# Chris French on Reddit (u/Prof_Chris_French)

Part of Scientists on Reddit, researched with Autumn (https://www.autumn.ai) from public sources. Updated 2026-11-07. Interactive version: https://www.autumn.ai/resources/scientists-on-reddit/chris-french

Chris French: Psychologist who studies paranormal beliefs.

- Reddit account: [u/Prof_Chris_French](https://www.reddit.com/user/Prof_Chris_French/) (AMA only)
- How we know it's theirs: [The 2015 r/science AMA, posted from this account](https://www.reddit.com/r/science/comments/3bi3d7/)
- Where they post, in the records we retrieved: r/science (81)
- Known activity in the posts we found: 2015 to 2016
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_French

## Moments

### u/Prof_Chris_French in r/science, Jun 29, 2015 · Personal story

In the thread "Science AMA Series: I'm Professor Chris French, Director of the Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit at Goldsmiths, University of London. I research paranormal belief and paranormal experiences including hauntings, belief in conspiracy theories, false memories, demonic possession and UFOs. AMA!".

> I've spent more nights in supposedly haunted houses than I care to remember. As a kid, I was terrified of the dark. These days, I find sitting in the dark in "haunted houses" about as exciting as watching paint dry. If I'm doing it for a TV show, I sometimes find myself thinking, "Why am I doing this? I used to have a proper job." Then I remember - they pay me! ;-)
>
> Nothing has ever happened during these programmes that scared me one little bit - and I am not a brave man!

(Excerpt.)
Full thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/science/comments/3bi3d7/comment/csmjeu5/ · 239 points as of Nov 7, 2026

### u/Prof_Chris_French in r/science, Jun 29, 2015 · AMA answer

Replying to a redditor:

> Does [this](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanti_Devi) fall into your area of interest? Shanti Devi case of reincarnation. I am so skeptical about this I hope this gets proven to be something madeup.

> Reincarnation claims in general do fall into my area but I’m afraid I have not looked into this particular case in any detail. I do find reincarnation claims fascinating. So much so that I paid £500 last week to join the Reincarnation Society. I wasn’t sure whether to blow that much money or not but then I thought, Oh well, you only live once

(Excerpt.)
Full thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/science/comments/3bi3d7/comment/csmfs9u/ · 511 points as of Nov 7, 2026

### u/Prof_Chris_French in r/science, Oct 31, 2016 · Explains things

Replying to a redditor:

> What is a common theme among the people who claim to have had alien contact?

> Contrary to the view offered in Hollywood movies, hypnotic regression does not provide a magical key to unlock hidden or repressed memories. Instead, it provides the perfect context for the formation of false memories based upon fragments of real memories (including those from books, films, etc.), imagination, expectation, and so on. With hypnotic regression, you tend to get what you expected to get. If you expect alien abduction memories, that’s what you get. If you expect past-life memories, that’s what you get. If you expect memories of ritual satanic abuse memories, that’s what you get. These are all almost certainly false memories.

(Excerpt.)
Full thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/science/comments/5abt6c/comment/d9fa3n7/ · 652 points as of Nov 7, 2026

### u/Prof_Chris_French in r/science, Oct 31, 2016 · Personal story

Replying to a redditor:

> What's the most interesting case you know of a debunked paranormal experience?

> I have lots of personal favourites but certainly one that would be very near the top of the list would be Melvin Harris’s masterful debunking of the so-called “Bloxham Tapes”. Arnall Bloxham was a Cardiff-based hypnotherapist who used to hypnotically regress people back into past lives and record the accounts given. In contrast to most such cases, the accounts were often detailed and largely accurate. It turned out though that the accounts of one of Bloxham’s star cases, that of Welsh housewife “Jane Evans”, were based upon historical novels based upon real historical figures. For example, Jane’s narratives included not only accounts of her interactions with historical characters who had really existed but also with the fictional characters that the author had made up just to help the plot along.

Full thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/science/comments/5abt6c/comment/d9fascv/ · 227 points as of Nov 7, 2026