A prominent psychical research organization of the 1920s and 1930s that grew out of a critical response to the Margery controversy.
In opposition to claims made by the American Society for Psychical Research (ASPR) that authenticated the psychic powers of Mina Crandon, who was referred to as “Margery,” Walter Franklin Prince and his supporters withdrew from the ASPR and founded the Boston Society for Psychical Research. Among other founders were psychologist William McDougall, Lydia W. Allison, and Elwood Worcester. Worcester, a prominent Boston clergy¬ man, had largely been responsible for reviving spiritual healing within the Episcopal Church. During the 15 years of its existence, the BSPR would create an impressive record of research and publication through its Bulletin series. Its most famous publications include Princes volumes on Pearl Curran, the medium for the spirit entity “Patience Worth,” and a collection of testimonies entitled Noted Witnesses for Psychic Occurrences. The Society also published Joseph Banks RHINE’S initial volume of parapsychological research, Extrasensory Perception, in 1934.