The Premonitions Bureau: A True Story
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- Create Date：2022-04-22 00:51:35
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Sam Knight
- ISBN：0571357563
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Summary
Premonitions are impossible。 But they come true all the time。
Most are innocent。 You think of a forgotten friend。 Out of the blue， they call。
But what if you knew that something terrible was going to happen？ A sudden flash， the words CHARING CROSS。 Four days later， a packed express train comes off the rails outside the station。
What if you could share your vision， and stop that train？ Could these forebodings help the world to prevent disasters？
In 1966， John Barker， a dynamic psychiatrist working in an outdated British mental hospital， established the Premonitions Bureau to investigate these questions。 He would find a network of hundreds of correspondents， from bank clerks to ballet teachers。 Among them were two unnervingly gifted "percipients"。 Together， the pair predicted plane crashes， assassinations and international incidents， with uncanny accuracy。 And then， they informed Barker of their most disturbing premonition: that he was about to die。
The Premonitions Bureau is an enthralling true story， of madness and wonder， science and the supernatural - a journey to the most powerful and unsettling reaches of the human mind。
Most are innocent。 You think of a forgotten friend。 Out of the blue， they call。
But what if you knew that something terrible was going to happen？ A sudden flash， the words CHARING CROSS。 Four days later， a packed express train comes off the rails outside the station。
What if you could share your vision， and stop that train？ Could these forebodings help the world to prevent disasters？
In 1966， John Barker， a dynamic psychiatrist working in an outdated British mental hospital， established the Premonitions Bureau to investigate these questions。 He would find a network of hundreds of correspondents， from bank clerks to ballet teachers。 Among them were two unnervingly gifted "percipients"。 Together， the pair predicted plane crashes， assassinations and international incidents， with uncanny accuracy。 And then， they informed Barker of their most disturbing premonition: that he was about to die。
The Premonitions Bureau is an enthralling true story， of madness and wonder， science and the supernatural - a journey to the most powerful and unsettling reaches of the human mind。
Reviews
Victoria
，
I'd never heard of The Premonitions Bureau before I stumbled upon this book and found the concept fascinating。 Unfortunately， the book didn't live up to my expectations。Created in the late sixties by John Barker and Peter Fairley， The Premonitions Bureau aimed to predict disasters by using the visions sent to them by members of the public。 Whilst two of the people involved predicted events with an eerie accuracy， the experiment is largely a failure， with just a 3% success rating。 The book never I'd never heard of The Premonitions Bureau before I stumbled upon this book and found the concept fascinating。 Unfortunately， the book didn't live up to my expectations。Created in the late sixties by John Barker and Peter Fairley， The Premonitions Bureau aimed to predict disasters by using the visions sent to them by members of the public。 Whilst two of the people involved predicted events with an eerie accuracy， the experiment is largely a failure， with just a 3% success rating。 The book never delves into the concept of premonitions or even the idea of coincidences/making the visions fit the reality which appears to happen several times。Overall， it makes for a rather dull read as it is essentially just an account of the experiment itself and doesn't examine premonitions， nor does it analyse the claims provided to the bureau in any detail。 Given that it's a rather short book， I feel more time spent on this would have made for a more interesting read。Thanks to Faber and Faber Ltd and NetGalley for the ARC。 。。。more
Pamela （Here to Read Books and Chew Gum）
，
The Premonitions Bureau was a fascinating book。 It dealt with tragedy in a way that was both empathetic but dispassionate， which I found genuinely surprising。 The idea behind the real-life "Premonitions Bureau" is so far-fetched that the book could easily have fallen into farce and become a lighthearted non-fiction comedy of errors。 But it didn't。 Sam Knight managed to deal with his subject matter in a way that showed genuine compassion for every person in his story， no matter what role they pla The Premonitions Bureau was a fascinating book。 It dealt with tragedy in a way that was both empathetic but dispassionate， which I found genuinely surprising。 The idea behind the real-life "Premonitions Bureau" is so far-fetched that the book could easily have fallen into farce and become a lighthearted non-fiction comedy of errors。 But it didn't。 Sam Knight managed to deal with his subject matter in a way that showed genuine compassion for every person in his story， no matter what role they played。Despite being factual， The Premonitions Bureau read like a novel， and I found myself furiously turning the pages to find out what happened next。 For this reason， I felt the end was a little lacking - but I suspect that is due to the nature of the events themselves， and not for any poor writing on Knight's part。 Because the rest of the narrative was so engrossing， the end of The Premonitions Bureau felt like a flame that just fizzled out and left me a little underwhelmed。Still， this is a crazy non-fiction romp that I can highly recommend to readers of all kinds。 Knight takes no firm stance on the objective truth of premonitions， which made the book thought-provoking rather than restrictive。 I'll definitely be reading more from Sam Knight in future。 。。。more
Dan
，
