Ectoplasm: fact or fiction?

[crowman]

Hi im from Crowstone Paranormal Team ,Whats your views on Ectoplasm ? Some say its Spiritual energy,some say its faked,Whats your opinion ?

[Kaa-Tzik]

Bunkum faked from the finest cheesecloth or silk

[Angel1510]

I have never seen any. I would have to see it to judge for myself. Also I would need to see it appear in midair from nowhere, lol

[Rafterman]

I've been slimed, Ray.

[LostSouls7]

It's real these was this lady once who could make ectroplasm hands appear out of thin air..

and fly around the room.

I don't think you can fake that with silk..

[Claimer Pi]

Until I see a sample of ectoplasm being analyzed in a lab somewhere, I'm gunna have to remain skeptical.

[Angel1510]

It's real these was this lady once who could make ectroplasm hands appear out of thin air..

and fly around the room.

I don't think you can fake that with silk..

Her name was Helen Duncan:-

http://www.helenduncan.org.uk/

I have even sat in a chair which belonged to her. It is now owned by a spiritualist friend of mine.

[+HerNibs]

Helen Duncan

In 1931 the London Spiritualist Alliance examined Duncan's mediumship and concluded she was a fraud. An early examination of pieces of Duncan's ectoplasm revealed it was made of cheese-cloth, paper mixed with the white of egg and lavatory paper stuck together. Duncan refused to be investigated by the Society for Psychical Research even claiming she wouldn't do it for a million pounds however she was investigated by some psychical researchers such as Harry Price. Duncan had also originally denied photos to be taken in her seances but later accepted permission of photos but this backfired on her, as all flashlight photographs of her mediumship showed her to be using fake props in the seance room such as plastic dolls, cloth, rubber gloves and cut-out heads from magazine covers which she pretended to her audiences were spirits.

One of Duncan's tricks was to swallow and regurgitate some of her ectoplasm and according to (Haynes, 1982) she was persuaded to swallow a tablet of methylene blue before one of her seances by the London Spiritualist Alliance to rule out any chance of this trick being performed and no ectoplasm appeared. An investigation by the psychical researcher Harry Price into the mediumship of Duncan revealed she was using natural substances such as cheese-cloth and eggs mixed with paper as ectoplasm in her seances (see below). It has also been suggested by some researchers that Duncan achieved some of her tricks with the help of an accomplice. In 1933 at a seance in Scotland a little girl called Peggy emerged in the seance room, someone grabbed her and the lights were turned on and the spirit was revealed to be Duncan. She was prosecuted and fined £10. Later Duncan was caught cheating again pretending to be a spirit in the seance room, this time Duncan and four of her traveling companions were prosecuted, convicted and sent to nine months in prison.

Nibs

[Angel1510]

Helen Duncan

Was James Randi even alive then?

[+HerNibs]

Was James Randi even alive then?

Nope. Harry Price

College of Psychic Study found her to be full on nonsense as well.

More on them.

Nibs

[Angel1510]

Helen Duncan

Nibs

Haha, just had another look at this. Is that white thing supposed to be a ghost, lol? More like a punch and judy puppet!

[HeathenRoyalty]

Not really convinced on ectoplasm, way too many hoaxes.

[rodentraiser]

I've seen too many cases where it can be debunked: camera strap, cigarette smoke, etc. So I say fiction. However, I have seen "wisps" where none should be and couldn't be explained. So.....I'm keeping an open mind.

Basically, I think all paranormal events are filed under "open mind" for me. If they can be explained, great. If they can't, well, I'll accept it as true with the understanding that if it can be explained in the future, it's not true. I always did balance on the edge and fall off once in a while.

[Sundew]

It must be true, I saw it in the movies: "Sir, what we have here is what we call a non-repeating phantasm, or a class-5 free roaming vapor, real nasty one too."

[JesseCuster]

I've been slimed, Ray.

That's great! Actual physical contact!

[Frank Merton]

I've seen too many cases where it can be debunked: camera strap, cigarette smoke, etc. So I say fiction. However, I have seen "wisps" where none should be and couldn't be explained. So.....I'm keeping an open mind.

Basically, I think all paranormal events are filed under "open mind" for me. If they can be explained, great. If they can't, well, I'll accept it as true with the understanding that if it can be explained in the future, it's not true. I always did balance on the edge and fall off once in a while.

