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Telekinesis is the ability to move things by mind power only. It also includes self levitation and the speed up or slow down the naturally occurring vibrations of atoms in matter to alter temperature. It is considered a subset of the psychic phenomenon called psychokinesis. Most scientists dispute the existence of telekinetic or pshichokinetic events.

Nina Kulagina

Nina Kulagina (1926 – 1990) was tested many times during the last 20 years of her life and supposedly found to be genuine by respected Russian scientists. She claimed she was always aware of her psychic powers, but only realized how powerful she was during the 1960s. One her best known experiments took place in the 70s in a Leningrad laboratory, when apparently she focused on the heart of a frog floating in solution and make it beat faster, slower and ultimately stop it.

Most of the videos of her experiments show her sitting at a table moving different objects with her hands. Skeptics argue that her experiments took place in uncontrolled environments such as hotel rooms and Kulagina needed long preparation times, leaving room for trickery.

Eusapia Palladino

Better known as a spiritualist medium and her sessions communicating with the dead, Eusapia Palladino (1854 – 1918), also exhibited telekinetic powers such as playing musical instruments without contact and levitating tables. Especially in Europe she was regarded as being genuine and held sessions in Italy, Poland, France, Russia and Germany.

Alongside her telekinetic powers she could apparently levitate, elongate herself, materialize the dead and communicate with them through a spirit guide called John King and produce spirit faces in wet clay. She always performed with dim lights or in the dark. With age she claimed her powers started fading, but skeptics argue that observers became aware of tricks and she was unable to perform due to stricter controls.

Swami Rama

Swami Rama (1925–1996) was a controversial yogi, accused of sexual misconduct many times, who claimed to have been raised by Sri Madhavananda Bharati in monasteries of the Himalayas. He was the founder of the Himalayan Institute of Yoga Science and Philosophy.

In the 1970’s he allowed himself to be studied by scientists at the Menninger Clinic. They studied his ability to voluntarily control bodily processes such as heartbeat, body temperature and blood pressure. During the experiment he also telekinetically moved a knitting needle twice from a distance of five feet and although he wore a face mask and the air vents in the room were covered to avoid allegations that he moved the needle with his breath or body, at least one scientist present expressed doubt that his ability was genuine.

Uri Geller

Israeli Uri Geller is best known for his ability to telekinetically bend spoons and keys. Dubbed as the first “psychic superstar”, Geller’s numerous television appearances made his famous around the globe. He has claimed his paranormal powers were given to him by extraterrestrials, but more recently he prefers to call himself as a "mystifier" and entertainer.

Probably his most famous failure was during a 1973 appearance on The Tonight Show, when Johnny Carson (who earlier in his career had been an amateur stage magician), after consulting renowned skeptic James Randi, pre-selected the spoons which Geller was going to bend and he was unable to to bend any of the spoons.

Miroslaw Magola

Polish Miroslaw Magola, better known as "Magnetic Man", claims he can lift objects off the floor, transport them through the air and force them to stick to his body using only the power of his mind. The objects can be anything from metal pans to marble statues, but usually in his demonstrations he prefers metal pans.

He spends his time lecturing and supposedly helping others develop their powers. During his appearance on the UK television program „Beyond Belief” in 1996 he was unable to perform any telekinetic effects. James Randi remains unconvinced Magola has any psychokinetic powers.