An Extraordinary Journey: The Memoirs of a Physical Medium

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In 1960, psychic investigator Andrija Puharich and Tom O'Neill, publisher of the Spiritualist magazine Psychic Observer, arranged to film two seances at Camp Chesterfield, Indiana, using infrared film, intending to procure scientific proof of spirit materializations. The medium was shown the camera beforehand, and was aware that she was being filmed. However, the film revealed obvious fraud on the part of the medium and her cabinet assistant. The exposé was published in the 10 July 1960 issue of the Psychic Observer. [168] :96–97 Washington Irving Bishop. (1880). Second Sight Explained: A Complete Exposition of Clairvoyance or Second Sight. Edinburgh: John Menzies.

In a series of experiments holding fake séances, (Wiseman et al. 2003) paranormal believers and disbelievers were suggested by an actor that a table was levitating when, in fact, it remained stationary. After the seance, approximately one third of the participants incorrectly reported that the table had moved. The results showed a greater percentage of believers reporting that the table had moved. In another experiment the believers had also reported that a handbell had moved when it had remained stationary and expressed their belief that the fake séances contained genuine paranormal phenomena. The experiments strongly supported the notion that in the séance room, believers are more suggestible than disbelievers for suggestions that are consistent with their belief in paranormal phenomena. [52] Janet Oppenheim. (1988). The Other World: Spiritualism and Psychical Research in England, 1850–1914. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-34767-9 a b c Ruth Brandon. (1983). The Spiritualists: The Passion for the Occult in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries. Alfred E. Knopf. ISBN 978-0-394-52740-6Harry Price. (1939). Fifty Years of Psychical Research. Kessinger Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7661-4242-8 Harry Price. (1931). Regurgitation and the Duncan Mediumship. (Bulletin I of the National Laboratory of Psychical Research, 120pp with 44 illustrations.) Hereward Carrington. (1907). The Physical Phenomena of Spiritualism. Herbert B. Turner & Co. pp. 206–23 Over the course of the reading, John comfortably laid down the specifics of Susanna Wilson’s life — he named “Andy” and amazingly knew him to be her twin. He knew that she and her brother grew up in Michigan and that his girlfriend was Maria. He knew about Susanna’s father-in-law and how he died." [206]

The wisdom of these spirit beings is still being read today and so their legacy continues, alongside a new generation of trance mediums in the UK who as the world is changing and seeking guidance, are being called upon by spirit to act as messengers. Massimo Polidoro. (2003). Secrets of the Psychics: Investigating Paranormal Claims. Prometheus Books. pp. 168–76. ISBN 978-1-59102-086-8 a b Dunning, Brian (2009-11-10). "Skeptoid #179: The Scole Experiment". Skeptoid . Retrieved 2011-10-30. Rodger Anderson. (2006). Psychics, Sensitives And Somnambules. McFarland & Company. p. 26. ISBN 978-0-7864-2770-3 Imagine Spirit (2019). 'Differences between Mental-Physical-Trance Mediumship'. Imagine Spirit Universal Psychic Arts Training [online] Accessed at: https://imaginespirit.com/differences-between-mental-physical-and-trance-mediums/In March 1902 in Berlin, police officers interrupted a séance of the German apport medium Frau Anna Rothe. Her hands were grabbed and she was wrestled to the ground. A female police assistant physically examined Rothe and discovered 157 flowers as well as oranges and lemons hidden in her petticoat. She was arrested and charged with fraud. [105] Another apport medium Hilda Lewis known as the "flower medium" confessed to fraud. [106] Direct voice communication is the claim that spirits speak independently of the medium, who facilitates the phenomenon rather than produces it. The role of the medium is to make the connection between the physical and spirit worlds. Trumpets are often utilised to amplify the signal, and directed voice mediums are sometimes known as "trumpet mediums". This form of mediumship also permits the medium to participate in the discourse during séances, since the medium's voice is not required by the spirit to communicate. Leslie Flint was one of the best known exponents of this form of mediumship. [29] Channeling [ edit ] a b c Braude, Anne, Radical Spirits, Spiritualism and Women's Rights in Nineteenth Century America. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2001. Channelling is lighter than trance mediumship but still deeper than mental mediumship. In channelling, the spirit being blends with the outer layers of the medium's aura only. They do not merge as deeply. Channelling also has levels – light, medium and deep – that as with trance mediumship, relate to the conscious awareness and the depth of blending.

