Episode 285 - Conjuring a Spirit - Philip the Ghost (Part One)

Two Girls One Ghost

In honor of our seven year anniversary and in honor of creating our very own ghost and haunting attached to our podcast, we are discussing the scientific experiment, Philip the Ghost. Philip the Ghost was conjured in the fall of 1972 by a group of eight members of the Toronto Society of Psychical Research group in Toronto, Canada. Together, they created a fictional spirit, Philip, and sought to use mental power to conjure his physical spectral being. In part one, we discuss the eight members of the experiment, the first year, Philip and his beginnings.
Philip was entirely fictional, but grounded in reality. His story went like this: Philip Isleford was born in 1624, he was an aristocratic Englishman living at the time of Oliver Cromwell. He was married to a beautiful but cold and frigid wife, Dorothea. But the marriage was fraught and loveless… which is why when Philip met the effervescent, Margo, he fell deeply in love with her and brought her home with him… but his decisions led to tragedy and a broken heart. Dorothea accused Margo of witchcraft and Philip watched as his one true love was burnt at the stake… Deeply riddled with guilt, Philip took his own life and was found at the foot of his castle grounds.
Was the group able to utilize this tale to conjure a spirit out of thin air? How powerful is the human mind and group thought? And what happens if you create a spirit that forms a mind of its own, can it be contained? Find out in this two part episode all about Philip the Ghost.
Book used for research of this episode: Conjuring up Philip; an Adventure in Psychokinesis by Iris Own and Margaret Sparrow

Video Mentioned

Podcast Mentioned: Scamanda
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Edited and produced by Jaimi Ryan, original music by Arms Akimbo!
Disclaimer: the use of white sage and smudging is a closed practice. If you’re looking to cleanse your space, here are some great alternatives!