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THE CHARACTER of the ordinary "materializing séance" is probably well enough
known to my readers to render any long description of it unnecessary in a volume
such as the present The medium is usually tied or otherwise fastened in his
cabinet, while the remainder of the spectators sit outside, in the séance-room,
which is darkened more or less completely. After a certain time, hands and faces
are seen in various parts of the room, and even full, life-sized forms issue
from the cabinet, and walk about among the sitters.
That these figures are genuine and lifelike, and not mere hallucinations, can
frequently be proved to the sense of touch, as the figures walk amongst the
sitters, and speak to them, delivering messages from the dead who have gone
before, and in many ways proving that they are creatures of real flesh and blood
for the time being, as truly as any of the sitters are. It is believed that the
spirit is, in some way, enabled to draw "vital power" from the sitters, and
especially the medium, and utilize this power for the temporary upbuilding of a
more or less material form, resembling the physical body of that person, when
alive. After a time, this power wanes, and the figure fades or "dematerializes,"
sometimes before the eyes of the sitters, leaving nothing behind to show that
there has been present a figure or a body, which, but a short time before, gave
evidence of being as material and as incapable of "dematerializing" as that of
any of the sitters. Needless to say, if this fact of materialization and
dematerialization be a fact, it is one of the most extraordinary, as well as one
of the most important that science has ever discovered, and one of the most
difficult of solution that the man of science will ever be called upon to
explain or solve.
It is hardly necessary to remark that I have spoken of the phenomena presented
as they appear to the sitter, and as spiritualists and mediums assert the
phenomena actually, are produced; and I have not attempted to assert that
genuine materialization is not a fact. Whether or not such a phenomenon ever
occurs, and the scientific attitude toward its a priori possibility, will
be considered later in the discussion. Certain it is that the history of modern
spiritualism, and especially the history of materialization, does not afford us
any valid grounds for assuming that this phenomenon is ever genuine, or anything
more than the clumsy reproduction, by fraud, of the phenomena genuine
materialization would be supposed to represent. For, with hardly an exception,
all the professional mediums through whose agency these manifestations are
supposed to be obtained, have, at one time or another, been found reproducing,
or endeavouring to reproduce, the phenomena by fraudulent means. For those who
wish confirmation of this statement, I would refer to
Frank Podmore's Modern
Spiritualism, pp. 95-116 (Vol. II.), Frank
Herne, Charles Williams, Miss
Florence Cook, Miss
Mary Showers,
William Eglinton,
Doctor Francis Monck, Miss Lottie Fowler,
Miss Wood, Miss Fairlamb, Mrs. Anderson, Mrs. Mellon, the
Eddy brothers - to quote only a few of the
names most widely known as materializing mediums – all these rest under a heavy
cloud of suspicion, if there is no proof that fraud was practised by them. The
investigations of members of the SPR went to prove that fraud and nothing but
fraud was practised by all the mediums seen by them, in their numerous
investigations. In Mrs. Eleanor
Sidgwick's paper, "Results of a Personal Investigation into the Physical
Phenomena of Spiritualism,"[1] will be found much valuable information in regard
to the mediums investigated at that time. The evidence in the cases of Miss Wood
and Miss Fairlamb was particularly damaging. (Miss Fairlamb afterward became
Mrs. Mellon, and it is by this name that she is best known to the spiritualistic
world. I shall, accordingly, call her by that name in the discussion that
follows.) In fact the history of materializing mediums is so full of exposes,
and the evidence of fraud so overwhelming and so constant, that, as the result
of carefully considering the evidence in the case, and the personal histories of
the various materializing mediums, William T. Stead (a spiritualist) could only
say, writing in 1892, "The phenomena of spiritualism, at least so far as relates
to the materializing of spirits, seems to be much less frequent in London at
present than they were some years ago. During these investigations I have made
great efforts to obtain the services of a trustworthy materializing medium who
has not at any time been detected in fraud. There are three or four
materializing mediums who give seances in London; but, whether from misfortune
or their own fault, their names have all been associated at one time or another
with the production of fraudulent phenomena. I am not now speaking of what is
said by such opponents of spiritualistic phenomena as Doctor Weatherly and Mr.
Maskelyne. I am speaking of what has been communicated to me by fervent
spiritualists, whom I have consulted, in the hope that they might be able to
furnish me with the address of a trustworthy materializing medium. The net
result of my inquiries came to this: that, in the whole of the United Kingdom,
so far as was known to the spiritualist community, there was only one person of
undoubted materializing faculty and undoubted character who could almost always
secure the presence of phenomena, and who had never been detected in a trick of
any kind... I refer to Mrs. Mellon, late of Newcastle-on-Tyne, whose success as
a materializing medium is undoubted."[2]
[1] Proceedings, Vol. IV., pp. 45-74.
[2] More Ghost Stories, p. 54.
This rather dubious and unsatisfactory evidence must be discounted, however,
owing to two considerations. First, the most unsatisfactory nature of the
evidence brought to light by Mrs. Sidgwick, in the paper previously referred to,
in which fraud was strongly suggested, though not actually found; and secondly,
because Mrs. Mellon, of "undoubted character," was detected and caught
red-handed, in producing the grossest fraud, in a circle in Sydney, Australia;
and, though Mr. Stead and others tried to defend the medium in Borderland,
and to show that the detection did not point to fraud at all, it is most obvious
to any one carefully studying the evidence in the case that Mrs. Mellon did
practise fraud, while the evidence points to the fact that she was in the habit
of producing it constantly.
The whole story will be found in a book entitled, Spookland: A Record of
Research and Experiment in the Much Talked of Realm of Mystery, etc., by T.
