WHY ECTOPLASM?
Years have passed since my first meeting with the Hon. Everard
Feilding! Many times during those years I have discussed Spiritualism
with him and no one has ever been more interested than he in the
results of my investigations and study of it and it was through his
help that I was able to investigate personally the famous Eva Carriere,
better known perhaps as Mlle. Eva.
One evening in the spring of 1920 during a quiet dinner at his
home in London the conversation drifted toward Ectoplasm. I told
Mr. and Mrs.[95] Feilding about attending a Sunday meeting of the
London Psychical College through the courtesy of Hewat McKenzie. At
this meeting Mme. Bisson and Mlle. Eva were introduced by Fornieur
d’Albe and Mme. Bisson while delivering an impromptu talk seized the
opportunity to resent the attack of a French magician and to explain in
unmistakable tones her antagonism toward prestidigitators.
Mr. Feilding assured me I was correct about her antipathy towards
magicians and suggested that the only way I could ever hope to attend
one of her seances was to convince the medium that I was not one of the
biased prestidigitator class, and proposed as a means to attain this
end a theatre party to see my performance and thus enable Mme. Bisson
and Mlle. Eva to judge for themselves. This was arranged and the night
they came to the theatre to see me I did the Torture Cell Mystery, in
which I am completely submerged, head foremost, in a tank of water,
and it is a physical impossibility to obtain air while locked in the
device. They were so much mystified that they expressed a desire to
attend another performance of mine sometime in the near future. I had
just accepted a challenge to escape from a packing case which was to be
built on the stage by experienced carpenters and thinking that it would
be an interesting performance for Mme. Bisson to witness I extended her
an invitation and received the following letter in reply.
“May 19, 1920.
“Dear Mr. Houdini:
“We, Mlle. Eva and I, shall be charmed to see you at the
performance of which you have spoken to me, on next Wednesday.
Since you have had the great kindness to offer us several
tickets, it gives me great pleasure to accept, and if you wish,
you may send us four, as we expect to join in the applause with
Mr. and Mrs. Feilding.
“I also wish to tell you something else!
“You know that we give seances here, showing the phenomena
of materialization. These are not spirit studies. They are
scientific.
“It would interest Mr. Feilding and ourselves to have at
our seances a master in the art of prestidigitation, but
I have always refused to admit to my house, an ordinary
prestidigitator, or even one of better rank. Our work is
serious and real, and the gift of Mlle. Eva might disappear
forever, if some awkward individual insists on thinking there
is fraud involved, instead of real and interesting facts, which
especially interest the scientific.
“For you this does not hold! You are above all this. You are a
magnificent actor, who can not call himself a prestidigitator,
a title beneath a man of your talent.
“I shall therefore, (rather we shall) be proud to see you
attend our seances and hear you tell us all, after you have
been thoroughly convinced yourself, that their merit is far
beneath your own, for these manifestations depend merely upon
allowing the forces of nature to act, and lie simply in truth
of fact. Whereas with you, it is your merit, your talent, and
your personal valor that have enabled you to attain the place
of King in your art.
“With kind and esteemed regards to Mme. Houdini and yourself,
(Signed) Juliette Bisson.”
(Translated.)
When I showed this letter to Mr. Feilding he was both surprised and
pleased for it gave him an opportunity to invite me to become one of
the Committee which was to investigate Mme. Bisson and Mlle. Eva’s
seances to be held by the Society for Psychical Research, and so at the
combined invitations of the mediums and Mr. Feilding I attended eight.
Each of them lasted three hours and I firmly believe that a description
of them and their results is important.
At these seances my word was pledged to give full and sacred thoughts
and I tried to control my thoughts so that my whole attention could
be given to the medium. There was no scoffing and there was the will
to believe. I felt that if anything was manifested by the Spirits my
conscience would be clear. However, I sat with my eyes open, taking
in even the most minute details and keeping on my guard against any
trickery. A number of times I occupied a “control” chair at the
medium’s left with her left limb between mine and both of my hands
holding her left hand and wrist, while Eric Dingwall had the Committee
seat on her right. Eva was accompanied at all of the seances by Mme.
Bisson and the method of procedure was always the same. After Eva had
been stripped and searched[96] in an adjoining room by the lady members
of the Committee, she returned dressed in tights and Mme. Bisson would
then put her into a mesmeric sleep. There is no doubt in my mind
that the girl was really put to sleep. We were requested to all join
in asking her in unison for about fifteen minutes at each crisis to
“give”--“donnez”--then, after about three hours, she would bring forth
this alleged ectoplasm.
