Presence: The strange science of the unseen other
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Presence: The strange science of the unseen other

Dig into historical accounts and contemporary cases of 'felt presence', and hunt for the key to unlock this strange phenomenon.

By York Festival of Ideas

Date and time

Starts on Mon, 9 Jun 2025 18:30 GMT+1

Location

The Ron Cooke Hub

133 Deramore Lane York YO10 5GE United Kingdom

About this event

  • Event lasts 1 hour

We all know the feeling: you're alone but it's like there's someone there with you - a mysterious presence lurking just out of sight. Throughout history this experience has been the subject of religious and supernatural speculation. But does science have the answer?

Psychologist Ben Alderson-Day, author of Presence, digs into historical accounts and contemporary cases of 'felt presence', hunting for the key to unlock this strange phenomenon. Find out about his interviews with ultrarunners and ocean rowers, who often report the sensation of being accompanied on their journeys, and how he has examined the latest work on sleep paralysis, dementia and Parkinson's, conditions closely associated with feeling the presence of someone or something that isn't there.

Join Ben as he reveals how his findings, built on cutting-edge research from psychology and neuroscience, provide remarkable new insights into this longstanding mystery of the human mind.

Book sales

You can buy copies of many of our speakers’ books from Fox Lane Books, a local independent bookseller and Festival partner. In some cases, author signed bookplates are available too.

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Organised by

York is an incredibly exciting, vibrant and diverse city, rich in heritage, discovery and an overriding sense of curiosity - in short a city where ideas spring to life and flourish and where collaboration is celebrated. 

York Festival of Ideas will return in 2025, from 31 May - 13 June with the theme of Making Waves.

yorkfestivalofideas.com