Shekleton Henry, A. R. I. B. A. Here we read that, after a number of sittings
with Mrs. Mellon, in which spirits materialized and were photographed, the
sitters, believing that the so-called spirits were none other than Mrs. Mellon
herself in various disguises, agreed to seize "the spirit," when it should
materialize at the next séance, and hold fast to the figure, and thus ascertain
whether it was in truth a spirit form that was held, or the body of Mrs. Mellon
herself. Accordingly, on the night of Friday, 12th of October, 1894, at a séance
held in Mrs. Mellon's house, Mr. Henry suddenly seized the figure that issued
from the cabinet, "and found that I held the form of Mrs. Mellon, and that she
was on her knees, and had a white material like muslin round her head and
shoulders. I can swear positively that when I seized the form Mrs. Mellon was on
her knees. She struggled, but I held her firmly and called for the light to be
turned up. Some one struck matches, and then I saw that Mrs. Mellon had a mask
of black material over her face, and aforesaid white drapery round her
shoulders, her sleeves drawn up above the elbows, the skirt of her dress turned
up, and her feet bare. She was on her knees, and I held her in the position in
which I had caught her. The matches were blown out, and I was assaulted by two
or three men present, Mr. Mellon catching me by the throat and tearing off my
necktie. I never let go my hold on Mrs. Mellon, however, until the gas in the
back room was lit and turned full on, and every one present had an opportunity
of seeing Mrs. Mellon in the position and in the condition in which I had caught
her. I looked inside the cabinet, and saw, lying upon the floor (inside the
cabinet) a false beard. I called Mr. Roydhouse over, and he picked up the beard,
but it was snatched from his hand. As soon as I relaxed my hold, Mrs. Mellon
tore the black mask from her face and the drapery from her shoulders, and bid
them under her petticoat. I then entered the cabinet, and found on the floor a
small black shawl, some old muslin, Mrs. Mellon's shoes and stockings, and a
small black cotton bag about nine inches square, with black tapes attached to it
..." (pp. 50-1).[3]
[3] My readers who are unfamiliar with the
history of the subject may think that this is a most out-of-the-way and unique
occurrence. That is not by any means the case; those who think so might consult
a book entitled The Vampires of Onset: Past and Present containing
numerous accounts of such "grabbings" of the spirit by skeptical sitters, parts
of the book reading more like a description of a prize-fight than a
spiritualistic séance! I quote one case which is quite typical of a number:
"Smash! Down came a black-jack on the head of a man who tried to force open the
cabinet, which, by this time, was found to he barricaded by a heavy wooden
partition and secured by means of a stout spring lock. It resisted the united
efforts of three men who tried to kick it down. The two men who had been inside
succeeded in dragging out the woman and stripped her of a cheap, cheese-cloth
garment with an elastic neck-band and short sleeves of such a size as might be
worn by of sixteen.
"Whack! Smash came a stove-lifter down on the head of a curiously disposed
individual, while three or four sluggers in the employ of the establishment made
a grand rush to cut off further investigation. The man who did the clubbing was
seen to be Cowen, the husband of the medium, and in his assaults he was joined
by two other men, while the fourth contented himself with pulling and hauling at
the investigating party. In all, a half-dozen blows with black-jacks and the
stove-lifter were struck by Cowen and his 'Healers' (1) and one of the visiting
party was badly cut on the neck, crown of the head, and over the right eye. The
resistance made by Cowen was savage and persistent, and not until Officer Hensey
of the 4th police division burst in the door and placed the 'twisters' on
Cowen's wrists did he desist from showing fight" (p. 14). This, it must be
remembered, was at a spiritualistic séance, where, if ever, the most elevating
of all the soul's aspirations are supposed to be centred. Can it be wondered at
that, so long an this kind of thing goes on, spiritualism in held in contempt by
the public - whose sole knowledge of it is derived from newspaper accounts of
such disgraceful occurrences as these?
The exposure, in the case of Mrs. Mellon, then, seems to be about as complete as
possible, and clearly shows that Mrs. Mellon was in the habit of producing
phenomena of the kind constantly, and by the same means. And, if that is the
case, then Mr. Stead's "unique" case vanishes, and the history of
materialization, so far as professional mediums are concerned, is practically
one unbroken line of fraud, and this has been the more forcefully emphasized by
the fact that the newest cases investigated by the SPR have proved to be
fraudulent.[4] A review of the evidence procured by the Seybert Commission and
the American Society for Psychical Research,[5] confirms this opinion; while the
absurdly uncritical attitude of many of the early investigators, a fair sample
of which may be found in Olcott's People of the Other World (this being
literally torn to pieces in a review by D. D.
Home, the medium, in his book, Lights and Shadows of Spiritualism,
pp. 301-28), may account for the extraordinary nature of many of the narratives
recorded, and the lack of exposure in the early days of the subject.
[4] See Journal SPR, Vol. XII., pp.
266-8 and 274-7.
[5] Amer. Proc. SPR (old Society), pp. 102-3.
There are, in the whole history of the subject, only two cases that call for
serious consideration (aside from those mentioned on pp. 237-8), these being the
case of Miss Cook, and the case detailed at great length by
Alexander Aksakof in his A Case
of Partial Dematerialization of the Body of a Medium, he, indeed, devoting a
whole book to a consideration of that case. The former of these I shall not stop
to consider in detail here. That will be found discussed in Podmore's Studies
in Psychical Research, p. 120, and in his Modern Spiritualism, Vol.
II., pp. 97-9, and 153-5. As no detailed criticism of the latter case has ever
appeared in print, so far as I am aware, it may be worth our while briefly to
examine this cue, which seems to stand out the more strongly amid the fraud
disclosed in the other cases which we have just examined.
