SLATE WRITING AND OTHER METHODS
A remarkably large number of methods have been used at one time
and another by the numerous mediums of lesser repute than Slade
who prospered on slate writing. Slade himself, like any skilled
prestidigitator, had a variety of ways which he used to produce his
effects. His usual method was very simple. A common kitchen table with
the leaves extended was used, the Doctor being seated at the end and
the client on the side against the leaf, at the Doctor’s right.
After the slate had been thoroughly washed on both sides he placed it
under the leaf at the left of the sitter, holding it in position with
the fingers of his right hand, with his thumb above the table. The
sitter was requested to hold the left end of the slate with one hand
and with the other to grasp the Doctor’s left hand near the center of
the table. In such a position it was impossible for the sitter to see
the slate or the fingers of the medium.
On the forefinger of his right hand Slade had a sort of thimble or ring
to which was attached a bit of slate pencil. With this he wrote a short
message on the bottom side of the slate, the scratching of the pencil
being quite audible to the sitter. When this scratching ceased the
Doctor would be seized with a series of nervous spasms during which the
slate was snatched from the sitter’s hand for the fraction of a second
and, unknown to him, turned over, thus bringing the message to the top
so that when a few minutes later it was shown the message appeared as
though written between the slate and the table leaf.
A second method, which produced longer messages, was the substitution
of slates. If this message was of a general character the slate was
_switched_ for one bearing a previously written message concealed about
a nearby piece of furniture. If a special message was required it was
written by an assistant listening in the next room. When the slate had
been cleaned ready for the message the Doctor gave the cue and the
assistant rapped on the door. The Doctor answered the knock in person,
taking the slate with him, and while listening to some commonplace
report the slates were exchanged. On resuming his seat the slate was
placed under the table leaf as before. No sound of writing being heard,
he would examine the top of the slate several times but of course find
no writing. Finally, claiming that the influence did not seem powerful
enough, he would lay the slate on the top of the table, message side
down with a piece of pencil under it, and then take both the hands
of the sitter in his. Soon a sound of writing would be heard and on
examination the message would be found. It was possible for Slade to
produce the sound of writing while his hands were holding those of his
client by slipping a piece of pencil through threads on the side of his
knee and rubbing it against another piece held to the table leg by a
wooden clip.
One of the most common methods of slate writing is known as the “flap
slate.” The message is written beforehand and concealed with a flap of
silicated gauze, or thin slate, which fits closely within the slate
frame. One side of this flap is covered with cloth to match that used
on the top of the table and when it is dropped is unnoticed. A better
way is to cover the back of the flap with newspaper and by dropping it
on a newspaper it becomes invisible.
There is an ingenious double form of this flap slate with which it is
possible to make a message appear on both inside surfaces of a pair of
locked slates without having them leave the sight of the sitter for
an instant. The two slates are hinged together like the old-fashioned
school slates but with the hinges on the outside of the slates. The
slabs of slate are very thin and the ends of the frames bevel toward
them slightly. One end of each frame is so made that by pressing on
one of the hinge screws the frame end is released and can be drawn out
about a quarter of an inch. A very thin slab of slate called the “flap”
is arranged to fit snugly over the real slate when the frame ends are
in place but drops out as soon as they are released and drawn out. In
working these slates the medium writes a message on the inside of one
of them, say the left, and also on one side of the flap. The end of
the slate with the message is then drawn out and the flap inserted,
message side down, and the frame fastened back in place. A secret mark
on the outside of the frame shows which slate is written upon. The
slates can then be shown and will appear clean on all four sides, and
it is possible to either seal or lock them without interfering with the
success of the demonstration. They are then placed on the table with
the fake ends nearest the medium and while he leans on their ends with
half-folded arms, engaging the sitter in conversation, he at the same
time with the fingers of his concealed hand pulls out the frame ends,
allowing the flap to fall from one slate to the other, and then secures
it in place by putting the ends back. Of course when the slates are
opened a closely written message is found on both.
Another sort of double slate intended for producing a similar effect
in dark seances or cabinet work also has a loose end which instead of
moving a quarter of an inch draws out to any length, bringing the slab
with it. After the lights are out or the cabinet closed it is an easy
matter to draw out the slab and write a message on it.
[Illustration: WRITING ON “HONEST SLATES” BY MEANS OF WEDGE AND WIRE.]