This is an illuminating look into a quirky and previously unknown to me avenue of fairly recent British history。 It tells the story of the Premonitions Bureau， an organisation that tried harness the aid of psychics in predicting disasters。 It started up after the horrors of Aberfan， and ran through the rest of the sixties。 largely led by two interesting and contrasting characters， who drive the narrative。 It’s an interesting history， but that’s all it is。 The book never really interrogates the i This is an illuminating look into a quirky and previously unknown to me avenue of fairly recent British history。 It tells the story of the Premonitions Bureau， an organisation that tried harness the aid of psychics in predicting disasters。 It started up after the horrors of Aberfan， and ran through the rest of the sixties。 largely led by two interesting and contrasting characters， who drive the narrative。 It’s an interesting history， but that’s all it is。 The book never really interrogates the idea of premonition， and isn’t that interested in questions about the existence of such a force。A lot of the cases described in the book seem to me to be instances of trying to make a vision fit an event by looking at the similarities and ignoring the inconvenient differences。 There’s almost no argument about premonition versus coincidence， and if there was indeed any basis in fact for the Bureau’s work。 The author does find room for some philosophical conundrums （if a psychic predicting a disaster means that disaster is averted， does that mean the prediction was false in the first place as there was no disaster？） but I kept reading expecting some sort of analysis of the realism of the whole idea， and was left hanging。 Perhaps it’s outside of the book’s remit， but it’s not a long work， and I believe it would have been improved by some more rigorous analysis of the psychics’ claims。 It’s a very interesting read as far as it goes， but I wish it had gone a bit further。 。。。more
Selena
，
This book feels like a quirky film plot。 In the wake of the 1966 Aberfan disaster， psychiatrist， Richard Barker， visits the Welsh village and is struck by the number of stories of premonitions about the tragedy。 Working with the science editor of the London Evening Standard， he puts out a wider call in the newspaper for people to get in contact about their Aberfan premonitions but of course， all these are reported in hindsight。 So the seeds are sown for an intriguing experiment: what if people s This book feels like a quirky film plot。 In the wake of the 1966 Aberfan disaster， psychiatrist， Richard Barker， visits the Welsh village and is struck by the number of stories of premonitions about the tragedy。 Working with the science editor of the London Evening Standard， he puts out a wider call in the newspaper for people to get in contact about their Aberfan premonitions but of course， all these are reported in hindsight。 So the seeds are sown for an intriguing experiment: what if people sent in any premonitions they had and these were collected and collated with a view to a more scientific investigation of psychic phenomena and spotting and potentially warning about disasters？ This collaboration with the Evening Standard became the Premonitions Bureau。Barker is a remarkable man， an experimental psychiatrist frustrated by a 60's mental health system both stuck in the past and chaotic。 Alongside wanting to improve psychiatric treatment， he had multiple side-projects of a more curious nature， including the Premonitions Bureau， as well as studying the phenomena of people seemingly scaring themselves to death。 This book tells his story， the projects and the sometimes colourful characters he comes into contact with via the Bureau。 It's a story of disasters， ideas， experiments but mainly intriguing people。 Intriguing because they are， for the most part， not flamboyant， self-proclaimed psychics but ordinary people， just going about their everyday business but thrown by seemingly extraordinary experiences。This is such a fascinating and unusual read that it seems odd that it hasn't come to light previously。 Sam Knight writes in an engaging and balanced way， leaving the reader to make up their own minds。 I found it mysterious， thought-provoking and compelling to read。 。。。more
Krista
，
In the weeks before Christmas， Fairley and Barker approached Charles Wintour， the editor of the Evening Standard， to open what they called a Premonitions Bureau。 For a year， readers of the newspaper would be invited to send in their dreams and forebodings， which would be collated and then compared with actual happenings around the world。 Created in the aftermath of the 1966 Aberfan disaster （which saw an overflowing hilltop waste tip send a landslide of mining slurry onto the tiny Welsh town at i In the weeks before Christmas， Fairley and Barker approached Charles Wintour， the editor of the Evening Standard， to open what they called a Premonitions Bureau。 For a year， readers of the newspaper would be invited to send in their dreams and forebodings， which would be collated and then compared with actual happenings around the world。 Created in the aftermath of the 1966 Aberfan disaster （which saw an overflowing hilltop waste tip send a landslide of mining slurry onto the tiny Welsh town at its base， killing 144， mostly schoolchildren）， the Premonitions Bureau was envisioned as a clearinghouse for augurous information that might， somehow， prevent such tragedies in the future。 Conceived of by psychiatrist John Barker — a mental health reformer with an interest in unusual mental conditions and precognition — in partnership with self-promoting newspaperman Peter Fairley， the Premonitions Bureau made for good newspaper copy， but poor proof of presentiment: Of the thousands of tips that were sent in， only three percent could be plausibly linked to eventual occurrences。 More than the story of this questionably useful project itself， The Premonitions Bureau: A True Story is really about the people involved in it （and especially Barker） and author Sam Knight makes a fascinating tale of it。 