The famous séance, which, as stated, M. Aksakof considered sufficiently
important to devote a whole book of nearly two hundred pages to, relates the
occurrences of a séance that took place in Helsingfors, Finland, December 11,
1893. The medium, Mme. Elizabeth
D'Esperance, was seated in a chair, outside the cabinet, which was behind
her, the sitters being in front of her in a sort of horseshoe formation. The
light was very dim, so dim, in fact, that several of the sitters asserted
afterward that they could not see anything that transpired, having to depend
almost solely on the sense of touch, when they were called up to examine the
medium, as will be presently described. After some minor manifestations, the
medium stated that the lower part of her body had dematerialized, and that,
whereas her head and the upper portion of her trunk was visible and tangible,
her lower limbs, and the lower portion of her body had dematerialized and could
no longer be seen or felt! Needless to say, such an astounding phenomenon caused
considerable stir and some amount of skepticism amid the sitters in the circle.
But the medium, to silence their doubts, invited them to come up and ascertain
for themselves, and see whether or not this was the case. Several of the sitters
availed themselves of this offer, and while they could distinctly see the upper
portion of the medium's body in front of the chair on which she was sitting, and
while the medium could talk, drink water, etc., the lower portion of her body
had apparently dematerialized, being no longer visible, while the whole seat of
the chair could be distinctly felt by the sitters, who were allowed to feel it
with their hands. From the reports, there can be no reasonable doubt that the
upper portion of the medium's body was really in front of the chair-back, nor
can there be any doubt that the lower portion of her body was absent, and the
legs not simply drawn back, e. g., against the sides of the chair. The evidence
would thus appear to be fairly conclusive, and it is only a detailed examination
of the various reports that reveals the possibility of fraud, which, I believe,
was practised in this case, and the nature of which was evident to me the moment
I had read them.
The secret consisted (in all probability) in the following fact. The back of the
chair was partially open, and of sufficient size to allow the medium to thrust
her legs through as far as the hips, when the dress had been drawn up, and
spread over the seat of the chair. The medium would, therefore, be in a kneeling
position behind the chair, with the upper part of her body in front of the
chair-back, and, of course, visible to the investigators who made the
examination. No one thought of looking behind the chair, (this is stated in the
evidence), nor did anyone, apparently, suspect the manner in which the medium
was producing the "dematerialization." The evidence is to my mind absurdly
inconclusive, and hardly worth consideration at all, from the strictly
evidential standpoint. It is only because the case is made so much of by many
spiritualists that I have deemed it necessary to consider it here at the length
I have.[6]
[6] My detailed analysis of this case, with
diagrams, will be found in the Proceedings of the American Society for
Psychical Research, Vol. I, Part 1, March, 1907.
It is possible, or, at least, conceivable that such a thing as genuine
materialization exists as a fact in nature, though the available testimony must
render us extremely wary in accepting evidence which would necessitate our
accepting the phenomena of materialization as genuine and proved beyond doubt or
cavil. It is conceivable that the ethereal body, described by many able writers
on the subject,[7] may, under certain conditions, about which we at present know
nothing, become visible and manifest to us in some such manner as by
materialization, though, as stated, the lack of evidence for such phenomena
renders all such speculations premature. Mr.
Frederic Myers has beautifully worked
out the scientific possibilities in his Human Personality, Vol. II., pp.
538-40; pp. 544-9, etc. It is true that Doctor Maxwell has recorded[8] several
most remarkable phenomena (luminous) which seem hard to account for by any
process of trickery, phenomena strikingly similar to those recorded in Occult
Science in India, p. 267. It is also true that Professor
Charles Richet has recently recorded
a case of materialization, obtained under apparent test conditions, that is most
extraordinary,[9] and that Sir William
Crookes has seen and felt hands materialized at séances with D. D. Home,
which hands, Sir William explicitly stated, were not drawn away forcibly,
but melted, as it were, in the hands of the sitter, when he continued to hold
them (all this in good light), which fact, I may add, is confirmed by various
other witnesses of the Home phenomena.[10] I do not deny any of these facts, or
wish to depreciate the character or value of the evidence for these remarkable
manifestations; I only insist that there is not enough evidence of this
character to warrant our speculating seriously on the nature of these facts,
unless we know that they are facts. We need more positive evidence before
speculation becomes valid. And the whole history of the subject is so besmirched
with fraud that we should be particularly careful in accepting data obtained
through the professional materializing medium. One of the most remarkable cases
I have ever read is that related by the Ven. Archdeacon Colley,[11] where a
spirit was apparently seen to materialize from a cloud of vapour, which, in
turn, is seen to issue from the medium's side. I know of no case which seems as
remarkable as this one does, or that conveys to the reader's mind the impression
that the facts narrated could not have been produced by fraud; and yet, Mr. J.
N. Maskelyne, on October 8, 1906, at St. George's Hall, London, duplicated this
phenomenon by fraudulent means alone. If so much can be accomplished by fraud we
should certainly be most careful in accepting statements, and even the evidences
of our senses, in this field. We should, at all events, be content to await
further evidence before finally believing that such phenomena as these are other
than frauds, or the results of trickery.
[7] See Elbe, Future Life in the Light of
Ancient Wisdom and Modern Science; H. Frank, A Scientific Demonstration
of the Soul's Existence and Immortality; Delanne, Evidence for a Future
Life; Myers, Human Personality, etc.
[8] Metapsychical Phenomena, pp. 150-4.
[9] Annals of Psychic Science, October, November, 1905.
[10] See Hardinge, Modern American Spiritualism, p. 106; Dialectical
Report, p. 120; Owen, Debatable Land, pp. 351-2, etc.
