Could someone stop a heart with their mind? Could objects move through the use of mental imagery? Could someone communicate from the shore with a submarine through their thoughts? These were the premises of several strange experiments performed under direction of the Soviet Union. Citizens believed to possess unique parapsychological abilities were tested and studied by renowned scientists in an effort to illuminate the supposed physics that were thought to underlie supernatural abilities. Whether “bioplasma” or “psi particles,” brilliant minds were determined to reveal the science behind the paranormal.
The Cold War was a time rife with competition between the United States and the Soviet Union. The nations battled for control of territories left vulnerable in the aftermath of World War II and fought to claim ideological supremacy. Fear and paranoia were stoked in the American public by the declaration of an arms race, although it was later revealed that the Soviet Union did not have access to such destructive weapons as the U.S. had claimed.
Both governments also competed in the realm of scientific advancement, most famously characterized by the Space Race, in which the U.S. managed to land people on the moon. In a time of such fierce competition, it was all hands on deck, including some scientists with rather peculiar beliefs. The U.S. received intelligence that the Soviet Union was attempting to capture the paranormal using the tenets of the scientific method, gaining an upper hand through telekinesis, telepathy, and clairvoyance.
Hellbound and Down 