Fanny Moser (baroness)

Fanny Moser, Baroness Fanny von Reitzenstein (1872–1953), was a German aristocrat, writer, and parapsychologist. Born Franziska (Fanny) Emma Luise von Reitzenstein in Charlottenbrunn, Silesia (now Jedlinka-Zdrój, Poland), she is primarily known for her extensive investigations into parapsychological phenomena and her published works detailing her findings.

Moser came from a noble family and inherited substantial wealth, which allowed her to dedicate her life to independent research. She traveled extensively, seeking out mediums, spiritualists, and other individuals claiming paranormal abilities. She meticulously documented her observations and experiments, often employing rigorous (for the time) methods to attempt to verify or disprove the claims made.

Her most notable work is the multi-volume Spuk: Irrglaube oder Wahrglaube? (Haunting: Delusion or Truth?), published between 1930 and 1935. This comprehensive collection detailed numerous cases of alleged hauntings, poltergeist activity, and other paranormal events that she investigated personally or through correspondents. In Spuk, Moser attempted to categorize and analyze these phenomena, drawing distinctions between fraudulent practices and potentially genuine paranormal occurrences. While she was critical of many mediums and skeptical of unsubstantiated claims, she remained open to the possibility of the existence of genuine paranormal abilities.

Moser's work was considered controversial during her lifetime and remains so today. Skeptics have criticized her methodology and interpretation of evidence, while proponents of parapsychology often cite her work as an early example of serious investigation into paranormal phenomena. Despite the debates surrounding her conclusions, Fanny Moser's extensive research and detailed documentation provide a valuable historical record of early 20th-century parapsychological investigations. She also contributed to other publications on related topics. Her financial independence and social standing allowed her to pursue avenues of inquiry that were often dismissed by mainstream science.