At one of the seances the Hon. Feilding did insist on Eva’s eating
crackers and drinking coffee, so that if she had anything concealed in
her stomach, which she might by regurgitation expel, the coffee would
discolor it.
The seance of June 22, 1920, was held at 20 Hanover Square, London.
Mme. Bisson and Eva retired to another room and Eric Dingwall sewed
a black lace veil to the tights which Eva wore. This veil completely
enshrouded her and looked like a sort of bag or net. The object of this
was to prevent her from placing anything in her mouth or get anything
from her tights to the neck--in fact, it was a double security against
fraud. We sat and waited and finally she expelled from her mouth a
great deal of foam.
Feilding and Baggley stated that it looked as though it had come from
her nose. I saw distinctly that it was a heavy froth and was adhering
to her veil on the inside. Dingwall, who sat next to the medium, agreed
with me it had emanated from her mouth, but when she leaned forward
it looked as though it was coming from her nose. She produced a white
plaster and eventually managed to juggle it over her eye. There was a
face in it which looked to me like a colored cartoon and seemed to
have been unrolled.
The last thing she produced that evening was a substance which she said
she felt in her mouth and asked permission to use her hands to show.
This was granted and she took a load from her mouth behind the veil
which was wet and looked soaked. It appeared to be inflated rubber.
No one saw a face painted on it. Presently it seemed to disappear.
They all said it “vanished suddenly,” but my years of experience
in presenting the Hindoo needle trick[97] convinced me that she
“sleight-of-handed” it into her mouth while pretending to have it
between her fingers. I know positively that the move she made is almost
identical with the manner in which I manipulate my experiment. Dingwall
was very confident and told Mme. Bisson that he was _nearly_ satisfied
with Eva’s experiments. She showed her peevishness to Feilding so
plainly that I could scarcely conceal my smiles.
In the course of conversation after the seance, Mme. Bisson told the
Committee that at one time Eva had materialized on the top of her knees
the head of an American soldier with a heavy mustache and blue eyes.
It caused some merriment when Dingwall asked her how she could tell
the color of a man’s eyes in the dark. Mme. Bisson, perplexed and in
grieved tones, asked whether they were suspicious or simply did not
believe her. They tried hard to pacify her but to no avail.
[Illustration: MME. BISSON, MRS. FEILDING (TOMCHICK), AND MLLE. EVA]
At the seance of June 24th, held in the same place, I arrived somewhat
late but the Committee allowed me to come in. That evening I felt that
there was something wrong in the air and after the lapse of two hours
Mme. Bisson told us that she was in grief and greatly disheartened
because there was so much suspicion aimed at her. She was especially
peeved at Dingwall, who had told her that he was only “almost”
convinced. At no time was I antagonistic but, on the contrary, willing
to help along.
Presently Feilding in a rather jovial mood left the room for a breath
of fresh air. When he came back he was very serious and asked that
they continue. Mme. Bisson thought he was trying to tease her and
became very angry. She was wrong, in my opinion, but they argued and
expostulated for half an hour and then the seance broke up. During the
argument Eva, who was in a cabinet in a “trance state,” spoke out as
though she had not been in a trance. I afterwards asked Mr. Feilding
if this was not suspicious, but he told me that it was possible for
a human being while in a trance or hypnotic state to carry on a
conversation consciously. When Mme. Bisson left us Mr. Feilding told
me that he was very sorry about the unpleasantness and would make all
possible amends to her.
After a number of sittings with Eva during which nothing startling
occurred I made up my mind to be lenient with the medium and help her,
so I held her hands for some time and gradually withdrew both of mine,
giving her all the leeway she needed in case there was any desire on
her part to use the hand which I was supposed to be holding, but she
made no move whatever.
I was not in any way convinced by the demonstrations witnessed. I
believe that Eva’s feats are accomplished by regurgitation. If not,
the work she is reputed to do is an “inside job.”[98] I regret that I
do not believe Mme. Bisson entitled to a clean bill of health. During
the seances which I attended she kept up a quasi hypnotic work full of
gestures and suggestions as to what could be seen, putting into the
minds of those present “shadowy forms and faces.” In my estimation she
is a subtle and gifted assistant to Eva whom I do not believe to be
honest. On the contrary, I have no hesitation in saying that I think
the two simply took advantage of the credulity and good nature of the
various men with whom they had to deal.
In this conclusion I am not alone, for in reviewing the Villa Carmine
seances of Mlle. Eva, Mr. Heuze states in the _London Telegraph_ of
September 4th, 1922:
“The whiteness supposed to have come from the ‘world beyond’ was
nothing but a Communicant’s veil rolled up in the medium’s pocket.”
