The search for Bridey Murphy: implications for modern hypnosis

The 1956 publication of The Search for Bridey Murphy was a noteworthy event for the field of hypnosis. This internationally best selling book, written for lay readers, described several recorded sessions of alleged time-regression to a prior life nearly two centuries before 1956. While subsequent investigations disproved that claim, there were a number of important implications for the science and practice of hypnosis. Although it was concluded that the Bridey Murphy interviews were products of cryptomnesia, the book was a significant factor associated with a resurgence of public and professional interest in the modality.