Skip to main content

SORRAT – OR THE PECULIAR OUTCOMES OF A LONG TERM PK-PROJECT

By 7. September 2008Dezember 28th, 2022Uncategorized

Picture: Neihardt in Fall 1961 in his study at Skyrim-Farm holding Black Elks Sacred Drum.
In 1961 the late Professor John G. Neihardt formed a group called SORRAT (Society for Research on Rapport and Psychokinesis). The meetings were regularly held at his home, Skyrim Farm, near Columbia, Missouri. Neihardt was widely recognized as an author and critic, but his longstanding interest in psychic phenomena was less well known. His charismatic leadership was the base, that let the group survive the initial barren period which had to pass before PK-activity was observed.
John GneisenauNeihardt (1881-1973) started 1965 a second row of Sorrat-Experiments, after the first experimentation period was reservated for Out of Body-Experiences and General Extrasensory Perception-Experiments, and he limited the Group from the beginning on to himself, his daughter Alice, his granddaughters Lynn and Erica, Joe, Elaine and Dr. John Thomas Richard, all three being already part of the first era from 1961 to 1965.
The group sat first around a wooden table in a closed circle, fingers touching the fingers of the sitter beside. The „circle“ itself was seen by Neihardt, who studied extensively the Rituals of the Oglala and Sioux – he himself was the spiritual son of an old Shaman Black Elk – as an archetypical order, that exists on many levels of existence. Relatively early athe second Sorrat-Generation experienced success. Without bringing power into the process, the table around they sat, began to move, walk and finally levitate.
Although they were successful early, Neihardt published for the first time his experiments, not before Batcheldor published his well-known „Table-Experiments Report“ in 1966.
Sorrats early successes were the table-phenomena, cold breezes, an undefined psychological sensation of being connected with the others, including spontanous quasi-religous insights, and raps in all variations. Beside the successful communications with the rapping entities, one of the sitters, Joe Mangini went into trance and began with trance speaking, when many spirits came through, talking about their ability to influence our materialistic plane of existence through PK.
Not only that, during the trance states, the PK-effects seemed somehow to increase!
Because Neihardt was in his earlier years involved in many researches into mediumism, he once had the opportunity to begin and strengthen his friendship with J.B. Rhine, the initial researcher on Psychokinesis. And Rhine was impressed, what his old friend had to tell him and so decided to send his assistant W.E.Cox to Skyrim to categorize and observe the phenomena as best as possible.
That was the juncture, when in connection with Cox‘ inventions to make it hoax-proof and acceptable for the scientific community, the phenomena skyrocketed and became so strange partly, that not only a controversy was started that attacked the reputation of all involved, but that also accused them of fraud. The slightly larger SORRAT-Circle at Skyrim, June 6, 1978. From the left, clockwise Alice, Joe Mangini, Hilda attempting to levitate the table,Janet, William, Edward Cox, Kathy, Sarah, and J.T. Richards. the primary target object was Cox‘ „Sectioned Observation Box“ on the floor.
These photographs were probably taken very early around 1967.

During the experiments always one participant was equipped with a camera to step back and shoot the camera, when PK occurred.
This original polaroid shows the same phenomenon 1979
Estimating the levitating force by pressing down the table, while it was about a
few centimeters above the ground.
Allegedly this photo shows a slightly levitated hat

In this instance, after a sound was heard out of the corner of the experimentation room the photographer shot into the darkness. Later the group discovered one more photographed instance of self-levitating obejcts.
Although the ideas of Sorrat were heavily influenced by the indian metaphysical worldview, the highest spirits, with which Sorrat communicated called themselves „Imperator-Group“ and its main voice „Rector“. In the above photo we see the entranced Joe Mangini, through whom the spirit of „Black Elk“ speaks, holding in his hand a „Wishasha Wakon“, or holy stick, embracing Neihardts daughter.
Again the entranced Joe in action, while holding his hands slightly on the tables surface, the table climbing a shelve on the wall