This might be a little padded with information that I didn’t find quite relevant （did I need to know that Robin Gibb was one of the passengers on a London-bound train wreck？） but even the padding was interesting in its own right （it was Robin Gibb after all）， and I found this to be a thoroughly satisfying read。 （Note: I read an ARC through NetGalley and passages quoted may not be in their final forms。） Premonitions are impossible， and they come true all the time。 The second law of thermodynamics says it can’t happen， but you think of your mother a second before she calls。 There is no way for us to see， or feel， things before they occur but they often seem to hang around regardless。 Barker was interested in stories of people who had been literally scared to death — as in the “nocebo effect” （you can apparently kill yourself with inert pills if you believe them to be deadly） and “voodoo death” （dying of no apparent cause after your death has been predicted; even if just by your own hunch） — and he travelled to Aberfan as search and recovery was still ongoing， looking for stories that fit his thesis。 What he found instead were many stories of people who had had mystical forewarning of the disaster （as in a girl who had reported a dream of the landslide and a boy who had drawn a picture of his school blacked out with the words “the end” written in the sky; both of whom would die in the tragedy）， and that inspired Barker to co-create the Premonitions Bureau， initially focussed on recording premonitions related to Aberfan （and this was apparently not entirely an unscientific area of study: both Freud and Jung believed in telepathy and precognition to varying degrees）。 Knight tells the stories of several “percipients” （and especially the two who had had the most compelling visions of Aberfan）， as well as the stories of Fairley and other newspapermen， Barker’s work as a reforming psychiatrist and the Victorian-era asylum where he practised — along with the stories of other psychiatrists and the Shelton Hospital itself — and if it can tend to feel like padding， it was interesting。 Barker wrote and promoted the book Scared to Death （which has no reviews on Goodreads and a solitary one-star rating; whelp） during this period， and of it Knight states， “Barker wrote for a mass audience， presenting himself as an uncompromising investigator，” and that is precisely how I would describe the writing in The Premonitions Bureau as well。 On Barker and his wife， Knight writes: Barker had met Jane at St George’s Medical School， in London， in 1946。 He was studying to be a doctor and she was training to be a nurse。 Jane’s family was from Gloucestershire; the men served in the military or held posts in the colonies。 Her father had been a district officer in Nigeria and died in a hospital for tropical diseases when she was seven years old。 Jane grew up with her mother and two younger siblings in a cottage not far from Cheltenham。 She had brown hair， which she kept short， above her shoulders， a wide mouth and extremely proper pronunciation。 I can’t call all of that pertinent （and there are many， many passages that are similarly detail-rich）， but I did appreciate Knight’s thoroughness。 And especially as Barker — the expert on dying by one’s own thoughts — would eventually be contacted （repeatedly and urgently） by his two most accurate percipients to warn him of his own impending death。 As a truth-is-stranger-than-fiction story that eventually rolls all of the disparate parts into a neat little ball， I am happy to report that I learned plenty about the times and was interested to the end。 But the question remains: are premonitions a real phenomenon？ A useful definition of a delusion is not that it is an inaccurate belief about the world; it is a belief that you refuse to change when you are confronted with proof that you are wrong。 The hypothesis fails。 The pleasure principle is countermanded by the reality principle。 Our best hopes and most extravagant fears rarely materialise。 Prediction errors fire through the brain， turning the tiger back into a shadow。 Prophecy reduces to coincidence。 Your heart rate slows。 The experiment does not repeat。 The pattern won’t spread。 。。。more
Catriona
，
Looking at it from this side of the Premonitions Bureau era （spoiler: it no longer exists） this seems like such a far fetched idea to persist into relatively recent memory and that's what makes it so enticing to read。 A respected psychiatrist， the Evening Standard and a volunteer helpline for those who feel they've perceived a premonition （the precipients） work together over the course of years and multiple disasters come to match these psychic warnings with real-life events。 Looking at it from this side of the Premonitions Bureau era （spoiler: it no longer exists） this seems like such a far fetched idea to persist into relatively recent memory and that's what makes it so enticing to read。 A respected psychiatrist， the Evening Standard and a volunteer helpline for those who feel they've perceived a premonition （the precipients） work together over the course of years and multiple disasters come to match these psychic warnings with real-life events。 。。。more
Lewis Bailey
，
This book compelled me， having been given this book in a stack of proofs， I thought nothing of it， to begin with。 Thankfully this book greatly impressed me， it's written in a similar style to the Tattooist of Auschwitz （but obviously about much less dark material）。Knight has written a gripping story that I could not put down， each page flows onto the next and I couldn't stop。Read this book。 You will not be disappointed。 This book compelled me， having been given this book in a stack of proofs， I thought nothing of it， to begin with。 Thankfully this book greatly impressed me， it's written in a similar style to the Tattooist of Auschwitz （but obviously about much less dark material）。Knight has written a gripping story that I could not put down， each page flows onto the next and I couldn't stop。Read this book。 You will not be disappointed。 。。。more
Lori
，