Writing is sometimes produced between two perfectly honest slates which
have been fastened together at the corners by inserting a wedge of hard
wood between the frames, thus separating them enough to slip between
them a piece of wire with a bit of slate pencil fastened to its tip. By
this means a message can be produced at a dark seance in a few minutes
without breaking the seals.
There is a form of slate where the slab is invisibly hinged on the side
so that it opens like a door and is held shut by a secret catch. This
slate can be used in a dark seance or under the table at a light one.
It can also be used on a cloth-top table with an invisible trap. The
trap and the hinged slate drop down together and the medium is able to
write on the slate by reaching under the table.
Still another scheme used with a pair of hinged slates is to have a
hole through both frames at one end and locking them with a padlock.
In working this the pins are pushed out of the hinges and the frames,
moving easily on the shackle of the padlock, permit the medium to
write on the inside of the slates without difficulty, afterwards
fastening the slates together again by simply replacing the pins in the
hinges.
A method of concealing an extra slate is to have it a trifle smaller
than the rest and then hidden in some convenient place, say the seat of
a chair. A large slate is first examined and laid on the chair. Later
it is picked up with the extra one under it. Sometimes the extra one is
hidden under the edge of a rug on the floor and worked in the same way.
At other times it is hidden on the medium’s body and slipped under a
large slate when the medium stands with his right side on a line with
the sitter’s vision.
An entirely different method is employed to some extent by mediums
who are very rapid and interesting talkers. Throughout the seance the
medium walks nervously about the room, keeping up a continual flow of
conversation. He passes two slates to the sitter for examination. A
third, the same size, with a previously written message on one side,
being concealed in a large pocket inside the breast of his coat. While
the slates are being examined he walks about the room sometimes behind
and sometimes in front of the sitter, tapping him on the shoulder to
emphasize his remarks. As soon as the slates are examined he takes
them and, passing behind the sitter, places them on his head and asks
him to hold them there and at the same time continuing his walk and
talk. Of course when the slates are examined there is a message on the
inside of one of them. When the medium steps behind the sitter with
the slates in his hand he quickly changes the slate with a message
which he has hidden for one of the blank ones. This is no more bold or
difficult than many mediumistic tricks but it requires a particularly
fluent conversationalist to successfully produce the needed amount
of misdirection when the slates are switched. Women mediums effect a
similar exchange sometimes by the aid of a special pocket in the dress.
A very effective method of getting a direct answer to a question on
the inside of a sealed double slate is as follows. The slates are
thoroughly cleansed by the sitter, who writes a question on a slip of
paper, folds it and places it between the slates, with a bit of pencil.
The medium keeps at a distance during the writing and cannot see what
has been written. The slates are then sealed with strips of paper and
placed on the table and the sitter holds both hands of the medium.
After a time, as no sound of writing is heard, the medium shows some
concern as to the possibility of failure and _suggests_ that the sitter
hold the slates at the top of his own head. Still there is no sound
and the slates are returned to the table, where they remain for some
time without any sign of writing. The medium becomes very much worried
and suggests that the slates be placed on the sitter’s head again,
remarking that if no sound is heard he will be obliged to postpone that
test till a future sitting. This time the writing is heard almost as
soon as the slates touch the head and when it ceases and the slates are
unsealed a complete answer is found written on the inner surface of one
or both slates.
This seeming marvel is produced in the following simple manner. The
medium’s assistant steals into the room with a duplicate pair of sealed
slates and stands behind the sitter. In the act of placing the slates
on the head a switch is made, and the sitter holds the duplicates while
the originals are taken into an adjoining room by the assistant. He
lifts the seals with a hot table knife and after reading the question
he writes an appropriate answer, reseals the slates and returns to his
position behind the sitter. Another exchange is made when the slates
are placed on the sitter’s head the second time. The sound of writing
is made by the medium under the table with a piece of slate pencil and
a bit of slate, but it is so faint that the sitter cannot locate it.
[Illustration: HOUDINI, MRS. HOUDINI, AND MR. TEALE DEMONSTRATING A
METHOD OF SWITCHING SLATES OVER A SITTER’S HEAD]
In Bohemia, Province of Prague, I ran across a medium who was
especially good in slate writing. At first I could not “get” his work.
When I was playing in Berlin, at the Wintergarten, he came in one night
and wanted to give a performance to the directors. I was guest but went
prepared for him. His work was so designed that he walked behind us and
in so doing he baffled me. I asked for a private sitting and he readily
consented.
