Mediumship accuracy: a quantitative and qualitative study with a triple-blind protocol

Aims: assess if mediums could give accurate information about the deceased in a triple-blind protocol and to investigate the source of information using a quantitative and qualitative analysis. Methods: nine mediums produced thirty-eight readings related to thirty-eight deceased individuals chosen by thirty-six sitters using a triple-blind protocol with no direct interaction with the sitters themselves. In this protocol, the medium was provided with only the deceased’s name by the interviewer, the latter having no further knowledge about the deceased. In every session, the medium was asked to provide information about two deceased persons of the same gender. This information, excluding generic details, was entered into two anonymous lists.The information of these two readings was sent to the research assistant charged with maintaining contact with the sitters. Each sitter was asked to assign a value to every piece of information listed using a four- point Likert scale from ‘totally wrong’ to ‘totally correct’, and to provide a global score for each reading. Results: 65.8% of the intended readings were correctly identified with respect to the chance of 50%. Furthermore, intended readings had on average 29.5% more correct information than the control ones. Qualitative data indicate that mediums attain information both passively and actively, that is as if they retrieved information without or directly interacting with the deceased. Conclusions: this study provides further evidence that some mediums are able to obtain accurate information about deceased people knowing only the deceased’s name and with no interaction with sitters; it also supports the hypothesis that, in some cases, the sources of the information are the deceased themselves.