Trevor Henry Hall (1910–1991) was a British author, surveyor, and

sceptic Skepticism, also spelled scepticism, is a questioning attitude or doubt toward knowledge claims that are seen as mere belief or dogma. For example, if a person is skeptical about claims made by their government about an ongoing war then the p ...

paranormal Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Not ...

phenomena. Hall made controversial claims regarding early members of the

Society for Psychical Research The Society for Psychical Research (SPR) is a nonprofit organisation in the United Kingdom. Its stated purpose is to understand events and abilities commonly described as psychic or paranormal. It describes itself as the "first society to co ...

. His books caused a heated controversy within the

parapsychology Parapsychology is the study of alleged psychic phenomena ( extrasensory perception, telepathy, precognition, clairvoyance, psychokinesis (also called telekinesis), and psychometry) and other paranormal claims, for example, those related t ...

community.Hövelmann. Gerd H; Truzzi, Marcello; Hoebens, Piet Hein. (1985). ''Skeptical Literature on Parapsychology: An Annotated Bibliography''. In

Paul Kurtz Paul Kurtz (December 21, 1925 – October 20, 2012) was an American scientific skeptic and secular humanist. He has been called "the father of secular humanism". He was Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the State University of New York at B ...

. ''A Skeptic's Handbook of Parapsychology''. Prometheus Books. pp. 449-490.

Career

Hall was born in Wakefield, England. He served as a major in the British army during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

(1939–45) and became a senior partner of V. Walker and Son (chartered surveyors) (1945–80). He was the vice president of the Huddersfield Building Society (1958–80). He had a deep interest in magic and mystery. Hall was a student in psychical research at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

(1954–56). His knowledge of conjuring and magic helped him discover the tricks of mediums, many of whom had been caught in fraud. Hall was an ex-member and critic of the Society for Psychical Research and published a series of sceptical books on the paranormal and psychical research. He was a collector of magic books and was a member of The Magic Circle. He also wrote three books on the higher criticism of

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...

Research

Florence Cook

In his controversial book ''The Spiritualists'' (1962), Hall stated that the famous medium Florence Cook was a fraud who had an affair with the chemist and psychical researcher

William Crookes Sir William Crookes (; 17 June 1832 – 4 April 1919) was a British chemist and physicist who attended the Royal College of Chemistry, now part of Imperial College London, and worked on spectroscopy. He was a pioneer of vacuum tubes, inventing t ...

. Hall drew upon Francis G. H. Anderson's statements to the Society for Psychical Research in 1922 and 1941. Anderson claimed to have had an affair with Cook himself; he also stated that she was a sexual maniac who confessed to having an affair with Crookes. In 1964, psychical researchers R. G. Medhurst and

K. M. Goldney Kathleen Mary Hervey Goldney (1894–1992) best known as K. M. Goldney was a British parapsychologist and writer. Career In the 1940s, Goldney worked with the mathematician Samuel Soal on ESP experiments with Basil Shackleton. It later was disc ...

cast considerable doubt on the reliability of Anderson's testimony and dismissed Hall's allegations. Biographer

William Hodson Brock William Hodson Brock (born 1936) is a British chemist and science historian. Brock was born in Brighton. He studied chemistry at University College London and the history and philosophy of science at the University of Leicester to become a lectu ...

who has praised Hall's book also doubted the claims of an affair. Regarding Hall's research that Cook had an affair with Crookes, historian

Asa Briggs Asa Briggs, Baron Briggs (7 May 1921 – 15 March 2016) was an English historian. He was a leading specialist on the Victorian era, and the foremost historian of broadcasting in Britain. Briggs achieved international recognition during his lon ...

in a review commented that "the verdict does not seem to be fully proven, although the evidence is striking". Psychologist

Ray Hyman Ray Hyman (born June 23, 1928) is a Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon, and a noted critic of parapsychology. Hyman, along with James Randi, Martin Gardner and Paul Kurtz, is one of the founders of the ...

has noted that despite how one may consider the allegations, "there is no question that Hall has unearthed much material that throws strong suspicions on Crookes's handling of this investigation." Researchers such as

Ruth Brandon Ruth Brandon (born 1943) is a British journalist, historian and author. Biography Brandon began her career as a trainee producer for the BBC, working in radio and television. She moved to work in freelance journalism and as an author. She is t ...

and

Eric Dingwall Eric John Dingwall (1890–1986) was a British anthropologist, psychical researcher and librarian. Biography Born in British Ceylon, Dingwall moved to England where he was educated at Pembroke College, Cambridge (M.A., 1912), and the Univer ...

have supported Hall's arguments against Cook and Crookes.

