Phantasms of the Living
Edmund Gurney, Frederic W. H. Myers, Frank Podmore · 1886 · Trübner and Co. for the Society for Psychical Research, London
Summary
Foundational two-volume Society for Psychical Research case collection of more than 700 spontaneous experiences — including precognitive impressions and dreams, crisis apparitions, and apparent telepathic episodes — gathered with structured interviews and corroborating witnesses.
Why it matters here
The canonical historical case base for spontaneous precognition and related psi-style experiences; cited across the field as the starting point for spontaneous-case methodology.
Editorial note
Stable Internet Archive scan for volume 1; Open Library also lists the 1886 two-volume edition.
Linked claims
Given how many dreams we have, occasional 'matches' are statistically inevitable and powerfully memorable.
The reported experience of knowing, sensing, dreaming, or picturing a future event before it happens — sometimes called premonition, presentiment, future sensing, or anomalous anticipation. Real as a common human report; controversial as evidence the future is being directly perceived.