[11] Annals of Psychic Science, December, 1905, pp. 392-9.
It is necessary that we should now turn to a consideration of the actual methods
that are employed by mediums to produce the phenomena of materialization by
fraudulent means. In order to render the subsequent explanations intelligible, I
shall first quote a typical description of a materialization séance given by an
eye-witness, from which description the reader may form a good idea of what
occurs, and the detailed explanations that follow will be rendered more easily
intelligible than if I were to describe a series of phenomena, none of which
were familiar to the general reader.
"Everything now being in readiness, the medium
seated himself in a chair, after first bringing a tambourine, guitar, tea-bell,
tin trumpet, and a pair of castanets and depositing them inside the cabinet.
After being seated he proffered some pieces of rope and stated that any one was
at liberty to bind his hands and feet, or secure him in any way he saw fit, in
order to preclude the possibility of his having the use of any of his members
during the continuance of the séance. Again did the writer, in company with the
only other skeptical gentleman in the company, exert all his ingenuity in
binding the medium so that he felt positively assured that he would still be in
the chair when the séance was closed. After the tying was finished, the writer
would have wagered any amount that it was an utter impossibility for the medium
to free himself... Medium and chair were now picked up and deposited in the
cabinet, and the curtains drawn.
"We had no more than reached our seats than the guitar was seen gyrating around
in space over the top of the cabinet, with no visible contact with anything. The
light had been shaded until you could just distinguish the forms of the sitters,
without being able to discern their features. After a few seconds, the guitar
was joined by the tin trumpet, and out of it came a voice saying:
"'I am the spirit-father of Mr. B , and my name is J
B ,' giving his name in full.
"This test was instantly recognized by one of the gentlemen, and there followed
a commonplace message to his daughter-in-law, the wife of Mr. B
, who was present. While this was transpiring, the guitar had disappeared
into the cabinet again. As soon as the speaking had ceased, and the trumpet
fallen to the floor, we were requested to examine the condition of things in the
cabinet. Again the skeptics were permitted to do the investigating. We found the
medium in precisely the condition in which we had left him at the beginning, it
not appearing that he had stirred.
"We had not reached our seats, which were distant about eight feet from the
cabinet, when the guitar again made its appearance, and began playing an air of
great beauty, the entire instrument being visible, but the hands that created
the music upon it could not be seen. The music produced was subdued, soft, and
sweet, as though the strings were being manipulated by very gentle, soft
finger-tips. The skeptics were now very much interested. Again the horn joined
the guitar, and when the latter had ceased its music, announced that its name
was W E , son of Mr. and Mrs. E
. The horn was correct again, and, after giving a message, in which he gave
some instructions concerning his pony, that the parents still kept, the horn
fell to the floor of the cabinet, and an examination disclosed everything as we
had last seen it. The medium appeared to be in a trance or sleep, his eyes
closed, teeth set, and breathing heavily. We had just turned our backs on the
cabinet, after the examination, when a shapely white hand protruded through the
opening in the curtains. Before we had seated ourselves there were two, three,
four, all of different sizes, and doing considerable finger-snapping, thus doing
away with the idea of rubber hands, stuffed gloves, etc. Then came a bare foot
at the bottom of the curtain, and, in response to a request by one of the
circle, the toes were wiggled. No one was allowed to touch the hands or feet
that appeared, but it was evident to any one in possession of his five senses
that they were human hands and feet and not rubber or wax, even did we not know
that nothing of the kind had been carried in by the medium. After a few moments
of these manifestations, another examination of the cabinet and medium was made,
and everything found satisfactory. Now, the tea-bell began ringing, and was soon
joined by the castanets and tambourine. Ever and anon one or another of the
instruments would swoop around above the cabinet and disappear again. They
seemed to be flying about in all parts of the cabinet, and to be travelling with
great swiftness and force; and it appeared as though the medium's eyes stood a
very fair chance of being decorated in black! Another examination and everything
found satisfactory. The writer was wavering, and was most intensely interested,
to the great delight of his sister. The horn now requested that the company sing
'Sweet By and By.' Whilst the company was singing, they were joined by the horn
in a deep and powerful voice, which claimed afterward that it was, at the time,
'John King,' the medium's main control. After the song was finished, a rustling
noise was heard in the cabinet, and presently the curtains were agitated, and
slowly a face presented itself at the opening. Plainly, it was a face, but it
was not recognized. Then other faces appeared, but without recognition. Once
more the guitar strikes up its music, and, during its continuance, the curtains
open sufficiently to reveal to our astonished gaze a form, draped from head to
foot in a dazzling white robe, in which there appeared to be a great many yards
of material used. The face, in this instance, was much plainer, and in fact, was
recognized by one of our number, who, however, said nothing until the form
announced its name as Mrs. E L ,
mother of the lady sitting next to our host. The form spoke in a loud whisper,
but no movement of the lips was visible. It stood stock-still, and might have
been mistaken for a dummy were it not that the face was so absolutely identified
by the lady it claimed as daughter, and the full name it gave being entirely
correct. The form remained in sight for a period of about twenty seconds, and,
after it had disappeared, the horn announced that the daughter carried the
mother's watch, and that it contained the photo of her father. This the lady
declared to be correct, and after the séance exhibited the watch, with the photo
inside, and the name given by the spirit graven on the inside of the back lid.
The lady declared that she had never before met the medium.
