Evidence for telekinetic phenomena of medium Cleio & The International Congress
for Psychical Research in Oslo, 1935
Fotini Pallikari
(PowerPoint presentation given at the Convention of the Society for Psychical Research.
August 2008, Winchester UK.)
Abstract
This work is intended to present the story of the telekinetic phenomena of a Greek young lady by the name Cleio who lived in
Athens Greece some seventy years ago. She was discovered and tested by the Admiral, doctor of the Navy, Dr Angelos Tanagras
who has served as the president of the Hellenic Society for Psychical Research. Tanagras attended the fifth international
parapsychology congress that took place in Oslo in 1935 and reported on Cleio’s tests showing a film of her in telekinetic activity
with a compass needle.
In the current presentation many photos of Tanagras, of Cleio and of other last century parapsychologists are shown. Evidence of
tests of Cleio that Tanagras initiated at the Athens University is presented, as well as an animation of the telekinetic activity of Cleio
with the compass needle, as it has been filmed by Tanagras.
Text extracts from talk
1. Carl Christian Vett (Denmark 1871-1956)
The Oslo Congress was the fifth in a series of meetings discussing psychical phenomena organized from 1921 to 1935 by Carl
Christian Vett a wealthy businessman from Denmark: Copenhagen 1921, Warsaw 1923, Paris 1927, Athens 1930, Oslo 1935.
Angelos (Evangelidis) Tanagras, who had founded his Society for Psychical Research in 1923, missed the first two conferences, but
attended the Paris congress, he organized the fourth one in Athens and he also attended the last in Oslo, where he was elected
the congress president.
2. Angelos Evangelidis Tanagras (1877-1973)
Tanagras was training sensitives by self-hypnosis who were participating in long-distance telepathy experiments with other
European cities, such as Paris, Rome, Vienna, Tübingen reporting a lot of success. Among his many activities was to investigate
field cases and spontaneous paranormal phenomena, which he archived and published in his book titled, in its French version,
“Le Destin et la Chance”. In order to explain a number of the investigated phenomena he proposed the theory of psychoboly, in
which the soul is exerting a substance that is coming from the body spreading around to impregnate objects so that it influences
their state. His sensitives were able to detect this substance in affected objects.
3. Telekinesis of Cleio with compass needle
Cleio Georgiou was the pseudonym given to her to protect her family’s anonymity. Koula Gioka was her real name, the 25 yr-old
sister of a mathematics university professor. Her experiences appeared after both her father and sister died simultaneously.
Her family suspected that the cause of the phenomena was the spirits of deceased family members and asked Tanagras for
assistance. Tanagras realising that it was actually Cleio who created the phenomena, decided to replicate them. So, he gave her
his nautical compass asking her to practice with it. Within a few days Cleio was able to move and stop the needle at will.
4. Physics Laboratory of Athens University. Tests of Cleio
Tanagras brought Cleio to the Physics Laboratory of the Athens University, directed by prof. G. Athanasiadis (1866-1949), to be
tested in the presence of prof. K. Zegelis of Chemistry (1870-1957) and prof. I. Chadjidakis of Mathematics (1844-1921). The
official record of these tests results (issued on 22 January 1932) confirms the following results: (a) Evidence of ability to move
magnetic needle by placing hands above it, especially by use of the right hand. (b) No influence on the Cavendish balance. (c) No
effect on non-magnetic steel needle. (d) No effect on charged or uncharged electroscope leaf, by either hands. (e) No effect on
magnetic needle when another person stands in between the compass and Cleio. (f) No effect of Cleio’s fingers on photographic
film in darkness. (g) There were no electric currents detected by electrocardiograph flowing through Cleio’s body. (h) She had no
effect on light of different colours of the spectrum.
Tanagras writes about these tests in his autobiography: “It is better to attach this protocol here because as I see things, when I am
gone my collaborators will not be able to continue my work. Having to earn their living, they will not abandon their jobs to continue
the work of this society, as they have nothing to gain from it. Let the specialists and any interested intellectuals of the future study
the results of these tests.”
5. The Oslo conference
Before the start of the conference lectures and as Tanagras was discussing in the Hall with another participant from Greece, Prof.
Wereide the president of the Norwegian Society for Psychical Research and Carl Vett approached him to announce that he had
been elected the president of the 5th congress. That recognition moved Tanagras very much. He walked to the presidential chair
in midst of the cheerful applause of the audience and thanked them warmly. There were over seventy people attending, representing
all nations except for Spain and Russia. It was the rule of these congresses that only the officially elected representatives of each
country were allowed to present a paper. Among the participants were H. Driesch, O. Lodge, C. Richet, F. Cazzamalli, C. Tenhaeff,
G. Walther, W. Carrington, H. Carrington, and K. Richmond. Tanagras presented two papers in total. The one showing evidence of
Cleio’s telekinetic phenomena with the compass needle, additionally showing a film that he had prepared in Athens (Cleio could not
afford the trip to Norway to attend the conference) of her affecting the compass needle and the second one presenting his theory of
psychobolie.
Martin Ebon writes in his book “Psychic Warfare: Threat or Illusion” (Mc Graw Hill, 1983): “Vasiliev started Kulagina on psychokinetic
work by recalling experiments done by Admiral Angelo Tanagras, a Greek psychic researcher, with a medium known as Cleio, who
had been able to move a compass needle by mind power”.
6. The Cleio film. Telekinesis with compass needle.
The British psychical researcher Benson Herbert studied the Cleio film and wrote about it in detail in the J. Paraphysics, 1972.
First, there is a close up of Cleio. Tanagra’s hands appear. Cleio’s eyes are closed. Tanagras raises her right eyelid revealing that
the eyeball is turned upwards, denoting trance state.
Tanagras lifts a folded card table, turns it round to display that no devices are attached to it.
Tests of the compass needle with a bar magnet, displaying all its sides, up & down.
Tanagras talks to Cleio and she turns her attention to the compass.
Cleio’s hands are held together, palms downwards.
Hands move around compass: No motion of needle.
Hands move to 0° position, needle follows them overshooting by 10° then returning to 0°.
Hands continue to 0° position, needle follows them.
Hands move anti-clockwise to 45° position, needle remains at 0°.
Hands continue anti-clockwise to 130° position, needle turns to 320°.
Hands remain almost stationary, needle turns anti-clockwise to 60°.
Although hands are quite stationary, needle turns to 355°.
Hands withdraw by 8cm, no change in compass.
Hands move round anti-clockwise, 5cm from compass; needle reacts violently oscillating between 80° and 280°.
Hands move round very close to the compass; needle makes 3 complete revolutions following hands.
Camera lifts now to show upper part of Cleio’s body above table.
She moves her hands to her hair several times, patting it, giving fairly good view of palms at times, with no sign of hidden magnets.
Tanagras wakens her; close-up of Cleio’s face; she smiles happily.
End of film session.
7. Epilogue
Extract from last pages of Tanagras’ autobiography:
“Regarding references to me of no importance, I prefer that my autobiography remains buried in some archives which may one day
come to light, but certainly not in this century... requiescat in pace”.
(The above talk was published in the Journal of the Society for Psychical Research in 2009: vol. 73.4 (897), pp.193-206)