Rafael Schermann (1879–1945) also known as Raphael Schermann was a Polish graphologist, self-proclaimed

psychic A psychic is a person who claims to use extrasensory perception (ESP) to identify information hidden from the normal senses, particularly involving telepathy or clairvoyance, or who performs acts that are apparently inexplicable by natural laws ...

and writer. Schermann was born in

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula, Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland un ...

. From a young age he had a fascination with handwriting and collecting envelopes. He settled in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

in 1910 and worked for insurance companies. He became an expert graphologist and it was alleged that he possessed the powers of

clairvoyance Clairvoyance (; ) is the magical ability to gain information about an object, person, location, or physical event through extrasensory perception. Any person who is claimed to have such ability is said to be a clairvoyant () ("one who sees cl ...

, second sight and

telepathy Telepathy () is the purported vicarious transmission of information from one person's mind to another's without using any known human sensory channels or physical interaction. The term was first coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Frederic ...

.Tabori, Paul. (1972). ''Raphael Schermann''. In ''Pioneers of the Unseen''. Souvenir Press. pp. 271–243. Oskar Fischer, a professor of

psychology Psychology is the science, scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immens ...

from the University of Prague, conducted a series of graphology experiments with Schermann between 1916 and 1918. Fischer reported that with his eyes bandaged, or by just touching handwriting samples in sealed envelopes, Schermann had successfully given many accurate character descriptions and statements about the writer. Fischer became convinced that Schermann was a genuine

. Other researchers have been more critical. Brazilian physician Antônio da Silva Melo noted flaws in the experiments and attributed his graphology abilities to psychological factors relating to memory, unconscious cues and suggestion.Mello, Antônio da Silva. (1949). ''Mistérios e realidades deste e do outro mundo''. José Olympio Ed. pp. 121–132. Published in English as ''Mysteries And Realities Of This World and the Next''. Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1950.

Publications

*''Die Handschrift Luegt Nicht'' (Handwriting Does Not Lie, 1929) *''Pismo Nie Kłamie: Psychografologia. Kraków: Księg. Powszechna'', 1939 (wznowiona 1993, 1999) *''Hilfe! Mörder!.'' Berlin-Leipzig: Verl. Schaefer & Co., 1932 *''Trzy Testamenty Księcia X''. Kraków: Senzacja, 1935 *''O pół minuty...'' Kraków: Senzacja, 1935 *''Samobójstwo zmarłego'' (1937; Wznowiona 2014)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schermann, Rafael 1879 births 1945 deaths Clairvoyants Graphologists Writers from Kraków Parapsychologists Polish psychics Polish emigrants to Austria

Publications

References

Further reading

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