"The props were being knocked from under the writer's materialism in beautiful
shape! Other forms now presented themselves, and four of them recognized. One of
the faces was an exact likeness to an uncle of the writer's, and he was almost
paralyzed with astonishment, and ready to throw up his hands in surrender, when
his sister, addressing the spirit, said:
"'Uncle L ' (for, she, too, had recognized the face), 'have
you anything to say to brother? Tell him something to convince him.' The writer
was just about to say that it required no more evidence to convince him of the
possibility of spirit return, when the apparition spoke, saying:
"'Indeed, I should be pleased to grant the lady's request, but not being the
spirit I am taken for, I cannot do so. I am the spirit of S W
, and the cousin of Mrs. D .'
"The lady named said she had never seen him in life, but there was a resemblance
to a photograph of him in the family album. None of the forms or faces remained
more than from five to twenty seconds.
"Now, if this was the work of the medium, why did he not take the opportunity
presented of palming off one of his dummies on one who had already accepted it
as an uncle, and make an absolute test of it, instead of denying that it
was the spirit supposed to be, and make an uncertain test of it? This thought
also struck the gentleman skeptic who assisted the writer in the examinations.
"Occurring as it did, it certainly went far toward sustaining the medium as
honest, and having no part in the presentation of the phenomena. Both skeptics
were by this time pretty well hors du combat. All that was now required
was that some spirit friend or message present itself that could be recognized,
and the 'turn was made.' The horn now made itself heard again, and began
announcing the names of the spirits present. In all, about twenty were given,
and eleven of them recognized. Among them were four full names of the author's
deceased relatives, two of them giving date of death, and the cause thereof, and
sending messages of love to members of the family not present, in each case,
giving the name of the one the message was for. My sister informed me that she
had never even heard of this particular medium before that week, and this was
the first visit of any member of the family to him. The writer struck his arms
and capitulated!
"After another examination of the condition of things in the cabinet which
resulted satisfactorily, there was a regular bedlam of noises begun, made by
each one of the instruments setting out on an erratic aerial excursion about the
confines of the cabinet. Occasionally, one or two of the instruments would dart
up out of the top of the cabinet, and, after executing a few fantastic
movements, go below and join the general rumpus on the inside. It was,
apparently, impossible for the medium, even were he free, to put the instruments
where they were seen; and besides this, the entire instrument was visible, and
it was impossible to detect anything in connection with them, they seeming to
float about the atmosphere as a balloon. Certain it was that the guitar could
not perform on itself, and there was no human hand visible, to cause the
vibration of the strings.
"The only thing appearing strange, regarding the guitar, was that only one
air was executed upon it. Immediately the rumpus ceased, another inspection of
the cabinet was made, and everything found as it had been. The trumpet now
requested that a writing-tablet and pencil be placed in the cabinet. This was
done, and in a few minutes five messages of greeting, from 'controls," were
handed out. One was in English, and signed by John King; another in French,
another in German, another in Spanish, and the last in Hebrew, which no one
present could read. It was taken next day, by the writer and others, to a Hebrew
clothing dealer, who read and interpreted it with ease, and stated that it was
elegantly written. The medium claimed to have no knowledge of any language save
English, and was unable to speak that correctly, - which was a fact, for he did
badly mangle the language every time he spoke. While we were waiting the
thrusting out of the sixth sheet, the medium was heard to moan and yawn and move
uneasily. In the course of a minute and a half, he called for light, and stepped
out of the cabinet, freed from the ropes that had bound him less than two
minutes before! An examination revealed the fact that the medium had not only
slid out of the ropes, but that every knot had been untied, and the ropes lay in
a heap in the corner. Think of it! Something had untied the knots in less
than two minutes, that (to tie) had required ten minutes of time of two men! The
instruments were handled and examined, and found to be perfectly innocent of any
mechanism not properly belonging to them, with the exception of a small hole,
about the eighth of an inch in diameter, bored into the neck of the instrument,
on the lower side and near the body of the guitar. The medium explained that it
was for the purpose of attaching a music-holder to the instrument, and, as he
was stopping with our host for the evening, he soon brought the holder and put
it in position. It answered the purpose admirably, and satisfactorily explained
the presence of the hole."
In a séance such as the above, there are several
factors that must be taken into consideration, requiring an explanation, they
being independent and distinct from the "materialization proper," which alone
concerns us in the present chapter. The methods of obtaining the "test
information" about the sitter are explained on pp. 312-18; the rope-tying
manifestations I have explained in the chapter devoted to that subject, pp.
143-67; the self-playing guitar I have explained on p. 197; to the "messages" I
shall again recur on p. 317; so that in the present chapter there remains for
our consideration only the methods the medium employs in fraudulently producing
the materialized bands, faces and forms. To this aspect of the problem I
accordingly turn. I shall first of all describe the methods of obtaining the
spirit hands and faces, leaving the more detailed and the more wonderful
"full-form materializations" for later discussion.
It need hardly be stated that many of the "materialized hands" seen at séances
are none other than the medium's own. Under cover of the intense darkness that
is always called for when materializations of the kind are seen, the medium
releases himself from his bonds, and does his own "spirit touches" merely by
walking about the room and touching one or other of the sitters, either with his
bare hand, or after donning a glove dipped in cold water, to give a cold, clammy
effect to the sitter experiencing the touch. This is a device frequently
employed. In many cases the medium rubs over the surface of the glove with
luminous paint, this giving the effect of a bright, shining hand, floating in
space, since the performer, if entirely dressed in black, is quite invisible in
the darkness. (Those of my readers who doubt the fact that any figure dressed in
this manner would he absolutely invisible should witness the public
performance of an act known as "Black Art," in which the performer's assistants
walk freely about the stage, which is entirely darkened, and produce the many
marvellous effects witnessed. The illusion is perfect, and no one
witnessing the performance, and not knowing how the effects are produced, can
detect the method of operation, no matter how closely he may watch the stage.)
