Wallace was not a believer in revealed religion of any kind, but he did believe in spiritualism. This has puzzled biographers, who struggle to think why such a man would believe in spirits. Early in his life, he experimented with hypnosis, which was then doubted and criticised. He used some of his students in Leicester as subjects, with considerable success. Apparently, this persuaded him not to reject ideas which were doubted. Even when Huxley told him that one of his favourite mediums was a proven fraud, he refused to believe it. He preferred the evidence of his own experience.