At the end of the 19th century, physicists were astonished by invisible forces such as radio waves, X-rays and the ether, and some used the idea to argue that unseen worlds existed. William Barrett, an assistant to John Tyndall, was puzzled by 'sensitive flames' that reacted to sounds people could not hear, which led him to ask what else exists beyond the senses. Barrett and others, including Oliver Lodge, took up psychical research on telepathy and the survival of the soul after death. They believed science would eventually reveal such realms, as it had radio.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.