Some mediums make use of the damp kid glove, just described, in a very clever
manner. They stuff the glove, and attach the back of the hand to the small end
of the telescopic rod, mentioned on p. 196. By moving the rod about in various
directions, touching the sitters with the glove, they are enabled to produce the
phenomenon of "spirit touches" at a great distance from themselves, and in
places where it would be impossible for them to reach, even were they free. A
still more astonishing phenomenon may be produced by attaching the glove to the
rod by means of a piece of stout black silk thread, about a yard or so in
length. Now, by waving the rod about in various directions, the glove is given a
great range, and moves so rapidly, moreover, that several sitters may feel the
touch of the hand at the same instant (practically), which would, of
course, have the effect of several hands all active at the same time. The hand
may or may not be made luminous, in this case, as desired.
Mr. J. H. W. Shaw describes a very effective variation of the method just
described in his Magic and Its Mysteries, pp. 55-6. The effect, in this
case, is this: after the medium is securely tied in the chair, a luminous hand
slowly materializes, only the tips of the fingers at first being visible, but
afterward the whole hand comes into view, until the arm up to the elbow is seen.
It now suddenly disappears and as suddenly appears again, finally vanishing
altogether.
The effect is produced, in this case, by the following means. The medium has
secreted about his person a glove made of black material, the palm of which is
coated with luminous paint, and the rest of the hand and arm is also painted
very lightly with it. To the elbow of this glove is sewn a cylinder of thick,
black cloth, of sufficient length to completely cover the hand and arm when
pulled over it. Before the séance begins the medium gives the glove a coat of
paint, as stated, pulls the cylinder up over the glove, and secretes it about
his person. At the proper time the medium dons the glove, which is still
invisible because of the covering black-cloth cylinder. Slowly, the medium pulls
this off toward the shoulder, thereby disclosing the hand and arm, the palm of
which is turned to the sitters. Now, by suddenly pulling the black cloth over
the hand again, the medium is enabled to produce the phenomenon of
materialization and dematerialization as often as desired.
The famous (or rather infamous) Doctor Monck was in the habit of producing a
very remarkable manifestation, a materialized spirit hand, that of a baby,
in partial light, and when the medium was sitting at the table together with the
other sitters. Doctor Monck would sit at one end of the table, when presently
the table-cloth would be seen to move, and from beneath the table would come the
tiny hand, which, after a few seconds' visibility, would suddenly dematerialize,
and a thorough search under the table would fail to reveal the clue to the
mystery. "Professor Hoffmann," in a Note to his translation of Houdini’s
Secrets of Stage Conjuring, gives (pp. 220-1) a description of this test and
an expose of the manner in which the trick was performed. He says, in part:
“A dummy hand of small size, with the fingers
slightly bent, is attached to a piece of broad elastic about three feet in
length. This in turn is fastened to a belt round the performer's waist, and
thence passes down (say) his left trouser leg, the hand reposing, when not
wanted, within the garment, a few inches above the ankle. To the wrist of the
hand is appended a kind of elastic sleeve of five or six inches in length. (In
Monck's case, if we remember rightly, it consisted of the upper portion of an
ordinary sock.) The medium, thus prepared, takes his seat at one side of a
square table, with an overhanging table-cover, allowing no one else to be seated
at the same side of the table... Some one present is requested to lower the gas.
'A little lower, please. A little lower yet,' till, as a natural consequence, it
goes out altogether. 'Dear me,' says the medium, 'I am extremely sorry! I did
not intend you to turn it out. Pray light it again!' This is done and it is
again lowered but this time only to a dim twilight. Meanwhile, under cover of
the momentary darkness, the medium has quietly crossed his left foot over his
right knee, pulled down the dummy hand, slipped the sleeve portion over the toe
of his left shoe, and, with the foot masked by the table-cover, calmly bides his
time. Presently, on the right hand of the medium, something is seen to be moving
under the table-cover, making apparent efforts to come out. The medium, at the
same time, prepares the minds of the spectators by declaring that he sees a hand
floating about, that it has touched him, and so on. Presently, he gradually
draws his foot, still crossed over the right knee, from under the table-cover,
and allows the hand to show itself just above the surface... Doctor Monck went
so far as to offer a set of 'fairy bells' to the touch of the spirit hand, and,
partly by scraping the hand against the wires (or rather the wires against the
hand), and partly by a judicious use of his own fingers, produced sounds which,
though not particularly harmonious, passed muster fairly enough as the
production of a hand without a body. The manifestation over, the performer has
only to place the left foot on the ground, and, with the other foot, dislodge
the dummy hand, which is forthwith spontaneously drawn back by the elastic band
beneath the sheltering trouser. The gas being turned up, skeptical gentlemen may
search beneath the table, but in vain."
When hands appear above the top of the cabinet, or
otherwise beyond the normal reach of the medium, it is either a stuffed glove
that is exhibited, or a glove that is attached to the end of the medium's
telescopic rod, and made to open and close by the medium blowing through the
hollow rod, causing the glove to alternately fill out and relapse into "flabby
nothingness," according to the amount of air forced into the rod and glove. In a
dim light, this has a very good effect. Then, again, the medium often makes use
of simple pieces of cardboard, painted black, upon each of which is painted a
hand in white. By exhibiting this hand at the top of the cabinet, and at the
same time snapping his own fingers, he can produce the effect of the hand itself
causing this sound, thus proving, not only its objective reality, but the fact
that it is made of flesh and blood! Several hands can be made to appear in like
manner, at the same time, the medium attaching them to his rod, by means of a
slot in the end of it.
