Gerard Croiset

Gerard Croiset a.k.a. Gerard Boekbinder^[1] (March 10, 1909 – July 20, 1980) was a Dutch parapsychologist, psychometrist and psychic.^[2]

Biography

Croiset was born in Laren, North Holland, in 1909. He said he began to become aware of his gifts while a youth working for a watch repairer. On one occasion he held a ruler belonging to his employer and saw events which he related to his employer and which his employer confirmed were accurate.

Early work

After World War II, Croiset was sometimes consulted by Dutch police authorities in cases involving missing persons, or murder. On one occasion he was said to have examined the property of a murdered woman, and provided accurate information relating to her murder, and also gave the name of her murderer. The name matched a man who was being held in connection with the crime. He gained a reputation as a reliable consultant in the area of missing persons, and his fame extended beyond the Netherlands, as anecdotes about his abilities came to be discussed in other countries. He also gained a reputation as a psychic healer, and would allow people to visit him in his clinic for healing sessions.

Missing children cases

In 1966, he was invited to Australia to aid in an investigation relating to the disappearance of the three Beaumont children, who had disappeared without trace from a beach in Adelaide, South Australia. Although police were skeptical, his expenses were paid by a wealthy businessman interested in the case, and public pressure was such that Croiset's views were thought to be worthy of consideration. During his short stay in Australia he attracted widespread publicity but failed to find any trace of the missing children.

In the mid 1970s, he was invited to Puerto Rico to find the two missing children of a local businessman. He concluded that the children were no longer on an "earthly plane" and could offer no clues. Also, he was called upon to locate a missing woman in Scotland, and once again failed to provide any clues.

Croiset's reputation became tarnished in his later years by his well publicised failures. However, he claimed to have achieved one more notable success when he was invited to Tokyo, Japan in the 1970s to locate a missing child. As he claimed, he had provided a description of the location in which her body could be found within 24 hours. When her body was found after following his instructions, all details seemed to match exactly with his prediction. There are no known independent sources for this claim.

In one unspecified Dutch case, Croiset is said to have studied the personal possessions of a murdered woman, and provided the police with accurate information regarding her murder, including the name of her murderer, a man already being held in connection with the crime.

On one occasion Croiset’s help was enlisted in the search for a missing four-year-old girl from Brooklyn, New York. Croiset was sent a photo of the girl, an item of her clothing, and a map of New York City. Using psychometry he concluded that she was dead, identified the location of her body and the name of the man who murdered her. Croiset’s information apparently led to the recovery of the girl’s body and to the conviction of the murderer for the crime.

In another apparently successful case in May 1976, Croiset was flown from Holland to Japan by a Japanese television station to see if he could help locate a missing seven-year-old girl. After being shown a picture of the missing girl, Miwa Kikuchi, Croiset stated that she was dead “on the surface of a lake near her home and near a quay for boats near a yellow protruding structure”.

The girl’s body was later recovered floating in the reservoir near a quay for rowing boats and a water supply tower, which was painted yellow. Although the press were astounded at Croiset’s paranormal abilities, some police officers stated that they would have found the girl’s body without the help of Croiset’s clairvoyance.

He died in Utrecht in 1980, aged 71.

References

1. ^ BOEKBINDER, Gerard (1909, Laren, North Holland - 1980), a bio at the Instituut voor Nederlandse Geschiedenis (Institute of Dutch History) website
2. ^ Dutch translation by Karel Beckman available online as published in the Dutch skeptical magazine called Skepter 1(3+4), sept/dec 1988

• Hoebens, Piet Hein Croiset and Professor Tenhaeff Discrepancies in claims of clairvoyance. published in The Skeptical Inquirer (Fall 1981, vol. 6, no. 1; Winter 1981-82, vol. 6, no. 2)

• LA CLAIRVOYANCE PROUVEE (Jack Harrison Pollack. Culture, Arts, Loisirs, PARIS)

External links

• BOEKBINDER, Gerard (1909-1980) Dutch language entry in scholarly biographical dictionary

Persondata
Name	Croiset, Gerard
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1909
Place of birth
Date of death	1980
Place of death