When he did the slate writing at this sitting I felt someone’s
presence, and, sure enough, when he took the slates away there was
an almost imperceptible hesitation. In this fraction of a second the
slates were switched through a _trap in the panel_ behind me. I had a
mirror on a rubber elastic fastened to my vest and as I took my seat
I pulled the elastic so I could sit on it. I managed to secure this
mirror and keep it palmed in my hand, and with it saw the panel slide
open, the arm extended with the duplicate slates, and the exchange made.
S. S. Baldwin, an acknowledged expert in Spiritualistic and Telepathic
tomfoolery, was bamboozled by a Dr. Fair, according to his own story
which he told to me in December, 1920. He received a message on a slate
held by himself under a table, and afterwards, at the suggestion of
the Doctor, made a thorough examination of the table, the room, and
everything in sight, but failed to discover a concealed door in the
wainscot of the wall through which a man in black garments could find
his way to space under a sofa and thence to the table, which was a
rather large one, do the Spirit writing and then make his exit while
Mr. Baldwin was fully occupied holding the slate under the table with
his eyes fixed on space above it.
One of the very best mediumistic tricks, and one that has made the
reputation of more than one well-known medium, is done with a number of
small slates and one large one. The size of the slates is immaterial
but the large one should be three or four inches larger each way than
the others. The manner of presentation differs somewhat with different
performers but in general is as follows.
When the sitters arrive the slates are piled near one corner of the
table, the larger one at the bottom and eight or nine smaller ones on
top of it. The medium stands at the end of the table nearest the slates
and after a few casual remarks he picks up the top slate with his
left hand, changes it to his right and passes it to the sitter to be
examined and cleaned if desired. When he is quite satisfied the medium
takes it back, glances at both sides, and then places it on the table
directly in front of the sitter. This is repeated with the remaining
small slates, which are not stacked up evenly but left in a haphazard
pile. While the last small slate is being placed on the pile with the
medium’s right hand he picks up the large slate with his left and rests
it on top of the others, at the same time passing the sitter a pencil
and asking him to write a few lines on it requesting the Spirits to
favor him with a message and to sign his name to it. He is at liberty
to examine this slate also and to write his message on either side.
The large slate is then placed at the right of the sitter and he is
asked to place his right hand on it. The small slates are then evened
up by the medium, secured by a heavy rubber band and then placed in
the center of the table. The medium then takes a seat at the table
opposite the sitter and they clasp hands at the sides of the slates.
After a sufficient pause the slates are unbound by the sitter and on a
slate near the center of the stack a message is found written in chalk
or slate pencil and signed by a departed friend.
The secret of this startling effect is extremely simple. Concealed
beneath the big slate at the beginning of the seance is a smaller
slate with the message already written on it. This is picked up with
the larger one when the latter is placed on the stack for the sitter
to write on it and dropped on the others, written side down. The
extra slate is never noticed as the pile has not been counted and the
business of passing the slate pencil occupies the sitter’s attention so
that he does not realize that the large slate rests on the small ones
before he examines it.
The medium then takes about half the small slates, evens them up and
lays them to one side and repeats with the remaining ones, laying them
evenly on the others. This is a perfectly natural move as the whole
stack makes more than a handful and by means of it the slate with the
message is placed in the middle of the stack. The stack is then set
on end, the rubber band placed around it, and it is then ready to be
placed in the middle of the table for conclusion of the seance.
Two methods of writing between locked or sealed double slates when only
one or two words were needed puzzled the investigators for a long time.
The first was worked with a strong magnet. The bit of slate pencil
which was put between the slates was specially prepared with either
powdered soapstone mixed with iron filings, water, and glue, or a small
piece of iron was used covered with a paste of soapstone, water, and
mucilage. By holding the magnet under the slates and tracing the words
_backwards_ the prepared pencils would follow the magnet and write the
words. The other method was worked with an electro magnet set in the
table, the necessary wires running down one leg and making contact with
a copper plate in the floor under the rug by means of a sharp metal
point on the end of the leg.
Since the introduction of “raps”[71] by the Fox Sisters various methods
have been devised for producing them. One of the simplest expedients
is for the medium to slightly moisten the fingers and slide them very
gently on the top of the table. A little experimenting soon shows the
amount of pressure necessary to produce the desired amount of sound
and of course the medium is cautious to let the fingers move only the
desired distance and that too when no one is looking.