Some ingenious medium devised the following plan, by which the hand may be made
to move, apparently, to open and close, e.g., or to snap the fingers. This
proves to every sitter conclusively that the hands are real, for what but real
hands can move in that manner? The secret consists in the fact that the medium
has painted on both sides of his blackened card a hand in white, these
hands being painted in different postures. The medium simply slips the cardboard
into the slot in the end of his telescopic rod, as before described, and
exhibits, first one side and then the other of the painted card. If the
half-turn is made quickly enough, it is quite invisible to the sitters, and the
effect of the turn is to produce a complete illusion in the minds of the sitters
that the hand has itself moved before their eyes. If the supposed card is
painted to represent the fingers snapping, the medium snaps his own, and the
spirit hand is supposed to have produced the sound!
If the hands felt at a séance are unmistakably human, then the sitter way rest
assured that they are either those of the medium, who has in some manner managed
to release himself from his holds or ties, or those of some confederate, such
confederates being frequently introduced in séances of this character as will
presently appear.
We now pass on to consider the methods that are employed by the medium in order
to produce "full-form materialization," in which figures are seen to
issue from the cabinet, while the medium is securely tied and otherwise fastened
to his chair within it. These forms are almost invariably clothed from head to
foot in dazzling white garments, and the question at once arises, where did the
medium (supposing it to be he, disguised, and parading about the séance-room)
obtain all the material and other portions of the make-up, since he was
thoroughly searched before he entered the cabinet, and nothing of such a nature
was found upon him? Even granting that the medium was enabled to release himself
in some manner from the cords that tied him to his chair, and, disguising
himself, enter the séance-room and act the part of some spirit, how did he
obtain possession of the white drapery and other material in which the spirit
was clothed? The fact that the medium was thoroughly searched just before the
séance, and no such "properties" found upon him, would seem to show that it was
not and could not be the medium; and any fraud on his part was
consequently out of the question. How mistaken this idea is we shall now see.
There are many ways in which clothes may be smuggled into the cabinet by the
medium, without the sitters being aware of the fact, or suspect that any
trickery is being practised upon them. One of the most ingenious devices is the
following, which has been used by mediums for many years past, and which is
still very largely employed. On p. 197 I described a self-playing guitar, the
secret being that it contained a music-box, which, when wound up and set going,
would play a tune without necessitating any fingering of the strings by the
medium. That, however, is only half the secret of the guitar, for, besides the
music-box, the guitar also contained a sliding panel, opening into a hollow
compartment in the interior, and in this compartment are placed the robes and
other paraphernalia employed by the medium in dressing up as the spirit he
purports to be. These robes are made of a sort of fine netting, and are capable
of being compressed into a remarkably small space, the full costume of an adult
spirit folding into a space no larger than a good-sized watch. Indeed, these
robes are sometimes carried in this manner instead of the guitar. The watch is a
dummy, is hollow, and is filled with the costumes for the evening's séance! At
other times this material is carried in a purse, a letter, or in many other ways
that will suggest themselves. One method frequently employed is that of placing
the material in the hollow boot-heel. The heel of the shoe is made of steel,
being, in fact, a sort of hollowed out box, covered over with leather, and
blackened to imitate the regular shoe. Usually, however, the medium carries a
series of netting masks in this heel, these also folding up into a very small
compass. If the medium gives the séance in his own house, there are, of course,
many ways of gaining possession of the requisite material, - hollow chair-seats,
table-legs, etc., forming convenient receptacles for the robes and other
paraphernalia used in the séance.
Mr. Lunt, in his little book, Mysteries of the Séance, has described a
method he has found used by female mediums to evade the watchfulness of
searchers, in cases where the medium, as a test, is obliged to don the all-black
clothes provided by the sitters. It is this:
"Some female mediums have a novel arrangement by
which they can carry into the cabinet all the supplies they want, in spite of
the strictest search. For instance, one has a black cloth belt made deep enough
to hold a great variety of stuff. This is worn around the waist next the skin,
and held in place by an elastic band. Over this is the usual black skirt, then
the other clothing. When the committee of ladies search her, she 'entirely
disrobes down to this black skirt, which she retains 'for modesty's sake,' until
the skirt provided by the committee is put on over it. Then the black skirt is
unhooked and taken off. This leaves her supposedly clothed only in the
committee's clothing, which of course is all dark. To satisfy them that all is
right she lifts the last skirt as high as possible, and shows the bare skin, and
the presence of the useful little belt is not suspected. The rest of the
clothing provided is donned, - and the performance goes on with the greatest
success" (pp. 32-3).
From the description and remarks on p. 44 of Henry's
Spookland, it appears to me highly probable that Mrs. Melon used some
such device as the above.
The modus operandi of the ordinary materializing séance should now be
pretty clearly defined in the sitter's mind. The medium is not usually fastened
in his cabinet; and if he is tied, or otherwise secured, he releases himself by
one or other of the methods before enumerated. Then he proceeds to dress himself
up in the robes, etc., he has managed to smuggle into the cabinet by one means
or another, as described. Then the robes are properly adjusted, the medium dons
the wig, mask, etc., that is appropriate for the character he is to portray, and
boldly walks into the room and asserts that he is that individual![12] If his
voice is one that is easily disguised, the medium makes bold to speak aloud;
otherwise the "spirit" confines its conversation to loud whispers. The more
dramatic the play the better, of course, up to a certain extent, though the
medium who knows his business will always remember that spirits should conduct
themselves with becoming gravity. A certain amount of "the actor" must enter
into any medium who makes a success of his profession. Darkness, the dramatic
setting of the séance, and suggestion can be depended upon to do the rest. I
have more fully elaborated this branch of the subject in my chapter on the
Psychology of Deception, and it is not necessary for me to consider it at any
great length now. My object for the moment is to show how these forms are
actually produced, and not their possible significance. I have described other
methods of materialization, and other devices on pp. 268-75.