Six years after Neihardts death the group documented the table „walk“.
During these instances the table showed under the hands of the sitters clear intention to leave the house.
After it had managed to climb down the stairs it roamed through the garden of the main farmhouse.
1979 was the year of multiple self-levitations of objects.
A doll, which was used as a focus object was several times photographed free-floating
The experimentation table also was several times photographed in mid-air.
Although the table-sittings were held under different light conditions, the flash of the camera mostly ended the levitation process. Again photographed in 1979 a fully levitated table, all achieved under the agency of discarnate spirits of different intellectual or spiritual levels.
Cox showing focus-objects into the camera, that were allegedly manipulated in one of his sealed experimentation-tanks.
This is the most advanced version of Cox‘ „minilab“, with electric triggers on which the focus-objects sat, that started the camera, when local changes within the „lab“ occurred
Cox invented many experiments based on his sealed and hoax-proof tanks and boxes.
In his coffee-boxes, standing near the experimentation group or locked into a room for a few days, cubes wandered around on a layer of coffee and drew achaic symbols.
In experiment 15 Alice interpreted the shape on the right as a fetus, which may have been related to the message simultanously transmitted through Joe about a stillborn child
In experiment 23 the sitters identified the drawing as a horse, the Siouxsan sign for trail, made while Joe was transmitting a message about the use of Skyrim as a horsemanship-camp for children
Coloured photo of experiment 20 – again the cube drew signs into the layer of coffee

In experiment number 19 the cubes are encircled for means of identification

Paranormal drawing of a bird in the Cox „Sensitized paper Box“. Later Cox and Richards found the paper was heat sensitive, why the image may have been produced by means of a laser. Naturally, it wasn’t, as Richards stated. Although this type of box was replaced by the Mottert Box, which used aluminium foil in place of the paper


The McDonnell Lab for Psychical Research in St. Louis used one of Cox‘ sealed test bottles originally prepared for Sorrat to test the PK-inducer“Stephen Shaw“, a psychic metal bender. On May 24, 1981 the young metal bender gestured repeatedly at this bottle, on a lab table across the testing room, and the two pipestream cleaners bent into a stick-man figure, the pencil stub wrote „Freedom, Love, Faith“ on the previously blank space under Cox‘ signature, and an open safety-pin closed and was grasped by the stick.mans „hand“. Cox later verified that the seal and tiny booby traps on the bottles lid were intact.
Apport of a leather ring into a sealed plastic box, July 27, 1978. Cox‘ seal was completely intact after the apport occurred.Notarily testified by a metal worker was, that he had done the work to construct a safe tank on a wooden plate. Because none of the seals were broken he announces he cannot understand how the many changes on the focus objects inside the tank could have been occurred in the upside down aquarium, that was completely sealed in his opinion.
The most critical regarded outcomes were the film clips produced mainly by Cox and Richards. The Minilab was therefore locked into an empty room and the key was overhanded third parties and the room was then sealed with wax. The trigger-construction let the camera roll everytime the triggers were somehow affected. In the above instance leather rings were inter-connected, although they were lying besides seconds before. A watch is placed in the camera focus to document, the recordings weren’t cut. (CLICK TO ENLARGE)In this instance a letter is somehow transported out of his unopened envelope! Later letters that were placed into the minilab vanished and resurfaced after they arrived at the adressors by postal means. CLICK TO ENLARGE
In this instance one of the many direct writings, that were produced seem to occur. We see the pencil move upon a paper that was apported into the tank CLICK TO ENLARGEIn these frames an empty balloon suddenly begins to inflate, while a fire breaks out at the bottom of the minilabLeather rings levitate in front of the rolling camera
One of the metal-pieces that was bent in one of the sealed boxes under paranormal ageny
One of the messages of the communicating entities regarding their power to overcome the minilab-seals
Interestingly the well known control „John King“ permanently playing paranormal roles through the centuries writes a beseeching statement: WE EXIST! WE REALLY DO EXIST! WE ARE NOT PART OF YOUR OWN MIND OR JUST PK. WE REALLY DO SURVIVE. PLEASE BELIEVE US! JOHN KING
Finally the weird story around the Myra-photo: Communicating for a long time with an entity, called herseld Myra (later Miss Myra Cavanaugh, of Alton, Illonis) claiming to be a student of the University of Missourie 1860. After several attempts to make Myra visible a group of Sorrat-Experimenters were ordered by the communicating entity to a special lawn on the Universities area. There they found nothing, but photographed the area. On one of the photos Myra appeared.

Today the Sorrat-Experiments are widely declined because of the peculiar and sometimes suspicous films that were taken. Many researchers have the opinion, that some, if not all filmed materials are hoaxed, so the conclusion is, the whole case is worthless.

In regard of the whole history of occurrences around Sorrat and the strangeness of physical mediumship specificly that verdict is for sure not justified. At the time we check, if it is possible to show you parts of the films, that are in our possession and are not published anywhere on the internet. (end) And here is the rest of it.