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Spiritualism is a social religious movement popular in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, according to which an individual's awareness persists after death and may be contacted by the living. The afterlife, or the "spirit world", is seen by spiritualists not as a static place, but as one in which spirits continue to interact and evolve. These two beliefs—that contact with spirits is possible, and that spirits are more advanced than humans—lead spiritualists to the belief that spirits are capable of advising the living on moral and ethical issues and the nature of God. Some spiritualists follow "spirit guides"—specific spirits relied upon for spiritual direction.
A séance or seance is an attempt to communicate with spirits. The word séance comes from the French word for "session", from the Old French seoir, "to sit". In French, the word's meaning is quite general and mundane: one may, for example, speak of "une séance de cinéma". In English, however, the word came to be used specifically for a meeting of people who are gathered to receive messages from ghosts or to listen to a spirit medium discourse with or relay messages from spirits. In modern English usage, participants need not be seated while engaged in a séance.
In Spiritualism, paranormal literature and some religions, materialization is the creation or appearance of matter from unknown sources. The existence of materialization has not been confirmed by laboratory experiments. Numerous cases of fraudulent materialization demonstrations by mediums have been exposed.
Mediumship is the pseudoscientific practice of purportedly mediating communication between familiar spirits or spirits of the dead and living human beings. Practitioners are known as "mediums" or "spirit mediums". There are different types of mediumship or spirit channelling, including séance tables, trance, and ouija. The practice is associated with spiritualism and spiritism. A similar New Age practice is known as channeling.
Eusapia Palladino was an Italian Spiritualist physical medium. She claimed extraordinary powers such as the ability to levitate tables, communicate with the dead through her spirit guide John King, and to produce other supernatural phenomena.
Florence Eliza Cook was a medium who claimed to materialise a spirit, "Katie King". The question of whether the spirit was real or a fraud was a notable public controversy of the mid-1870s. Her abilities were endorsed by Sir William Crookes but many observers were skeptical of Crookes's investigations, both at the time and subsequently.
In spiritualism, ectoplasm, also known as simply ecto, is a substance or spiritual energy "exteriorized" by physical mediums. It was coined in 1894 by psychical researcher Charles Richet. Although the term is widespread in popular culture, there is no scientific evidence that ectoplasm exists and many purported examples were exposed as hoaxes fashioned from cheesecloth, gauze or other natural substances.
Eva Carrière, also known as Eva C, was a fraudulent materialization medium in the early 20th century known for making fake ectoplasm from chewed paper and cut-out faces from magazines and newspapers.
Franek Kluski, real name Teofil Modrzejewski (1873-1943), was a Polish physical medium criticized by trained magicians and skeptics as a fraud. Kluski was best known for his séances in which alleged "spirit" molds of hands materialized. It was later demonstrated by Massimo Polidoro and chemist Luigi Garlaschelli that these molds could have easily been made by fraudulent methods.
Major-General Sir Alfred Edward Turner, was a British Army officer of the late nineteenth century, who served in administrative posts in Ireland.
Jan Guzyk (1875–1928), also known as Jan Guzik was a Polish spiritualist medium known for his alleged ability of psychokinesis. Guzyk was exposed as a fraud by psychical researchers Harry Price and Max Dessoir.
William Eglinton (1857–1933), also known as William Eglington was a British spiritualist medium who was exposed as a fraud.
Einer Nielsen (1894–1965) was a Danish physical medium and spiritualist.
Bert Reese (1851–1926) was an American-Polish medium and mentalist, best known for his billet reading demonstrations.
Frank Decker was a 20th-century American spiritualist medium who was discovered to be a fraud.
Francis Ward Monck was a British clergyman and spiritualist medium who was exposed as a fraud.
Kathleen Goligher was an Irish spiritualist medium. Goligher was endorsed by engineer William Jackson Crawford who wrote three books about her. She was exposed as a fraud by physicist Edmund Edward Fournier d'Albe in 1921.
Ada Maud Besinnet Roche (1890–1936), also known as Ada Bessinet, was an American spiritualist medium.
Pierre Louis Ormond Augustus Keeler (1855-1942), best known as Pierre L. O. A. Keeler, was an American spiritualist medium.
Vice admiral William Usborne Moore also known as W. Usborne Moore was a British naval commander, psychical researcher and spiritualist.
References
- ↑ Spence, Lewis. (2003). Encyclopedia of Occultism & Parapsychology. Kessinger Publishing. p. 445. ISBN 978-1161361827
- ↑ Anderson, Rodger (2006). Psychics, Sensitives and Somnambules. McFarland & Company. p. 90. ISBN 978-0786427703
- ↑ Price, Harry. (1939). Fifty Years of Psychical Research. Kessinger Publishing. p. 203. ISBN 978-0766142428
- ↑ Anonymous. (15 December 1913). Spirits Appear at Seance in London. The Salt Lake Tribune.
- ↑ Anonymous. (15 December 1913). Stead's Ghost Floating Around. The Daily Gate City.
- ↑ Goldston, Will. (1942). Tricks Of The Masters. G. Routledge & Sons, Ltd. p. 4