[12] In some cases, it is impossible for the
medium to escape - when, e. g., he in fastened in a cage provided by a
committee. In that case, he frees himself as much as possible, and shown a
variety of masks, robes, etc., through the curtains, - these being attached to
the end of his telescopic rod and thrust between the bare of the cage and the
cabinet curtains. Some very effective figures can be created in this way.
It remains for me but to consider certain materialization phenomena which we
have not so far discussed, such, e. g., as the production of "spirit lights," "apports,"
etc. To these I now turn. Spirit lights may be produced in a variety of ways,
one of the simplest being the following, a method very frequently employed.
The medium procures a bottle, or flask, holding about two pints. Into this he
drops the heads of about one hundred parlor matches ("red-heads"), and over
these is poured just enough water to cover them, and a little more. The flask is
now kept tightly corked for some time. When the medium requires to produce his
spirit lights, he brings forth this bottle, and, while slightly shaking it,
removes the stopper a very little, when the portion of the bottle that is
filled with the fumes will present a very beautiful phosphorescent appearance.
If a transparent wire mask be held before the bottle, it will be greeted as a
spirit face by the sitters, and very likely recognized by one or more of them as
a dead relative! (v. p. 52). By simply moistening the fingers and rolling a
match between them, a very fine effect is produced, though the light is, of
course, small. Spirit lights of different sizes and shapes are made by cutting
out pieces of cloth of the shape required, and pasting them on cardboard. These
are painted with luminous paint after the manner described on p. 269. They are
attached to the end of the telescopic rod, so often spoken of throughout this
book, and moved about over the sitters' heads. The manner of producing luminous
hands, arms, and faces will be presently described. The methods the medium will
resort to are innumerable. It is even asserted that some mediums have had the
hardihood to introduce fireflies into the séance-room, as a means of producing
these effects!
Just recently, some ingenious medium has devised a method by which it is
possible to produce luminous names, apparently flashed out of the air, with
lightening-like rapidity and brilliancy. This clever test is performed as
follows. The names are cut out of tin-foil and pasted on a sheet of clear glass,
care being taken to connect each letter with the next. When all is ready, a wire
from a powerful battery is connected with the beginning and terminal of the
tin-foil, and a brilliant flash will light up all the lines for an instant. The
battery may be concealed in a distant place, and two fine wires in the
séance-room could be easily concealed. For the secret of this clever test I am
indebted to Mr. E. D. Lunt, of Boston.
I now turn to a consideration of certain phenomena of materialization in which
solid bodies, other than human beings, are produced in the séance-room, they
being generally left there "by the spirits" as a proof of their objective
reality. In all these cases, the séance 'is a dark one, and when the lights are
turned up, certain objects are seen on the table of the séance-room which
certainly were not there before, and the conclusion drawn is that the spirits
brought them thither. The explanation generally offered is that the spirits
dematerialized the objects, wherever they happened to be at the time, conveyed
them in that semi-material, vaporous condition into the séance-room, and again
"integrated" or materialized them there. This is the orthodox explanation for
phenomena that are technically known as "apports."
Without now stopping to consider any a priori speculations as to the
scientific possibility or impossibility of such a thing; the mere historic
evidence in the case would certainly seem to point to the conclusion that fraud
and nothing but, fraud has been operative throughout, and is quite sufficient to
account for all the phenomena observed (save in the case of W. S. Moses,
perhaps, that stumbling-block to the rationalistic psychical researcher), in the
presence of professional mediums. Only some mediums produced these phenomena; D.
D. Home did not believe in them! Some famous historical cases are absurdly
simple of explanation, as, c. g., the "Great Materialized Stone," described on
pp. 129-82 of Truesdell's Spiritualism, Bottom Facts. In fact all
these cases sift themselves down to the one primary consideration: could the
medium, in spite of the searching, have introduced into the séance-room, unseen
by his sitters, the objects materialized? On thinking the matter over, it will
become apparent to my reader that this is, after all, the only question
involved, and, in the face of the damning historical evidence, no less than
because of the obvious simplicity of smuggling objects into the séance-room
undetected, it must be admitted that the proof that these phenomena have ever
occurred in a genuine manner is so remote as to hardly be worth serious
consideration.
Take, e. g., the cases where live creatures, fresh flowers "with the dew still
on them," etc., have been imported into the séance-room. If the séance is held
in the medium's own house, the objects way very well be slipped into the
séance-room through some trap door or sliding panel, such as will presently be
described in full. Or the flowers may be contained in the hollow seat of some
empty chair, sofa, etc., the medium simply securing them, when required, and
spraying them with water to imitate dew before placing them on the table. At
other times a confederate has the flowers hidden about his or her person. If the
medium is not searched before the séance, his part is, of course, an easy one.
Female mediums produce this class of phenomena much more frequently than males,
their dress serving as a convenient hiding-place for many of the "apports" that
appear later on. In any case, the flowers are obtained as fresh as possible,
sprayed with water, and placed in a black cloth bag until wanted by the medium.
It only remains to be said, in connection with this phenomenon of
flower-production, that the flowers have frequently been traced by investigators
to the shop where they were purchased, and it was thus proved beyond question
that the medium had purchased them there but a short time before the séance!
This fact failed to shake the belief of "the faithful," however, who still
continued to believe in the medium's honesty, and to protest against such
methods of "persecution!"
Note:
The above article was originally titled 'Materialization' and published in
Hereward Carrington's book "The Physical Phenomena of Spiritualism Fraudulent
and Genuine" (New York: Dodd, Mead & Co., 1920).
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