He also quotes Mlle. Eva as saying:
“Monsieur, I never made any confession.”
“In that case,” he comments, “all I can say is that M. Carborrnel, M.
Coulom, Maître Marsault, Maître Jourman, Dr. Demis, Mlle. Mare, M.
Verdier, Cochet M. Portal, Mme. Portal and others must have all lied in
a body to persecute Mlle. Eva.”
Also the Sorbonne scientists at Paris, according to a report in the
_New York Times_, stated officially that during fifteen seances with
Mlle. Eva there was nothing beyond the simple act of regurgitation.
In two instances there was no ectoplasm seen at any time in spite of
the fact that Mme. Bisson suggested that two little discs produced
by Mlle. Eva were assuming forms and faces. None of the professors,
however, were able to see anything of the kind, but on the contrary
declared that:
“The substance was absolutely inert, only moving as movement was
given it by the medium’s mouth. The substance having been reabsorbed
the medium seemed to be chewing for some seconds and then apparently
swallowed it.”[99]
W. J. Crawford, Doctor of Science, and a lecturer on Mechanical
Engineering, of Belfast, Ireland, became very much interested in a
family of mediums consisting of a father, four daughters, a son, and
a son-in-law and known as the Goligher Circle. Of the seven, the most
successful was Miss Kathleen Goligher.[100]
While at Mr. Feilding’s home in London I had the pleasure of meeting
this Dr. Crawford and talking with him for several hours. During the
talk he showed me pictures of what he claimed was ectoplasm exuding
from different parts of Kathleen Goligher’s body and told me he was
going to use them in a forthcoming book.
“Do you honestly believe that everything you have experienced through
your contact and experiments with the girl is absolutely genuine?” I
asked him.
“I am positive in my belief,” he answered.
After he had gone Mr. Feilding turned to me and asked:
“What do you think of Dr. Crawford?”
“He seems mad to me,” I answered.
“Houdini, you are mistaken,” he replied.
Nevertheless I do not think that Dr. Crawford was the right man or had
the right sort of a mind for an investigation. To me his credulity
seemed limitless. E. E. Fournier d’Albe’s report of Dr. Crawford’s
seance with the Goligher Circle coincides with my judgment. In a
communication addressed to “Light” in August, 1922, d’Albe referring to
his own tenth seance says:
“I found to my surprise that I could myself with some little
management, produce the phenomena with my feet exactly as I had
observed them.”
Dr. Von Schrenk-Notzing[101] charged d’Albe with entering his
investigation with “prejudice against the genuineness of the Goligher
phenomena.” This d’Albe denied, saying:
“I had gone to Belfast fresh from Eva C’s seance with a strong
conviction of reality and with firm faith in Dr. Crawford’s
reliability and accuracy. I expected a gifted medium surrounded
by her honest folks, but then came the blows: first, the
contact photographs, then the evidences of trickery. The sight
of the ‘medium’ raising a stool with her foot, filled me with
bitter disappointment. _The simple, honest folks all turned out
to be an alert, secretive, troublesome group of well-organized
performers._”
Here is the experience of a man, who, with a mind _prejudiced in
favor_, entered upon a series of tests expecting full confirmation of
impressions already gotten from his experiences with Eva C., but though
ready to believe, not biased against the conclusions or rational
deduction. His summary, though brief, is worthy of note:
“The Goligher Circle has repeatedly been urged, by myself
and others, to submit to further investigations by a fresh
investigator, but so far without success. If it does consent, I
can predict two things with confidence:
I. No genuine psychic phenomena will be observed.
II. No evidence of fraud will be obtained, as the members of
the Circle are exceedingly wary, and the evidence of trickery
which I obtained was gathered under conditions which they had
not foreseen, but which they will doubtless avoid in the future.
“I also feel safe in predicting that if Miss Goligher’s feet
and hands are controlled, _and the cooperation of the other
sitters eliminated_, there will be no levitation of any kind.
(Signed) E. E. Fournier d’Albe.
21 Gower Street,
W.C.1
Poor Dr. Crawford! He committed suicide in Belfast in 1920 and left a
note saying that his research into Spiritualism had nothing to do with
his self-murder. I am very sorry indeed that this sincere investigator
became his own judge because what he had written had been done in good
faith.
A short time after Dr. Crawford’s death his literary executor requested
Dr. d’Albe, early in 1921, to undertake a further series of researches
with the same medium and circle in order, if possible, to obtain an
independent confirmation of his results and theories and to collect
more data concerning the nature of these manifestations. d’Albe tells
in his book how he caught Katie Goligher manipulating and how he saw
against the dim, red background of the wall the stool held by Katie’s
foot and a portion of her leg. In some of these manipulations the
people around the table assisted.