Edmund Gurney

In his book ''The Strange Case of Edmund Gurney'' (1964), Hall made the claim that Edmund Gurney committed suicide after discovering the frauds of Douglas Blackburn and George Albert Smith. This has been strongly contested by biographer Trevor Hamilton and the psychical researcher

Alan Gauld Alan Gauld (born 1932) is a British parapsychologist, psychologist and spiritualist writer best known for his research on the history of hypnotism and mediumship. Biography Gauld was born in Portland, Dorset. In the late 1950s, he attended H ...

. Parapsychologist Fraser Nicol published an extremely negative review of Hall's book on Gurney. This caused a threat of a libel action from Hall.

Daniel Dunglas Home

In his book ''The Enigma of Daniel Home: Medium or Fraud?'' (1984), Hall asserted that the medium Daniel Dunglas Home had invented his aristocratic background. Hall's research led him to conclude that the alleged

levitation Levitation (from Latin ''levitas'' "lightness") is the process by which an object is held aloft in a stable position, without mechanical support via any physical contact. Levitation is accomplished by providing an upward force that counteract ...

of Home at Ashley House never happened as the eyewitness reports contradicted each other and all Home did was step across a gap of four feet between two iron balconies.

Reception

Researcher Georgess McHargue noted that Hall was "one of the most astute of modern investigators, combining twentieth-century scientific techniques with a cheerful and readable writing style in his many books." However,

Roger Luckhurst Roger Luckhurst is a British writer and academic. He is professor in modern and contemporary literature in the Department of English, Theatre, and Creative Writing at Birkbeck, University of London and was distinguished visiting professor at Colu ...

has written that Hall's "books proceed with a combination of careful archival work and abusive character assassinations." In the book ''A Skeptic's Handbook of Parapsychology'' (1985), authors Gerd H. Hövelmann,

Marcello Truzzi Marcello Truzzi (September 6, 1935 – February 2, 2003) was a professor of sociology at New College of Florida and later at Eastern Michigan University, founding co-chairman of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the P ...

and

Piet Hein Hoebens Piet Hein Hoebens (29 September 1948, Utrecht – 22 October 1984) was a Dutch journalist, parapsychologist and skeptic. Hoebens is most well known for debunking the claims of psychic detectives. He worked as a Dutch journalist and investigated cl ...

noted that " lhough Hall's historical detective work is often impressive, his conclusions sometimes go beyond his data. Despite the flaws in some of Hall's efforts, his writings should be required reading for everyone interested in early psychical research."

Publications

*''The Haunting of Borley Rectory: A Critical Survey of the Evidence'' [with

] (1956) *''Four Modern Ghosts'' [with

] (1958) *''The Spiritualists: The Story of Florence Cook and William Crookes'' (1962), published in America in 1963. *''Florence Cook and William Crookes: A Footnote to an Enquiry'' (1963) *''The Strange Case of Edmund Gurney'' (1964) *''New Light on Old Ghosts'' (1965) *''Strange Things'' ith_

ith_John_Lorne_Campbell">John_Lorne_Campbell.html"_;"title="ith_John_Lorne_Campbell">ith_John_Lorne_Campbell(1968)Brown,_Theo._(1969)._''Reviewed_Work:_Strange_Things_by_John_L._Campbell,_Trevor_H._Hall''._''Folklore_(journal).html" "title="John_Lorne_Campbell.html" ;"title="John_Lorne_Campbell.html" ;"title="ith John Lorne Campbell">ith John Lorne Campbell">John_Lorne_Campbell.html" ;"title="ith John Lorne Campbell">ith John Lorne Campbell(1968)Brown, Theo. (1969). ''Reviewed Work: Strange Things by John L. Campbell, Trevor H. Hall''. ''Folklore (journal)">Folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, rangin ...

''. Vol. 80, No. 3. pp. 224-227. *''Sherlock Holmes: Ten Literary Studies'' (1969) *''The Late Mr Sherlock Holmes: and Other Literary Studies'' (1971) *''Old Conjuring Books'' (1973) *''The Early Years of the Huddersfield Building Society'' (1974) *''Sherlock Holmes and His Creator'' (1977) *''Search for Harry Price'' (1980) *''The Enigma of Daniel Home: Medium or Fraud?'' (1984) *''The Medium and the Scientist: The Story of Florence Cook and William Crookes'' (1985)