Rodger Anderson. (2006). Psychics, Sensitives and Somnambules. McFarland & Company. p. 90. ISBN 978-0-7864-2770-3 Many 19th century mediums were discovered to be engaged in fraud. [64] While advocates of mediumship claim that their experiences are genuine, the Encyclopædia Britannica article on spiritualism notes in reference to a case in the 19th century that "...one by one, the Spiritualist mediums were discovered to be engaged in fraud, sometimes employing the techniques of stage magicians in their attempts to convince people of their clairvoyant powers." The article also notes that "the exposure of widespread fraud within the spiritualist movement severely damaged its reputation and pushed it to the fringes of society in the United States." [65]In the 1860s and 1870s, trance mediums, also known as trance speakers, were very popular; this allowed female adherents, many who had strong interests in social justice, to speak in public in an era where doing so went against existing social norms. [22] Many trance mediums delivered passionate speeches on abolitionism, temperance, and women's suffrage. [22] Scholars have described Leonora Piper as one of the most famous trance mediums in the history of Spiritualism. [6] [23] [24] Lewis Spence. (1991). Encyclopedia of Occultism & Parapsychology. Gale Research Company. p. 1522. Massimo Polidoro. (2001). Final Seance: The Strange Friendship Between Houdini and Conan Doyle. Prometheus Books. p. 103. ISBN 978-1-57392-896-0 In mediumship, different layers of communication are required for different work. As a general rule, spirit communication starts at the mind level with mental mediumship. It then begins to deepen through channelled speaking, automatic writing and light and medium trance. Finally, the spirit being can completely enter the physical body of the medium. This is what is known asdeep trance. In a light trance, the medium is partially conscious and able to recall the words of their guide. Historically, many references are to deep trance. Deep trance is where the medium has completely stepped aside and is unconscious, unaware of what is going on. They will have no recall of events. Wood, Matthew (2007). Possession Power and the New Age: Ambiguities of Authority in Neoliberal Societies. Ashgate Publishing, Limited. ISBN 978-0-7546-3339-6.

Janet Oppenheim. (1985). The Other World: Spiritualism and Psychical Research in England, 1850–1914. Cambridge University Press. p. 19. ISBN 978-0-521-26505-8 Trance phenomena result from the behavior of intense focusing of attention, which is the key psychological mechanism of trance induction. Adaptive responses, including institutionalized forms of trance, are 'tuned' into neural networks in the brain. [26] Physical mediumship [ edit ] A photograph of the medium Linda Gazzera with a doll as fake ectoplasm Donald Serrell Thomas. (1989). Robert Browning: A Life Within Life. Weidenfeld and Nicolson. pp. 157–58. ISBN 978-0-297-79639-8 Georgess McHargue. (1972). Facts, Frauds, and Phantasms: A Survey of the Spiritualist Movement. Doubleday. p. 250. ISBN 978-0-385-05305-1 Joseph McCabe. (1920). Is Spiritualism based on Fraud?: The Evidence Given by Sir A.C. Doyle and Others Drastically Examined. London: Watts & Co. p. 115The name, Saturday Night Press, was coined in 1989 when Tom Harrison wanted to publish the first booklet about his mother's mediumship entitled 'Visits by our Friends from the Other Side'. Martin Gardner. (1988). The New Age: Notes of a Fringe Watcher. Prometheus Books. p. 175. ISBN 978-0-87975-432-7