In England, psychical researcher Iris May Owen (1916–2009) was a state registered nurse. In 1952, she married Alan Robert George Owen (1919–2003). In 1970, the Owens immigrated to Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where they conducted psychical research investigations for the New Horizons Research Foundation.
Between 1972 and 1977, members of the Toronto Society for Psychical Research, with Iris Owen as the group’s leader, conducted a series of experiments that resulted in the creation of an imaginary ghost named “Philip.” Iris Owen and Margaret (Sue) Sparrow, another of the sitters, documented the process by which Philip was created in Conjuring up Philip: An Adventure in Psychokinesis (Toronto: Fitzhenry and Whiteside, 1976). Eventually, Philip was able to communicate with the group through raps in the surface of a card table and to move the table about the room.
For detailed biographical sketch, see: http://www.islandnet.com/~sric/Owen_ARG_and_Iris_revised_2009_12.pdf