POST TESTS, HANDCUFFS, COLLARS, ETC.
The “Spiritualistic Post Test” is one of the latest and most
successful of mechanical fastenings used by mediums. The most
common form is made of what appears to be a piece of joist. This is
given to the committee, one of whose members bores a hole through
it, near its upper end, and then passes an ordinary rope through
the hole, a knot being tied in the rope on each side of the post.
The knots are pressed against the post, so that the rope cannot be
drawn through the post. The ends of the rope are now unraveled, and
the post is fastened to the floor with spikes. The medium is tied
to the post by the unraveled ends of the rope. A nail is driven in
the top of the post, and a rope is secured to it. This second rope
is held by the committee; after the curtains are drawn, bells are
rung, etc., showing that the medium has the use of his hands. The
trick consists in boring a hole in the center of the end of the
joist; a chisel is then inserted in the hole, and the opening is
closed with glue and saw-dust tinted with water color. The medium
starts the bit, so that there is no danger of the committee boring
the hole too low, or so high that it will strike the chisel. When
the nail is driven in, it forces the chisel down and cuts the rope.
The medium may now ring bells, etc. After he is through ringing the
bells, he puts back the ends of the rope in the post.
[Illustration: Fig. 38.--The Trick Post.
1. Lead weight with notch.
2. Spring catch.
3. Hole in catch by which cord is secured.
4. Roller over which cord, 5, runs; cord is attached at one end,
3, to spring catch, and at other end at 6 to bolt in angle piece.]
There is another very good rope and mechanical post test sometimes
used by mediums. A post in an upright position is securely fastened
to the floor. In the upper part of the post a hole is bored clear
through, to allow of two small ropes being passed through the
opening from side to side. The medium passes the ropes through
the post, then invites the committee to tie his hands fast against
the post, and then to tie or nail the ends of the rope down on the
floor. All the usual manifestations take place. The medium is also
instantaneously released, and rope and knots are found undisturbed.
By glancing at Fig. 38 the mystery will be cleared up. The post
is hollow, and carries a leaden or iron weight. This weight has
a horizontally extending passage to correspond with the channel
in the post. This weight is held in the top part of the post by a
catch, which is released by a projecting bolt-head at the bottom of
the post. It will be remembered that the post is made fast to the
floor by screws passing through angle irons fastened by bolts to
the post. It is one of these bolt-heads that releases the catch. At
the bottom of the post is another catch, which will also hold the
weight at the bottom. The one bolt will release both catches. The
medium runs the ropes through the post, releases the catch, which
allows weight to drop, carrying ropes with it; and the catch locks
the weight at the bottom of the post. They can now tie the medium.
All he has to do is to release the weight; he can then pull the
rope up and get as large a slack as he desires, allowing the weight
to drop back again. There is a chair--an ordinary-looking wooden
kitchen chair--worked on somewhat the same style. There is a hole
bored through each rear leg or upright of the back. The medium sits
on the chair, facing the back of it, and has a hand tied to each
upright. The slack is obtained the same as in the post, with the
exception that a spring instead of a weight is used, and it is
locked or released by the backward or forward sliding of a portion
of the chair-seat.
A convincing trick often employed is the iron ring test. The medium
and investigator sit opposite each other, clasping their hands. An
iron ring is now placed on the medium’s lap, and the cabinet door
is closed; in a few moments the door is opened again, and the ring
is found on the investigator’s arm, although he has never released
his hold of the medium’s hand. The medium has concealed in his
coat sleeve a duplicate of the ring used. When the cabinet door is
closed, the medium spreads his legs apart, allowing the ring to
drop on the seat of his chair, the bottom of which should be of
cane or of cloth, in order to avoid the noise due to the dropping
of the ring. He now replaces his legs, and, of course, this ring
is hidden merely by his sitting on it. The ring in his sleeve he
tosses on to the skeptic’s arm, and, of course, without the hands
being unclasped.
The handcuff trick is always a great favorite with the medium. He
has no objection to placing his hands in any pair of handcuffs
furnished by the audience. A few moments after he has entered the
cabinet, he begins throwing out various articles of clothing; but,
on examination, the handcuffs are found to be still on his wrists.
It is impossible to see how he could have taken off his coat.
