How many of us, re-reading the fairy stories of our childhood have for a moment believed that many of these…
- Date of account
- Published 1921
- Source
- The Problems of Psychical Research Experiments and Theories in the Realm of the Supernormal
- Reference
- The Problems of Psychical Research Experiments and Theories in the Realm of the Supernormal · selected passage 224
- Rights
- public_domain
- Language
- English
- Record updated
- 2026-08-24
Record summary
How many of us, re-reading the fairy stories of our childhood have for a moment believed that many of these tales might be based upon scientific truths?
Published source text
Read the available text below. Archive transcriptions may contain OCR errors; later context is labelled separately. A recorded claim is not a finding that it happened.
Source passage
Source text · mention onlyHow many of us, re-reading the fairy stories of our childhood have for a moment believed that many of these tales might be based upon scientific truths? Of course it is probable that most of these stories have _no_ basis of fact behind them, but that they are merely the product of the story-teller's imagination--just as similar stories today are produced in this manner. But, on the other hand, it is quite conceivable that many of the seemingly fabulous accounts are in truth based upon realities; and that genuine occurrences may have happened, giving birth to these tales. We all know the general character of many of the legends. I may mention, as typical of the marvellous things done: becoming visible and invisible, as did "Jack the Giant Killer"; the existence of giants and dwarfs, as in _Little Tom Thumb_; incredibly rapid growth of vegetation, as in _Jack and the Beanstalk_; being suddenly transported without effort through immense distances and seeing at the other end of such a journey scenes and events actually transpiring at the time--as occurred in many of the _Arabian Nights_ stories; cases in which plates and dishes washed themselves, and many other household feats were performed, as in _Prince Hildebrand and Princess Ida_
Historical context
Contextual commentary · mention onlyThis comes from historical psychical research. Methods, witness handling and standards of evidence differ from present-day research and should be assessed from the cited passage and edition.
Modern context
Contextual commentary · mention onlyThe passage can support a history of claims and recurring descriptions. It does not establish a paranormal mechanism, and competing psychological, social and physical explanations remain relevant.
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