The Hodgson Report on the Theosophical Society

Record summary

Richard Hodgson investigated claims surrounding Helena Blavatsky, the Theosophical Society and supposed communications from hidden adepts, including phenomena presented as supernatural or quasi-apparitional. The Society rejected major parts of his conclusions, while later historians have reassessed both Hodgson’s methods and the evidential record. This is useful for comparing nineteenth-century standards of witness criticism, document authentication and accusations of fraud in South Asian occult settings. It should be treated as an investigative report about disputed claims, not as proof either of paranormal activity or deliberate fabrication in every instance.