An Absent Sitter is a term used in parapsychology and spiritualist practices to describe a person who is the intended subject of a psychic reading, Séance, or mediumistic communication but is not physically present during the session. The medium or psychic attempts to obtain information about the absent individual through claimed extrasensory perception or spiritual contact.
Historical Context
The concept of the absent sitter became prominent during the 19th-century Spiritualist movement in United States and United Kingdom. Mediums often conducted Séances in which they claimed to communicate messages for individuals who were not present. Researchers in psychical investigation later used absent sitter experiments to test whether mediums could obtain accurate information without direct visual or verbal cues. Organizations such as the Society for Psychical Research examined such claims as part of early paranormal research.
Popular Culture
Absent sitter concepts appear in paranormal television, Ghost Hunting programs, and fictional stories involving psychics or mediums. Examples include:
- Television programs where mediums claim to deliver messages to people who are not physically present.
- Paranormal documentaries discussing remote psychic readings and spirit communication.
- Fictional portrayals of clairvoyants receiving visions or information about distant individuals.
- Radio programs such as Coast to Coast AM often discuss psychic phenomena and mediumship.
References
- Parapsychology – Research into psychic claims and extrasensory perception.
- Society for Psychical Research – Historical investigations into mediumship and Séances.
- Studies on Spiritualism and psychic readings were conducted in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
- Publications on mediumship, Clairvoyance, and paranormal investigation practices.