Another simple method is to place the thumbs close together in such a
manner that the nail of one overlaps the other a trifle. Then while the
thumbs are pressed hard on the table if one nail is slipped up or down
distinct raps are produced which seem to come from the top of the table.
Some mediums produce raps by slipping a knee up and down against a
table leg. Others have been known to fasten blocks of wood to the knee
under the skirt and rap on the table leg with a sidewise motion of the
knee. Still others strike the table leg with the heel of the shoe or
press the side of the heel against the table leg and by moving the heel
up and down the friction of the leather against the wood produces raps.
[Illustration: TUBE AND PISTON ARRANGEMENT FOR MAKING RAPS.]
Many mediums will not depend on these methods but use more complicated
ones which produce the raps by means of mechanical devices which they
conceal about their person. One of these consists of a small hollow
metal tube in which a long, heavy burlap needle is arranged to move
up and down like a piston, and attached to it to operate it a stout
black thread. The tube is fastened to the inner side of a trouser
leg. The free end of the thread is brought out through a seam and an
inconspicuous little hook attached. After being seated at the seance
table the medium attaches the little hook to the opposite trouser leg
and draws on it until the needle point comes through the cloth. He then
watches an opportunity to press on to the point of the needle a cork to
which has been attached a piece of lead. This accomplished, all he has
to do is to place the knee in the proper relation to the table and by
moving the other back and forth the piston is made to work up and down,
causing the leaded cork to rap out all sorts of messages.
[Illustration: RAPPING MECHANISM IN HEEL OF MEDIUM’S SHOE.]
Another ingenious mechanical contrivance is built into the heel of the
medium’s shoe and operated electrically by running a wire from it up
through the sole of the shoe and passing it between the back of the
shoe and the foot and so on up the leg to batteries concealed in a
pocket. By placing this heel against a table leg the raps can be made
to sound as though coming from the middle of the table and with a
proper amount of “suggestion” the sitters can be made to believe that
the mysterious taps are produced in turn under each pair of hands on
the table.
Table levitating is easily accomplished in the dark, through the
aid of a confederate, by several different methods. If the medium
and his assistant are seated opposite, by raising their knees at a
signal they can lift the table from the floor without difficulty. By
slightly rocking or tipping the table the medium and assistant can
simultaneously slip a foot under table legs diagonally opposite, lift
the table and keep it balanced by the pressure of the hands on its top.
These and many similar methods are perfectly practical in dark seances
but for manifestations where there is any danger of the sitters being
able to see mechanical contrivances are resorted to. The oldest form is
simply a light, though powerfully strong, length of blue steel riveted
to a stout leather wrist strap. When not in use the whole thing is
concealed in the medium’s sleeve. Sometimes both the medium and the
assistant are thus equipped.
This has been somewhat superseded by a chamois-covered flat steel hook
concealed under the vest and riveted to a tight-fitting leather belt
encircling the medium’s body. With this hook under the table edge great
power can be exerted upon the table with very little strain upon the
operator. The lifting strength of a human hair is not generally known,
yet by means of one freshly taken from the head, long enough to span
a small light table, the table can be lifted. One of the more modern
contrivances is a steel belt which the operator wears and to the front
of which is attached a short metal arm which can be engaged under
the table top in such a way that the operator can take his hands off
the table and still support it in the air. When releasing the table
the metal arm is slipped back and the steel belt shifted to another
position on the body, the medium’s coat concealing both.
Just as advances are made in other lines of work, so too mediums
advance in their methods of deceiving their subjects. Few would resort
to the old-time methods of releasing a foot from under the foot of an
investigator. They have devised a new and baffling method. The medium’s
shoes are especially made for her in such a way that by a certain
pressure on the sole it is possible to withdraw the greater portion of
the shoe with the foot from a false front. This front is made of metal
and padded. When the medium asks the committee to place their feet on
hers she makes sure that they do not over-reach the portion she can
withdraw from. In the full glare of the light the investigator thinks
he feels the medium’s foot securely held under his own and as he cannot
see under the table the medium has the full use of her foot to produce
manifestations.
