The Tulpa - Thought-form Hauntings

In Tibetan lore, monks had such a mastery over their thoughts that they could, through extended concentration, conjure physical entities to do their bidding. These beings were called tulpa. In the 1950's, this word was translated to English as "thought-form". Of course, in the lore, the tulpa took on a life of their own and had to be destroyed by their masters. As fanciful as it may sound, is it really possible that concentrated human thought can conjure something physical?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tibetan painting depicting a tulpa.

In 1972, a group of researchers from Toronto decided to try and answer that question. They created a complex back story for a fictional character they named Philip Aylesford and made several sustained attempts to conjure him into physical being. After months of conjuring with no success, Philip actually made himself known to the group in 1973. He would answer questions by rapping on the table and would even move the table on occasion. Being a monitored experiment, all of the participant's hands were free from the table while this was going on. As the experiment went on, Philip seemed to grow in power and influence. He was described as being playful, and the participants would joke around with him and have a few laughs. As the story goes, one researcher took the playing too far, and told Philip, "You're not real you know. We made you up.". With that, Philip disappeared and never manifested again.

What I imagine Philip looked like. *shudder*

This story is absolutely incredible. However I have two big questions: why is this experiment not more well known, and why the hell hasn't it been replicated by other researchers? Clearly there were results worth pursuing. You can watch a video about the Philip experiment below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2lGPT2J1cc

So, if we assume for a second that tulpa are a real phenomenon, we potentially have a non-spiritual explanation for hauntings. The simple act of having people think some place is haunted could cause these tulpa to manifest and simulate the effects of a traditional haunting. In any case, these are fascinating beings, and I for one think there is something to them.