There is having an open mind (a willingness to change it) and having a mind so open its reality tests are not functioning properly. I think the default when there is no evidence and it is inherently unlikely is disbelief -- "I'm from Missouri."

[emberdawn]

Until I see a sample of ectoplasm being analyzed in a lab somewhere, I'm gunna have to remain skeptical.

I agree

[BlueBomber]

I've been slimed, Ray.

That's great! Actual physical contact!

[DancingCorpse]

We only really have our own beliefs/experiences to paint a canvas regarding the concept of 'ghosts', typically falling into active/residual/visitation slices, if you believe in ghosts, a theory is that they 'drain' energy from humans and electric appliances and the atmosphere itself somehow... in order to manifest part of itself or actual fully bodied. Seems like how batteries interact with contraptions. Fascinating even if you don't fully believe, there is some mechanism in action.

Also, the magnetic properties of surfaces like stone has interestingly has been proposed to 'replay' events of traumatic/potent energies, as if the energy was so great that it imprinted itself on the stone somehow. Gettysburg supposedly has all manner of replaying (not just the re-enactments!) I have no idea what the texture of the landscape is there. It all boils down to what the heck paranormal entities could be constructed/woven of. There are orbs and wisps frequently caught on photos, 95% of these I believe can be interpreted as dust, reflection, bad development, hoax etc etc but sweeping them all under one safe definition is unhelpful to unravel the stranger mysteries of our realm.

It stands to reason that ectoplasm could be related to the material that a manifested spirit is composed of, light, smoke, haze, pale, cotton, half-thought, reflection, shimmer... they don't convey a feeling of solidness nor liquid, it's not as if we can snatch one in a pokéball and send it on down to a lab either to analyze. For many that means they are mere fantasy and fabrication of those too deluded to consider that death is the end and final. Dreams transcend logic via chemical contribution so mayhap our senses only allow us to perceive spirits in a distorted capsule, who the heck knows! You can interpret dreams without physically dragging them out into the room, we can interpret paranormal experiences and offer our opinion. We all dream so it's very simple to lower the boundary and hop over the fence and play. Group experiences are always compelling and usually those who've seen a ghost (or something effective enough to pierce their passion for the possibility) are more likely to.approach things with less 'logic' that we are locked into each day.

Sure I've heard of ectoplasm appearing yet it seems a rare occurrence and never have I heard about it from more 'common' people in houses/pubs etc. It seems to be linked to magicians and famous cases if I recall my reading on the matter. If there is an ounce of truth to the stuff it surely must be the 'tissue' of the energy. Almost too good to be true, such a gruesome party trick. I realize this has little to do with ectoplasm but the core is somewhat congruent hee hee.

Edited September 22, 2013 by DancingCorpse

[Occult1]

Hi im from Crowstone Paranormal Team ,Whats your views on Ectoplasm ? Some say its Spiritual energy,some say its faked,Whats your opinion ?

The problem with the ectoplasmic phenomenon is that several mediums, tested under controlled conditions in the 1800s and early 1900s, have been proved to be frauds. Such as Lina Stinson Crandon, Eva Carrière, Jack Webber ect. These were famous mediums with the greatest claims. That pretty much put an end to the serious scientific researches about ectoplasmic at that time, having no way to tell what can be 'true' and was fraudulent. Researchers been divided on the matter.

I cannot stop thinking though that they may be a legitimate paranormal phenomenon behind this, ectoplasmic maybe perhaps not as great as was once claimed.

I marvel in reading texts from Charles Richet, who invented this term and which expose, based on various researches and controlled sceances a phenomenon that may have something true in itself and unknown to us though now vaguely dismissed, overshadowed by the illusionists and frauds that have been demasked overtime.

Edited September 22, 2013 by sam_comm

[Mike G]

Hi im from Crowstone Paranormal Team ,Whats your views on Ectoplasm ? Some say its Spiritual energy,some say its faked,Whats your opinion ?

I suppose its existence is closely reliant on whether or not ghosts are real, as it is presumed to be a bi-product of their activity. So this question is a bit like asking whether or not unicorn scat is real.

Edited September 22, 2013 by Mike G