As a final test the medium comes out of the cabinet holding the
handcuffs in his hand still locked. There are only a few styles
of handcuffs made, and all the medium has to do is to secure the
proper key for each style. He conceals these keys on his person,
and by the aid of his fingers and teeth the proper key can be
fitted to the handcuffs. It is impossible, with some types of
handcuffs, to get the fingers to the keyhole. If such a pair are
placed on the performer, and he cannot use his teeth to hold the
key, he slips the key into a convenient crack in the cabinet or in
the chair. The lock of the handcuffs being forced on to the key,
the handcuffs can then be readily unlocked.
The spirit collar is also a favorite instrument of the medium. It
consists of a brass collar which fits closely about the performer’s
neck. Through the openings in the end of the collar, is placed a
chain. After the collar is on the performer’s neck, the chain is
placed around a post and carried back and through the padlock used
to lock the collar. By this arrangement the performer is securely
fastened to a post; but after he is concealed by the use of any
convenient means, he suddenly appears before the audience minus
the collar, while the collar will be found locked, as before. The
trick depends for its success on the series of bolts with which the
collar is studded. The bolts, with one exception, are all false,
being pieces of metal simply screwed into the top and bottom of the
collar, and not penetrating through them. One bolt, however, passes
through the collar and engages the two parts thereof; the parts
terminate in a tongue which fits in the socket in the other half
of the collar. The bolt passes through this tongue so accurately
that there is no danger of its being removed with the fingers. The
performer uses a small wrench to remove the bolt.
There are numerous other devices, such as trick bolts, which are
inserted by a spectator through a post and screwed up tight, the
medium being fastened to the bolt. He has simply to give the bolt a
half twist, usually toward the right, and the bolt comes apart. The
joint is invisible to the eye, and, in fact, is made more so just
before it is used each time by being rubbed with sandpaper, which
slightly roughens the bolt, making the joint imperceptible to the
naked eye. There are staples, ordinary looking staple-plates, which
are apparently screwed fast into the bench on which the medium is
seated. The hands of the medium are fastened to the staples by
wire. The staples are not fastened to the plates by riveting them,
as is ordinarily done, but are held by a spring catch, concealed
under the plate, and working in a notch in the staple. This is
released by the medium’s pushing the catch back by the insertion
of a piece of clock spring between the staple plate and the bench.
After releasing himself he performs the stereotyped manifestations,
and at the finish has simply to jam the staples back into their
plate, whereupon they are locked or held fast by the spring catch
or bolt. This was a device used by a Boston medium.
There are also trick bags in which the medium is bound up or tied.
In one style of bag there is a string running in the selvage, or
turned-over portion of the bag at the top. As the string is about
to be drawn taut the medium inserts one of his fingers into a
portion of this selvage not sewn, and pulls down enough slack of
the cord to allow him, after the tying, either to place his arm
through or to get out entirely. Another style is this: The medium
has a round wooden plug, covered with cloth like the bag. This
he has concealed about him. As the mouth of the bag is gathered
together to tie the string, the medium inserts this plug, and bag
and plug are both tied. After the tying he has simply to remove the
plug and he can then place his hand through and release the cord,
or shove it off the bag completely. Still another way is to have
a duplicate bag concealed down one trousers leg and coming up at
the back of the neck under the coat, the mouth of the bag being
upward. When the medium gets in, his manager or the director of
the séance gathers the mouth of the bag together, and, at the same
time, pulls the duplicate bag out from under the medium’s coat. He
pulls this up four or five inches higher than the original bag and
ties his handkerchief around where the two bags are joined, so the
trick will not be detected. He then allows a committee to tie, and
even sew, the bag together--of course, the duplicate, not the first
one. The medium has simply to pull the first bag down around him,
get out of it and conceal it on his body. A “dodge” used sometimes
is to borrow one of the investigators’ handkerchiefs and drop it
into the duplicate bag; and, after the medium has escaped and the
bag is given for inspection, the bag is opened and the handkerchief
found inside. This strengthens the effect of the trick, inasmuch
as it convinces the onlookers that the medium certainly must have
been got out by the aid of spirits, as the handkerchief--a very
small article, in comparison to the body of the medium--could not
be removed until the string had been released from the bag.
Mediums are great judges of human nature; they know full well the
usual action of the human mind, the direction the thoughts are
liable to travel in. This is part of their stock-in-trade--to try
to do just such things as the handkerchief “dodge,” in order to
convince the skeptic of the truth of the wonders witnessed.