When he left Belfast he wrote a very nice letter in which he intimated
that the result of his three months’ experience with the Goligher
Circle did not furnish any definite proofs of the psychic origin of the
numerous phenomena witnessed by him, and as they were of no scientific
value he had decided to have no more sittings. It was suggested that
Katie Goligher give twelve more sittings under test conditions, but she
refused on the ground that her health would not permit her to entertain
such a proposal for at least a year.
I sat with d’Albe at one of Mlle. Eva’s seances. I liked his methods
and believe him to be a sincere investigator. I have the following note
from him in answer to a letter of mine.
Kingston-on-Thames.
October 10, 1922.
“Dear Houdini:
“Yours of the 26th ult. just received. Yes, the Goligher legend
has lost its glamour. I must say I was greatly surprised at
Crawford’s blindness....
“Sincerely yours,
“d’Albe.”
In 1920, Capt. C. Marsh Beadnell, of London, published a pamphlet in
which he offered twenty pounds if Dr. Crawford’s mediums would produce
a single levitation under conditions which would preclude trickery. I
am certain that any magician with a circle of six of his own choosing
and with only one observer of the Crawford type could, under the same
conditions, produce effects much more startling than any of those
recounted by the trustful doctor.
The book to which Dr. Crawford referred when he showed me the
photographs he intended to use in it has, since his death, been
published by David Gow, Editor of the Spiritualistic paper _Light_. In
a prefatory note he writes:
“I could say much about the present book with its remarkable
elucidation of many problems connected with the psychical phenomena of
Spiritualism, but I content myself with a reference to such experiments
as those with the soft clay and the methylene blue, which finally clear
away certain suspicions which have always attached to psychical mediums
in connection with materialization phenomena amongst uninstructed
investigators. This is not the least valuable part of a valuable book.”
The above statement raises the question of what bearing any of these
experiments, supposing every detail claimed were a fact, has on a
future state. What possible information could impressions in clay, or
stockings soiled by dye, furnish concerning the future state of a soul?
Ejner Nielson, of Copenhagen, was sponsored by Dr. Oscar Jaeger,
Professor of Economics at the University of Christiania, Norway, and
President of the Norwegian Society for Psychical Research. Professor
Jaeger was invited by the Editor of the _Politikon_, at Copenhagen,
to hold a seance with Neilson. He accepted and it took place in
January, 1922, before a specially selected committee[102] appointed
by the president of the Norwegian University, Professor Frederick
Stange. A few weeks later the committee reported that Nielson had
not been capable of producing any so-called teleplasma or phenomena
of materialization. Subsequently the Society for Psychical Research
reported that teleplasma had been “artificially brought into the body
of the medium.”
Paul Heuze, writing of the Polish medium, in the _London Daily
Telegraph_ of September 18, 1922, says:
“S. D. Stamislaski arrived in Paris on April 7th. On the 10th he had an
interview at the Sorbonne with Professor Piéron and on the 11th I went,
at his request, to take part in the initial seance which was held in a
bedroom of his hotel. This was, of course, merely a preparatory seance.
My impression was not at all favorable.”
In speaking of the subsequent seances of this medium he declares:
“The whole thing may be summed up in a single sentence; the result
was pitiable. Suffice it to say that in spite of inadequate control,
not only did I never see any of the luminous phenomena of the first
seances but that hardly anything took place at all and when it did it
was merely one of those clumsy pieces of deception that are practiced
in the most ordinary Spiritualistic seances:--Articles moved, thrown
forward, touchings, slaps, books dropped on the head, etc. The whole
thing carried out in such a manner that there could not be the
slightest doubt as to the gross trickery with which it was performed.”
I have personally attended seances held by two of the ectoplasmic
mediums, Mlle. Eva and Mrs. Thompson, and I have no doubt that it
is only a question of time when all such mediums, as well as these
two, including Stamislawa, P. Frank Kluski, S. G. Stamislaski, Jean
Guzek,[103] Kathleen Goligher, Ejner Nielson, Frau Siebert and Willy
Sch, will be authentically classified as questionable.
Bear in mind, I am not a skeptic. It is my will to believe and
if convincing evidence is brought forward I will be the first to
acknowledge my mistake, but up to the present day nothing has crossed
my path to make me think that the Great Almighty will allow emanations
from a human body of such horrible, revolting, viscous substances as
Baron Von Schrenk Notzing claims, hideous shapes, which, like “genii
from the bronze bottle,” ring bells, move handkerchiefs, wobble tables,
and do other “flap-doodle” stunts.