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Abstract: The objective of this article is to describe an attempt to replicate the phenomenon of alleged bodily magnetism as described in a book by the leading figure of Czechoslovak parapsychology Břetislav Kafka (1891-1967). In his book, in addition to experiments focused on hypnotic phenomena in therapeutic practice, he describes one experiment that is the focal point of this paper. It describes the alleged phenomenon of bodily magnetism, which causes the illumination of a light bulb without connection to electrical power. The bulb is held in one hand as the fingers of the other hand are waved over the bulb. According to Kafka’s claims, this act of illumination should be possible for every second or third person. The author of this article has repeated this experiment with students from an Experimental Psychology seminar at the University of Ostrava, with negative results. Following modification of the conditions to match Kafka’s historical circumstances, the author was ultimately able to successfully repeat this experiment with illumination other than bodily magnetism.
Keywords: bioelectric fields, psychokinesis, bodily magnetism, light bulb