List of prizes for evidence of the paranormal

This is a list of prizes offered to anyone who can provide scientific evidence of paranormal abilities.

The purpose of offering prizes for evidence of paranormal abilities is to publicly challenge those who claim to possess such abilities to demonstrate that they in fact possess them, and are not fraudulent or self-deceptive. The paranormal challenges, often posed by groups or individuals who self-identify as "skeptics" or "rationalists", are mutually agreed upon beforehand between the challengers and the claimants. A challenge is usually divided into two steps, the first being a "preliminary test" or "pre-test", where claimants can show their purported abilities under controlled conditions before a small audience, before being admitted to the final test. Sometimes these pre-tests have a smaller prize attached to them. Several local organisations have set up challenges that serve as pre-tests to larger prizes such as the JREF's One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge or the 2012–2013 SKEPP Sisyphus Prize (for one million euros).

In 1922, Scientific American made two US$2,500 offers: (1), for the first authentic spirit photograph made under test conditions, and (2), for the first psychic to produce a "visible psychic manifestation." Harry Houdini was a member of the investigating committee. The first medium to be tested was George Valiantine, who claimed that in his presence spirits would speak through a trumpet that floated around a darkened room. For the test, Valiantine was placed in a room, the lights were extinguished, but unbeknownst to him his chair had been rigged to light a signal in an adjoining room if he left his seat. Because the light signals were tripped during his performance, Valiantine did not collect the award.

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