I once gave a seance while I was touring in England. It was a dark
seance and just at the psychological moment a Spirit came through the
window and walked around on the wall and ceiling of the room and then
out of another window. The explanation is simple. On the bill with me
were two acrobats, hand to hand balancers. One took off his shoes and
stockings and the other sneaked up to him. He pulled down the window
and then did a hand-to-hand balance with his partner and walked around
the room. He then went back to his seat, put on his shoes, and looked
as innocent and meek as possible under the circumstances when the
lights were turned on. I told every one present that it was only a
trick but as usual they insisted that I was a medium.
A rope trick which always causes astonishment and helps to create a
belief in supernatural aid is done by a woman medium who enters a
cabinet with a rope bound around her neck. The loose ends of the rope
are forced through opposite sides of the cabinet and held tightly by
two members of the committee. Nevertheless the manifestations take
place just the same and when the cabinet is opened afterwards the
medium is found bound just as she was before the seance. As a matter of
fact when the curtains have been closed and the committee have a grip
on the ends of the rope the medium cuts the specially tied loop around
her neck. When she is ready to come out she simply ties another loop,
using a duplicate piece of rope which she had concealed on her person.
When the committee release the ends of the rope she slips the mutilated
piece into her bloomers and appears with the duplicate, which looks
like the original one.
There are various methods of producing Spirit photographs. One is to
have a table prepared so that a developing pan is placed where an X-ray
penetrates to the negative. This produces a “Spirit light.” Another is
to fix the side of the plate with some luminous substance, shape, or
flash, and it is astonishing what these things look like. You get forms
and frequently recognize faces in the splotches. Father de Heredia
has palmed a figure in his hand and as the investigator signed the
negative remarked: “I might as well sign it myself.” In so doing he
rested the left hand over the plate while signing with his right and
the phosphorous figure in his hand was photographed on the negative. A
simple method is to have something concealed in the hand and hold it
over the lens instead of a cap, and still another is to get the camera
out of focus and snap it secretly, then when the regular exposure is
made there is an additional hazy something on the plate.
One of the most startling swindles I ever heard of a medium working
was called “finger-printing a Spirit.” In this test the medium shows
the sitter finger prints of the departed soul. I hesitated at first
about including this fake, fearing to add to the stock of unscrupulous
mediums but I finally concluded that the public should know about it.
The scheme was first discovered by a sculptor who dabbled some in
Spiritualism. One day, several years ago, a workman fell from the top
of the building, in which this man had his studio, and was killed. The
body was carried into the studio and while alone with it the sculptor
conceived the idea of fooling some guests who were to hold a seance
that night. He hurriedly made a plaster of Paris mould of the dead
man’s fingers and later filled it with a rubber-like substance used in
his work. When this had hardened and the plaster had been removed it
resembled, even to the most minute detail, the dead hand.
During the seance that night he produced finger prints with it on a
trumpet which he had lampblacked and upon investigation it was found
that these finger prints corresponded exactly with those of the man
in the morgue. No one was able to explain the mystery and he kept the
secret for some time but later another medium learned it and obtained a
position in an undertaking establishment where he found an opportunity
after a while to secure the finger prints of several of the dead who
belonged to the wealthy class. In due time he arranged seances with
the relatives and convinced them of his genuineness. There are two
cases on record where fortunes were at stake because of this sort of
fraud. In one case five hundred thousand dollars changed hands upon
the recognition of the finger prints of a man who had died two years
before. His hand had been maimed in an accident and all the scars
showed in the impression on the Spirit slate. Fortunately a confession
was wrung from the medium and the money went to the rightful heirs.
A “manifestation” which seems mysterious but which is in reality
ridiculously simple is worked as follows. A glass is filled with water
and placed on the table in a cabinet. Ribbons or bands of tape are then
drawn over it at right angles and the ends fastened to the table with
nails. Thus secured the glass cannot be lifted and the top is entirely
covered except some small openings. The medium is then locked into
the cabinet for a few minutes, during which he keeps up a continual
clapping of his hands, but when the cabinet is unlocked the glass is
empty of water and the general impression is that the Spirits drained
it. As a matter of fact the medium had worked his hands up near his
face and shifted from slapping his hands to slapping his face with
one hand. This left a hand free and with it he had no difficulty in
producing a straw from his pocket and sucking the water from the glass.
Of course these examples are only a few of the many means employed by
mediums to produce their “manifestations” and take advantage of the
credulity of the average sitter, but they are enough to show the reader
the sort of methods practiced and the lengths to which they will go in
their deceptions.