I am of the belief that the term should be connected to the narrow band of images that are the explicit result of thought projection onto photosensitive materials (including video sensors).
The history of this phenomenon can be traced back to the early twentieth century with the work of professor Tomokichi Fukurai. Fukurai’s images were often projected directly onto darkroom materials. His thoughtographic experiments tend to fall into the category of “skotography”, which is to say that they often textual manifestations. Thoughtography is most commonly associated with Ted Serios of Chicago, Il. Ted’s thoughtographs - directly imprinted onto Polaroid photos - were made throughout the 1960s and were brought to acclaim in Jules Eisenbud’s The World of Ted Serios.
While this page contains thoughtographs that I created in the Serios style (drunken self portrait with an instant camera), most of the work here relates to thoughtographic phenomenon that has somehow been overlooked within the greater canon of parapyschology.
In Response to Serios
Upon reading The World of Ted Serios, I became obsessed with the idea of creating a thoughtograph. I had not expected to find the book - or anything that Serios had done - to be nearly as credible as I found it to be. I thought it wouldn't be too hard to make an image like the ones that Ted made. For his process, he became belligerent - in intoxication and attitude - to the point that he was freewheeling and able to connect with whatever source his images come from. With some effort I was able to bring myself into a similar state. Though my solitude barred me from taking requests for my images, I hoped to connect with David Kreskin, a local boy who had been murdered in the late 60s.
After a surprisingly successful connection with the spirit of David (as shown in the first image here), I inquired if I could be shown the man whose hand he had died by. It took a number of tries to obtain a successful image, but in the second photo an as yet identified man is photographed with the murder weapon. If you or anyone you know can identify this man, then a solution to a decades old cold case could once and for all be completed. I'm still frankly a bit spooked from this successful foray into thoughtography, and I have not yet made more images.
Tellie - Kinesis
These images are a teaser from the research project that I am currently wrapped up in. While digging through the archives of UB’s now defunct Department of Parapsychology, I came across a series of experiments in “Tele-Kinesis.” The images come from experiments from the late 1980s in which people that were known to have strong psychic abilities were connected to a television set through EEG pads. Most of the images revolve around visualizing memories so that they would appear on the television. Some of the images, however, worked towards materializing the images of mundane objects for a video camera.
